So you want to be your own Boss

Since opening our Mobile Coffee Shop in 2020 one of the most common messages I get online is how we started and any tips for getting up and running quickly. 9 times out of 10 it is an individual that has never worked in the business but they have a passion for coffee and want to share that love with their community. I usually tell them to spend at least a year working in a quality controlled cafe which quickly turns them off. Most people want nothing to do with preliminary learning, they want their business and they want it now.

To be totally fair if you know me at all you know I HATE school so a request like that sounds totally contradictory. Instead of business school, I worked in a nice coffee shop for a few years and got paid to learn the ins and outs of daily operations. I slowly discovered a desire to control these ins and outs along with the menu, the origins available on bar, and almost everything else. Working in the field you want to have a business in ahead of time is not just to how to do everything, but it’s to learn what you don’t want. What will you do differently. How will you create functions and an environment that you would willingly come to everyday.

Running a business that will beat the odds is a lot more than cute graphics and instagram followers. 20% of business fail in the first year, over half will close within 5 years and 70% will succumb to burnout or failure within 10 years. Yes, you will work insane hours, you have to do what is best for each day. That being said, you must also think about where your day to day operations are going to take you. In 3 years can you still be working at the capacity you are now? Do you need to hire out work to give you some of your life back? Do you need to take a leap that feels too big but in 5 years you will be praising your past self for pushing through.

To answer the question, “So you want to be your own boss?”, you must be willing to be your own boss. Simply put but it begs the question, are you disciplined enough to accomplish tasks as if you had a rigorous leader knocking on your door every morning. It is scary to be the 70% of businesses that fail, but it is even scarier to be the 90% that never start in the first place.

So be disciplined, be honest with yourself, and be willing to jump in both feet first.

Have a great day, Annalisa.