I had forgotten about this blog until recently. Here is an update since the last post from March last year. So much has happened. Where do I even begin?
Once I finally got a few posts up on my coffee blog and networking via Twitter and Facebook, things began to fall into place.
After a couple interviews with Baristas, I began to get quite a bit of traffic from people within the industry and other bloggers. I continued with the interviews, once a month, highlighting a different barista around a specific theme and everyone really enjoys them. These are so much fun to write, help promote a great business, and a great excuse to contact “celeb” people within the industry.
No matter how much I wanted to avoid writing coffee reviews, it was inevitable. Roasters were willing to send me free samples and I didn’t have to do anything but enjoy the coffees. I genuinely liked the coffees so much, I had to share them with everyone else by writing about them. For the rest of the year, I didn’t have to buy any coffee for home. Which was a bonus.
Between reviews, interviews and the occasional coffee info posts, I was very content with my blog.
Fast-forward to March this year.
Deep down I had always dreamed of my own cafe’. While most women plan their perfect wedding, I was planning my ideal cafe. But I never attempted to pursue it since it’s such an expensive endeavor and it takes awhile to break-even. At the end of March 2011, I got to have a taste of this dream.
I received an email from a lady looking for a Coffee Consultant for the owners of a new Cafe’/event Lounge/Nightclub in downtown Raleigh. I met with the owner’s wife to talk about what their plans were and the more we chatted, the more it seemed too good to be true. We got along so well. I went from consultant and marketer to cafe manager within an hour.
After a nice chat about business, she took me to see the space.
It was the last minute decorating, buying equipment and waiting on permits stage. The decor was beautiful and the space had potential. I met everyone else and started getting to work.
Being a Manager was already a huge responsibility for me to take on. I knew it would take adjusting to and that a lot came with the title. Little did I know what I was really getting into. Not only was I Manager, I was also barista, consultant, marketer, teacher and daytime secretary.
This went on for seven months. I was overwhelmed, exhausted and it was not the best location for a cafe. I felt no matter how much marketing and hours I put in, the cafe wouldn’t survive. So I left. Although this didn’t turn out like I hoped, it was an amazing experience, I learned so much and met some amazing people. Besides, how many people get to say they were a Manager of a cafe?
Now it’s the end of 2011 and I feel like I’ve lost myself. It’s time to reevaluate my life and I’m not anywhere near I hoped to be at this age. It’s amazing how after thinking you have your life figured out, the curve balls can make you doubt and reveal harsh realities.
I won’t pain you with my realities. Instead, I hope you join me as I figure out the next steps, find myself again, and pursue a new journey in life and writing.