Brainstorming as a Small Business Owner

Owning a small business allows me to dream big and work every day to reach my goals for the café. There is a constant need to innovate and project a vision, both short and long-term, into the operations at the café, which is a fun and creative challenge.

Brainstorming with my marketer/designer/all things creative director Sarah is a daily occurrence since we are constantly in the kitchen together. On any given weekday, you will likely hear us chatting in the back working on new recipes, events, seasonal specials, and merch ideas. Sarah and I are cut from the same cloth in many ways, so our ideas bounce off each other seamlessly as we work to dream up new specials, make operations more efficient, and improve the café space.

I pull inspiration from other awesome women bakers and cookbooks for recipe inspiration. I take seasonal ingredient inspiration from local growers and other food producers at our local farmers markets. Sarah cites Pinterest, other coffee shops, and late nights divine intervention as her sources of inspiration. (We also get style inspo from each other, accidentally dressing the same on occasion - see cover photo!)

While I like to stay grounded in the here and now, there is a need to look to the future to stay one step ahead. I have so many more ideas for the café that are yet to come, and I can't wait until I get to share them with you!