A year ago about this time I contacted a local successful business man that was a good customer of mine about possibly helping me to get my business stuck from the financial plateau it had been stuck at. Six years for a restaurant was great I was still keeping my head above water but that was it. We made it each month to go on but weren't really increasing. Oddly enough the day before our first initial meeting I found out that my husband and I were pregnant. So I go into this meeting and this gentleman starts to read an inspirational excerpt from a book and I lose it, start bawling. Mind you I was never a crier before pregnancy and baby, now I cry at everything! lol! He had no clue why I was crying, and I told him I was pregnant. He then asked " is this a good or bad thing?". I replied with "good, we were trying, just overwhelmed". He then responded with "everything happens for a reason". True that! This restaurant was no longer just about making enough money for me to survive I was now going to have a family. He said another thing to me that day that has stuck in my head for the last year, You create what you believe. I always said "If I could pay the bills then I was happy" well that is exactly what I created and nothing more. That was when my mindset changed. Of course my passion and culinary creativity is always number one, but I needed to get this business to be financially successful for myself and my loyal employees.
So 2014 came with a lot of changes to the business and meeting a lot of other really great people to help me down this new road. At another one of our meetings this gentleman introduced me to another restaurateur. I was just floored that these two guys would take time out of their busy schedules to help me with my business. I asked that meeting what they would like in return and they said "pay it forward someday, that's all we ask".
Over the last year in addition to these two special people, I have so many people that are willing to help with keeping my passion/business going and moving forward. The Café has so many customers that want to see us continue doing what we do here, with the food and supporting our local farms. I have one customer that continually helps me with my computer issues, I'm learning but I shouldn't quit my day job! Another recently that is helping with our marketing out of the kindness of his heart, says it's what he does for a living and helping me is fun! I have musician customers that call and just ask to play & I have to force them to take compensation, silly starving artists. Not really they always leave with full bellies. I'm blessed to have such a great staff that continues to believe and support in the changes we make and continue to give 100%. Recently we had a farmer from a farm we get product from ask to work at the café, hell yes can you get any more farm to table! But honestly she believes in what we are doing here. I have another gentleman friend that helps do maintenance work at the café and continually refuses pay. Valentines day morning he comes in for an emergency maintenance issue and we were talking, while he was working on stuff and I hadn't seen him in a while, which is good means nothing had broke for a while, but he wanted an update on how things were going. I'm going on and on about all these awesome things we have in the works and telling how blessed I feel to have all these amazing people around helping out, and that it just blows my mind that everyone so believes in the café. He said to me " Jodi, you shouldn't be surprised you're a good person, you attract other good people that want to help. It's that simple. That's why I'm here right now"
I have been so lucky to have met all these people. My customers, friends, family,and employees are all such wonderfully supportive people, thanks to you all.
This hasn't been an instant success story as far as the business, but a long and carefully paved path to get where the business needs to be. We are still carefully laying each brick day by day and I'm believing we can make it happen and that I can Pay it Forward as well!
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