HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!

Image: Padre Coffee / Sow Coffee Project

Amongst the craziness of a global pandemic we quietly hit a milestone last week…our first birthday! You’d be very safe to say that things look just a little different from how we imagined they would when we opened this time last year. Instead of the first birthday bash we had planned, we celebrated over a home-cooked dinner with our partners and reminisced over a big year of ups and downs, but one that we are ultimately very proud of. So this week, we thought we would take this opportunity to look back at the year that was, and outline some of our hopes for the year ahead.

We would also like to express our deepest thanks and gratitude to…you! If you’re reading this then you’re a part of our community and we are so grateful to you for supporting us through our first year. We can’t wait for what’s to come, cheers! 🥂

A YEAR IN REVIEW

Was your first year in business what you expected?

O: I think it’s safe to say that we hadn’t factored in a global pandemic closing us and the rest of the world down for several months!

K: In many ways I wasn’t sure what to expect, it was such a race to actually get the business open and we sort of planned for what we thought would happen once we opened, but we were also keen to just see where the year led us, what worked and what needed improvement. We were actually a little surprised by the demand and success around our events - we have hosted such a variety of things in the space which we love and hope to continue with.

O: I think we were also quite optimistic in our forecasting for the first year and we have had to revise some numbers, but our accountants said from the get go that this is quite common for businesses in their first year, slower to start than anticipated but then things begin to snowball quickly. As restrictions start to lift, we’ve been so heartened to see bookings start to drop back in and business to start picking up again.

What is the most important lesson you learned over the past year?

K: Patience! A business isn’t built overnight, which we both knew in theory, but having the patience to keep chipping away slowly has been a big lesson. One year in we are finally starting to see the wheels start to move a little faster which is very exciting for us. I’d also say that we’ve learned the importance of stepping away from the business to be able to come back with a fresh perspective and new energy, even a weekend or a couple of days off can make a big difference. I think doing this can be quite difficult, as all you hear about these days is business owners who are relentless and never take a break, but we never wanted our business to be like that, so we just do what works for us.

O: A lesson that I possibly already knew but really had confirmed for us, is that you can create something, but the people won’t necessarily come. Building relationships and spreading the word about what we do has been a huge part of our first year. It feels like we are constantly talking about the business and spruiking it, but the reality is that barely anyone knows about us and we still have a long way to go! We are constantly trying to think of new ways to market the business. Trying to focus on one thing at a time has also been difficult for me as I tend to rush around doing a million things at once, just having a list with a couple of key things to achieve sounds so simple but can be very difficult! Especially when we offer so many different things within the space and want to keep pushing all areas forward at once.

All set up for a cocktail event with Brax Blinds and Julia Green. Image: Amy Lee Carlon

What did you enjoy the most?

K: Our launch was fantastic; we’d been working behind the scenes for about 18 months so to finally have the doors open with the space full of our friends and family celebrating with us was such a great feeling. Another favourite moment was the first time we had groups of people utilising every single part of the space – a feeling of excitement and relief that our model was working.

O: Both of those things were definitely highlights for me, too. I think one of my favourite things from this past year has been the connections and friendships we’ve made within the community – meeting so many talented people who’ve worked in the space or that we’ve collaborated with, who have now become good friends. We’ve also spent a lot of time over the past few weeks ensuring that we will be able to make it through the pandemic and associated closure, which we’re quietly confident we will now be able to do, this has been an enormous relief and actually gives me a huge sense of achievement.

Were there any failures or major stuff ups?

K: Miraculously, I don’t think we suffered any major failures or stuff ups, although I’m sure there are plenty ahead of us! I think it was more a case of some things working really well and others not really panning out as we had planned. We had sort of anticipated this with our business model though, the plan for the first year was to get the space open and try lots of different things and see what worked. I also think the only time that things haven’t really worked out as we expected was because we hadn’t communicated what we wanted to achieve properly, and we’ve learnt that being very clear on expectations from the start is so important.

Is there anything that you would have done differently if you could?

O: In hindsight? Probably a lot! But I guess that’s part of the fun. This first year has been a big learning curve for us, and I think we’ve both enjoyed the challenge. We were probably a little naïve in our budgeting, if you’re thinking of starting a business work out what you think you need and then double it, or even triple it! Then you might have a realistic number…

What resources do you frequently turn to for your business?

K: Instagram is a huge source of inspiration and a great way to source creatives to collaborate or work with, this is also the predominant way that people find us. We spend a lot of time talking to each other and also discussing ideas with our friends who are in similar industries. Our partners and families have also offered us so much support and advice. We LOVE our accountants at Kearney Group who have been especially helpful over the last couple of months (thank you George and Lachlan!)

O: I love to receive the weekly emails from Fiona Killackey who runs My Daily Business Coach – she always has something interesting to consider. We also occasionally undertake General Assembly workshops or classes if there’s something we want to upskill in. We’re both avid podcast listeners with some of our favourite business related ones including How I Built This, How to Fail with Elizabeth Day, Lady Land, Second Life, Routines & Ruts, we also both just started listening to the Business of Fashion’s podcast, Drive: Stories of Sustainable Entrepreneurship, there are some really inspiring conversations on there. For news and pop culture it’s The High Low, Highly Enthused and The Squiz every day/week!

What advice you would give to someone else starting a business?

K: Be patient! A business isn’t built overnight, and you need to play the long game to be successful. That said, don’t be afraid to adapt if something isn’t working, be open to change and flexibility within your model.

O: I would also say try not to compare yourself to others, stay in your own lane and focus on what you want to do, and do it well. Hopefully the rest will come! Also, save more money than you think you will need.

What are your plans for the year ahead?

K: Continuing to build and support the incredible creative community that we’re lucky enough to be a part of and innovating the business with new events and collaborations, we have some really exciting plans in the works. We made the decision to postpone our mural with Hannah Nowlan and Tint Paint, so we have that to look forward to in spring and hopefully another market at some point, as we loved hosting that last year.

O: Karina and I have both been discussing the idea that anyone can run a successful business but it’s another thing entirely to ensure that what you’re doing or producing is ethical and sustainable, as well as being profitable, and also affordable for your clients. We try to be as considerate and low-impact as we can but we’re now discussing how we can improve our business further in all of these areas as we grow. I think we both love the variety of what we do so continuing to expand our offering with different classes and events, and supporting the community who chooses to work with us!