Doing this LEAP thing
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Being able to click away at the keyboard to transcribe what goes through my brain is a challenge for me. I am the kind of person that is introverted with my thoughts and ideas when they are new and fresh. Making myself vulnerable and opening up my ideas to the public gives me a little anxiety. I always have a fear of other people stealing my ideas or using my ideas against me. So, for the sake of trying something new and committing to following through with a goal, I will do my best to be open and honest about what I am going through.
take the leap
exp.
go for something, take one’s chances
What is my leap? I think in order for you to understand what my next leap will be you must first understand what my first one was.
In July 2014, I made the leap and decided I was going to start my own business. My passion was everything coffee and serving people. I knew that my product knowledge was great and I had the motivation to finally do something for ME. With a one-year-old little boy and a newly found confidence in myself, I packed up my Uhaul and Volvo and headed east. Leaving Idaho and the mountains and rocky rivers was hard because I knew that those things made me feel most alive. I knew that I didn’t want to have regrets so I decided to jump headfirst. And, let me tell you, the water was murky and oddly warm in Fargo, ND. Crossing the North Dakota state line was a first for me and I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.
Labor Day Weekend, 2014, was the weekend that North Dakota became my new home. With all of my family and friends over 1,000 miles away, I knew I had to prove to myself that I could do this all on my own. As a single mom with an entrepreneurial spirit, I was stubborn and relentless in figuring out how I was going to start my coffee business in an area that I had never been before. What I did know was how to make a hella good cup of coffee.
September 2014, was when Ladybug Latte, LLC came into existence. Three long months of all the busy business stuff and December 22, 2014, was the first day Ladybug Latte sold its first cup of coffee. And the rest is history…
Kind of.
Six years later, I am ready for my next big leap. I am ready to open a second location. I am nervous, anxious, and terrified. Long-term commitments are scary, but if history repeats itself, I should have nothing to worry about. I need to reach down into 27-year-old me and find that tenacity and fearlessness I once had and channel it into 33-year-old me. I have become comfortable and content with how my business has grown and I know that exponential growth doesn’t usually happen in a place of comfort.
Hindsight being 20/20, there are things related to business that will be simpler for me to figure out. I already have vendors and ordering set up so all I need to do is figure out the financial and legal aspect of it all.
