“Don’t push the river, it flows by itself.” – Chinese Proverb
My dad loved that quote and used it many times in discussions with me and many of his lectures. He used it frequently with me because I always tried to push everything. I was constantly trying to get more and do everything faster. I was not the poster child for patience.
It is very fitting that I sit and write this final part to close out this series on the weekend of his birthday. The first birthday since I lost him. Yesterday was his actual birthday but today is Sunday and the day we would have all gathered at his house and had our family dinner to celebrate him. After dinner we would have had dessert and a cup of Darkness Descends coffee. Cheers to you, dad, we will toast you at dinner tonight where mom will join us for chicken pot pie, Stacey will also be here and Karen will join us in spirit.
This quote is so relevant to this series on so many levels and we will see how deep the river gets today as I just type what comes to mind. Like I mentioned above, I have always pushed things; the process, the limit, the budget, the lead time, the point, the argument, the judgment…everything.
There was no difference with the first business that I started with Kerry and a friend that I discussed in an earlier part. I tried to push everything too, far too fast, including my ideas and opinions and let’s not forget about my control. I am sure you all know where that ended up; a big, deep hole of debt and frustration. But I like to look at silver linings. I learned so much from that experience. I wish I could say I learned all my lessons, but some took a few more fails to drive them home.
Fast forward a bit and business one is done, business two to riding high, and the seed of business three is starting to sprout; ColdFire Coffee. I had developed a cold brew process for coffee that yielded a drinkable coffee better than anything I had tried on the market at the time. Granted there were very few as cold brew coffee was just becoming a thing. I will say almost ten years later that I still feel the same, but I digress.
On the side of Go-Go Babyz, Kerry and I were coming up with ideas and a model for this business after I nailed the product. Of course, my entrepreneurial mind was going crazy with ideas, products, strategies, events, and potential partners. I was ready to take over the world, and, I was trying to push the river yet again. This time, however, I learned my lesson so I stopped pushing it and just let it float. We set our big plan aside because it wasn’t time yet. I scaled it back to a smaller side hustle operation for the time being with a killer cult following that kept me busy brewing.
Fast forward again about eight years. We relocate our family and Go-Go Babyz to another state in order to get out of the chaos, simplify our life, and scale back Go-Go Babyz to make it profitable again all while we search for our next venture.
As chance would have it, my childhood friend moved to the same place within two weeks of us, totally unplanned. Talk about serendipity! So we met on several occasions, over coffee, to discuss potential business ideas and investment opportunities. Meanwhile, I was starting to re-launch ColdFire in Idaho and get set with all the different state laws and regulations for a food and beverage company, but this time, I didn’t push the river. We all loved the idea of a coffee shop type place that would provide a great place for the community to come and enjoy our food and beverages and where we could provide a nice atmosphere and experience to along with it.
Over the course of two and a half years we had found some opportunities and invested together in some then as serendipity would have it again, we stumbled upon a pie shop and eatery for sale. So we bought it. ColdFire bought it that is. Just earlier in the year we had finally set up the business in Idaho to start giving it a go again. Remember the original business idea I shared? The Caffeine Inferno? This might not be that concept exactly but the circle of life, and business, has brought us back to that point; another coffee connection.
We now have a space for the community to come and enjoy homemade cooking and excellent coffee and make connections of their own. Sharing laughter, tears, joy, grief, and everything else in between because we provide a safe, comfortable place to enjoy life; the coffee and pie are just the whipped cream on top!
When the student is ready the teacher appears. When the entrepreneur is ready, the opportunity appears. Let the river flow and bring what it will. Life is better letting the river run its course. I am excited to see where the river goes with this business and how many connections I make and wiriness being made along the way. And, if you live in the Boise area or are passing through, make a detour to the Boise Pie Company and say hi over a cup of coffee and a slice of pie.
Cheers dad! Today I will have a cup of coffee and a slice of pie for you.
Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator
You have to leap if you want to live
LeapBlog 