Year Two as a Small Business Owner

October 2017 – October 2018

Looking for a New Kitchen

My second year as a  small business owner was off to a bad start. The lease at the church I rented ran out and the dream cafe that was supposed to be built was still a dream. I didn’t have a plan “B” at the time. I was hopeful the location that was offered back in March of that year would come to life. So I waited. 

This was one of the toughest moments in year two when I had no licensed kitchen for 4 months. I couldn’t take any orders and my stress levels were high. The next steps were not clear. I put all my hope into this promised space and really believed it was from God. There were so many questions and all I could hear was silence. 

“God, I thought this was your plan? Why did you allow me to go down this path if you were going to close the door to this dream cafe location? I don’t understand!”

My emotions were all over! I cried because I thought my dream was dying. I got angry because I didn’t understand what in the world the Lord was doing. Deep down, I wanted to give up because I didn’t know what to do next. This is an understatement, but I was a mess! 

In January 2018, I made a decision to move on. I stopped hoping for the dream space and muscled up the strength to start searching for another commercial kitchen that I could rent. I googled all the kitchen spaces that could be rented at that time around Lancaster County, Pa. The prices were ridiculously expensive! I couldn’t afford to rent any of the space and make profit, no way! 

There Was Hope

I started telling everyone I knew that I was in search of a kitchen. One of my friends told me there was a local cafe that rents out their kitchen space. I quickly searched up the owner on instagram and started messaging her.

“Hi, my name is Inna. I am a baker and I am in search of a commercial kitchen space I can rent. I heard you rent out your kitchen. Would you have any availability by any chance for me to rent your kitchen? Thank you, Inna.”

Five minutes later I get a notification, “Hi. Yes I do rent our cafe kitchen. You can come look at it tomorrow and we can discuss.”

What?! I didn’t expect that to happen. It almost felt too good to be true. I kept my hopes low. I wasn’t sure how real this offer was and I didn’t want to get hurt again. 

The next day, I drove over to the cafe. I was so nervous, still doubting and not sure if this would even be real. I walked in and the owner met me at her check out area. She took me upstairs to her kitchen to see the space. 

It was perfect!  A simple and a private space where I could bake and bring my kids when needed and most importantly bake. The space was very close to my house as well. A win-win situation. I said yes immediately and a week later I was baking. 

A Kitchen and a Business Opportunity

Now most kitchens are rented by the hour and that’s how I started renting from this cafe. The owner gave me a very reasonable rate that I could afford. I was able to bring in my equipment and settle into the space as if it were my own. I had all my baking supplies and ingredients stored in the cabinets and refrigerators in that space. No commercial kitchen that rents per hour would allow me to do that, but this one did. I was extremely blessed. 

Shortly after I started renting the kitchen cafe, their baker had quit and they needed either to hire someone or buy baked goods from a local bakery. I approached the owner and offered to bake for the cafe. The owner and I talked out all the details and a week later I was baking hundreds of pastries for their customers. 

I was so grateful to have this opportunity as a new business owner. I never imagined to be in this position and didn’t even know these opportunities existed. That’s when I realized why God didn’t open that dreamy cafe door idea. He had other plans and it was to be here. I made so many wonderful connections with people. The word about my baking started to spread and I was able to slowly regain traction baking for customers. 

A Perfect Space for a MOMpreneur

At this time in my journey, I was also homeschooling my kids. This space was so perfect for me to bring my kids to work with me. We would do all the teaching at home and the kids would then do the assignments while I baked. After homework, they got to watch a movie on the laptop and then play games. Sometimes it would be stressful, other days it was a memorable moment for me and for them. I created several days where they could bake with mom in the kitchen and take the goodies home. Those moments, I will never forget. 

Special Memories for a Lifetime

We created a special memory with my mom I will never forget when I was renting this kitchen space. I invited my mother to come bake with me and all my daughters. We made some of mom’s famous cheese buns together. My daughters were able to connect with grandma, help roll out the dough and I was able to learn from my mom as an experienced and seasoned baker. This moment is such a big deal for me because I didn’t know my mom’s health would decline so quickly in the next few years and I wouldn’t be able to do that anymore with her. My mom is still with us today as I write this, but not in physical strength to make memories like these anymore.

Learning Opportunities

There were also days where I would be extremely overwhelmed. My baked goods didn’t always turn out and it was frustrating. I had a lot of waste and that was a loss for my business. I wasn’t sure what was going on and how to figure out how to create consistency. Sleepless nights of how to deliver a consistent product efficiently, it was a learning opportunity for sure.

I had to learn time management at this point as a small business owner. What I thought would take one hour was actually taking me three hours. I had to add set up, cooling and cleanup to the day. This is where I was starting to burn myself out a bit and I was overpromising while under delivering. Again, I lost some customers because of the many mistakes I made with baking and not fulfilling orders the way customers expected. It was hard to accept that I was failing at some points. I beat myself emotionally a lot. 

Lessons I learned:

1. Try all the doors. Not all of them are closed. 
2. It’s ok for others to help you along your journey as a small business owner. There are good people who are not just to win it for themselves. They want to help others succeed too. 
3. Failure does not define you. It’s just a pile of mistakes that you are standing on top of because you have overcome.