Reflections on two weeks in business, a race, bread and toaster waffles
So not only did we get open, they’ve made it through two weeks. Sam, the bigger little brother and I finished the Carmel Half Marathon. Somewhere in the process of opening the store, I decided to register for the Carmel Half marathon with my younger son. I thought it was a clever idea. I would be working towards a goal for me, possibly lose some weight and get some balance of taking care of myself and the business. To say I’m an optimist is an understatement.
What I’ve learned in the last two weeks from both the race and setting up daily procedures is that sometimes you take giant leaps, tiny baby steps, stumbled or even a couple of steps backward but EVERY STEP MATTERS! Whether we move forward or backward, we learn.
We have had a few rough moments, but some great moments. Someone that was once a package and label diva has become a social butterfly at the counter. Four new jobs for people on the spectrum have been created. Hours have increased for my employees that can work full time. A person who was told was appropriate for a sheltered workshop has proven herself as a valuable member of our team. She’s soon to be our next packaging and labeling diva and social media star.
One big step happened this morning with Chef J, who may have stumbled with behavior over the last two weeks. He told me he was tired of making the donuts. One, he communicated a feeling. Two, prior I would have thought he’d be happy repeating the same list for the next 40 years! No more reliance on repetitiveness. He’s becoming more flexible. Three, he problem solved and came up with a new plan without becoming frustrated. You can go back and review our social media posts from this morning. You’ll see it took him 5 minutes to write down a new plan while working alongside a new co-worker, without becoming frustrated or having any problem behaviors. There’s no denying he’s the boss of the place.
One thing we figured out was we are open too early on Sundays. Going forward we will be open 12-4. On Sundays, we will offer loaves of bread, Rice Tapioca, White Sandwich, Irish Brown Bread, pizza crusts and cornbread. In addition, I am thinking of offering toaster waffles. Not too eat at the shop but to take home freeze and toast. Please make a comment and let me know if you’d be interested. I want to teach J the critical thinking skills of arranging and timing all those different doughs proofings and baking. For sure, he’ll be the boss!
For those of you who have made it in, come back and see how much better they are getting at everything. Others come see the giant leaps they are taking. Maybe my optimism will rub off on you. Maybe it won’t. Regardless my guys will make an impression on you!