Why Starting a Business in your 20s, is a GREAT Idea

My first-hand experience and advice directly acquired by my success and failure in my role as Founder, Owner, and Head of Coffee Operations at Bloom Coffee Roasters.

In 2013, at the agile and curious age of 24, I discovered that — while roasting coffee for a small business in Kalamazoo, Michigan — I had acquired a unique, yet profitable talent and wealth of knowledge. It was the type of situation where I was working for a place that wanted me to follow protocol. I felt stifled creatively as though I was a cog in a robotic machine, cranking out quantity over quality.

I got fed up. I began writing a business plan and contacting local Small Business Associations, Grant Programs, and Loan Programs to figure out what I could make of my talents. Over the course of a year, Bloom Coffee Roasters went from something that only existed in a 24 page business plan, to a reality. With $250,000 in investment seed funding, a $40,000 personal loan, and $12,000 from crowdfunding platforms, I was able to leave my nine to five “production roaster” position and upgrade to “Founder,” “Owner,” and “Head of Coffee Operations,” at Bloom Coffee Roasters in Old Town, Lansing, Michigan.

As the old proverb goes, “fake it, til ya make it.” And that is precisely what I did. I created a logo and eventually a product using Adobe Photoshop. I set up a website using Squarespace and GoDaddy. I bought a small coffee roaster that yielded 1lb of coffee, every 15 minutes. I set up a Facebook Business Page and an Instagram Profile.

On April 4th, 2014, I legally filed an LLC through LegalZoom and launched BloomRoasters.com (don’t worry the site is no longer active and you are not being used for click-bate). Everything I did that was related to Bloom Coffee Roasters was posted on the business Facebook page, my personal account, and Instagram. Countless hours were spent cranking out orders, pound by pound, out of my 2 bedroom apartment that I shared with my fiancé. I set off the smoke alarm every 15 minutes for about a month until we secured our funding, bought a larger roaster and moved the shifty, health department disapproving operation to Lansing, into a space we could build and make our own.

We did it. But it didn’t come easy, and a ton of sacrifice was made. In 2015, we became Lansing, Michigan’s first Mirco-Roastery/Café and had upgraded from a 5 pound roaster, to a 24 pound German-Engineered machine of beauty. Our staff, who we regarded as our family boasted 24 strong, talented, unique individuals; each of which brought me friendships I’ll never forget.

Ultimately, after nearly six years of operating, and a very difficult departure of my investment partner, I had to slowly part ways with each member of my staff-family, one by one until I could no longer pay the bills and any employees. We shut our café doors in November of 2018 and roasted our last batch of coffee for wholesale purchase in September of 2019. I decided to let my business fail, so that I could hold what whits and sanity I had left for my family after my wife gave birth to my beautiful daughter in 2018.

I wasn’t even successful keeping my sanity, after all was said and done. But that’s for a different reader category. Here is my list of greatest lesson’s learned throughout the course of Bloom Coffee Roasters:

Slow Growth is ultimately easier to manage and FAR more sustainable than over-night success.

Bloom Coffee Roasters grew rapidly after moving to Lansing. I pushed our sales without understanding the consequences the increased sales would demand of our model, as it existed, and the amount of time it would demand of me “Head of Coffee Operations,” and sole roaster.

As a result of growing too quickly, not letting the numbers direct our growth, and a next step planned, we scrambled to purchase a $35000 German-Engineered Roaster, scrambled to get it ready to be approved by our local health department and scrambled to get the machine in working order.

On a personal level, I made the single biggest career mistake I could have made. I didn’t listen to my gut instinct in picking the right person, to pass down the knowledge of my trade, and my talent. I gave a lot of personally-proprietary wisdom and knowledge-based tools to a person I knew very little about, aside from the fact that they seemed passionate about my vision. I didn’t make them sign a Non-Compete/Non-Disclosure Agreement in advance to promoting them to the position that would allow them to roast our product. I tried to backtrack, but it resulted in this persons unwillingness to sign the agreement, which caused me to terminate their employment, which ended up creating a competitor who wouldn’t have otherwise been able to compete. I believe this mistake to be the beginning of my demise, all at the expense of having more time to do the other important tasks of owning a business.

Let The Numbers Guide Your Decisions, And Plan For Growth

As mentioned above, I scrambled to grow and worked loads harder than I should have been working, as a result of not planning for growth. I focused on landing large accounts that would promote brand loyalty, when I didn’t have the means to product the quantities of product that those larger customers demanded. We calculated our maximum production output on the smaller roaster using a very simple spreadsheet I created. Yet, I blindly justified the highest possible maximum output by pretending that I would be a slave to the roasting machine, nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Though I calculated a number that yielded another number, I didn’t set boundaries for myself. Nor did I create a plan that would trigger milestones for Phase 1, Phase 2, etc., of growth. I wasn’t honest with myself and it caused me immeasurable amounts of headache and excess time that I didn’t have in my day, to sacrifice.

Be Honest With Yourself. Know When Your Ego is Making Decisions For You. SET AND RESPECT BOUNDARIES. DELEGATE!

For a while, I let myself believe that everything I’d touch, would turn to gold. To a certain extent, I was right. But, I let that idea go to my head. Things took a turn for the worst when I was getting an hour or two of sleep each night, strung out on Espresso, prescription performance enhancing pharmaceuticals, fast food (at best), and zero personal/family/healthy time. I knew I was maxing out and that burnout would eventually come. But I kept pushing and driving the idea that I needed to reach my vision.

If I had stepped back and observed; I would have seen that I had been existing within my vision for quite a while. Instead, I ignored the notion that I was worthy of experiencing the success that was before me and I burned the F*#& out. HARD.

One day, I woke up, called my investment partner on my way into the café and he said something that triggered me to snap. I berated him, belittled him and said things to him that I would not have said to my greatest enemy. He did not deserve it, but he made me pay for it. I once had a thriving business, a loving and supportive family of three, a lifestyle I once dreamed of, and many genuine, beautiful friendships with both staff and customers alike.

He pulled the financial rug out from under me threatening to sue me $500,000 if I wouldn’t agree to his buyout proposal of $5000. The news was delivered to my home while my wife was giving birth to my daughter. We brought our baby girl home as the attorney’s letter sat in our mailbox. I lost everything. I am now separated from my wife and daughter (by an hour drive). I have battled depression, anxiety, paranoia and other possible mental health “disorders” since that day. It all could have been easily avoided if I:

· Set boundaries with my customers and my staff by not trying to “people-please” in every situation. I wanted to be the good guy who could fix it all. No one can ever be that guy.

· Would have listened to my body and my exhausted stress-ridden mind. I lost at least 40 pounds in a two-month span. My bones and muscles ached constantly, and I made every decision from within a very foggy mind for over a year. I rejected warnings from others at the expense trying to keep the business alive. Those people, who truly and genuinely were trying to express concern, eventually gave up trying to preach to a brick wall and walked away from their supportive place in my life and our business.

· Would have valued and respected those who cared and supported me the most. My family begged me to make more time for myself and them. Having a new-born at home demanded it. I tried to be superman, but only superman is superman. And he’s a fictional character for a reason.

· Wouldn’t have chosen the business over my family. My wife supported every decision I made — Even the ones she knew were wrong. After much trial and error that involved a lot of stubbornly rejected guidance and pompous eye rolls, even she got to a point of delivering the ultimatum. Physically, I chose my family. But I never let go of the business and the habits, mindsets and functions I had developed from running the business.

Relationships are the most Important Asset

Do not take any relationship for granted. If you feel like you are going to throw a tantrum while on the phone with the person funding your business, have the mindfulness to hang up, breathe, and call them back when you’re collected. If you find yourself ready to give away your trade secrets to newly hired individuals that have not earned your trust, re-evaluate. Ultimately, listen to those you trust, who genuinely care about you, when they address you with concern for your health.

The most difficult part of running Bloom Coffee Roasters, was operating within the balance fulfilling needs of customers and employees, while giving attention to my own personal needs.

I hope you found my “How to fail your business” manual, helpful. Starting young when you don’t have the personal responsibilities that come with having a family, can ensure that you have the flexibility and opportunity to focus and make the wild decisions that you’ll make, without it affecting those you love. Being young, sharp and agile will only come to you once. Make the best of it and don’t let your personal attachment or ego drive your decisions.