The Roller-Coaster Reality of Starting a Business

The last couple of weeks have been a roller-coaster of emotion to say the least. We all have perfect images in our minds of how things ‘should be’ that, when faced with real world unpredictability, can leave us feeling a little bit like we are on the latest DisneyLand roller-coaster: thrilling but also fear and vomit inducing on the biggest dips (excuse the hyperbole!).

Black Kite Coffee continues to have major successes: working on our coffee roasting skills and receiving wonderful comments from customers; seeing the Envision Builder’s 3D coffee shop model being brought to life and loving our colour scheme; even getting to know our Hindu neighbour in the adjacent gold shop! 

Sudden, gut-wrenching drops inevitably accompany the thrills (hyperbole again): having to rely on a UK brand designer who is just off on holiday, after the local, inexperienced one, falls through (and all the knock-on impacts related to brand); time delays on building work as your builders take a three day break to worship Vishvakarma, the god of craftsmanship and then fail to show up to work due to hangovers; our ‘cafe espresso’ roasts needing quick and significant improvement; the stresses placed on a cross-cultural team faced with lots of ‘firsts’ etc.

Thankfully, we have been given the ‘Helper,’ one who lives with us and in us. Thanks be to the Lord that our team remains strong and that love is the ultimate goal (with plenty of BKC coffee on hand of course).