BrownSuga’s Sweet Spot: A Year in Review

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Most people use the coming of the New Year to reevaluate their lives; figure out what went wrong, what they want to change things of that nature. I rarely, if ever, do that around January 1^st. I usually reevaluate important moments in my life on their “anniversary”.

Last week I celebrated a small anniversary of sorts. It’s been one year since I’ve opened my retail store. 1 year, 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 525,600 minutes of learning, growing, stressing, laughing, crying and numerous other things. I made PLENTY of mistakes, I met wonderful people, I made great contacts and hopefully I’ve taught a thing or two to the people of my town about my new passion. So below are a few things I’ve learned in the past year…BrownSuga’s Year in Review.

1. The School of Hard Knocks – Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter said it best “It’s a hard knock life” Don’t believe him? Start a business. Although completely different from any college or university in the world, starting a business is one class after another. I took Business 101, Legal Aspects 302, and Customer Service 4000. Not as structured as Physics or Calculus 1-6 , I cried and laughed my way through each class…*whispers* I like to think I’d make the dean’s list.
2. The Customer is not always right – Sometimes the customer is an idiot. If you want your way right away, go to Burger King. I’ve spent a tremendous amount of time studying my product, its origin, its geographical location, and the best ways to get it to our town. I do not pretend to think I know everything about the product, but there are certain things I required myself to learn before I opened my doors a year ago. And when I don’t know something, I admit my ignorance and will be more than happy to find the answer for you.
3. Word of mouth is GOLDEN – I did a small experiment with my business, this could have ruined me before I even began but thank goodness it did not. I did no real advertising. But through great customer service and quality products word of mouth was my saving grace. Do not underestimate the power of a pleased customer.
4. Mistakes are necessary – Ok so it would be great if everything worked out the way you wanted it to and you became a millionaire within the first year. How likely is that? Slim to nil would be my guess however, the mistakes I made although heartbreaking sometimes were all learning opportunities and any real entrepreneur will tell you that mistakes are necessary. They help you to grow. Embrace them, expect them, and learn from them, they are NOT the enemy. (Now Uncle Sam…he looks kind of fishy).
5. Go with the flow – My business plan was a beautifully written piece of FICTION. Not really, but you have to be flexible. Things will not go exactly as you plan. As stated in number 4 mistakes will happen but be able to think on your feet and switch it up. Trust your instincts. What you thought would be your number 1 seller may be the worse seller. No sweat, buy less the next time, donate your inventory (makes a great tax write off).

My year was interesting to say the least. And now as I reevaluate what I’ve done, what I still want to accomplish and what I’m willing to do to get there, I get reenergized. New ideas mesh with old ideas. I’m taking what I learned tweaking it a bit and creating something new. The bottom line is I love owning my own business and I will be successful.