Praying My Way Through-Blog #2

Here I am in our Nation's Capital with my daughter and best friend Kayland.  We are smiling and I know you can't tell but it is very, very, very cold.  I am still amazed that we were able to withstand the weather like we did.

Although it is freezing and I can barely feel my toes we really had a ball.  We are waiting to hear our President deliver his inauguration speech.  The energy is great and there are people from all over the world here to celebrate the second term of President Barack Obama.  This event is energizing.  I know that it is possible for all things to happen!

So I am now determined to make this coffeehouse a reality.  How easy will it be to open and run a coffeehouse?  I will add some tasty treats and BOOM, I am a success!  Before signing a lease and jumping in head first I decided to do somethings differently than I have done before.  This time around I did not want to waste time or energy without knowing that I had did my homework.  I refused to lose.  I had to be smart about every move.  I had to learn everything possible about this business.

Here are the next four steps taken on the journey:

First up: Pray
I was referred to a book of prayers by my Pastor.  The title of the book Prayers that Activate Blessings, written by John Eckhardt was a great blessing to me.  I read the book over several weeks.  I also participated in a ministry class at church, The Cleasning Stream.  Both activites helped me to align myself correctly so that I could hear God's voice.  I wanted to make sure that He was walking this path with me.  I did not want to walk this path alone, I wanted to know that God was with me throughout the journey.

Secondly: Planning
I contacted a business consultant, Adrienne Heard.  I worked with Mrs. Heard when I opened Juan-Michele.  I value her advise and knew that she would be a great consultant to use on this journey.  We met in March of 2013 have met pretty regularly since then.

Third on the list: CoffeeFest
I traveled to Chicago in June of last year to attend a coffee trade show.  I wanted to learn as much as possible about my simple little coffeehouse business.  This would give me all I need to get started.  LOL.  No.  ROFLMAO, yeah that more like it.  CoffeeFest was a reality check for me. 
Let's break it down:

• I had in my mind that $50,000 would be enough to begin my business.  Coffeefest said yeah right.  Triple that number and then add a little more.
• Simple little coffeehouse.  No way.  The coffee business is major business.  It is no doubt complex.  From where the coffee beans come from, to who's roasting your beans, down to how to keep it all calculated properly, my coffeehouse will not be a simple little business.  Jeez. 
• Choosing the right equipment.  The isles and isles of equipment became so overwhelming that I simply shut down.  I was in overload and could not process one more thing.  TOO MUCH TOO FAST!  Not sure if you can understand how the size of the conference for the picture below, but this is just one section of a major convention center exhibition hall.

Fourth on the list: Re-evaluation
Is this really something that I can do?  Is this really something that I want to do?  Will the outcome bring my heart joy?  My answer was yes, yes and yes.