Sue Pera is the owner of the Cornerstone Coffeehouse in Camp Hill, PA. Visit them on the web at http://thecornerstonecoffeehouse.com. (Disclosure: I've been a customer there for over 10 years. It's a great place; if you happen to find yourself in Camp Hill, you must stop by.)
Transcript:
I've owned my own business for almost 20 years, and I've made several mistakes along the way. The one that truly affected us more than anything was when we decided to open up another coffeehouse. Instead of one Cornerstone Coffeehouse, my husband and I, who is my business partner with me, he and I decided that we would open up a second coffeehouse, about 15 minutes away from here. It's in a different area, and we were hoping that it would attract different people.
What I discovered, on the upside, is that I am much better at running one place. That's my strength in running a business - getting to know people personally. Making them feel welcome as though they're here in my home. I'm here to entertain them. To have the best food, the best service, the best baristas. What I found out when I opened the second coffeehouse, I was now dividing my time between two. And instead of making both of them do fantastically well, I was making both of them pretty mediocre.
Because I didn't have enough time during the day. Nor did I have the, maybe, business savvy that many people have, who can open up multiple locations. And so it wasn't really something that I took to heart, so much as I took financially to heart. It was a very large financial investment that we made in the new business. And I'll probably be paying that off for the next 5 or 6 years. It certainly was something, that knowing myself better, running my business now... It's something I'll never be able to do again.
I'm back to running one shop. Running one business is my forte.
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