Early July Updates
One of our bakers (our head laminator) was out last week on a much-deserved vacation, and this week another key team member is out sick. We’re still a small operation, so when things like this happen, Colleen and I step in to fill the gaps. We make a great team... but dang, are we tired. Once we move into our new space and staff up more, these situations will feel less intense, but it’s going to be a little while until everyone is trained up and ready to jump in.
Anyway, here’s a bit about what we’ve been up to, some updates, some thoughts, some feelings.
Activities of the two weeks
I’m going to try to go back day by day in my head to remember what the heck happened, let’s see how this goes…
Solo Bake
Last night/this morning was my first solo bake - and it went well! I really enjoy working alone late at night into the early morning when the rest of the world is asleep. I can put on music (I’ve been listening to AURORA’s new album nonstop), a podcast, or simply enjoy the silence. It’s six hours of careful timing and non-stop movement. Not frantic moving—that doesn’t work—it’s movement with purpose and intention. There’s no time for phones, computers, or scrolling—all I can do is focus on what’s in front of me, then the next thing, and the next, with my own two hands. It’s super satisfying.
Planning Board: Last night before work, we had another meeting with the planning board of the town where we’re hopefully opening our first standalone location. We had to put together a traffic assessment with our landlord and her architects to ensure there is enough parking for both employees and customers. We used a traffic study conducted by a potential hotel earlier in the year as the base for our assessment, saving us thousands of dollars on a new one. Since a majority of our employees will be there overnight, our busiest days will be weekends, and there is ample street parking in addition to the building’s off-street parking, the use of space for a bakery was verbally approved!
Picking Up Raw Materials: One of the many reasons I love living in the Hudson Valley is our access to great ingredients. This week, I picked up flour from Wild Hive Farm (we do this every few weeks) and strawberries from Charles, the farmer we work with at Field and Larder. At the market, we also grabbed some Costata Romanesco (aka Italian heirloom zucchini), sour cherries, blueberries, and tomatoes for our specialty products. PS, I love that if someone looks at me in the truck, they’d probably think I’m a straight dude driving a truck and have all kinds of assumptions about me. But in reality, I’m a trans person in an electric truck running errands for our vegan bakery!
Charles and his strawberries; picking up wild hive in the truck
SBA Loan Approval
Two weeks ago, we received unanimous approval for our loan request from the lending board at Pursuit. They then sent it off to the SBA, which approved it in under a week. Not only are unanimous approvals from Pursuit without probing questions a rarity, but they also mentioned this was one of the fastest approvals they’ve ever seen from the SBA. We feel really proud of that. It’s been a massive undertaking over the last four months to get everything together to see if we even qualify for the 7a loan—much less get approved for it. There’s a reason SBA loans of this size are hard to get, especially for food establishments, which are riskier than other ventures—they need to ensure the businesses they fund are viable and have strong data to show their growth and growth potential. With two years of business under our belt, smart business decisions, and a demand that far exceeds our capacity in the incubator space, we had a compelling case backed by solid data. We feel confident about our projections for the next five years, knowing, of course, that the whole world could be completely different by then.
I feel good about the direction we are moving in, but I’m not holding onto our plans with a tight grip. I’ve learned that if I stay open to being nudged, even shoved, onto a different course, things often turn out better than I could have planned myself. I’ve also learned that in tough moments I am probably learning something that I wouldn’t have chosen to learn willingly...but that I needed to, to move forward. For example, even though the SBA approved our loan, it still needs to close…which I’ve heard is the hardest part of the process (a million documents, signing your life away, etc), and what trips up many businesss.
It might not be a surprise that two of my favorite sayings at this stage of my life are “if you want to make god laugh, tell him your plans,” and “wear life like a loose garment.”
Meeting with our Architects
Last week, we spent time finalizing our tile selection and other finishes for the front-of-house (FOH). Quarry tile is pretty standard for back-of-house (BOH) kitchens, so not much is needed there.
We also discussed murals, artwork, and other artistic elements, including the design of our Pay it Forward board, where people can pay for an extra coffee or treat for the next person, and our Wall of Loaves, where people can post photos of their pets “loafing.”
It was great to see the bar and seating area come together in the renderings... take a peek below. Even if the space we ar eyeing doesn’t work our for some reason, we are really happy with this work and can bring it to life wherever we move.
Now that the loan is approved, we need to start thinking about packaging design in earnest. We’re going through NoIssue, a company with a strong focus on sustainability and being carbon-negative. We already get some of our items from them, but I’m excited to switch our pastry boxes over to them too. That reminds me... I need to figure out how compost is picked up at our new location and if it’s brought to a commercial composter, because otherwise, composting is pointless.
New Product Development
We’re also exploring new product lines in anticipation of moving into our new space. We plan to offer cakes, cupcakes, and other chilled pastries (vegan eclairs and cannolis, anyone?). Our food program will be expanding too—right now we do a few sandwiches, but we’ll be adding more, as well as light meals that package well to-go. Here are a few things we’ve been working on:
What else is on my mind
Friends & having a life
Something I don’t hear talked about frequently is the loneliness of owning a business—especially a business with hours that don’t align with the rest of the world. We have a small team, which means Colleen and I are in production overnight and at the markets/in the café from morning to early afternoon. We also have to be awake later in the day to interface with everyone who works normal hours—our lending partners, financial advisors, accountant, lawyer, architects, landlord, equipment suppliers, etc. So… from Wednesday to Sunday, our sleep schedule is mostly naps.
Because of how we’re working right now, we miss the birthdays, weddings, and performances of those we love—and unless people can hang out in the mornings or early afternoon, we don’t see friends for even casual hangs. I can squeeze in a few workouts a week which helps my brain, as well as a few phone calls with friends, but I am looking forward to a time when we have a bigger team and a permanent physical location that allows us to find a little more spaciousness—or at least a consistent schedule. That all said, I am so grateful that Colleen and I are in this together and that we have each other. I don’t know if I could do this otherwise!
We did go on an awesome hike with friends on Monday—two friends who also own their own businesses and understand this loneliness. It was amazing how even just those few hours gave me extra energy for the week. More of this!
What if we have to move?
I’m increasingly nervous about the future of trans healthcare in this country, and Colleen and I have been talking about what our “go/no-go” lines are if we need to leave the country for some reason. So, something in the back of my mind, but that I’m not trying to dwell on too much or get paralyzed by, is what happens if we have to go but we have a 10-year lease and a massive loan. Do we sell the business? Try to open a Little Loaf Costa Rica or Little Loaf Ireland? Would we be considered “innovative businesses” that other countries welcome? What happens if we run out of money before then and this all goes south?
But then, I remember the two phrases I mentioned above. No doubt there are scenarios that I can’t possibly see from where I stand right now—scenarios that provide better opportunities than I could have ever imagined. So, I am poking around at different paths, talking with Colleen, friends, and my siblings who live overseas, and I guess just getting more information. Who knows, maybe we won’t need to leave. I don’t really want to go. But if we do, I have to believe that we’ll know when the time is right.
