Doing the Darn thing

I admit that this isn’t the blog post you may be used to from The Grazing Table, but who would we be if we were not authentic or real about the journey we are on?! Sure, having posts about our new menu or product launches is fun, but what about the behind the scenes, the nitty gritty, the dreams, failures, successes and future?

When we first dreamt up what The Grazing Table (GT) could be, the honest first plan was a location for individuals to pick up boards. That’s it. A commercial kitchen that would allow us to make boards and schedule pickups all at the same place. It was simple, it wasn't flashy, but it was something. Lately, I am meeting with entrepreneurs and individuals with dreams of starting a business but they feel lost or the undertaking feels unsurmountable. Why? Because we think we have to design these massive, lofty, perfect businesses when in fact, we just have to take the first step and do the darn thing.

What GT is today, is not what our initial vision was. In fact, I think if we would’ve started with our current model in mind, it would have seemed scary or daunting. I can honestly say that we initially planned on just one employee working for us… yes, we thought we could get by with just one additional set of hands.

But (ahh there it is, the classic start to a sentence that changes the tone) we were wrong. We were wrong in a very very good way! As we began building out this dream, we realized that there was more to be dreamt. We began to envision dine in seating, shelving full of retail and products that spoke to customers with their stories, and a shop full of fun and laughter during workshops and events. We began to see a space filled with the value of customer service, and providing a smile to every single customer. GT quickly snowballed into so much more than we thought it could ever be, and we are so happy it did.

As we just passed the one year milestone, I cannot help but reminisce of those starting days. I admit, they were scary. But let me ask you this, do you believe the larger the risk, the larger the reward? I do, an internal reward, that pat on the back, the crossing of the finish line and realizing, you made it, kinda reward.

You see, all it takes is doing the darn thing. I don’t want to grow complacent with GT now that we have become more than a statistic (20% of small businesses fail within the first year) and in all actuality, I want to use it to inspire you wherever you are at.

A business owner once said, it doesn’t have to be perfect, but you do have to do it. You have to take the first step. Design the first product. Go to the first event. There are so many empty spaces out there in the marketplace that need your ideas, your creativity, and your perspective! Don’t wait for the idea to be perfect, or to have every single duck lined up in a row. Jump in and begin pursuing that dream, because most likely there is someone out there who needs the very thing you are passionate about creating!

Here is your push, your call to action…

Go after that dream. Attempt the scary. Give it all you got.

Do the darn thing.