Eight

We celebrated eight years in business this week. We did not have a party. It was kind of business as usual. Actually, on the day of our anniversary, I remembered it was our anniversary as I was sitting in the waiting area for my final interview of the Goldman Sachs 10KSB program. I first learned about this program during the fall of 2019 from the now Managing Director of said program when she was the program VP and enrolled in our SHMOM program with her first child.

Image: Chitra of Brooklyn Dheli and I at on the day of our anniversary meeting at the Sugar Hill Creamery on Lenox Ave to talk about an upcoming collab between our companies later this year.

Six years ago, Nick and I had only been at this ice cream life for less than two years. Nico was less than two years old, and we still had a lot to prove. We had maybe 10 part-time scoopers on our team working at the Lenox store and three people, including Nick, making ice cream from said store between midnight and 7 a.m. I spent most of my time taking care of Zadie and Nico while Ila was at school, and doing any work that could be done from my computer or phone. I didn't have the time or support system in place to be able to give the 10KSB program or any similarly rigorous program the attention it would require.

Six years ago, we were waiting for so many things in this business to bloom. We were waiting for more people to come. We were waiting for the revenue to follow. We were waiting for the media to recognize what we were doing with our ice cream program. And, most importantly, we were waiting for more of our neighbors to know we existed.

To be honest, it has not been until this year that I have felt like our work is truly being recognized and appreciated by complete strangers in New York City and beyond. Our Lenox Ave store, the first to exist, is the busiest it has ever been, and every time I have traveled to a conference this year, people seem to know our brand without knowing me.

We have been, and still are, in the weeds of growing this business to be the strongest it can be in a guest-facing capacity as well as internally for all of our team members. I often feel overwhelmed by all of the things I want to do because my vision outpaces my available time in the day. But I'm still proud of how far we've gotten. I've learned a lot in these eight years and continue to learn something new every day.

Image: Artist Francis Hsueh leading a plein air watercolor workshop as part of our free First Saturday Art Activity at the Lenox store.

Here are some of my lessons as a business owner and mother:

Your vision will guide you and will open doors for you to walk through. Without vision, you're just spinning. You can't plant seeds for these ideas to bloom, so never stop dreaming about the possibilities of things you have yet to realize. Pragmatism can stall growth, so dream a little.

You're never going to have all the answers, so don't be afraid to ask for help. We didn't start opting into ice cream communities until two years ago. Prior to this, I think we thought this country's ice cream people were not, in fact, our people, so we went at this business alone. As a result of being in community with so many different ice cream folks, we have truly been able to operate and grow our operation better. Build and/or find a community of people doing what you are doing or want to do so that you can ask them questions and provide answers to things you've already figured out. Life is hard enough. Why struggle alone?

Your ideas can only go as far as the attitudes and aptitudes of the people on your team. This is true at home and at work. Surround yourself with the right people. You don't need to ice folks out if they're not heading to or already arrived at where you want to be, but make sure you're not giving your most precious asset—time—away to folks who are not in alignment with where you are heading.

Systems work is freedom. Creating systems in your life and business creates the freedom you need to live. I hated systems work at the beginning of this journey. I found it boring. I wanted to spend more of my time creating—new partnerships, programs, marketing campaigns, you name it. Innovating has always been sexier to me than creating standard operating procedures for how we do business or live our personal lives. But the moment I realized that creating a discipline around systems work would be my key to freedom, I trained myself to love it. It's the systems work that has allowed us to grow.

Consistency is your best strategy to make your mark. For us, that meant consistent operating hours, consistent posting online, consistent inventory, and so on. Even when you fall off the wagon, consistency is about hopping right back on. The more you do it, the more consistent you'll be, and the more you'll see the compounding effect of consistent action over time.

Feedback is a gift. In the beginning of our business, a negative review really stung. They still do a bit, but our skin has gotten thicker, and we have learned to receive negative comments about our business as an invitation to look deeper into what is being said and improve things as needed.

Precision is more important than perfection. Precision is about working towards accuracy, and perfection is about chasing an unrealistic goal that does not exist. There's a fine line between these two concepts, but one is achievable while the other is not. Let yourself present ideas and products that are good and on point but may still require some tweaking to achieve the next level of precision. We have done this over time with our ice cream recipes. Had we waited to arrive at what we're making and serving now, we wouldn't be here to talk about it. You have to start somewhere, so make sure wherever you start is good, not perfect.

Image: The kids wanted to take this picture on our weekend trip to the Sugar Hill Creamery at the Time Out Market in DUMBO (and they gave me permission to share it).

Finally, your children are watching you. You can't expect that they will do anything more than what you have modeled for them. If they do, that's just gravy. Whatever example you set for them based on how you're living your life will be replicated in one way or another. Be intentional about how you use your time, how you talk about your life, and what's possible in the world. If you find yourself slipping into a dark place, just course correct. That's all this life is about anyway—course correcting while you're on the road to your own greatness.

Back in 2019, Nick and I were working hard to get noticed. Now, we're included on every Best Ice Cream in NYC list, and it's wild. These eight lessons have helped us get here. Thank you for your role in it. I am eternally grateful.

Petrushka

Your Local Ice Cream Lady & Life/Business Coach

P.S. I’m teaching a family-friendly ice cream workshop at the James Beard Foundation’s Platform space at Pier 57 on Saturday, August 16th at 10:30am. Come! You can use code chefaug10 for 10% off.