%20(2).png)
Main Street Reimagined Podcast
This is a podcast for dreamers, creators, developers, and entrepreneurs to learn, share, and be inspired to change your community through small business.
Main Street Reimagined Podcast
Episode 34: Plants, Coffee, and Community; The Greenhaus Coffee Story with Niki Woodruff
Sidney Series #3: In this episode, Luke Henry sits down with Niki Woodruff, owner of Greenhaus Coffee, to explore her entrepreneurial journey.
Niki's path wasn't a straight line – it meandered from furniture flipping to plant retail before culminating in her current multi-concept business. What started as a creative outlet restoring mid-century furniture evolved as she recognized emerging opportunities. When her staged furniture pieces caught attention for the plants decorating them, she pivoted, creating a plant shop that thrived until COVID-19 forced her to reimagine her business model entirely.
The conversation reveals how Greenhaus Coffee came to life through creative problem-solving and strategic partnerships. Without food and beverage experience, Niki collaborated with established coffee professionals to learn the ropes. When faced with budget constraints during renovation, she transformed challenges like exposed radiators into design features and used paint to create high-end looks without the price tag. These creative solutions allowed her to build a distinctive space that feels both elevated and welcoming.
Beyond the coffee shop, Niki discusses her work developing downtown living spaces, including an Airbnb and apartment renovations. She candidly addresses the complexities of updating historic buildings – from wiring hazards to mysterious leaks between adjoining structures. Her insights illuminate why downtown development requires both vision and technical know-how, especially when navigating commercial building codes and limited budgets.
What makes this episode particularly valuable is Niki's honest reflection on entrepreneurship's emotional journey. She shares the exhilaration of seeing her vision materialize alongside the anxiety of taking on debt for the first time. Her practical advice about managing expenses, especially unexpected payroll costs, offers crucial guidance for aspiring business owners.
Guest Links:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/greenhauscoffee
Main Street Reimagined:
Facebook: facebook.com/MainStreetReimagined
The Main Street Reimagined Podcast, Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqfkmF5bRH0od1d3iiYKs3oEn_gvMYk7N
Henry Development Group:
Facebook: facebook.com/henrydevelopmentgroup
Website: www.henrydevelopmentgroup.com
Developing News Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/33110524eb5c/developing-news
Luke Henry:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/luhenry
Facebook: facebook.com/luke.henry.148
#Entrepreneurship #SmallBusiness #StartupJourney #BusinessSuccess #CreativeEntrepreneur #WomenInBusiness #FounderStory #BusinessGrowth #CoffeeShopOwner #CoffeeCulture #CafeLife #FoodAndBeverage #HospitalityBusiness #SmallCafe #CoffeeLovers
It takes a bit of maybe initial risk, but I think once you see other people doing it and having some success with it, it makes you feel more confident that you could do it and you could have some success with it. So I think that's kind of where we're at with downtown Sydney. I think it's a few business owners willing to take the risk and now developers are looking at it like, okay, there's some potential here developers are looking at it like okay, there's some potential here.
Speaker 2:This is the Main Street Reimagined podcast, a show for people ready to turn visions into realities and ideas into businesses. Hey, I'm Luke Henry and each week I lead conversations with Main Street dreamers who took the leap to launch a business, renovate a building or start a movement, their ideas, their mindsets and their inspirations, as well as some of the highs and lows along the way. This is a place for dreamers, creators, developers and entrepreneurs to learn, share and be inspired to change your community through small business. Enjoy the show. Hey friends, this is Luke Henry and this is the Main Street Reimagined podcast. Thanks so much for being with us today. This is episode 34 and the third in our Sydney series. I have a whole series here, live on location in Sydney, ohio, and this is our third episode recording now today with Nikki Woodruff. Hello.
Speaker 1:Hey Nikki.
Speaker 2:Thanks for being with us.
Speaker 1:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:So we are sitting in Greenhouse Coffee. This is Nikki's business and we're going to talk a little more about it, but it is just an absolutely cool, cool, spectacular space, historic building, and she's got like a little nook here and it screamed that's where we need to do the podcast recording. And so here we are, we plop down and are looking forward to digging into her story, the story of Greenhouse Coffee, some other projects she's got going on, and she also has an Airbnb here above that she's going to talk a little bit about and I have the pleasure of staying in tonight. I'm super excited for, and so we're going to talk about that, as well as some other things that she's got going on. So we're going to be digging in here. I'm excited. So tell us a little bit about Greenhouse Coffee. So I mean, it's more than just a coffee shop. You've got some retail, you've got some plants. Tell us kind of the whole curated experience.
Speaker 1:That's right. So Greenhouse is really three concepts in one. We have the retail shop up front, the coffee bars, the central piece right in the middle, and then our cafe, which is geared more towards the back of the space. And so, as you, as you can see, here, it's a very long, skinny building, and so there were some challenges as how to break it up and make it feel cohesive but anchored in each space. So you know you the the 14 foot ceilings didn't feel cavernous.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, and I think you've done a really great job. Of course can't pan around with the camera here for folks that aren't watching, but you know kind of partitioning off with you know, like this nook that you created, with some shelving and different ways of you know just making it cozy. So I think you've done such a good job with that.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Now, that was the goal.
Speaker 2:cozy and zen-like yeah yeah, I'm definitely picking up those vibes and then talk a little bit about the Airbnb. You just got it at a high level. We'll dig in some more about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So my brother bought the building next door to the coffee shop and we had some ideas on how to kind of tie in the concept we had here and the visuals we had here and create a space, a livable space, that we could share with, with people. And so we decided to do an Airbnb, which was new to kind of downtown I think there might be a few in the works now, but at the time the first one downtown and, yeah, just have an elevated space available, and so it was small, it was cozy, but we really tried to take the parts that people really liked about the cafe and then again just put it into a cute little tiny space that is fully curated and cozy and zen-like as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and how has it been received? So the coffee shop here you said has been almost three years, two and a half years, over three years, over three years, okay.
Speaker 1:And then, how about the Airbnbbnb? What's the timeline? Yeah, so, the airbnb we opened last january, so it's been now one year, um, and it's. It's kind of interesting how it works. I think we were expecting all these bookings to kind of happen ahead of time, like knowing, but it's been very much. Hey, I'm coming through town this week, is it available? Um, so a lot of last minute bookings. And then we actually had um, a gentleman from Canada who was doing work, uh, solar energy work, uh in the area, and he was looking for a place for about six months. And so we were like, hey, you know, we can charge more than a normal rental. He's a standup guy, you know. We felt good about it. So we actually, half the year we did that Um, so we've just kind of the last few months have gotten back to um having it available on Airbnb. Um, so that's, yeah, that's kind of a wrap.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I mean such a difference maker to be able to have overnight stays in a downtown. I mean great to hear that there's some others coming online and, as you've kind of taken the step to start the idea and then build some momentum with it, just when we found when people stay they spend so much more money and time in the downtown versus, you know, going off to a hotel that's maybe by highway or something like that, yeah, and I think that's what the downtown stay offers.
Speaker 1:You can walk to Asteria Wine Bar and have a great wine experience over there. You can walk to Murphy's and have dinner. You can come here in the morning and we offer a free drip coffee and 15% off their breakfast. So it really it adds a lot of amenities to just the location and in the summer when the farmer's market's going that'll be an attractive feature where you just don't get that when you're staying out by the interstate, You're not getting a vibe.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah yeah, Not only a vibe, but really a full, immersive experience. Because, yeah, I mean, you can really experience all that downtown Sydney has to offer when you're here and you know you can see the things out the window and you can go down and you know, have a glass of wine or have a coffee or whatever, and be able to have the whole thing while you're right here. I love that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we had it rented out during the eclipse, which was a big deal this year. And you know downtown had some cool events going on. They brought their bikes, they could take it over to the trail. So you know, things like that just again, add to the experience and enhance the idea of having an Airbnb in a downtown location. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So before we kind of dig in really to all the different things that you're doing and upcoming stuff, let's kind of, you know, rewind a little bit to you know your story and how the different pieces of that story have led you to where you are today and given you the experiences and the confidence or the dream or whatever, to do what you're doing. Different pieces of that story have led you to where you are today and given you the the experiences and the confidence or the dream or whatever to do what you're doing.
Speaker 1:Uh well, it's a long meandering uh experience.
Speaker 2:So I'll try to abbreviate it but um, I've, I've.
Speaker 1:A lot of experience has led me to here and I always tell young people all experience can be good experience because you learn. You take little bits of every little job you've ever had and you can apply it down the road. You may not know how or when, but you know each little experience really helps.
Speaker 2:Yeah, great perspective.
Speaker 1:So I had an office job. I was behind the desk. I'm not, I'm a hands-on person, so it was really hard for me for a few years to just sit back there and be behind a computer. Really hard for me for a few years to just sit back there and be behind a computer. Um so I, my first creative outlet really was um restoring furniture. It started just as a as a hobby. I saw like a flip uh flea market flip show.
Speaker 1:And I was like I think I could do that. So I started with a few pieces, uh, put them on Etsy and they sold right away and I was shipping them to New York. Wow, and I couldn't even make them fast enough. They were just selling as fast as I could make them. So after getting pretty good at it, I felt like I could make something of it. So I started there and just had a refurnishing business, refurnishing mostly mid-century furniture, and then that kind of snowballed into having a booth in a downtown. I started in downtown Tip City and then downtown Troy in vendor markets there, yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:That was my first taste of having my own business. That was in 2015 that I started that, and then that started with me having a curated vintage shop in downtown Troy called Revival Haas and, as you'll notice, the Haas theme will carry its way throughout.
Speaker 1:That was my first foray into branding and I did everything myself. I did the logo, I started my Instagram, started getting some good following Very hands-on, and then I really felt a passion for it. So I grew that business for three years, added the plants. That whole business took off in and of itself. Didn't imagine I was going to have a plant shop, but that's what it turned into and then was rocking and rolling and then COVID hit. And then was rocking and rolling and then COVID hit.
Speaker 1:And that was kind of a pivotal time because I noticed at that point that the shopping habits were changing for people and as you got used to shopping online, I kind of felt like retail brick and mortar retail was going to start diminishing and it was going to get harder and harder to make a living just doing retail. So that is where the idea came from to start maybe moving into the food and beverage area, but taking the concepts that I had with Revival Haas and the aesthetic I had created with that brand and combining it with a coffee shop cafe. So that's where Green Haas came from. So it was taking my plant business that you know, really just organically happened I did not plan to have a plant shop in Troy and then marrying that with coffee and I'm like what's every woman's dream plants and coffee. So that that was the concept plants and coffee. That was it.
Speaker 1:Um, and so that's where, um, I just used my downtime during COVID and where I had to kind of close my shop for a bit and and just re-imagined a new business, dug into a business plan reached for some reason, sydney was pulling me in and I couldn't really explain that.
Speaker 1:But my brother's from here and he was probably steering me a little bit in that direction, but just reached out to Amy Brynick from formerly of Sydney Alive, and she really she was like we got to get you up here. We really, whatever it takes, and she's the one who put me in touch then with some investors who were looking to help develop the downtown, so created my concept, my business plan, showed it to them and they were like yeah, we love this idea. We see that you've had this other business, you have a little history of growing a business. So they felt good about, I guess, moving forward with me and giving me that initial investment and that is how I was able to do this project, because I certainly didn't. I wasn't planning to do this project for years and years and saving for just this project. So it all happens pretty organically, I would say. But all of those experiences fed off of each other, I mean it was like baby step, baby step, baby step to get to this point.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, very cool. A lot to unpack there, a lot of questions. So you mentioned how the plant shop just sort of like kind of organically got incorporated. I mean, tell me more about how that happened.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Again my first foray into like design was, I would my bread and butter with my furniture pieces. Were these credenzas? And I would style them. And I would style them very cute with different products and plants. And then that would be my post on Instagram. And so I always started to incorporate the plants into the aesthetic. And then when I had my first brick and mortar shop, I was like I needed. So at that time there really weren't any plant shops and you were still having to go to a nursery.
Speaker 1:There was no place to get, like big cactus or just anything that really can help anchor a room, Because really plants can be like oh, there's a bland wall, put a plant there, you know it's the thing that really ties the space together. And so it just really happened. I I had really beautiful plants in my space and people wanted to buy them. So after a lot of customers were coming in wanting my plants, I was like okay, I'm going to start stocking plants.
Speaker 2:There's something here I need to move into this.
Speaker 1:I did not plan to have a plant shop and then started stocking the plants and then they would just sell and I'd have to get multiple times a month like a plant delivery. And that's just really how it worked. And even during COVID I pivoted, since I couldn't have my shop opened and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, I think. When COVID hit, people were stuck in their homes, so plants became the thing. Everybody wanted to add plants to their space because they're stuck at home looking around, wanting to change things up, paint a wall, and so I started doing weekly Instagram sales.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So I would get my plants delivered to me just like to my shop. I'd run and get them in my van and then I'd photograph them all, post them as like live sales. So who wants this plant? Boom, and then I would deliver it to their house contactless delivery during COVID, and so that kept me afloat that whole time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so cool. Yeah, how all that came about. And you know, I mean just how you saw the opportunity, as, hey, people are asking for this. Like, give the people what they want. You know they're trying to throw money at me. I need to figure out a way to take it, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1:It was like okay, people want plants, they want cute pots. All right, got it.
Speaker 1:Unfortunately, like anything, when something becomes popular, other people want to do it and then it becomes oversaturated and then, before you know it, a little downtown is like five plant shops and you know. That's a part of, I think, what drove me to want to. Okay, well, I did this, this was doing well, and now someone else is doing it, and they're pretty much the same exact inventory that I have. I need to set myself apart more. I guess that's always my drive. I need to try more, I need to do more, to do something unique and different that hasn't been done yet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and I think just that's the sign of a great entrepreneur is being able to iterate and see the opportunities. The sign of a great entrepreneur is being able to iterate and like, see the opportunities. Where are the? Where are the? Uh, you know the, the open spots, the? Where's the opportunities, where what's not getting filled in the market that I can plug into rather than, you know, kind of being in the, the zone of sameness with with others, right? So at that time you were in Troy, yes, and then ultimately, when you moved here and you kind of expanded the operation and made it greenhouse, so then you added the coffee. So, you know, I mean some people might say, of course you know, people like coffee, but there's more to it, you know, to actually open a coffee shop than just liking coffee.
Speaker 1:I mean so tell us a little bit about that part of the journey.
Speaker 2:So when I say I had zero food and beverage, experience.
Speaker 1:I mean like I had zero um, actually zero, actually zero, yeah, um. So I became friends with um no one, mega, megan um from pure bread.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, yeah, great people, great people.
Speaker 1:And my husband and I just started talking when we kind of were like you know, is there a way to partner to like I still have my retail shop and you have your coffee shop and we kind of work and he's like I don't want to have another location, but I will help you guys have your own location.
Speaker 1:And that was kind of how it started started. So, um yeah, noah was very um integral to to getting me the knowledge that I needed, knowing what equipment I was going to need, um helping me with my budget. He was even kind enough to share what his business plan looked like. Um talking through like projections, how many customers a day. That sort of thing, and um truly like would not have been possible, I surely uh, without that help because I mean I.
Speaker 1:I think any smart person should look to other people who have the experience that you don't have, and and work towards learning as much as you possibly can.
Speaker 2:Um.
Speaker 1:I definitely didn't want to go into this completely ignorant and, um, you know, I mean a little ignorance is good, otherwise you might not do it, but but I wanted it to be successful, like as soon as possible, and and be good and be great, you know, um, so we've worked with them since day one. They're still our roasters. We get our espresso from there, our, our cold brew and some of our drip coffees. They even our bag coffee still comes from them. It has our branding, but they are the roaster.
Speaker 2:We are not in the roasting business.
Speaker 1:That's a business I do not want to personally be in, but what they do is amazing. I love really, just I love them as people, but, um, they're what they do for the community. They're, you know, there's their vision. Everything is is amazing and it was great for downtown Troy to get something like that and I wanted to kind of take the quality of a third wave coffee shop, what they had brought to Troy and and put him maybe a female spin on it to bring that up to Sydney.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, so cool. I I didn't know that. You know them and I mean I met them five or six years ago and have watched their journey as well. I mean, you know, at that time they just had their one location. They were not roasting and doing all of that. But they've, of course, since expanded and added roasting and I mean have really grown and are, like you said, just fantastic people. But you know good on you for that approach. I think, again, there's a lot to be learned for those that are listening in terms of just finding someone that's doing something really well, and I mean I think you did it right. You went to them and said, hey, do you want to be part of this? And they're like, no, but we're happy to help, and so many people are happy to help, especially when it's in a non-competitive area. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:That's not even that far from here. But coffee is a very localized thing, so it's not competitive.
Speaker 1:You can, you know, help each other out Right, and I, for us, it was important to not be a copycat of what they were doing, but to, and I had to reassure him that, like I have my own vision, my own concepts, but we love your product and we want to partner with you with with your product and we love that as local we love to support other small businesses, so that's that was our goal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, really cool. So so again, new concept, marrying all these experiences and things together. And since, somewhere along the line you also added additional retail stuff here, so you have some some retail, you know kind of traditional retail selection. So tell about how that came into the mix as well.
Speaker 1:So after a few months of being open here, I actually closed the choice shop and moved everything up here and so everything's in one location now, which is a lot easier. But really the the concept has changed because it was curated vintage goods, which means I had to go and find all these amazing little finds in various thrift stores, antique shops. Now it's a little more traditional retail, but I partner with various local vendors, so I'm actually doing mostly consignment now. Okay, so it's local vendors that have their products, they bring it here and it's like a little showcase for them. Yeah, but I take on all the overhead, you know, using my staff to do the checkout, my terminal to to check it out. So it's really awesome for someone who isn't ready to take that leap in their own brick and mortar but want to kind of slow grow their business and I kind of look at it like a little incubator up there.
Speaker 1:Cause the cream rise to the top and anyone who's doing really well in stocking their products and displaying them well, like they're, they're the ones succeeding and they're the ones who have really high sales. So to me it's like the consignment's a great way to go, because I'm just taking a small percent. I'm not really trying to make money off of it, I'm just trying to have some product in my shop, um, but also just making sure I'm working with like-minded entrepreneurs as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and just such another great example of wonderful collaboration where you know you've got this fantastic space. You have a lot of space. So to be able to fill some of it with some other meaningful experiences for your customers is really great. And then you create this win-win scenario for folks that maybe they're making some things or whatever, and to be able to have a great outlet, a captive audience, is truly win-win.
Speaker 1:So I mean, I really really love that it is, and I would say I mean, mean, I don't know the exact percent, but it's pretty high, like 70 maybe, female customer base here. So, um, it's really the same customer who would want to buy the latte is the same customer who wants to buy the candle, yes, who wants to buy the soap, um, who wants the cute sweater that was you know. So. So it's really a one-stop shop for women of a certain age who like a certain quality, and it's kind of the perfect destination for them.
Speaker 2:I mean, I literally saw that play out while I was sitting waiting for my coffee. There was another couple of groups of ladies that came through and they had been shopping up there as they sipped, and then, you know, they checked out. And you know another group that came in and they, you know, shopped first and then got their coffee.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's no specific order. You can do it however you like, but you can do it all here.
Speaker 2:I think it's a really great concept. So again you've you've built something really special here, really neat. So thanks for sharing some of that. When we were talking before, you had shared a little bit about the fact that you had these investors that kind of helped back this new venture for you, and you came in this space and needed a lot of work, a lot of work. And so tell us a little bit about that whole experience. First of all, you know I mean you couldn't just wing it. You know you had a little bit of experience, but it sounds like you needed to put together a pretty detailed business plan to give them the confidence to invest real dollars in making this come to reality.
Speaker 1:So yes, I had, you know, put together a very specific budget, presented that they weren't going to provide the money for the build out. So I knew that money they were providing was for equipment, um, for furniture, for for the assets, if you will, um, but because they didn't own the building they, that wasn't part of the deal. So I had to be really creative about the build out because, again I this was all kind of falling into place really quickly. I didn't plan years in advance for this. So, you know, I had some money ready to go but it had to be done a little bit on the cheap, but unfortunately my style and taste isn't very cheap. So it was a lot of, just again, creative opportunities that happened kind of organically from time to time and just family helping out. We refinished the existing floors. My stepdad is an amazing plasterer and if you look around this space it's all plastered walls.
Speaker 1:He had to plaster a ton of stuff.
Speaker 2:That's like a lost art too. I mean, that is not just something. You can go hire somebody off the street.
Speaker 1:No, I'm very lucky to have somebody like that available to me, because it is a lost art and not many people have the skill level that he has to do it to the way it needs done. So, floor, ceiling, walls, every little bit was touched and there were different rooms before, so there was some demo that had to happen. Um, so it was. It was really just trying to find creative solutions and and I was on my hands and knees sanding this floor- for many hours many, many hours.
Speaker 1:Um, so it it once. I I guess I'm just like once I get something in my head and I'm very driven that way. You, I'm kind of like a maniac and you can't really stop me. Um, if I had a plan to get the floors done in a week's time, they're getting done in that timeframe and truly the whole project stayed on time Cause I knew to me time is money and if I start paying rent and I'm not done, uh, within the timeframe that I had, a lot I'm, I have all this carryover costs and I have no income coming in.
Speaker 1:So I set that November 17th deadline for when we are going to open and by God, we hit that deadline.
Speaker 2:We hit that deadline very often. So, yeah, thank you to you.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Yeah, and I also had the building owner. She was very sweet to give me a couple months free, knowing I was putting a ton of money into the space, so that helped as well. And so I would just say always try to negotiate with your landlord if you can if you don't own the building.
Speaker 1:And because we didn't own the building, I also wasn't going to go too deep in to what I was spending on the build out. Um, this is a big enough investment, but when you don't own the building, that's a risk. So I had to try to be as smart about it as I could. Um, and and really I mean there's plenty of things I wish I could have done or I could have afforded a little more extravagance here and there. But I had to talk myself out of it and be like look, stay on budget, stay on budget, because I think that's probably one of the biggest mistakes small businesses make is going too hard on their build out and just every little thing they want to do. They'll spend that extra money and do it and not really have a plan on how they're going to make it back, and that can be the nail in the coffin for a lot of small businesses.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I've seen that play out as well. I think that's really wise advice and, you know, having that budget up front and then being committed to really stick to it, it takes a lot of restraint because there's a million different ways that you can spend money as you're launching a business. But you know, you and I talked a little bit before we went on air, like some of the creative ways that you gave a really elevated look without spending a lot of money. Can you, you know, kind of share a few of the most impactful from your perspective?
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, actually the nook we're standing in right now. This was a complete happenstance. There's actually a radiator. There were two radiators in the middle of the space and we weren't going to try to pay all this new money for different HVAC systems, so we kept the radiator heat. There's a boiler system, the two radiators in the middle of the room, so we literally built the bar around one of them and this little nook. There's a divider beyond the other side of the plants.
Speaker 1:That is a radiator being covered up by that white box, created a little sitting nook there, and then on the backside of that we were like I've always liked these little pergola. We call it the pergola room. We were like I just, I've always liked these little pergola. We call it the pergola room. We like I just like the idea of separating a space so it feels more special, and so that's what we did with the slatted wood here, and then I used Paint is always the cheapest possible way to elevate a space and to make it look totally different, transformative.
Speaker 1:So I had a friend who is an amazing muralist, kristen Keller. She's actually blown up since then. She's done probably every mural and every cool business I've seen from here to Dayton. She just, we were just were brainstorming some ways to incorporate these wall sconces. We added and adding color to the wall and so we just started doing these like zigzag, like freehand kind of things around it and we I love the way it turned out. I mean it's kind of wacky and silly, but it created something interesting on an otherwise white wall. Yeah, it created something interesting on an otherwise white wall.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And that's just a really good way to transform a wall on a budget.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you mentioned even just the wall sconces. I mean light fixtures. I'm obsessed with light fixtures. I notice them in every space I go into and my kids, my wife, make fun of me. But I mean they yeah, I mean you've just completely transformed the space with those.
Speaker 1:I mean right above us. These are Ikea lights that I covered with. It's a spray paint that adds texture, so it looks like clay, cause I wanted them to look like ceramic but I couldn't afford ceramic. So I made them look ceramic just with paint and that spray can. So that above us was probably a 200 project is that?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah and, as we mentioned too though, I couldn't afford real tile in the bathroom, so we did like a hand-painted faux tile look um again, because I as much as I would have wanted to do real tile. You got the cost of the tile itself and all the material, and then the installation of tile, which you need a real professional to. You know, I'm not a tile expert. Um, that would have been something I'd have to hire out. So you know, we just try to elevate each part of the space as cheaply as possible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, well, again, I can't say enough good things about it. I think you've done a fantastic job. If people are looking for inspiration on some of these different concepts that we're talking about, as far as like the way you've partitioned different areas and nooks and some of that, as well as some of the ways that you've value engineered a really high-end look without a lot of extra cost, I invite them to come over and check out.
Speaker 1:I mean it's, it's, yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 2:So we talked a little bit about the Airbnb, but you know, maybe digging into that a little bit more as well, I mean again kind of see your, your design, vision and handiwork coming to life there as well. And it sounds like that Genesis was just again sort of seeing a need in the market and capitalizing on it, right.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, I think we saw this space, saw kind of the trends that were happening, knowing not just I mean like short, short-term rentals like Airbnb, but short-term rentals in the sense of a month, two months, three months. There's a real need for that traveling nurses, executives. So for us we thought, well, if we make a really elevated space, perhaps we would attract working professionals who just need kind of a temporary housing solution. So that's probably more the direction we plan to go. Like I said, we had that six-month longer term and I started shorter and then it kept kind of extending, which was fine by us. Again, it's you know you have that income coming in Airbnb. You just never really know you might get a couple bookings a month. We're not in a metropolis here, so there's not a lot of like tourism reasons to be here. So if you're coming through Sydney you're usually here for family visit, wedding reunion or for work. So yeah, that's kind of the market that we saw, the need that we saw Housing in general is a huge need in every downtown.
Speaker 1:So for us, this shorter term rental is still a unique market that is worth exploring.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I know we, you know, compare notes a little bit in terms of we have five Airbnb units in downtown Marion and I think I was surprised it sounds like maybe you were, maybe you were not about. You know, we thought of the wedding guests, the the out of town visitors for family or friends or whatever, but we didn't necessarily, I think, fully appreciate the need from a business person standpoint during the week, which is great, because it's hard to just carry the expenses of an Airbnb only on weekend visits. So have you noticed that dynamic as well and how are you leaning into that, if at all?
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and that to us is the goal to get it run it out during the week. So we've talked and partnered with some of the other industries, downtown or not downtown, but in Sydney. So there's a lot of big corporations here, big corporations here. So I've even had medical professionals, doctors reach out who are maybe just here temporarily at the hospital and a lot of times it's like, oh sorry, it's already rented.
Speaker 1:So it's interesting to see what kind of interest we've had and who it's been from, and sometimes we just get that, you know, I just need like a little getaway for a day or two, or I want to like do my focus on some business stuff, and they'll just rent it for a night. That's been pretty surprising too. I think just the really just one night rental of a random weekday that you weren't really expecting to have it rented out. Yeah, like me coming to Thursday to Friday night, one-day rental.
Speaker 2:Rando coming into town and then hitting you up for a podcast interview. But you're adventurous and here we are and then, kind of building on that, I know that you're working on some other projects around housing and loft and loft apartments and and some of that. So, uh, you know, talk a little bit about the genesis of all that and the vision and how that's playing out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, um, my brothers and I have kind of started working together. So the Airbnb was our first project, um, and, like, my older brother is, uh, an attorney downtown so he and he's always had a passion for, for property and real estate. So he will acquire random buildings from time to time and always kind of looks into it somehow. But and he knows that I have a passion for design and that's one of my strengths is kind of like envisioning the beauty of what a space could be when it's in shambles yeah, yeah, which is, which is a gift that not everyone has.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah and so he, he trusts me to, you know, work with him on these projects. And then we have a little younger brother who, um, has a contracting business. So we all have very different skills and, um, we've now worked on multiple projects together. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's challenging, but we're all bringing something different to the table. So, yeah, we have the Airbnb next door to the coffee shop and we just finished some apartment buildings above his office. Those are apartments, so those are going to be longer term rentals, which we know there's a major need for in downtown Sydney. Really, I think every downtown has a need for apartments, longer term rentals but there are challenges to renovating second and third floors of these older buildings.
Speaker 1:A lot of challenges.
Speaker 1:And it can be expensive and so I get it, it's, and I'm not using my money per se to do these projects. So I get to come in and like have all these ideas, and then you know we have to be like, okay, well, we've got to scale some things back, but ultimately the projects have turned out really great. I've had really great feedback on them and there's just a lot of opportunity in downtown Sydney. So that's the exciting part just to continue to like take a building, rehab the second or third floor and keep growing it because it's a good time here. Other places, you know, the market's really maxed out and it's a lot more expensive to acquire the building and then to do any work on it. So I think that's what Sydney has going forward is. It's still pretty affordable for what it all has to offer at this point. So it's a good opportunity for anyone who is interested in developing. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, as we study, uh, different smaller towns and communities, activating those second and third floors is so critical and it's such a wonderful kind of symbiosis of you know. It helps the the businesses on the first floor, and then having those first floor businesses is all makes it attractive to live downtown and so, you know, it's this really healthy interplay. Um, but, as you said, it can be challenging. So I mean, can you speak to a little bit of some of the challenges that you've seen in in these projects as you've, you know, planned and are now executing?
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, I mean, again, it's the wiring. You know some of these it's a hazard, you know there's. You take down the drop ceiling and it's just, things are just hanging down and you're just like, oh my gosh, we're so lucky there hasn't been a fire yet. Yeah, so there's just a lot of infrastructure that needs to happen to get them where they need to be. And again the cost can be pretty high.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's sometimes cheaper to buy and renovate a house than to do these second, and third floors because, yeah, the plaster work they're just old buildings and so really every part of it needs touched. So that would be the biggest challenge, I would say, is just the cost associated with some of these renovations. So you have to again try to really figure out where to put the budget, and a lot of it unfortunately has to go with things like a new roof. When these buildings are side by side with other buildings, you might have a leak coming off of this building and then it's like who's responsible?
Speaker 1:for this leak, and what wall is this? It can be difficult to deal with. And then there's masonry work that needs done, all the things that aren't really fun to spend money on. But you don't want to put all this money into renovation to have a leaky roof and now you've ruined, you know, the floors and the walls. So it's making sure you do it right, making sure you know it's a safe renovation, and then, ultimately, the goal is to make it look like an amazing transformation, which is where I get excited.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, there you. You touched on some great ones. I mean even just logistically, you know getting materials up and down demo debris, you know, from the second and third floors and getting drywall and two or fours and kitchen cabinets and appliances and all that stuff up and down flights of stairs or in windows with a lift and you know all those units on a third floor it's like, okay, where's the top of this building?
Speaker 1:yeah, it's like, how do we even get to the top of this building? It's, those are all challenges and um and you just have to work through them, talk through them and sometimes go in a different direction than you thought you were going to go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but yeah, what a lot of folks don't realize as well is from a code compliance standpoint, there's a lot more hoops when you're working within a commercial building than just renovating a you know a home you know on the outskirts of town or whatever, Because you have things like fire, separation from commercial spaces and having to work with local fire officials and building officials to be able to navigate all of that to make them safe, you know, as you have people on these upper floors that are sleeping and maybe it's above a restaurant or something like that.
Speaker 2:Proper egresses yeah, yeah so there's a lot more to consider but, as you said, if someone's willing to take that leap, they're fantastic. I mean, you know the soul in some of those spaces is beyond what you could ever try to replicate, you know, with a single family house, or a new construction or whatever.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and I think you nailed it earlier. It is a symbiotic relationship between the business and the investor, with owning the building and trying to renovate these livable spaces. And it's hard because it's almost a catch-22. You know, if the business doesn't want to go in where there's not a lot of foot traffic and people living downtown and and then somebody might not want to buy a building and put all that money into something when there's not a robust business happening. So it's, it takes a bit of maybe initial risk, but I think once they see other people doing it and having some success with it, it makes you feel more confident that you could do it and you could have some success with it. So I think that's kind of where we're at with downtown Sydney. I think it's a few business owners willing to take the risk and now developers are looking at it like okay, there's some I can see you know they're developing the ohio building yes, right, yeah, we talked about that I think 40 units.
Speaker 1:I've heard um, so that would be major for downtown if that many people could live absolutely a block from our shop like that makes me feel a lot better about investing here yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, as, as we've studied different downtown playbooks and places that have been successful, I think that what we often see is that people ask, like what comes first, the apartments or the first floor retail, restaurant type of thing and it's like you've got to have that first floor activation first that brings people from everywhere, and then, once there's those amenities, then there's something really attractive to build over top of. That, you know, makes people want to live there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course, like people would feel much better about living on a second or third floor above a really cool business than if there was nothing in that storefront.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:So you know, as a business owner it is scary at first because you don't have all of these. You know there are quite a lot of vacancies or there's not full capacity. So it's a little scary to think will people come if I do this? And so I think you just have to have a really good concept and have really good quality and consistency. And word of mouth eventually builds and and then brings people into a town they may not have thought about coming to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, as you, as you're talking there, I mean I'm I'm reminded, you know, we, we often talk about like we have kind of a leap segment in a lot of our episodes where we're talking with small business owners. Where you know and and I think you're kind of alluding to that where you know, I know that there was this time where you were looking at Sydney, you're talking with investors, you were kind of coming up with this new concept. It's still in the planning phases, but you've got to put money into it. You're asking other people to put money into it. I mean, there had to have been some anxiety around that, I'm sure. And and do you remember a specific moment where you were like we're doing it? You know I, I I've had the fears, I've had the dream, I've had the planning, I've had all of this and now it's time, like I've got to. You know I've got to sign the lease or, you know, say yes to this or whatever it is, and we're taking the leap. Do you remember that you?
Speaker 1:know, say yes to this or whatever it is, and we're taking the leap. Do you remember that? You know it? Actually, it kind of happened when another building fell through and this building wasn't even available yet and I it was like that critical junction of like, okay, I think I don't know if this is going to happen, I don't know. And then my investors were like, hey, we think we might have another space available. And they showed me the space, which looked nothing like it does now. I had to see you know.
Speaker 2:I had really yeah, because I had designed a space for a different building.
Speaker 1:And then I had to just stop and like reimagine this building and what. And then the feeling I was getting from this building. I had to like look around and really be like okay, can I envision a coffee shop here? Like is this? And the more I started to like replant it out, I was like I have to do this, I have to do this here. This is the right space as beautiful ceilings, it's long, it's got, I have room for all the concepts. Um, this, it just felt like it felt right and so maybe too much I was leaning into the fact that things were kind of just effortlessly happening in the right way, but it just was okay.
Speaker 1:I feel confident in the concept. I feel like this is the right space. Everything just was moving slowly. It signed that lease and then it was like all right, I don't even think I've thought too much about it. I was just like let's get to work. Like I signed the lease, I have this much time to get it ready, let's go. Yeah, roll up the sleeves, let's go, and just kind of like, like I said, a maniac just working day and night, just trying to make it happen. Because once I made that decision. I don't think anything could have stopped me at that moment. I was like a woman on a mission, and my husband's a little more of the safe one, I think he was like you know.
Speaker 1:He had some cautions and concerns about about the idea of going into a business and going into debt. You know, to start a business, everything I had done to that point I didn't accumulate any debt. Um, it was such a slow growth. So this was the first time, like taking on debt, uh, to do it. But I just felt, I don't know, just maybe overly confident, um, uh, maybe naive, I don't know. But I I just felt like I just needed it had to happen and Sydney was the right place for it to happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I mean, what would you tell someone that's, you know, maybe at that critical juncture and they're, you know, a little unsure and you know, but they, you know, maybe feel some of that confidence, they really feel compelled to, to take the leap? I mean what? What would you say to that person?
Speaker 1:The thing I always tell people is just really make sure you've done your research though.
Speaker 1:Like, have a very solid business plan, um, crunch those numbers and again hold yourself back from like the crazy build out of your dreams and just like, scale it back because you can maybe get there. But you don't need to go crazy in your first try. Um, you know, build it up. Maybe you'll get to do a remodel a few years in and do it just the way you want. Um, but start realistically, um, and make sure you don't get too too over your head or in too deep where you can't dig yourself out. Because if you're, if your business plan is good and your projections are decent, you know you should be able to make it work. You know the first few years and then kind of reevaluate your sales and your expenses. I will say I was naive to the level of expenses I would have with this kind of business. Um. Also, again, it was just coming out of COVID but inflation hit really hard after we opened Um. So I was naive to that.
Speaker 1:But you have to be able to pivot and you know raise prices when you have to and just constantly reevaluate your numbers and and sometimes it's hard to fight that, the battle of wanting to do certain things a certain way and be stickler about that. Sometimes you have to let it go and be like, okay, I really wanted to do it that way, but the numbers are telling me I need to do this, I need to eliminate that, and, and sometimes you just have to be a bit of a bulldog about it. You can't do everything. You can't do it all, you can't stock it all. You'll have clients or customers tell you, oh, I wish you had this, I wish you had that, and that would be cool. But you know you don't own my business. You don't see the numbers. I can't do everything. I have to figure out what works, what doesn't work, and be smart about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. What were a few of those expenses that were particularly surprising, you know, early on.
Speaker 1:Oh well, I will say payroll. I really I was totally I was used to having like one or two employees and, it not being a big deal, I can pay them a pretty high hourly wage, um. And to operate this type of business you need people and, um, on a Saturday I run with about seven or eight people, um, and so my payroll at the end of the week is quite high. And in order to get decent people you have to pay.
Speaker 1:And in this market again, after we opened, things were just kind of changing and it was becoming more of a worker's market and you know, if you want to have good employees, you really were just going to have to pay more for them. So I kind of learned that right away and you know, I did what I could and I still wish I could pay more in some areas. But you know you have to look at the numbers and you have to be like look, we're a coffee shop, we sell $6 coffees and I can't pay the kitchen staff. What a restaurant could pay where their average dollar sale is so much higher than mine, where they don't have to pay their waitstaff a regular wage?
Speaker 1:I pay all my staff a regular wage, everyone's tipped but they all are making a well-above minimum wage wage, so it can be expensive and I didn't have all those figures and the fees associated with running payroll, your transaction rates, everything and vendors they raise their prices on me all the time and so at some point I do have to pass that off to the customer, whether I like it or not. It's just the way it is, yeah.
Speaker 2:Those are really tough decisions and it can be really difficult, even emotional sometimes, to have to make those decisions. But you just have to do it, learn and adapt over time and it sounds like you've been able to find that right balance of flexibility and also sticking your guns on. You know the the important matters. So we've talked about some of the challenges with. You know having this business uh any any joys that come to mind you know fulfilling things that you know maybe you didn't expect when you first started um, I would say my biggest joy is just when I come in on a Saturday and this place is just full.
Speaker 1:You know, I'm just like I pinch myself sometimes and I'm just like I can't believe this is what this has become. And you know, these people want to be here and some of them come every weekend or multiple times a week, and that warms my heart.
Speaker 1:And that warms my heart and makes all the hard work and all the energy and just the financial investments and all the things I've had to do over the last three and a half years worth it. And I love seeing people in this community who have never really felt like this community had a lot to offer now just being like, wow, I can't believe we have this in our town. And they're grateful and they're. They come up to me all the time and they're just like, man, this place you've created, you know your food, your staff is amazing, you know. They just are so complimentary and so I think that's that's what drives me, um, that's the real blessing I've. I've gotten from this is this the community.
Speaker 1:This is a place where people can come together and hang out and talk business, hang out with friends, plan a wedding, whatever it is they're doing, and I love that we now have something like that for the people of downtown Sydney. Right, yeah.
Speaker 2:You've helped build the community and the community helped build you.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely, it is symbiotic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, love that. Well. I'm sure we could end up talking all day and all night here, but I'll probably wrap it up there. I'm so grateful for you agreeing to share some of your story. I definitely think that there's a lot of I mean, not only really wise advice that you've shared with folks that may be considering starting or growing a business, but also some resonance with people that are in the trenches and are feeling some of the challenges that you felt and also some of the joys you know. I think that, as entrepreneurs, we we feel all of those multiple times a day sometimes. You know the ups and downs and it's good to know that other people are experiencing those, that you're not alone, you're not crazy. So thanks for for sharing from your heart on all of that. So I'll allow you, if you would, to share a little more. If folks are like, hey, I've got to get over to that place or that Airbnb sounds like a great place for us to find for a weekend, how they can follow you and look up that information.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I would say we're an Instagram savvy place, so that's probably the best way to reach me to see what we're about, to kind of get a glimpse of what we do here, what we have to offer. And our Instagram is at Greenhouse Coffee and it's Greenhouse underscore coffee, sorry. And there is a link to our Airbnb as well. It's called Terra Haas. It's inspired by the desert and our travels out west, while just trying to still be very minimal some modern but warm and zen-like, much like this space, space, um, and yeah, so you can kind of get a glimpse of everything there. Um, you know, we do have a website, but it's pretty much just rehashing what's on our Instagram. But if you go to greenhousecoffeecom, you can also see a little glimpse of of the photos and the kind of curated look that we have created on there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, love it Well. Thank you again, nikki, for your time today and for sharing with us. I know that folks are going to get a lot of benefit out of what you shared, so to our listeners. Thanks again for stopping by for this conversation. We're going to continue on, with another episode coming up next week, so please be sure to follow along. It means the world to us if you share this with somebody else who could get some benefit out of it, and I hope to catch you on the next episode here. Thanks for listening to the Main Street Reimagined podcast. To learn more about Main Street Reimaginedined henry development group or our work in downtown marion, ohio, please visit mainstreetreimaginedcom. If you want to connect or if you know someone who we need to interview, shoot us an email at info at mainstreetreimaginedcom. Until next time, keep dreaming and don't be afraid to take the leap.