FAQ Series: Part 2
Before I get into Part 2 FAQs, I’d like to address my previously published, and now unpublished, blog post: Structure, Structure, Structure.
The Nirvana Soul blog exists for our own accountability as owners, and for tips and advice for other business owners, dreamers, and doers. We created this blog over three years ago to document the ups and downs of opening and expanding a business, and we often write about our own flashpoints: financing, grand openings, challenges, etc., as they’re happening. The idea is to paint an honest and holistic picture of entrepreneurship; it is never to point fingers at anyone beyond ourselves. Keeping intention and audience in mind is critically important in telling our story.
And that’s where I dropped the ball. If anyone from our team or otherwise stumbled upon our blog at the aforementioned post, I could see why it’d be upsetting or confusing — like a breach in trust. I don’t provide context with each post (although I certainly will from now on) and there are important adjacent audiences that could get hurt if not properly informed or considered. I also assumed that my own comfort with transparency and vulnerability was the same as it is for everyone else. It is not. As a writer and marketer, I should know that. I underestimated the communication required both in this blog and in person to write these the way they’re intended. The oversight is completely on me, and I apologize.
As we continue to grow, we’re going to make mistakes and disappoint people. We’ll also make you proud. We’re hopelessly imperfect. This journey is filled with so many opportunities to get it wrong, but I assure you that we’re always doing our best to get it right. Thank you for hangin’ in there with us.
Now, onto this batch of FAQs! This time we’re chatting Cupe, partnerships, and unions.
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Why Cupertino?
This is a funny question that we actually get all the time now. It’s funny because we truly believe Cupertino found us. We hadn’t had much experience there beforehand (outside of Benihanas and Vallco when we were young), but once we saw the location, it just felt right. So we began the process of figuring it out, and ultimately opened the doors of our second shop on April 30, 2022.
What we love about Cupertino is that it’s so different from San Jose, which shows that Nirvana Soul should be able to work in different environments. However, that difference can be striking in terms of how quiet it seems by comparison. There’s a lot of professionals in Cupertino, and our side of Main Street doesn’t have nearly the regular foot traffic of SoFA District, but it is picking up. We love seeing people outside at our tables on the grass! We’re also less naturally connected to the community there (we were born and raised in San Jose), but it’s been great meeting lots of new people from students to city officials to neighbors to longtime supporters. Even what’s popular in terms of drinks differs from shop to shop, which is so interesting to us!
What’s most important, though, is what makes the two shops the same: the people in Cupertino have been just as open to us and super supportive. We have similar stories as we have in DTSJ of people of color and of different backgrounds coming in and thanking us just for being there. We’re also seeing more people who haven’t visited us in San Jose drive down the Peninsula to visit Cupertino because it’s easier to get to and they really want to experience the classic NS vibes. Cupertino has that special something carried over from DTSJ and we’re excited to see what both of these shops become over time.
How do we make partnership decisions?
I came across a clip of Jay Z not too long ago while I was scrolling on Facebook or Instagram and it happened to be about partnerships. (It was right at the time when we were trying to make some partnership decisions of our own.) Jay Z was asked how he decides what he attaches himself to and he said that he wants his partnerships to be long term and mutually beneficial. I really liked that!
We have done many short term collaborations, and will continue to do so with vendors, artists, and more. But we have found that the relationships that expand over time are usually the best for both parties because it creates greater exposure, which can lead to greater opportunities for all. The hard part though is the creativity and effort needed to extend a partnership in this way. Oftentimes, things really only make sense once; like, a book signing, for example. But, if both sides are into it, something like that can become a book club where we choose a selection to discuss each month and host an event that we stream and/or do in person. (We’re actually working on this right now. :))
We also always start with our values first: Does this really make sense for us? Is it inspired and inspiring? Is it helping the right people? Does it feel right? And we tend to prioritize other small businesses, things having to do with kids (Jeronica loves the kids!), and meeting or speaking with aspiring entrepreneurs. All of this combined helps us make better – not always right, but better – partnership decisions.
What does it mean to unionize?
I know this is the question on everyone’s minds right now, and the short answer is: we’re not sure yet. Jeronica and I have a fairly neutral position on unions. (Our mother has been a member of Valley Transportation Authority unions for most of our lives.) But at this point, our opinion of unions is far less important than our support of our team. Our vision for Nirvana Soul has always been to inspire people to become better versions of themselves. Obviously, we won’t agree to anything that doesn’t make sense, but if our team believes this is the best way forward, we will have their back.
Over the last week, we’ve taken time to learn more about unions through research and conversations with other business owners and coffee industry friends. We were already aware that unionizing in coffee is trending, fueled primarily by Starbucks employees across the country. There are a lot of supporters who believe this is a great thing to do, and that it could be a re-imagining of how to work together in productive harmony. On the flip side, there are a lot of detractors too – folks who believe this is the beginning of the end for a company our size.
We have always said we would never let anything stop us from fulfilling our mission of bringing people together through the power of coffee & tea. We want to open 20 stores and reach more communities of people who believe in this mission too. Our journey with Nirvana Soul has included having no resources or guidance, multiple loan rejections, opening in a global pandemic, supply chain challenges, the highest inflation in 40 years – and that’s just to name a few! It’s also included the deepest joy, love, and connection we have ever felt. We have to trust that we have favor. We have to trust in this community. We have to keep going and we have to stay open. That’s our commitment to you no matter what.
(Our CFO will provide a more comprehensive breakdown of unions in a future post. Stay tuned!)
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This is fun! And we hope it’s helpful, too. If you’d like us to answer any other questions, FAQ or otherwise, feel free to comment or email us at hello@nirvanasoulcoffee.com. (If you missed Part 1 FAQs, check it out here.)
TTYS, b