I was working at a little coffee shop in Park Slope, pouring lattes for the Brooklyn commuters when I decided I was going to start my own business. I had toyed with the idea for a while, made a few inquiries, but I didn’t commit to it until one day at the coffee shop. There was this regular… (the real ornery, lonely type) and I think he asked for butter, but I gave him cream cheese on his bagel (horrors!). He wasn’t happy about it. He wrote the nastiest letter to my boss, telling her what a bad person I was for ruining his breakfast with my thoughtless schmearing. Anyway, the boss asked me to think of a way to apologize to him. As you can imagine, this did not appeal to me in the slightest, and it woke me up out of my indecision. I went home and composed my list that night. The list was my commitment to do everything I needed to do to get my business up and running, and to not quit until the last thing on that list was done- no matter how annoying or time consuming the task. I quit my coffee shop job the next week, and concentrated ONLY on completing that list for the next 6 months. When the last thing was done, I had a business to run!
I make lists all the time, but this one is very special to me and is something I’m immensely proud of. I thought it a fitting thing to share when I know so many people reading this are just starting out on their own, or are dreaming of doing so. You can do it! Make a list!
Thanks so much Grace, for the opportunity and for the support. I had a great time sharing all my inspirations with you and all your readers. Happy Independence Day everyone!
37 Comments
Your post is incredibly inspirational. I found that when I write my goals down, I am more than likely to reach them. I’m so happy for you and your successful business!
Thank you for sharing that moment!
Thank you for sharing this! It comes at the perfect moment for me, as I am about to start my own business, too. It’s encouraging to read from others that it IS possible!
Thank you for sharing this. It is a lovely, truly inspirational story! A perfect way to end the week of your wonderful guest blogging.
I’m glad you posted it. What an inspiring story :) I hope to one day follow suit!
What a nice story.
I am curious to know about your list…what are the little symbols? I am intrigued by the triangles, squares, circles and their numbering? Just curious how you were grouping things I suppose.
What an inspiring story. Goes to show that with a bit of a nudge, some determination and a ‘list of action’, dreams can be realised. Thank you for sharing, this has really made me smile!
What an inspirational story. The perfect way to start my holiday. Thanks!
This post is very inspiring! I quit my job a week before my May 25 wedding so that I could spend the summer focused on how to open my own little retail business. I’ve felt totally overwhelmed since the start — there are days when I wonder what I’ve gotten myself into and days when I have complete confidence in myself. It helps to remind myself that if other people have started their own businesses, I can too. Thanks!
Kelly- Certain things had to get done before other things, (I had to write the copy for the website before I could “go live”, for example). So I used the shapes to break the tasks down into 3 catagories; finacial/legal, website, or promotional/advertising. The numbers in the shapes determined the order within the group, and the numbers to the far left were my final determination of the order of the tasks. Sounds convoluted now, but it worked!
Thank you. This is exactly what I need to do right now. I am always fearful I won’t succeed. But I guess it is hard to know if you don’t try, huh?
Great story! Thanks for sharing. And I love that to do list …It is by far the most organized to do list I’ve ever seen! P.S. I applaud your ability to not have thrown the bagel at Monsieur Commuter.
This is a great post – so interesting, and for me, inspiring – it comes just at a time when I’m working through a bunch of stuff on my own to-do list as preparation for really getting my own work off the ground. Thank you!
I have tons of lists/ideas and I recently compiled them all into a binder with tabs. It really helps to see which ideas are the strongest, etc. I need to pick one idea and run with it like you have. Very inspiring. Thank you.
An inspiring tale of both list-making (my addiction) AND kick-starting your own business? Love it.
I think of all the posts I read here daily, this is the most inspiring. I make lists, too and they have helped me immensely. Thank you for sharing yours. I’m so happy for your determination and success.
What an inspiration! I can totally relate to that dreaded cream cheese event as I used to work as a bartender forever. I guess those nasty type of people need to be in this world to push us to our full potential! Congratulations!
Happy independence to you, Mackenzie!
Thank you. I have had many lists too.. but there is that ‘special’ one I know I need to complete. Thanks for sharing – it’s time for me to DO something…. I will start with Pulling out that list!
Your list is great even for those of us who have had a business for awhile. I was able to fill in some blanks and refine others..thanks for sharing.
i loved reading your post…i can relate. i had a similar experience when i made the commitment to start my own business. i was working retail, though. plus, i keep lists notoriously. lists of lists!
Love this inspirational story and the visual of the list. Thank you for sharing! And congratulations!
We love the way lists look as they reach completion. The doodles, the way we each choose to mark a task completed, the patina the page takes on, the wine/coffee stains. It takes time to complete a well thought list and the page itself reflects that. Your list is beautiful and a wonderful reminder of starting our own business. Congratulation!
Viva Listologists!
Day and Alison
http://www.gg2g.com
What an incredibly inspiring post! I’m so glad you followed through on your list. I’m so curious, though…did you apologize to that customer? I would have told him where he could stick that bagel…and would have given him some extra butter to help!
Making that list was an accomplishment in itself. Congratulations on completing it. Success is sure to follow for someone as detail and process oriented, and talented as you.
Thanks so much for sharing this. It was so inspiring to read. I’m also in the process of starting my own bisnes, so this post was just the thing to give me an energy boost for the days to come :)
And congratulations on finishing your list!
thank you for the inspirational story! it was meant for me to read it and i am not really even sure how it came up on my screen to read! i had one of those “work” moments last week and wanted so badly to quit and just venture out and start my own business. i am slowly but surely getting it started but am taking it slow. thanks for your transparency! your list is awesome! where would we be without them!!!
And you GO, girl!
Lovely story! Thank you for sharing it.
What an inspirational piece – just in time for me :) While I can’t say that I have had one of those decisive moments yet, I know that I am not enjoying my current career any longer and I’m looking into starting up on my own. This has definitely made me sit down and start some serious planning. Thanks again…
that was such an awesome post. i think that mean little man ended up doing you a huge favor :)
congratulations!
you rock!
and i’d notice that notebook anywhere. i love and have many Anvil Modern Paperie notebooks : )
http://www.anvilpaper.com/products/journals.html
Thank you all for the comments! I couldn’t have hoped for such a nice response, and am so thrilled that I have managed to inspire.
About the Bagel Man– I never apologized to him. I left that job before I ever saw him again. I’m sure he’s still out there, abusing service people, inspiring them to start their life’s callings. He’s like a Santa Claus of sorts, bringing motivation to entrepreneurs all over Brooklyn.
I love this post, and I love it that she kept the list! Thanks so much for sharing.
love that. excellent and inspirational (and graphically fascinating!)
Thank you so much Mackenzie for posting this list. I have always been a fan of the lists and fully believe in the power you can harness from them. It’s so inspiring to see that so many of us share dreams of branching out on our own. I have been a fan of your site for quite some time – it’s very cool to see that you nurtured your dream…and it flourished!
Perfect, as I sit here seething over something my boss said to me YESTERDAY. Ah! I was listening to the Steve Harvey morning show on my commute today and he said something I think all of us “daydream designers” could stand to hear…- if you aren’t happy in your job, if things aren’t going well for you, it’s simply because you aren’t doing what you were born to do, what you were CALLED to do. And I totally identified with him saying that the reason he couldn’t hold down “regular” jobs was because once he realized that he was smarter than his boss, he couldn’t stand being told what to do! HA HA! The winds are just right for many of us, let’s just jump off that cliff!
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