The High Points from Jason Duncan
Every month the entrepreneur club I host with Heady Coleman gathers to hear from a local business leader. This morning, entrepreneur Jason Duncan shared his experience with our group.
Jason meticulously wrote his business plan for a coffee shop while a student in Belmont University’s entrepreneurship program. But, spoken like a true entrepreneur, “You can plan, plan, plan on paper and you just don’t know what's going to happen until the doors open,” he said.
Jason learned a lot operating Cafe Evoke for more than a decade. He eventually sought the advice of restaurant consultant Robert Black for how to scale the business moving forward. That ultimately turned into Black purchasing Evoke and Duncan starting a new career in real estate (more about that experience here).
Jason practically pioneered OKC’s coffee scene, put Edmond on the map for small business and is possibly the most relationship-focused entrepreneur I’ve ever come across. I am so grateful to him for sharing his experience with our community. Here are a few of the high points:
On fear:
I get scared I’m going to feel something is impossible. A big business mentor is Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia and I love his book “Let My People Go Surfing.” Chouinard reminds readers that things might be difficult or expensive or time-consuming, but rarely is anything impossible. I think most entrepreneurs would agree, don’t tell me I can’t do something, tell me all the steps it’s going to take it get it done. I’m afraid that someday I will forget that, say “no” to something because I think it’s impossible and miss an opportunity.
On success:
It’s hard to measure as a business owner. Is it financial? Awards? Launching new things? At Evoke, I prioritized the experience of our customers and our staff. I wanted to create connections for them. Nothing made me happier than two people meeting and getting to know each other just because they both happen to stop by at 8 a.m. and get coffee on their way to work. For staff, I knew nobody was going to be a career barista. What could we do together for their future? That was success for me.
On hiring:
At Belmont’s entrepreneurship program, I learned logistically everything that would go into a business, even human capital.
But in reality, you have to do every part of the business at first. You have to know how to do it all. Plus if you’re not willing to clean out the grease traps, you’re not going to have the connection and accountability with your staff you want.
On failure:
There were things I wish I had done differently, but I hesitate to call them failures. It wasn’t until toward the end of owning the business that I realized it was worth the money to have a real bookkeeper and a CPA who really knows what’s going on in your business. But I don’t look at those first few years as failure. It was an awakening.
On knowing it was time for a change:
I never closed the shop. Even if it was a snow day, I would get myself there and open up even if the rest of the staff couldn’t. Opening a shop from 7 a.m. to midnight day in and day out takes a toll. I didn’t feel healthy. It was seven years of saying no to extended family gatherings and other stuff because there was always this business running. It was starting to decay my ability to keep people engaged. I was starting to feel like I was getting chippy. And that made the other people around me chippy.
Advice for entrepreneurs:
Your business doesn’t define who you are it defines what you do. Get out there and ask for help. There’s help all over the place. You need to have people you can ask for help, but don’t let that be a crutch for you not knowing your own business. You should know all the ins and outs of the business.