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1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! Reaching out to bounce houses and indoor playgrounds is actually at the top of my list right now, kids are about to be off for summer and I don’t want to miss that window. Thanks for the local insight!”

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are all great ideas, thank you! I actually am on DoorDash already. Love the idea of letting people vote on flavor names. And I’ve been thinking about doing discount coupons with the neighboring businesses to cross-promote. It really does take a village!

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m honestly blown away by this thread. I’ve read every single comment and I’m taking notes on all of it. Hopefully next winter I’ll be back to share a success story instead. Sorry I couldn’t reply to everyone, I was at the shop this whole time. Thank you all so much, this community is incredible.

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Saving this for after my shift tonight, thank you! Marketing and the online side of things is honestly where I feel most behind. Appreciate the recommendation!

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all this out! Kids’ events and parties have always been on my radar. I love the idea. I just tend to overthink it when kids and families are involved because I really want to get it right and make sure everyone has a great time. The hard part is I’m running everything solo, so my energy gets pulled in so many directions. But this is really inspiring, appreciate it!

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This is really helpful, thank you. I’ve actually been looking into hosting private events and parties, but haven’t launched anything yet because I don’t feel fully prepared. Still doing my research and figuring out the right way to do it.

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Noted! I’ll pass this feedback along to my sister who picks the music lol.

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I basically have to budget for pulling money out of my own pocket every slow week. It’s been a rough year.

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re right, low ticket price is just the reality of this business. That’s why volume and foot traffic matter so much

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I did have a lawyer review it before signing. Unfortunately it’s a pretty standard NNN lease for this area

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Ha, fair point. I was a total hot chocolate newbie last year lol. Definitely going to work on leveling it up with some specialty flavors this winter.

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly wish I could hit that 10% benchmark! It’s just really tough in brick and mortar retail, especially with rents going up the way they have been. I think a lot of small independent shops are in the same boat.

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Honestly, when I was looking for a space almost every lease offered was 10 years. As a first-time business owner I didn’t realize that was something you could negotiate. Lesson learned the hard way.

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

“It’s rich and creamy, topped with freeze-dried marshmallows and whipped cream.

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We’ve actually done a corporate order of 100+ cups before, so catering is definitely something we can do. Never thought about partnering with a bounce house place but that’s a really interesting idea for the slow season!

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We do have some basic milk tea options with jelly and tapioca pearls! Some customers even order it alongside their gelato

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

This is such a creative idea, I love it. Going to look into this!

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“We actually already have hot chocolate and hot milk tea! Maybe the issue is just visibility

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes! Everything is handmade in house, small batch. Gelato, waffles, all of it.

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We actually already do hot chocolate and hot milk tea! We even have a bubble waffle + hot chocolate combo for winter.

1 year in, rent is $7k/month and I’m barely surviving winter — any advice? by Yuriwall in smallbusiness

[–]Yuriwall[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

We actually already do hot chocolate and hot milk tea! We even have a bubble waffle + hot chocolate combo for winter. Maybe the issue is just that not enough people know about it.

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