Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alyona Shcherbina. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alyona, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
Becoming a business owner comes with many varying emotions and experiences. From one side you live through pure elation seeing your vision come to life and watching those first customers walking through the space you only envisioned months ago. From the other end you lose a part of your daily peace you had before. Now instead of working a finite number of hours per week/per year, you move along to infinite hours. You now find yourself working through the night, day after day; being on call 24/7, and taking on the highs and the very lows onto your own shoulders. Responsibility in the restaurant world isn’t a light load. From day one of Cooper’s Coffee + Eatery my husband and made a decision to take on the project from a rather amusing point of view. To see where our ideas can take us, and how far, while rejecting the attitude of stress or complete seriousness. Don’t get us wrong we do take our operations very seriously, but at the same time we try to maintain an air of fun and playfulness. That sentiment began at conception, and we strive to keep that for the long haul.
Having that mindset is what helps to enjoy running a business. After talking to many elderly people from my days as a Registered Nurse, I quickly realized life is all about making the jump, risking it, and not taking everything too seriously. Sure, sometimes things do get pretty serious, but as long as you got your loved ones around you, and you keep holding hands, oftentimes life will make a way.
I can say that yes, my life is better as a business owner because in this process my skill set has grown, my mind has been stretched to lengths I never envisioned, and I have had incredible opportunities to connect with my community and people in a way that I could have never imagined. Any experience in life is better that no experience.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Alyona. I am a Mother, Restauranteur, Registered BSN Nurse, Farmer, and Christian. I am married to an incredible man Aleksey, and we have two brilliant children together. We live in Nelson, Missouri where it is mostly just countryside and clean air. We farm Angus Beef cattle, have many bee hives, and source our land for various naturally occurring resources.
For as long as we have been together, we always strived to eat clean, quality food, but hearty. Oftentimes, we find ourselves traveling interstate to visit family and friends, and to our dismay can never find a quality and delicious place to eat. So many times, we made the decision to bring food from home and skip any food stops along the road trip to avoid the regret that comes along with eating out at a place where quantity numbers reign above all else. That led us to make a decision to open up a restaurant where quality and love is the main goal.
It was in the throughs of the COVID pandemic when the former business of our building decided to close up shop. We saw an opportunity to grow something that is not only close from where we live and super convenient, but also as an opportunity to help grow and build up the tiny community around us. With a major interstate i-70 running right alongside, we decided to take the leap.
We opened up COOPER’S COFFEE = EATERY which serves Specialty Coffee, Gourmet Sandwiches and Soups, Freshly-Baked Pastries every day, and Quality Hand-Selected Merchandise.
We have a beautiful dining hall where any traveler can truly rest. The most commonly word used to describe our shop is “An Oasis!”.
We offer a drive-thru service, grab n’ go, take out, dine-in, truck parking, an incredible dog park, Wi-Fi, and so much more!
It is our greatest honor to serve food and drink that we are proud of, and that we crave ourselves almost on a daily basis. It warms our heart to see people from all walks of life enjoy our establishment and to be able to connect with each and every visitor!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I believe the number one thing that has helped us build our reputation in our market has been sincere love. When we put love into our work, all the way from administration down to pouring your latte and building your sandwich, that will always translate to each visitor. That is the special ingredient that separates big corporations and franchisees from small locally owned businesses, and the food and drink do taste better because of it! It feels good to support small local business, and small local businesses feel amazing when they feel supported. It’s not merely a transaction and goodbye. It’s an incredible experience!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The area in my life where I feel resilience comes to mind was building out this entire business from scratch at 6+ months pregnant to start, to grand opening with a 2-year-old and a 6-month-old. I absolutely thought it was impossible at times. But you just have to keep going. Every day you strive to do your very best and move forward as much as possible. The rest is up to the universe. Oftentimes other women who had large families, a lot of work, and other responsibilities from the past and present served as inspiration to get me through the valleys. They made me believe in the strength every woman has inside herself.
My main source of strength came from my faith in Jesus Christ. Many times, I prayed regarding various concerns or questions specifically, and all those specific requests were met and exceeded my expectations! To this day I am overwhelmed with gratitude! My faith has been the foundation of my entire existence.
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