We recently connected with Amy Elliott and have shared our conversation below.
Amy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
My background is actually church ministry, which would seemingly have nothing to do with a coffee/gift shop. But the heartbeat of all I do really is a deep love for people. In my long span of working in churches, the one consistent thing I noticed is that a lot of people are hurting. They long for connection, for someone to notice them, slow down for them. The more I observed this, the more I felt a pull to actually leave full-time ministry in order to get out into the world, in order to have more interactions with people who feel a little lost.
I chose an industry that would allow me into interact with the public on a daily basis, AND where I could serve people with things I love dearly. I really do love coffee, and I get SO much joy from gift giving. To be able to weave that into my everyday life is a delight! Since our early days, we eventually expanded to add ice cream and mini-donuts. So we are the place people come when they want a treat, or are looking for a gift. What a fun job to be able to hand over an ice cream cone or a tray of donuts and see the sheer happiness on people’s faces!
I also really love high school kids. I was a high school teacher years and years ago, and a lot of my time in the church world was happily spent in youth ministry. So that has been another thing I have LOVED being able to incorporate with how I run my shop. Most of my employees are high school kids, and our mission statement is, “Honoring Others With Awesomeness.” For a lot of these kids, it’s their first job, and I get to teach them how to work really hard, and how to honor both our customers and our fellow employees in that work. They know what my expectations are of them, and they know that the goal of the shop is to honor our customers with great service, excellent products, and genuine warmth and care. Plus, it’s a soft place for them to land when they do mess up, because we all do. And I love that as well.
Our shop is a small town in the mountains, with heavy tourist traffic in the summers, and long, quiet winters. So things like staffing, cash flow and all of the nuts & bolts that come with making a business profitable can be a challenge. I’m certainly not in it for the money. But every so often, I get to reflect back on that deep desire I had all those years ago to be able to show love and care for people, and I pinch myself that I get to do that every single day. What a gift! I hear the kids working in the kitchen, laughing together. I see the kid walking out with blue ice cream dripping down his chin. I overhear the friends who’ve carved out time to catch up over a cup of our coffee. And it gives me great joy. That part of my dream is real now, and my hope and prayer is that our community is the richer for it.
Amy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I never pictured myself in Wyoming. Ever! But my brother and sister-in-law felt a call on their lives to start a residential treatment center for girls recovering from trauma. I love the vision they have! But I kept thinking, “Why in the world would you move to Wyoming?” Then I helped them move here, to our sweet little town. I knew right away that this was a special place. I returned home with a mission of my own – how could I move to Pinedale and carve out a living? The town only has 2,000 people, so jobs aren’t plentiful. For me, it felt like an opportunity for a reset. I spent a lot of time boiling down the things I really love. I wanted to be able to combine those things with something that the town didn’t already have.
My initial vision was for a boutique that would be stocked with souvenirs, gift items and home decor. These are my favorite kinds of shops to visit when I travel. The director of the Chamber of Commerce was amazing and took plenty of time to answer my questions and offer feedback long before I ever moved here. He told me that while he loved the idea, the town probably wasn’t big enough to support that. His honesty and his input were invaluable to my planning process. I also leaned on my brother for inspiration, who was already living here by then, and he was the one who came up with adding a novelty food item to my boutique idea. We eventually landed on mini-donuts, which was partly inspired by a place I loved in Portland that specialized in those sweet treats.
When we opened, we had 1/3 of the space we now occupy. In addition to the boutique side of things, we offered our mini-donuts, drip coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Super simple. I staffed it myself, with one high school girl coming in after school. A few months later, the rest of the space in our building opened up, which allowed us to expand into a second retail room, an office, a full dining room and a patio. Over time, we eventually added more baked goods, which we outsource (bagels, muffin tops, gluten free cookies), along with a full espresso menu. Our most recent addition has been ice cream, which is a huge hit in the summer. Adding all of these offerings has been good for our bottom line, but it adds a TON to our staffing needs, plus all of the inventory we have to stay on top of. I now have 13 part-time employees to help us keep it all working smoothly. I have to chuckle when I think back to my little boutique vision – it would be SO much simpler! But again, I love that our cafe side draws people in.
One of the best pieces of advice I absorbed before opening the shop was, “Start small and grow slowly.” This has probably been THE guiding principle for me. I had people offering to invest when things were just getting off the ground, but I wasn’t at all comfortable with that. I sold my house in Oregon and used the the proceeds to launch the business. I’m really proud of the fact that I have been able to do this without going into debt. I knew I was doing something brand new for me, and while some of my background certainly equipped me to give this a try, I didn’t want anyone else’s money on the line if things didn’t work out. I know a lot of people that start businesses with help from investors, and it can be a great way to start a new endeavor. If I’m being candid, I think I lacked the confidence to do that. It’s one thing I love about business – there are a ton of different ways to go about it! This is simply what has worked for me, and I”m glad it has.
I think what I am most proud of is that the shop has become exactly what I had so desperately hoped for when the vision began to come into focus for me. It’s a gathering place for our community. Our high school kids may be our largest customer demographic, which gives me SO much joy! Moms meet up with other moms and their littles play with the toys and books we have in our kid’s corner. Tourists find us when they’re Googling coffee or ice cream and they’re so much fun to talk to. The people aspect, which was my greatest priority, is also my greatest indicator of success. So on the days when I’m discouraged, or the financials don’t look the way I’d like them to, it helps to come back to this truth. I wanted to create a space where people would enjoy themselves, and to serve them goods and goodies they would enjoy consuming. I think we’ve hit that mark, and I love that.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
I have a lot of HR experience in my background, which has been really helpful. If I had walked into this business without that history, I think I would have struggled on many levels. But beyond job descriptions and payroll – all the details and tasks that accompany managing a team, I think I have actually drawn the most from my work experience when it comes to managing my team. Like most people, I started working in high school. Over the years, I have had amazing bosses and bosses that drove me crazy. I’ve worked at companies/organizations where it was a joy to show up every day, and I’ve worked at places where I’d sit in my car, giving myself a pep talk before walking in the door each day.
In hindsight, I was learning all the time, in the good and especially in the bad! When I finally had the chance to build team, to create systems, to envision what our staff culture would be, I drew on all of these experiences. As I said, most of my employees are high school kids, so here are some of the things I have incorporated into how we all work together.
1. Mutual respect – I hate when kids get talked down to or bossed around simply because they’re young. We have a lot of fun and we laugh a lot at the shop. But when there are serious things to talk about, I speak to them with the same respect I expect from them. They know that our honor culture starts with me and how I honor them. The idea is that it will then trickle down from them to fellow team members, our customers, and how they do their jobs. But it is all based on respect.
2. Curiosity – When it seems that something is falling through the cracks, or work isn’t getting done according to the expectations set forth, I will ask questions, rather than coming in with guns blazing. One example of this was when one of the kids was just missing one thing after another. It had been a rough morning and I could feel myself getting frustrated. I brought them back to my office was was so tempted to start in on my long list of what needed to be done better. Thank God I asked a question instead, “Is everything okay?” Tears started to well up and they shared that there had been fighting at their home the night before. It lasted into the wee hours of the morning and they were just tired and sad. It was one of those moments I was so glad I didn’t give into the temptation to focus on the logistics of the job, and focused on the person in front of me. What they needed was for someone to just notice them. The sweet thing about that story is that after we talked, the morning turned around. I’m sure I’ve failed at this over the years, but my goal is always to be curious first, and then address the work product second.
3. Weave the mission into everything – we have a lengthy employee manual, and we have signs all over the kitchen about how we do everything. I want consistency in all things so that when someone orders a white chocolate mocha, it tastes just as delicious, regardless of who made it. We want people closing the shop the same way every night so that whoever opens the next morning comes to a sparkling clean kitchen. All of our tasks back up our mission to, “Honor Others With Awesomeness.” We try to reinforce that connection every time we can, so that the team not only knows what to do, but they also understand the why behind it.
4. Be clear – when there is a need to address poor performance, I do my best to be kind and gracious, but also to be very clear so that the employee knows exactly what needs to be done in order to turn things around. I have a process I follow which is to address it first as simply a training issue. Maybe I haven’t done my job well in teaching them. If it continues, I let them know verbally what needs correction. If it still continues, we move to a Performance Plan where I meet with them and have a document we both sign, acknowledging the issue(s) and what needs to be done to turn things around. This Performance Plan usually allows a two-week period and I set a reminder on my calendar so it doesn’t drop off my radar. If there is improvement, then the employee is back on track and it’s business as usual. If there’s no improvement, I let them go. At that point, it’s better for the individual, for the shop, and for the team culture to part ways. My hope is always to make it a good parting so that they still feel like they can come in as a customer and not feel ashamed or awkward in any way.
5. Create fun – look for things to celebrate. Whether it’s team birthdays, goofy holidays or notes of encouragement, find ways to let your staff know that you are grateful for them. We try to go big on our Christmas party, but I will also bring in candy corn for the fall, or cookies just because. I’ll make a point of leaving my office to just to hang out with them and catch up. We also have what we call our Board of Awesomeness, which is a white board where they can brag on each other, or just leave goofy notes. When it fills up, we take a photo of it and text it to everyone, then we start over. I’ll confess that when I get busy, this is the part that can fall off for me. But it matters so much, and it really does create a joyful camaraderie that I value!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
There is a lot of initial excitement when you’re in those early days of launching. I used money from the sale of my house to fund the shop, and I joyfully spent days tearing down walls, refinishing floors, ordering inventory and so on. Then came the excitement of actually opening the shop. Our community was incredibly supportive and people showed up in droves when we first opened. I was living in a new town, getting to know new people and it was just so exciting!
But then, we settled into our new normal. I should say I settled into my new normal. Rather than working on a large team, I was flying solo. Rather than collecting a robust paycheck every month, I was glued to our sales numbers, hoping it would be enough. Rather than doing everyday life with dear friends, I was surrounded by nice people who didn’t really know me. I would say it all came to a head about four months after opening the shop. I had family in town and I couldn’t leave the shop to go spend time with them. They were all off horseback riding and sightseeing, and I was stuck at the shop. I hit a wall, and it still stings to remember just how low I felt. The excitement turned out to be fleeting and I found myself wondering what in the world I had done. It was a depth of loneliness that took me by complete surprise. It wasn’t just a matter of missing out on fun, rather I sank into a dark place, full of those dark questions about worth and identity which absolutely blindsided me.
It was my younger brother and sister-in-law who were visiting. I remember them stopping by to see me and we were sitting on the patio, enjoying some donuts. I finally summoned up the courage to confess to them just how hard it all was and how low I felt. My temptation, of course, was to keep a stiff upper lip and not admit the fear I felt that I’d made a huge mistake, not share the toll it was taking on my mental and emotional wellbeing. Instead, however, I decided to be real with them about how low I was sinking. They responded with so much grace and so much love. Then they did something that meant the world to me. They cancelled their plans for the afternoon and asked, “How can we help?”
In truth, I don’t think this is a story of my resilience, as much as it is a story about how important it is to reach out. I remember us hanging bistro lights together that day, which was such a practical help. But far more importantly, I’d let them in to see my weakness and my sadness. Their help went so far beyond bistro lights, although I still remember what a boost it was to have people love me enough to help – it’s one of my love languages for sure. But even more than that, it opened the door for more honest, vulnerable conversations moving forward. Starting a business isn’t for the faint of heart, and I am a firm believer in just how needful it is to find your tribe. They may or may not have a hand in the business you’re doing. Their real value is in coming alongside to encourage, to cheer you on, to remind you that you’re not alone, to listen, to ask questions, to perform what some people call ‘the ministry of presence.’
I could have muscled through that low, lonely season with mere grit and determination. And some days, it’s simply what we have to do. But that day on the patio is a core memory for me now. On the days when money is tight, or a customer leaves a bad review, or I feel the weight of carrying this business, I am far more prone now to reach out. I have my people and they know they have me. It makes the hard times far less lonely, and the fear that can creep up unbidden is a lot less intimidating when I confess it to someone who’s in my corner. I’m ridiculously grateful for them!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bisonsbounty.com
- Instagram: @bisonsbounty
- Facebook: Bison’s Bounty
Image Credits
All mine