We recently connected with Tori Arnold and have shared our conversation below.
Tori, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
Absolutely! This job is a dream of mine. Since I was younger, I knew that I wanted to be a business owner. Originally, I wanted to own a pie shop. Even though Summer Moon Coffee, does not serve pie. It does serve some of the best Oak Roasted Coffee and the creamiest Moon Milk. Being a business owner can be hard, every week there is always something new. There are always challenges. But I am never bored! I love getting to solve problems, I love the relationships that I have made with our baristas. Summer Moon Coffee has given me so many opportunities, but my favorite is getting to meet so many people from various walks of life.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am Tori Arnold. I am the owner of Summer Moon Coffee in Oklahoma. My husband, Chad Arnold, and I were the first franchisees for Summer Moon Coffee and which allowed us to learn so much about the process of opening a store and creating procedures as a business owner. Along with being a business owner, I am also a part time stay at home mom. We have three amazing boys, Lincoln (5), Lyle (3), and Locke (2 months). We are able to homeschool, and have our boys apart of our business ventures. We really try to have a work life balance and be able to demonstrate a hard work ethic to our boys.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Managing teams can be tricky. Each generation has taught me how to manage better. I always try to take a step back and see how do they feel appreciation. What makes them happy? Money? Kindness? Words? Gifts? Responsibility? Once I figure out what makes them happy then that helps! Gen Z, has been so fun getting to be around. They want to be a positive work space that cares about them, that loves them, that speaks life and positivity. Whenever our baristas chose to leave we want them to be impacted by the positive environment that Summer Moon Coffee has left.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Loads of books! But the most impactful would be: Zconomy by Jason Dorsey, Traction by Gino Wickman, Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman, The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni, The Servant by James Hunter, and Good to Great by Jim Collins
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Summermoonokc
- Facebook: Summer Moon Coffee Oklahoma