Odd Paradox

Like me, you were probably sad to read that Harold’s Doughnuts has officially closed both locations in Columbia. Besides the doughnuts (obviously), I always felt a bit of kinship to Harold’s because they opened just around the same time that we did in the spring of 2014. And when you are in the trenches of opening a small business, watching another can be reassuring. (Though, in my case, it caused me an existential crisis because Harold’s was 100% on their game of social media and building their business. When they opened their second location in 2016, I almost took to my bed because we were nowhere near in the position to open a second store and I felt like a failure. True story.)

But anyway, their closing over the weekend has been following me around like a monster breathing down my neck because it is a solid reminder of just how difficult entrepreneurship is…and how it usually doesn’t get easier with time. At each milestone anniversary - our three year, our five year, our seven year - I take a deep sigh of sweet relief and feel like perhaps the milestone protects us from failing because the odds are ever better in our favor with time. But I wonder if that is really true or just something we tell ourselves to make the entrepreneurial journey seem like a less crazy life choice.

And really, likely most small businesses are a pandemic, labor shortage, work/life balance crisis away from not resigning a lease. I mean, who could have predicted 2020 would be the strangest year any of us have ever experienced? Add in increased costs, less available staff, and a year of analyzing our lives in a whole new way and uh…yeah, this is a tenuous game we play for sure. I don’t know the owners of Harold’s and they may not even know we exist, but I still have the kinship because there isn’t anything easy about what either of us do. And their decision to not renew their lease had to be gut wrenching - I admire their ability to know what works best for their family and their business.

I don’t have anything profound to say because the work that goes into entrepreneurship speaks for itself. Or as my old career would have dropped in here - it’s res ipsa loquitur. I’m just putting this out there as an Internet placeholder to say that we take none of what we do for granted. Everyone who is a customer at a small business should know that for 90% of small businesses tie up all their heart and soul into making the customer experience the best experience, whether in Year One or Year Seven of business. (And the remaining 10% likely still do but is overwhelmed by figuring out how to do that or lack the capital or resources to figure it out.)

Jeanne often says she is unemployable and that’s why she works for herself. I used to say that sounded awful, but I think I understand now. We do this because with the stress of working for ourselves comes with the innate freedom of working for ourselves. It’s an odd paradox, for sure. It’s terrifying and liberating, all in one experience. (Shoot, she doesn’t even like when I’m bossy with her, actually.) But it is risky, clearly. We can’t say thank you enough to everyone who supports our business…and us on this journey that doesn’t have an endpoint. Hopefully we will one day hand over a plethora of PJP stores to my children with the instructions to grow our company more and they will be smart enough to do it, but mindful enough to know what it takes. Whatever happens, we are here for it as long as PJP continues to love us like she does.