Inspiration, #71

Mary Allen Lindemann:

I encourage people, do what you love because you never know when all these different paths will lead you to what you're meant to do. And if we don't fight for things we believe in, we lose them. And a life without art and music and poetry is pretty bland.

Marci Booth:

It's about solutions. There's no one way to do things. I look at the entire company and the individual that I'm working with and I just really want to see them succeed and come up with solutions to move them forward.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast show number 71, Inspiration, airing for the first time on January 20, 2013. How does a dream become reality? Mary Allen Lindemann, co founder of Maine's Coffee by Design, has two decades of insight about the process of combining a dedication to the perfect cup of joe with a love of community. We share Mary Allen's story and receive the benefit of Business Done Better wisdom from Marcy Booth of Booth, Inc. On this week's Inspiration Show. From the beginning, the mission of the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast really has been to inspire you, our listener, to think about life in a bigger way. Think about your life. Specifically, think about the lives of your family members and your community. And the reason that this is important to us is because thinking about life has a direct impact on how we choose to be healthy and well. Many patients come to see me with physical ailments. Back pain, knee pain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, physical manifestation of life problems, things that they haven't necessarily dealt with. Perhaps because they feel stuck, they feel like they can't deal with them, they feel like they don't have the resources, or maybe, maybe they don't have the support of important people in their lives. Whatever the reason, this stuckness becomes a pain or a malaise or a disability of sorts, often until we can figure out how to get them out of that stuck phase in their life. It's never as easy as just making the pain go away if there's something underlying that needs to be dealt with. One of the things that comes up often is what people choose to do with their time. Most of us spend a lot of time working, and if we're not working in an area that makes sense to us spiritually, emotionally, socially, we can start to feel resentful and we can start to live life as if we're just waiting for it to get over. Life isn't really like that. We only have so much of it, and if we're just waiting for it to end, what's the point? So when I spend time with patients, I really try to get to what is it that they want to be doing if they're not enjoying what they're doing now. Mary Allen Lindemann and Alan Spear are a husband and wife team that co founded Coffee by Design in 1994. They spent a lot of time trying to figure out what they wanted to do together and as a job and what they wanted to bring to the community. It went beyond coffee and into art and a reflection on mental wellness and well being. And they've really contributed so much more to the Portland and Maine really area than just offering a warm beverage on a cold day. We thought it would be helpful for people to hear her story because it's not always easy to go from dream to reality. Mary Allen and Alan Spear have done it and have learned some important lessons along the way. As an individual who is trying to live her own inspired life, see patients in my own practice, have my own radio show, do my own writing, I'm surrounded by a team of individuals who can help me move this ball forward. One of these individuals is also a good friend of mine, and her business and personal presence and advice have been absolutely invaluable over the past few years. So it was natural that we would invite this individual on our show to talk with us about how one gets from dream to reality. As Thomas Edison once said, genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. In other words, there's an awful lot of hard work that goes into making a dream reality. Marcy Booth knows how to help people through the hard work. And we know that when she gives us business advice, she's speaking from personal experience. I know that those of you who are out there that are engaging in entrepreneurial work and attempting to live your own dreams are living daily what it means to go from inspiration to reality, dream to reality. And I know that you've got your own perspiration that you're putting into all of this. Know that we're with you, know that we're behind you, know that we're all a community and know that it's worth it. I say this to my patients all the time, that you really need to find out what it is that you want to do with your life because you only have one of them. So be happy. One thing that I find absolutely crucial when it comes to making important life changes and trying to bring dreams to reality is to actually find somebody that can hold you accountable. In my medical practice, I'm that person. People come to see me because they know that they'll be held accountable, not in a bad way, but if they want to lose weight, I'm going to help them do it. They're going to show up and we're going to talk about it and we're going to move them forward towards their goal. I do this for things like weight pain management, really living a bigger life. If you're somebody who's looking to move your inspiration move, move your dream to reality, I can help you. Give me a call. I'm Dr. Lisa, and you'll find me at the Body Architect, 207-774-2196. Anyone who's lived in Maine for really the last 15, 20 years is going to be familiar with at least the company that my next guest co founded along with her husband and maybe actually people around the country might recognize the name. This is Mary Allen Lindemann, who is co founder with her husband, Alan Spear, of Coffee by Design. Thank you so much for coming in and being with us today.

Mary Allen Lindemann:

Well, thank you for having me. It's a great topic. I enjoy talking about coffee and community. And so thank you for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Am I right in saying that Coffee by Design can be found around the country?

Mary Allen Lindemann:

You know, it's been such an interesting process and very organic, our growth that we've we're primarily in Maine and New England, but as our accounts have grown with us and people have heard about us through some national recognition, we now can be purchased around the country and mail order obviously makes us available to people worldwide.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, tell me about Coffee by Design. What was the impetus for founding a coffee company back before coffee companies were

Mary Allen Lindemann:

sort of

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

more popular?

Mary Allen Lindemann:

It's been an interesting journey and I tell people, you know, you never know quite where your life will lead you. And I talk to a lot of groups about how recessions can actually Change your life in a positive way. In the 1980s, when Alan and I first were married, Portland was in a recession nationwide. There was a recession. Not like the recession we currently have experienced, but it was a recession. And downtown Portland actually had 40% vacancy rate at the time. Time. And so we, as newly married people, decided it was time to actually leave Maine. And it was a toss of the coin. San Francisco or Seattle. At the time, coffee was not what it is today in Seattle. We landed in Seattle, which was good luck as well, because the week of our move, the San Francisco earthquake happened. So being in Seattle was a good place to be, but it really gave us a chance to actually see the beginnings of specialty coffee and what was going on in Seattle. At the time, I had the. At the time, I was working in advertising, and I was given the challenge by my advertising agency to find a new business approach for specialty coffee. They thought that there was something interesting going on in the industry. And so I would bring my research home, and Alan would see it, and he's a landscape architect, environmental planner, and I would bring work home, and he'd be fascinated by it. And then we both would independently spend a lot of time in coffee houses that were sort of sprouting up around Seattle area. And we're very intrigued by the culture and obviously by the product itself. There wasn't anything like that here in Maine. And it was really a journey of who we were as people and what do you want to do with your life? And we were doing well professionally in Seattle, but after about three years, had to make the decision, is this our new home or do we go back to Maine? And when we would come back to visit Portland, we would say, you know, why hasn't our downtown come back and why isn't somebody doing something about it? And then really started questioning ourselves, who is they? Who are these people who are supposed to make the downtown come back and realize we are they? And so it was this whole process of really working on a business plan to come back east and making the move and being told that we couldn't do this in Portland. And so we really. It was sort of a leap of faith. We ended up initially moving to Burlington, Vermont. We ended up in Providence, Rhode Island. And during that whole time, while I was working a lot of temporary jobs, Alan actually was writing the business plan what ended up being coffee by design. And it was almost overnight where we finally said, you know, part of this plan and part of the journey is, you know, again, where do we want to live and where do we want to have a life where we feel like we have meaning and we can make a difference. And part of the process was learning what a coffeehouse could do, which we'll obviously talk more about community, but. But it was almost as if overnight, a friend of ours mentioned that there was a vacancy coming up in what was then the pornography district of Portland. And within the weekend, we had moved back to Maine. And within a couple of weeks, we'd signed our lease, and Coffee by Design was born.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So it's that kind of idea that if you put something out there as something that you want to have happen, then the universe kind of comes in and fills that up for you.

Mary Allen Lindemann:

It's funny, I think, that it's really being open to opportunities and really listening to yourself and what you as a person want. When we first left Seattle, we learned very quickly who our real friends were. And we were very thankful we had supportive families, because here we were. I was vice president of an ad agency. Alan worked for a great engineering firm. And here we are saying we're going to leave our jobs, and we don't have other jobs, but we have this idea to open something to do with coffee. And very quickly, we found who our friends were, people where the status of what we were doing was important to them. And. And so it was just being open to what do we want, and who do we, as people want to make a difference? And very fortunate at the time is we were in agreement as a couple that there was a change we wanted to make in our lives, and we wanted to make a difference, but do something we were really passionate about. And so I think if you're open to that and if you're willing to take risks and make change happen, it gets more challenging as you get older. And that's something that Alan and I are really pushing ourselves now more than ever, is when you've been in business, you know, almost 19 years is not to lose that ability to take a chance. It's calculated risk, but taking a chance and trusting your gut instinct.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, talk to me about the fact that you were a poetry major at Brown and how that led you to this and whether people in your family might have had questions about that path.

Mary Allen Lindemann:

The poetry or the coffee?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, either. Either.

Mary Allen Lindemann:

Start with either.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I mean, it's kind of an interesting thing that you pulled from all these different areas of the brain in your life to come up with something that made sense to you.

Mary Allen Lindemann:

You know, it's funny, I think, again, I encourage people, do what you love, because you never know when all these different paths will lead you to what you're meant to do. And I think about again, how fortunate I was that I had parents who may not have always understood choices that were made, but were very supportive of it. And I remember taking a class at Brown, actually the City and the Arts. And it was this class on the arts and how cities impact the arts and create great writing. And at the time it was very abstract and I wasn't quite sure why I was taking the course. And it wasn't until many years later, I mean, I graduated in 1982. It was when I opened Coffee by Design and in the 90s, where the class all of a sudden connected for me and the importance of the arts in our community and in cities and how we, if we don't fight for things we believe in, we lose them. And a life without art and music and poetry is pretty bland. And so, you know where Brown was really instrumental for me personally was it allowed me to actually create my own major. I did an independent major in writing. I was very intrigued by women's studies at the time, still am. And also African American studies were important to me. And so they really allowed me to craft my own major also where Brown has the new curriculum where you can do, pass, fail in any course. So it really pushed me to try courses I might not ordinarily. And so where I personally would never take a science course, I took a science course. So I think that again, I'm really thankful that I transitioned. I actually didn't start at Brown. I started at Bowdoin. Funny enough, I'm from New York City and spent my first year of college here in Maine. And Bowdoin was so wonderful academically, but I needed something where I could really explore my own path and Brown allowed me to do that. Alan too. I mean, he started at University of Maine in Orono and then transferred to Cornell and majored in landscape architecture. And I think for both of us realizing that these things that we studied in college and didn't necessarily think we'd have long term careers out of actually have really infused Coffee by Design with what it is. So for me, Brown let me explore so many opportunities and I think core to any entrepreneur is, don't tell me no, you can't do that because I'll prove you I can. And why not? It makes me really want to challenge sometimes what people say you can't do.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Why coffee? What was the draw for you and how have you maintained an interest in coffee all of these years?

Mary Allen Lindemann:

Coffee has so many layers to it. And that's what makes it interesting. It's funny to me when we have new people join us, and after three months, they say, well, I've learned it all. You know, again, we've been doing this 19 years and three years of research before that. And every day there's a new opportunity to learn something. And the exciting thing is it's about something we enjoy every day, Whether it's to start your day or finish a meal. It has history to it, it has politics, it has agriculture. It's just there's so many layers to coffee. And so that's what every day when I go in and we have a tasting every day at our roastery, it really transports you to someplace different that you might not have been exposed to. And really makes me question a lot of things about choices we make. And when people just say, oh, you know, I just want a cup of coffee, it's like, well, that's a really loaded question for us. Because there's so many questions I have about what's going to make the perfect cup for you. As Alan often says to customers, I'm not going to tell you what the perfect cup of coffee is for you. That's your choice. Whatever is your favorite coffee is your personal choice. And we have a lot of choices for you to really explore. You know, right now, this morning, I enjoyed this great coffee from Guatemala, and it's from the Acatenango region and from an estate called El Zapote. And I'm drinking it exclusively right now because I know we don't have any more to roast. And as sad as I am that that coffee will no longer be available for a while, it gives me the opportunity to explore all these other great coffees that are coming in. And so it's just so many levels. It's something that actually we can enjoy and savor. It's something that we actually can learn about our world around us. It's something in choosing what coffees we bring in and enjoy, we can have positive or negative impact on communities by the coffees we choose, by the questions we ask. We have a really strict buying criteria. We tell people it's not just about a sticker on a bag. You know, all that certification is important, but there are farmers who consciously choose not to get certified because it costs a lot, because in some cases, it restricts choices they can make if their community is at risk. And, you know, you have farms that easily could be certified organic who choose not to because of cost. And also, last case, resort, if they need to use a pesticide to save their community. They want that option open to them. So we tell people. That's what's so interesting about it. And what I've enjoyed about our customers is they've gone on this amazing journey with us, and they've trusted us that as we do our homework and research and our journey and our travels, when we bring information back, they're really open to learning from us and trusting us that when we say this is a sustainable coffee, it doesn't matter that it doesn't have certain stickers on a bag.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And what about this fair trade? Is that the same sort of thing that you're talking about, that a certification can be helpful, but isn't always?

Mary Allen Lindemann:

Fair trade has been very interesting and it's been so well publicized recently, which has really been nice to see. In the early years of our business, as Alan and I were exploring fair trade and fair trade certification, we had a lot of questions about how it was being overseen in the US and felt that our questions were not being answered. And there were issues, we felt, with transparency, and we felt like the farmers were not being included in the process of what is a fair price. So standards were being set that we all believed in. But could the farmer actually produce that product to those standards and get the price that was being offered? And it wasn't. You know, we would have farmers come up to us, and they'd have to be very discreet about it, but they would say, fair trade is not fair to farmers. And when we would ask about transparency, people were very vague. You know, we would say, can you actually prove to us that the money we're paying is actually going direct to the people we think it is? And. And again, we're just finding we weren't getting real answers. There also were no incentives for quality. And for us, quality is high on our buying criteria. And so you'd have a farmer who'd be fair trade certified, but the coffee really wouldn't be that great. I think for us, one of the light bulb moments, if you will, was when we had an amazing farmer we were working with in Colombia, and we had Oscual de Acevedo is his name, and he owns an estate called Mesa de los Santos. And we loved his farm, we loved his product. Amazing man. Just his environmental practices, everything. He was extraordinary. And yet, because he was an individual estate farm, because of his size, because of certain things, he was not allowed to actually participate in the fair trade program. And we had a lot of demand from our customers to have a fair Trade certified coffee at the time. And so we switched and it just wasn't a great coffee. And even though our sales were very strong of it, that was one of those moments when Alan and I said, who are we as a company and what is our mission as far as educating our customer? And so we actually pulled out the fair trade coffee, put back Mesa Los Santos, our sales dropped and we started to really focus more of our time and energy on educating our customer. And sales finally surpassed what they had been. So again, I think it's sometimes taking that leap of faith and knowing that you really know a lot about your industry and are always learning and very open to ideas that people have and questions people have, but also really having your standards of this is what we believe in and this is what we know to be true from our research and our travels and the people we work with. So it's been very interesting the past two years a lot of what's being said about fair trade, again, in concept, it's such these are great questions that people ask. But some people are being kept away from the table because of the certification process. And so we tell our customers understand, we have a list of questions we ask, there is documentation we do require, there are things we see for ourselves. Hopefully you will trust us enough to know that we've done our homework.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And when you as a customer, when you go into a coffee by design, you actually can see individual coffees, you can see pictures of you and Alan up on the wall going to, to visit these farmers. So that you have a sense that there is something very unique about what you're offering, that you're actually investigating the whole thing pretty in a very in depth way.

Mary Allen Lindemann:

What we've learned is I think we've been very shy about letting customers know what we're doing. One of the things we have felt strongly about is not using our beliefs as a marketing tool. And we're realizing that actually doesn't make a lot of sense. I remember a customer saying to me when she found out some of what we were doing because we weren't publicizing it, and she said, you know, I buy the coffee because I love the coffee, I love the service, but I know I'm hearing all this other stuff. And that for me, sort of, you know, validates my decision to buy from you. It tells me where my money that I spend with you ends up. And that's critically important. And so that's been a process we've been going through the past few years of better telling the story. We're very excited for 2013 because we have a lot of plans in place and we have a team of people we're working with now who are actually going to help us better tell the story because it's an amazing story and it is. We feel a point of difference. Not everybody does the travel that we do. Not everybody invests in both our local community and in our coffee community as significantly as we do. So we feel again, that's important our customers know because that's part of their decision making process.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Here on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, we've long recognized the link between health and wealth. Here to speak more on the topic is Tom Shepard of Shepherd Financial inspiration has two meanings. I find the first meaning printed on our money in God We Trust. The second is the first currency breathed into us by our Creator. The air we breathe is the very fuel we need to create energy. That energy eventually gets converted into money in exchange for all the things we spend time doing. At this point we have a choice. We can hold on to our money and our breath, or we can breathe out the bad and replace it with what's good. But don't stop there. Regular practice and exercise is important in the realm of investing our time and resources. If you need help connecting your inspiration to your money, send us an email to infohepherdfinancialmaine.com and in the subject line type Inspiration

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

One of the things that you initially champion before it was popular to champion this was arts in the community and I know you still do this. You still have a rebel blend that I actually just purchased for significant man in my life and I was excited to do that because I knew what the story was. What are some of the things that you have been passionate about that you remain passionate about? Some of the things that you think really deserve support?

Mary Allen Lindemann:

You know it started with the arts. I mean literally Coffee by Design. The whole naming of the company really came down to talking about coffee and unique and one of a kind and creating something wonderful and artisan coffee. But it also was reflective of what was going on in Portland, again, because of the recession. So many of the art galleries and studios in Portland had closed because of lack of business. And we had so many close friends who were artists who were really still struggling to survive, even though they were amazing. And it just seemed so unfair that they were still struggling and couldn't make ends meet. And so when we opened Coffee by Design, the first one on Congress street in what is now called the Arts District, it was important to us to actually highlight the work of local artists, Maine artists. And so that's a tradition we've carried on. So the arts are critically important to us. The Rebel Blend Fund, which you mentioned, we're so proud of. When I look at the list of recipients for the Rebel Blend Grants, because something that started so small and literally it's generated from the sales of our Rebel Blend coffee, When I look at the list of recipients over the years, I'm so proud that those were people, in a small way, that we really acknowledged what they were doing. And to see the work they're doing now is incredible. I look at Karen Montanaro, who now gets NEA grants, and I look at Pikachu, the children's choir, and they're traveling nationally and probably internationally at this time. And I think about when I made the phone call to the folks at the East End School, that I called them on a Friday because we actually had selected them and we were going to be purchasing the instruments they needed for an African drumming class. And when I called the woman and she had tears, she said, you have no idea of what this means to us. If we didn't receive funding by Monday, the whole program got pulled, and they actually had the funding for the instructor, but no instruments. So when I think about the arts, I hope in our own small way, we've really raised awareness and. And really let people know we can't lose the arts. And people sometimes think $1,000 doesn't make a lot of difference. $1,000 means the world to a number of people and really gets the ball rolling. There are a number of other areas. I mean, AIDS awareness is critically important. When we opened on Congress street, we were right across the street from the AIDS project and we lost customers. And really letting people know, even now, we don't hear so much about aids. There are people out there who are HIV positive, and there are families who still are struggling with the loss of aids and worldwide, it's something we still need to be vigilant about. We have to eradicate AIDS in our lifetime. We have to eradicate it. We are really passionate about mental health awareness and destigmatizing it. And with these events in Connecticut, you know, my fear is fear of mental illness again. And so really critically important that we let people know. It happens to all of us. I think if you speak to pretty much anyone somewhere in their family, in their circle of friends, mental illness is part of what they're facing, and really important that we destigmatize it and learn that we are all human beings and we are responsible for one another, and we can make a difference in someone's life by how we treat them. And that's always been really core at Coffee by Design. And I love with our staff, somehow that's part of our culture. They get. I had a customer who was so kind recently, and she said, I just have to share with you there's something you must do in your training. Because I was in your Congress street coffee house the other day, and someone had come up, and they were begging for a cup of coffee. And your staff member, when a customer offered to pay, very discreetly, pulled the customer aside and said, you know, that's really so kind of you that you want to give the money, but we have a relationship with this person's social worker. And they've told us this is enabling this person to continue behavior that's not appropriate for them. And so if you don't mind, we do be respectful that we're really trying to be part of a recovery process here. And the customer said, I was so moved by how very articulate and sensitive and discreet and powerful the message was, and that somehow your staff just get it things. Early on, Alan and I had promised customers as we grew the company, we promised what made us special in the first place would not be lost, that it would be passed on. And for me to realize that our staff do get it, they understand it, and they believe it has been critically important. You know, as we've grown as a company, our focus had initially been really support your local community, give back to your local community. And as we've traveled in coffee, how could we not extend that and give back to the community from where we get our coffee? And so we have some really significant projects that we are funding that are just core, again, to who we are. Alan traveled pretty extensively in Colombia to a region called Jardin, and was invited to actually be part of a new mill that companies invested heavily in to create better quality and really implement sustainable practices. And when he was there, he was just so moved by the community and their willingness to learn in order to get out of poverty. And so he said, if there are any significant projects that we might be able to partner on, let us know. And in the meantime, we'll sponsor a high school student. Well, that initial contact led to them approaching us about funding the dining facility for their school. They actually had built the hospital, the school and the children, who are from a very poor region, travel many miles to get to school, but there was no way to feed them properly. And so they sent us a proposal for would we help fund their dining facility. And as we reviewed the proposal, we decided, why don't we just pay for the whole thing? And so we made a commitment to actually fully fund the facility. It is now built. Hopefully Alan will get to go and actually see the completed project. So to know that the word we send to that community is you give us great coffee. We believe in you, we want to help you. It's a two way street. It's all one world. And so this is our gift to you, and we hope that you will appreciate it and that your children will thrive and the next generation will live better because of it. Same thing with Coffee Kids is a program that a lot of people might see in coffee houses. And we've been involved with Coffee Kids for years. And as they grew and were better known, I wondered if our money made a difference. And I was on an amazing trip in Guatemala last year and was traveling to a number of farms and they were showing us unrelated to coffee industries on farms to support the farm. And this woman came over and was showing me textiles and she heard that we were one of the few companies on the trip. In fact, I think we were the only company on the trip who were involved in Coffee Kids. And she came over and said, let me show you the textiles. These help fund our lifestyle here on this community, and Coffee Kids helps to support it. And she and I, I don't speak Spanish very well. She didn't speak English very well. But it's amazing how you can communicate. A few minutes later, she comes over and is showing me pictures of her children. And she said, these are my children. Coffee Kids funds our educational program here too, and my children will have a better life. At this point, you know, I'm like, okay, you got me here. So fine. A few minutes later, she comes over with a translator. She says, do you know Coffee Kids funds are a health program here? And I'm like, okay. And I Just get teary thinking about it. She said. I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and I'm alive today because of coffee kids. Well, at that point, and we use it in an ad. I have tears streaming down my face. I'm holding the textile. I'm with the woman. And it really made me say, of course we're involved in coffee kids. And I'm renewing my commitment. We had not let it lapse, but I'm renewing it and I'm going back and making sure everybody knows it's about coffee and so much more. I remember a customer years ago holding up this cup and just saying, coffee by design. A great cup of coffee and a whole lot more. And that's what it's about. Again, as I said earlier, it's so many layers to it. We have the gift and it's a lot of work of so sourcing and finding outstanding coffees and finding coffees that fit our criteria, educating ourselves and our customer and our staff. But what an amazing opportunity to connect ourselves with the world and feel like we make a difference both worldwide, but also here in Maine. That money stays here in Maine.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, where can people find great coffee and a whole lot more, at least as far as it's coming from. Coffee by Design.

Mary Allen Lindemann:

We have four of our own retail coffee houses, which are amazing to me. Each one is so unique and special in its own way. Three of them are in downtown Portland. One is in Congress street, one is on India street. And then we have a Washington Avenue Roastery Origins bar, where we only brew single origin coffee, but we sell our whole range of coffees. And then we had the great opportunity to partner with L.L. bean and actually have a location inside the flagship store, inside L.L. bean. And that was really a lot of, you know, that was a really interesting process for us because at the time, we didn't think we would necessarily be inside a larger company. And yet as we went through the process, we realized, why wouldn't we want people who come to visit L.L. bean from around the world to know about great Maine products? And what a great opportunity to educate people about us and about our coffees. In addition to our own shops, we have over 500amazing wholesale customers around the country. And it's everything from coffee houses to cafes to restaurants. We have an amazing partnership and we will always be thankful to 4th Street Restaurant. Sam Hayward and Dana street, early on, had faith in us. At the time, we had just started roasting our coffee on India street, and we got the call that 4th street was looking for a new Coffee vendor. And, and here we were. We didn't have any packaging, we hadn't developed pricing, we didn't have a wholesale business. We were roasting for our stores. And the way we delivered our coffee to our stores was on a bicycle with a little cart attached. And Alan just thought, what a great opportunity to be around amazing people in the food industry, amazing restaurateurs. And so he went down to present coffees just for an educational opportunity and was invited back and did some tweaking to some blends because we like to partner with chefs and seeing their menu and getting a sense of what would complement a meal. And lo and behold, we won the account and didn't realize in getting 4th street, we actually won street and Company. And so what an amazing beginning to a wholesale company. And again, we have an amazing partnership with them. And they just were still in awe that they, they really believed in us and really understood and appreciated our product. And we've grown with them. And it's opened the door to so many other great chefs and great restaurants and great coffee houses. And our goal is not to be everywhere. Our goal is to be places where our product is really appreciated and presented well. We've had accounts who've approached us and if the first question is price, we're not the most expensive thing, but we're not the cheapest either. And so really making sure if they're not right up front, asking lots of questions about coffee and community, this might not be the right combination for us. And so we've learned you don't like to say no to business. But we've learned, you know, we want a long term relationship. If it doesn't feel good right at the beginning, we're going to drive each other crazy. And so sometimes we just take the risk and say no. And sometimes it might be we really want this account. But you know what, we're growing a little too fast and we need to slow the growth down. And so we've learned with certain accounts to tell them we're not really in a position right now to take you on if you can wait. We can't wait to bring you on board and read an account we finally were able to bring on. She said, you know, you turned me down three times because you were too busy. And we were like. And you hung on. And she said, yeah, because I actually, it actually reinforced my decision again to be with you because it wasn't just about my money. It was about you wanted to serve me and serve me well. And there was infrastructure we needed to put in place. We needed to train new people. We don't want a second shift, we don't want a third shift. We want people to have quality of life here in Maine. And we all work really hard. But it really was about making sure you bring your whole team along and make sure that they're comfortable with the growth and make sure that accounts know that if we bring you on, you're really part of a long term relationship with us and we want to be able to serve you and serve you well.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, we've been very fortunate to have you spend time with us today in the studio. We've been talking with Mary Ellen Lindemann of Coffee by Design, which was founded right here in Portland, Maine. And congratulations on all the great work that you've done not only with coffee in Maine, but with coffee growers around the country and with all these causes that you're supporting. It's a pretty inspirational story.

Mary Allen Lindemann:

Thank you. It's been an amazing journey and we couldn't have done it without the support of our community. So thank you.

Mary Allen Lindemann:

and

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It is of course, the new year. It's 2013 and in January a lot of people think about what they want to do to change their lives. They feel inspired. They want to maybe create a new business, maybe fulfill a lifelong dream or move towards a passion that they've had again from many, many years. The person that I have sitting in front of me actually is someone that has helped me with my lifelong dream. So I know that she knows exactly what she's doing and is very helpful at getting other people to very, let's say grounded and able to move forward with their dreams. So I have in front of me, Marcy Booth from Booth, Maine. And I'm very thrilled to have this friend and collaborator and colleague with me today.

Marci Booth:

Oh, I'm very happy to be here. Thank you.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Marcy Booth Main. I know you were kind of. Because I know you so well. I know that when they initially said, Marcy, you have to call it Booth because your last name is Booth, you weren't really quite sure about that.

Marci Booth:

No, I was a little hesitant. I never thought of it as my. My last name. And I also didn't know if I was comfortable putting myself out there in that way. But through my branding, I was convinced that that was the right move. And it actually has turned out to be a perfect move. And it's now turned into a brand. And not just me, it's everyone that's around on the team that is Booth. It's been a great move forward, and

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

we're going to talk about what Booth does for other businesses. But I'd first like to talk about why you decided to create the small business for yourself and some of the things that you went through as a small business creator and owner. Because it's not always easy.

Marci Booth:

No, it's not. There's several challenges that come along. I think people really need to think about what, what the purpose is, why they're going into business. Is it if it's just solely for the money, that's not going to get you very far. People can really read into that money needs to be the outcome or something that happens down the road. But you have to be in it for a higher purpose, whether it's you find there's a need out there and you want to fulfill it. You know, there's so many people that, you know, maybe are stay at home moms and they are taking care of their children and they find there's a need there for a new toy or a new, you know, clothing line or something. And that's where they find a need. Others, they want to be in service, to help. And that's what why I went into business. I really found both things. There was a need, and I also wanted to help people succeed in their own businesses. It's exciting to watch businesses succeed.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And you're good at something that a lot of us, and I speak as a physician who never received any business training whatsoever, a lot of us aren't maybe as good at. You're good at looking at numbers and spreadsheets and profit and loss. You're good at some of these things that I think those people who are out there who are creative sorts, who want to have their own business, maybe not be in their skill set.

Marci Booth:

Oh, absolutely. They have created a product or a service and they're good at that. It's not necessarily the back office things that they are great at. And that's where we come in. We try and help them with all of those back office issues. And there may not be large enough to hire a large staff to handle all of that. So we come in, take care of accounting, bookkeeping, tax, hr, all the back office issues that someone might face when they're opening a business. I mean, there's so many things to think about with regards to compliance and employees, how to handle them, how to terminate them. And it's a very holistic approach to business and it's really about the entire, entire business, not just one little facet. And hopefully we're able to make their lives easier so they can go out and market their product or create their product.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, that is one of the things that struck me about working with you, and I have been working with you for a while, and not only in my medical practice, but also here on the radio show, was that you're so very good at taking a bigger picture view. You're not just an accounting firm, not that there's anything wrong with accounting firms, but you're not just the person who's going to come in and talk to us about HR regulations, human resource regulations. You really are looking at the people that need to work within a small business. You're looking at the needs of the individual, the needs of the company, and how to best move that organization forward.

Marci Booth:

It's about solutions for me. There's no one way to do things. You'll find so many accountants or business people that can do several things very differently, but you'll come up to the similar result. I look at the entire company and the individual that I'm working with and I just really want to see them succeed and come up with solutions to, to move them forward. There's so many times where a client might be, I have to talk them off the ledge. You know, they come to a crossroads where they want to pack it up and go home or you know, some that actually want to, you know, move forward. And usually it's at that crossroads that if they just stick it out and they really make it happen, they'll see success. And it's, it's usually the ones that, you know, pack it up and go home. They've just come to that point where if they, if they would just step across, they'd make it instead of turning around and going home.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So you actually have to be empathic and you have to have good communication skills, and you actually have to have a little bit of a thing, therapist kind of inclination, even though you're not one specifically.

Marci Booth:

That's why I have a couch in my office.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It's true. And you actually, you have a beautiful office. So that's another thing is to have this. It really is this whole sense of wanting other people to do well in their world.

Marci Booth:

It's very important to see people succeed and really care. I mean, when someone leaves my office, I'm. I don't stop thinking about them. I try to come up with a solution to whatever it is that they're dealing with. You know, whether it's, you know, cash flow issues or it's employee issues, I really think it's important to have someone there that cares.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You mentioned the, say, stay at home mother comes up with the idea of a new toy and wants to go into business. Of course, I know that there's one of the things that you know a lot about is being a mother and how that actually does impact your ability to problem solve and multitask and go into business. Do you mind me asking, you're the mother of four.

Marci Booth:

Four. Four girls. Four girls.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

All between the ages of 11, 12, 12 and four and four. So anybody who's listening, if you're doing calculations, that's a lot of little girls to be raising happily married to. Steve, you know what it's like to do the juggling and the multitasking and the problem solving. Are there skills that you have been able to apply from your mind mothering side of your life to your business side of your life, do you think?

Marci Booth:

Good question. I'd say, you know, scheduling. You know, you do need to stay on task and stay on schedule as much as I fight it, you know, because I think, you know, my whole entire life, you know, my business world is always scheduled and regimented. Well, then I go home and it has to be regimented. But I actually find that it's much more peaceful if I Do that. You know, from getting up in the morning to exercise to getting to the office. Well, getting the kids off on the buses, which are three different buses and a preschool. But you also have to have support at home and, you know, act as a team. And that's very important to get your life going in the right direction.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So those are things that are important both in the home and in the business. Since you've been able to translate those skills from across those areas. Yes. And that's something that actually women or women or other or men who stay at home with their kids, if they're thinking, oh, I'd like to start a small business, they can build on skills like that.

Marci Booth:

Oh, absolutely, they can do it. I mean, there's so many ways, especially with technology now. There's, you know, at home businesses, Internet businesses, marketing, you know, there's consulting, and it all can revolve around your schedule.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Another thing that I know about your business and you and Steve is that you're committed to your values. You're committed not only to your family, but you also have. You eat really well, you exercise, you do qigong. I know you belong to the body architect. When you have a very holistic view of your life, do you think that that also impacts decisions that you make with Booth?

Marci Booth:

Yeah, I think so. I think the culture at Booth is very different from any other. It is very holistic approach with everyone there on the team, as well as how we work with clients. You know, I don't push my values or anything on anyone, but I think they appreciate that I try to come in with a clear mind and express concern or care for everyone's well being, whether it's the employees or it's the client.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

For people who are thinking about starting a small business, or maybe they have a small business, but they know it needs some tweaking. What are some suggestions that you might have for them?

Marci Booth:

Well, again, if you're looking to start a business, go in from for the right reasons, it needs to be for, you know, in service to others or because you see a need. Also, I wouldn't go into a business to spite anyone. That rarely works. Well. While it's good to have the competitive spirit, it's just not something that's going to drive you to sustain.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Have you actually had people who've done that before?

Marci Booth:

Yes.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I'm just wondering because I'm just sitting here. It's hard to believe somebody might go to the effort of starting a business just to make somebody else unhappy.

Marci Booth:

Yes. Show somebody else up, you know, didn't like their boss, you know, they can do it better.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Okay.

Marci Booth:

You know, you really start to appreciate what a boss does, you know, when you go into a business for yourself and all the decisions that come along with it, all the costs.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So. But that's not a good reason to start.

Marci Booth:

No, not a good reason.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Find a good reason, find a really

Marci Booth:

good reason to go that's going to

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

sustain you, not despite somebody else. It has to come from within. And what else?

Marci Booth:

I think you have to be a doer, you have to take action, realize that nothing's going to come to you. Just, you know, just sitting on the couch and having a great idea. Lots of people have great ideas. It's the ones that actually take action and make it happen and find the right people to help you in that process. There's also planning, a ton of planning goes into it. You know, making sure that you understand what your, your goals are, your one month goal, your six month goal, your year, five year plan, what does that plan look like and if you need funding, what, you know, how, how, what applications need to be done, you know, your budgets, your pro formas, making sure you have all of that ready to proceed. You know, and there's, there are so many things to starting up a business with, you know, legal documents, making sure that your operating agreements are in place. If you have a partnership, I highly recommend, you know, going to see a lawyer to get that all spelled out because partnerships can be very difficult. Budgets, you know, there's sales tax, resale certificates. If you're providing a service, a product, you know, know what you're getting into, or at least find the people to help you get off on the right track.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I think it's that second piece that appeals to me the most. Again, as a physician who didn't really receive a lot of business advice, I needed to align myself with the right people. And I happen to be fortunate to enough to have a team of advisors that works with me. And you're on that team of advisors. I know that I will probably never be as good at profit and loss sheets as I am at being a doctor, but I know that I have.

Marci Booth:

But you're not supposed to be.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Exactly.

Marci Booth:

And that's what's great about it. And also that you realize that most people think they can do it all. And while I'm sure that they can and that they do understand many things, it's, they're taking the focus off of what they need to do, which is sell their product or service. And you know, sometimes there are things that you forget along the way. And to have those advisors is very important.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Marcy, how can people find out about Booth Main and the services that are provided by you and the employees, the colleagues of yours that work with you?

Marci Booth:

Well, they can go to our website which is boothmain.com they can always call and the phone number 774-4030.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well Marcy, I am really pleased that you took the time to come in here and share with our listeners what it is that you do for companies aside from just my company that but every time I sit down with somebody who knows more about business than I do, and it's fair to say that

Mary Allen Lindemann:

there's a lot of people who know

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

more about business than I do, it just reminds me that we all have different sorts of skills and talents and really finding the right collaborators is key. So I appreciate your collaborating with me on my business, the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and providing the valuable service that you do to the community.

Marci Booth:

Well, I appreciate it. Thank you very much for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You have been listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast show number 71, Inspiration. For a preview of each week's shows, sign up for our E newsletter and like our Dr. Lisa Facebook page. You can also follow me on Twitter and Pinterest under Dr. Lisa D O C T O R Lisa and read my take on health and well being on The Bountiful blog. Bountiful-blog.org we love to hear from you, so please let us know what you think of the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour. We also welcome your suggestions for future shows. Please do let our sponsors know that you've heard about them here. Tom Sheppard of Shepherd Financial, Dr. John Herzog of Orthopaedic Specialists, Marcy Booth of Booth Inc. And Mike LePage and Beth Franklin of Remax Heritage, as well as Kathryn Clabman of Apothecary by Design and Steven Antonia Anderson of the Body Architect are all personal friends of mine. I'm privileged that they enable me to bring the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour to you each week. This is Dr. Lisa Belisle hoping that our show will bring inspiration to to your day. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your world. May you have a bountiful life.

Mary Allen Lindemann:

Sa.