It’s Day 335 of the Pink Collar Savvy & Chic on Purpose Project and my collaboration with a Pink Collar Savvy & Chic entrepreneur demonstrates how our ventures – coaching and coffee – are small businesses with big benefits. Lianne Nowak and her husband own our local coffee shop, Coffee Beans & Brew. I’ve been a regular customer from the time the doors opened in 2006, if I’m not mistaken. I could run across the parking lot and grab a cup when I worked next door in an entry level child care center position right after I became homeless. Back then, staff often sported “Star Quality, Less Bucks” shirts that proclaimed a truth customers still attest to. Now their cards read “Feels Like Home” and that statement is just as true. The shop is known for its comfy atmosphere as much as it is for the coffee. Over the years, CBB has remained a constant throughout my evolving career transitions.  When I’d worked my way up to Leadership Coach status, it was a great site to work on post and prep for sessions remotely. And being a director of a coaching program required a daily morning trip through the drive through for a huge Skinny Vanilla Latte. Today, I meet many of my coaching clients in this office away from home, located mere minutes the PCS&C headquarters. For Lianne, owning the shop and often serving as barista has afforded her the flexibility to be present for her son and to pursue her other interests – like Pure Romance and decorating gorgeous wedding cakes. Coaching and coffee have allowed both of us to build our best personal and professional lives. I’d say those are huge benefits from small businesses!

As a Pink Collar Savvy & Chic on Purpose life coach, author, and entrepreneur, I’m delighted to work with Lianne to host the first book signing for Seasons of Her Soul, my debut novel. She goes above and beyond to ensure Coffee Beans & Brew feels like home, including baking delectable pastries and the best chicken salad I’ve ever tasted. And because it feels like home, it’s an ideal gathering spot for the community, a Coffee & Connect Book signing, and coaching clients! The fact that I get to coach clients at a place that has served as a haven while I minimized my own barriers in order to maximize my best personal and professional life is not lost on me. Doing it over a great cup of coffee makes it even better. Another way the coffee and coaching small businesses go hand and hand and yield big benefits.

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