OPENING CE GRAZ 

We finally had the opening day of CE in Graz. 

I can hardly believe that now we are open and having customers, it felt like we were going to be in the preparation stage forever. I had gotten so used to the idea of working on the shop that it was so strange to see that it was finally that long awaited day when we could put the ‘OPEN’ sign and say that we were ready to go.

 It has been over 2 years since our first preliminary visit to Graz, Simon and I came to look around at some locations and work out how a business structure here would work. It all seemed so confusing and like there was so many things that we did not understand. It was a mind-boggling process to understand the paperwork and tax system of Austria and it was actually much harder on the head then on the body. It always seems so complicated when you hear all those big businessy words and you just feel like you are a kid in a adult world, where everyone knows what they are doing apart from you. When it comes down to it and you go through the process step by step, everything is doable. If so many people before you have done these things, why cant you? There are hundreds of businesses of all kinds set up by all kinds of people and there is nothing new under the sun. The business system can be worked through with patience and sometimes just walking forward when you don’t know if the ground under you is going to hold you, it will work out if you keep trying. 

The most beautiful time of a business to me are those beginning days and weeks when you are so unsure and insecure. It’s a totally uncomfortable period of learning and growth, where you see the new baby and start to get to know it, to see its personality, what it needs from you and what you can give it. There is something so fragile and innocent, nothing has happened yet… anything could happen. I think its normal to experience some degree of fear of failing, like your newest creation that you worked so hard on is all of a sudden thrust out on the stage in the public spotlight and you hold your breath and see if there will be applause or silence, acceptance or rejection. You care more for your newest project then at any other time, you watch its every move and you try to hold on to your nerves when you think about if you can really survive and pay the bills from what you will earn. When we opened the place in Novi Sad, I remember the first day no one came in at all. I called my friend and told him ‘There is no one here… what are we going to do?’ I thought it had failed. I learnt that you need to  have so much patience and understand that everything takes so much time, people need to get to know you and your business, they need to feel comfortable and they need time to even find you.

The first customers that come in are always so treasured, I am always so excited and anxious to make sure they are happy here, that every request is met. Later on when there are so many people through the door, its so much less valued and harder to feel that rush of excitement and satisfaction for each and every person that you are welcoming into the business. This first week of CE In Graz was full of learning experiences. For one, none of us had every cooked food for a restaurant type of business before and we are learning how to do the recipes and how to make it profitable. It was so exciting for me when we sold 12 pieces of lasagna (our most sold meal this week). Little victories are so inspiring when you are starting from the bottom and learning everything from scratch. We are also learning all about which drinks people like to have here and what are the best prices. We sort of made a mock up of the menu and just worked with the customers to see if it needed to be adjusted.

 

The bike part of the CE in Graz is still in the process, as we had to wait for our tax number paper and actually a lot of the official papers for our opening were not yet finished in time for the big day. We had to make the decision to go ahead without them, because we were waiting for more then 3 and a half months and could not go on longer without losing too much money. In the next month the bike side will be open and we will see again the business expand from a new angle and see how we can breakthrough into that market. 

One of the biggest challenges coming up is how to organise CE and manage the place in Serbia and in Graz. Its so confusing for me as I really want to be in both places and see them both grow strong. There seems to be so many demanding needs on each side and its hard to get into something if you have only got one leg in. With anything you do with self employment, if you get into it…. You have to kind of get in all the way and its something to accept that your life will probably get crazy. I was telling some friends about how I really didn’t know how to plan the next few months of my life, it seemed that I should be in both countries all the time… and what about the other things I want so badly to do.. bike trips, band touring and all the rest. They told me… ‘yeah well you are one of the owners of two bars in different countires… so what did you expect’. I have to right now just enjoy the ride, this time of uncertainty can be a bit displacing and disorienting, but I know that this is kind of what I signed up for. I really cannot stand things when nothing is happening and everything is kind of stagnant, that was one reason last year was so hard for me. I think last year was the hardest year of my life (so far), I felt so stuck, like I was in a huge pot of porridge and all my efforts to move myself to do something were just wasted energy. Our project to open in Graz was so hard to start and I think the whole team of CE went though so much last year.

Now one year later, the story looks so different, the hill we struggled up is beneath us (at least partially) now we can look around and enjoy the view, but of course, we must keep moving. The greatest challenges are still laying ahead of us, but there is a clearing in the path and we made it through a big chunk of this journey. That’s the thing with life though, the challenges are never ending, there is always something to struggle with, I know that is how we grow. Sometimes I just want to get to the point where its kind of like ‘THE END’ part in a movie.. the climatic ending… but its just not like that is it? After the day ends, you have got to keep moving and progressing and there is always something new. Success is really a momentary achievement and popularity, fame and fortune are such fleeting things. When we get to a point where we can say… ‘this is where I want to be’, it changes so fast. The only stable fact in my life is change, I know its always going to be with me, and I guess in a way it’s a comforting thing. I know no matter how difficult things seem, how challenging the moment, or how hard the emotions… it will change for me and I will feel different. 

Today we look at the CE in Graz like a fresh new page in many ways, but its kind of more of a chapter that’s adding on to our already great adventure story of CE. I could never have time, memory or enough breath in my mouth to tell the story of CE the way it really happened, because its been so much more then just another trendy Café opening up in a little city in Europe. It has been built by our hands but also by our hearts, all the things we went through together as a team to make the one in Novi Sad and the one here are unfathomable stories of overcoming in so many ways. I am so proud of the whole CE team, the whole extended team, from the core members who participated in the running of both businesses, to the staff who are currently working in Novi Sad, to the new people who joined the team, to the friends who supported and helped us the whole way. Its such an unconventional business and its still growing and in its early days.

GO TEAM GO