Episode 6: Cultivating Community with Bekah and Ryan Wallace

Life On Brand with Bekah and Ryan Wallace

Running a virtual business often does not require an office. However, after six pm it can be a challenge to find a coffee shop open for “business.” Meeting up in bars after hours is an option but it can often be a distraction to be around folks sipping cocktails and enjoying a meal. Today’s guest is changing the coffee and bar culture in their community. Cultivate coffee and tap house was started by husband and wife team, Ryan and Bekah Wallace.

Cultivate isn’t your average coffee shop, it’s a coffee shop that makes beer. The idea came to Ryan, who had been brewing beer as a hobby for a few years when he noticed a coffee shop employee opening a beer at the end of his shift. It took more than six months for him to convince his wife to take a chance on the idea.

Together, the couple founded the business on the premise of building community and giving back to that community. The business is centered around the three concepts of craft, community, and cause. We sat down with the dynamic duo in the garden where they grow food for local hunger relief to discuss business, values, and striving to find that balance.

Episode Highlights:

• 2:27 Why Ryan and Bekah started Cultivate and what makes their coffee and tap house unique.
• 4:56 If the duo always imagined they would be entrepreneurs.
• 6:43 How risk and failure played into their trajectory and fueled their motivation.
• 7:31 A life-changing conversation that Ryan had with someone he respected and admired that had him consider a shift in his trajectory.
• 9:16 How the couple came to be in the hospitality business from a tech/finance background.
• 14:50 The defining moments they knew they had something before they could even fully articulate what it was.
• 15:36 The process of choosing the name and how it applies to several aspects of their brand.
• 19:04 The importance of craft in the type of space they are cultivating at Cultivate.
• 27:35 How Ryan and Bekah learned that there always has to be one person who is constantly looking out for the culture of the business, with intention.
• 29:23 How the metrics of your company come into play – the numbers may work but the emotional quotient also needs attention.
• 30:50 The emotional ups and downs of running the business.
• 36:19 How they strive to find the balance in giving back to their community and how they make choices on what they’re able to do.
• 40:22 The motivation behind the garden they installed in the back of their space.
• 44:06 The long-term vision for Cultivate.
• 48:00 The duo responds to some of our slow burn questioning sequence; revealing their views on success, doubt, and what they would have done differently.
• 52:23 The one question they would ask other business owners.
• 52:59 How they maintain balance and flow in their business and their relationship.
• 55:02 The common language Ryan and Bekah use to maintain level communication.

Links and Resources:

Cultivate

ypsifooddude

Sundays in the Garden   

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