When I was asked to speak at @catexexhibition which was held this week in the RDS, the suggested title of the talk was “Opening a Shop in a Pandemic”, which I talked about in our first blog post back in August.
But rather than rehash the contents of that post, I thought about what I had maybe left out. In his 2019 book, The Infinite Game, author Simon Sinek talks about how momentum and longevity are much more important to a business’ survival than being better than the competition - a short term goal mindset. The key is not to win the game, the key is to stay in the game.
I’m pretty risk averse - naturally cautious - and I don’t make decisions quickly or rashly. Granted, I could have opened a coffee truck, or a suburban pop-up, and taken advantage of the short term opportunities at the time. It was more important for me to play the long game and to prioritise the security of the business into the future.
Setting up Copper + Straw has never been about making money. It’s about building and growing a business I believe in, that I’m proud of. We know our strengths and we do the best we can. Our best.
Thanks again to the folks at SCA Ireland for the invite and a special heads-up to our friend Arvind Khedun who is through to the finals of the Irish Brewing Championships in February.
