Leap of Faith

My current UAS courses are helping guide my dream that I have already realized. Since graduating in 2002 from Alyeska Central School, a local correspondence high school, and enrolling in the Business Program at the University of Alaska Southeast, the most important thing that I have realized is that it pays to take a leap of faith.

I planned to complete my degree in Business Management in 4 years, and then open a coffee shop. I had a job at a drive-thru coffee shop that I loved. I was content being a student, and living in Banfield Hall. The first year of school went as planned, but late in my freshman year I began noticing there was no place to hang out, eat, or get coffee near the residence halls after 7pm. I decided that Auke Bay needed a coffee shop.

After looking into it a little more, I found a perfect little space in the Squire's Rest building, just down the hill from the University. I figured that a waffle and coffee shop was exactly what Auke Bay needed. I couldn't wait until I graduated, because I didn't want to miss the opportunity. I knew that this was a prime location, I had a worthwhile idea and that it needed to be implemented. That was where my leap of faith came into play.

I decided to open the Southeast Waffle Company.

I knew that it was going to be time consuming. I took a semester off from school so that I could get everything going. As most college students can relate, I didn't have a lot of money at the time and I needed to go to a bank to request a small business loan. The one business course that I had completed at that point was Small Business Management. The class required creating a complete business plan from scratch, which turned out to be the single most valuable tool in starting my business. When it came time to write the plan for my future shop, I already knew what to do. I walked into the bank with a business plan that impressed them, and I walked out with the funds that I needed to start the business.

The Southeast Waffle Company has now been open for two years, and I have learned so much over the course of those years. I changed my major from Business Management to Accounting, because I have found that the accounting classes are more useful for my purposes. I am still working toward my degree, and I don't know when I will be done. UAS courses are offered at flexible times and also online, so I have been able to stay in school and run the business at the same time. In my business, I like to stick with the motto of accounting instructor, Ron Hulstein, and "keep it short and simple." However, I do have plans to expand in the near future.

We're located just a few minutes away from the University, so don't be a stranger!

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