Good morning, everyone.

This is the first Saturday stories of my little mini episodes and Going Live.

It's day six of the Going Live challenge, so I hope you found some of the, the tips and tricks and, and the stories helpful over the last few days.

Today, I'm going to look at an inspiring journey of a coffee company and the coffee community, and I'm going to look at how it relates to everyday life and where we are today.

I want to share a remarkable story from the coffee community because, of course, this is coffee and coaching.

I hope you've got your coffee with me.

That the story exemplifies resilience and the power of connection.

And I think those are two really important traits to build into your life at the moment, if you can.

I recently came across this story and it's about a small coffee shop in Portland, Oregon called Heart and Soul Coffee.

During the pandemic, this shop faced significant challenges like a lot of small businesses did, and they had dwindling customer numbers and financial strain.

But instead of giving up the owner, Sarah decided to pivot her business model like a lot of businesses did.

And she reached out to her loyal customers through social media, asking for their support in a unique way.

She launched a Pay it Forward campaign where customers could buy coffee for potential customers who were in need.

And I think this is so important as it appears that there are many more people out there who could do with this kind of initiative.

It not only kept her business afloat, but it also fostered a sense of community because people began sharing their stories of how coffee had impacted their lives.

Whether it was a morning ritual that brought them peace or a comforting shared with friends during tough times, coffee's impacted my life.

I've always found coffee shops kind of a haven for creativity.

I can get very.

If I'm really stuck on something, I can get very creative and inspired just by changing my environment and going to a favorite coffee shop.

Coffee has helped me through so many, yeah, down times, if you like, because it's that ability to get out into the community to meet people.

Even if, you know, you go to a coffee shop and you have that one kind word, it can shift your perspective on things.

So coffee for me, and that's why I call this coffee and coaching has been a massive thing and it still is.

It still sustains me first thing in the morning.

Now back to the story.

As word spread, Heart and Soul became a beacon of hope in the neighborhood.

And local businesses joined in contributing their goods and services, including snacks and pastries.

And that accompanied the Free coffee being distributed to people in need.

And within months, Sarah's shop transformed from just a place to grab a coffee into a hub for for connection and support.

So what are the things that we can take away and apply in the current environment?

One is embracing change.

How can we pivot?

How can we get creative when faced with challenges?

How can we look for opportunities to adapt our approach?

Sarah's willingness to innovate saved her business and strengthened her community.

How can you potentially do the same as change speeds up in our current environment?

The other one is to foster connections.

Building relationships with your customers can create a loyal base that supports you during tough times.

And also engaging with your audience and other businesses through social media or community events is crucial.

Networking has never been so important as it is now.

And if you want to grow your business, networking with those who've gone before is a crucial step forward.

Give back initiatives like Paying It Forward not only help others, but enhance your brand's image and community ties.

But do it with alignment and integrity.

Consider how you can incorporate similar practices, similar social outreach into your businesses and share stories, encouraging storytelling within your community.

It creates bonds and reminds us of our shared experiences, making us feel less isolated.

And something that I do, which I don't really speak of, is I'm kind of an accidental creative writing facilitator host.

I have a group on Facebook with 6,000, sorry, 9,600 followers at the moment.

And it's all been quite accidental.

It's not something I've promoted.

It's grown organically and from there I run some challenges and I'm about to embark on a 30 day writing challenge.

So if you feel that you'd like to learn more about story writing, about storytelling and sharing your experiences with the world, then you might just want to pop in and check out that challenge.

And that starts next week.

So Sarah's journey with Heart and Soul Coffee is a testament to the incredible impact one person can have when they choose to uplift others.

So let's all take some inspiration from her story and look for ways we can connect and support those around us.

My example is doing these videos and my podcast, it's purely around supporting people.

My podcast is called Choosing Happy and it's around supporting those who are going through challenging times, especially businesses and with mindset and we talk a bit of woo there as well.

So whether in your business or your personal life, find ways that you can support those around you.

Because having that, that giving, that serving really can help your mood, your message, your motivation.

Each day so thank you for joining me today on coffee and coaching for the very first Saturday Stories.

I hope you leave feeling inspired to make a difference in your own community, to maybe pivot your own business to look for unexplored opportunities to serve.

So don't forget to share your thoughts in the comments below and let's keep the conversation going and please do like share, follow subscribe to help me keep the conversation going.

And until tomorrow.

I haven't decided what Sunday is yet.

Keep brewing positivity so feel free to contact me and I shall see you again on Sunday for another coffee and coaching.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to this week's episode.

If you enjoyed it or think it would be valuable to others, please do share.

And if you really enjoyed it, please leave me a review.

It really helps the podcast.

All of the links are in the show notes and I look forward to seeing you next week on the Choosing Happy Podcast.