Last Monday night I sat around an Edge Cafe classroom with a handful of other Colgate students to hear from Britty and Brendan O’Connor: the owners of the beloved Flour and Salt Cafe, Bakery, and Martha’s On Madison. Over a meal of Royal Indian Grill, the O’Connors shared many pieces of advice and personal anecdotes throughout their journey of opening a small business. I was inspired by their candor and passion for their work. Their journey is one of community and opportunity. Hearing about the O’Connors success with Flour and Salt was reassuring to an undergraduate like myself who doesn’t quite know what she wants to “do” with her post-grad life. How will my Colgate education propel me forward? Britty and Brendan’s journey showed me that the answer may simply lie in passion and preparation. Let’s hear their sage advice that we can apply to our undergraduate journeys at Colgate.
The community of Hamilton is everything for the O’Connors. They spent significant time here during undergrad and their initial post-grad years. The support system they established and their passion for the surrounding community inspired them to open Flour and Salt here, in our little pocket of central New York. The two lived in the Hudson Valley for a couple of years, but struggled to meet people and find the same sense of community they felt in Hamilton. Moving back was essential for their support system and quickly proved vital for their business endeavors. Britty thoughtfully provided that it is much easier to pour your heart into opening a business when it exists in a community you love. Furthermore, if you don’t feel that sense of connection after a year – move! There is no sense in building a place from the ground up when that place does not simultaneously fulfill you. Britty’s advice reminded me that community and environment go hand in hand. As a recent transfer to Colgate, I saw firsthand the power of the environment and the impact it had on me at my previous institution. I like to work hard, just like any high-achieving liberal arts student, but hard work is much more difficult when your environment is unfulfilling. Whether you’d like to open a business or are simply wondering where to settle down, location makes all the difference. Flour and Salt wouldn’t be the success it has become without Hamilton and, at the same time, Hamilton would not be the same without Flour and Salt.
Opportunity has proved vital in Britty and Brendan’s journey with Flour and Salt time and time again. While describing their business’ progression Brendan reminded us that you should always be ready for an opportunity. The combination of both an opportunity to seize and the preparation to do so go hand in hand. Brendan outlined that you need three things for ideal preparation: cash flow, everything on wheels, and the ability to adapt. Wait, everything on wheels? I digress. Brendan told us a funny anecdote about wheels. A friend advised the two that, in a kitchen, everything should be on wheels. You never know when you’ll have to reconfigure the layout or simply clean behind the bread racks. In non-kitchen terms, we must be “on wheels” so we can readjust even our best-laid plans. Life is ever-changing, evading our five-year plans and meticulous spreadsheets. Brendan later admitted with a chuckle that maybe the counter of the cafe should have been on wheels so they could reconfigure the entryway! Digression finished. Back to seizing opportunity. How can we be prepared for when opportunity strikes? Cash flow is key for the obvious reason that you can’t invest in an opportunity when there are no funds to invest. Flexibility and spontaneity are what opportunities often require. Lastly, adaptability is key. You will only be able to see an alternative way of doing something when you can see beyond your way of doing it. Opportunity may present a better and more efficient method. We all can get stuck in our ways. For me, I don’t like asking for help. Fiercely independent, I am determined to “figure it out myself”. But if I cannot look past this fierceness how would I ever benefit from the help of peers or professors? We really get in our own way sometimes.
By looking at Brendan’s observations of opportunity, it is clear that flexibility is key. Opportunity is not usually found in the five-year plan. One student asked the O’Connors if they had advice for knowing when “the time is right” to move forward and expand. Britty responded outright that: “None of this was planned.” There was no five year plan that detailed the growth, success, and evolution of their business. They had a vision, yes, but they never could’ve expected this particular outcome. We see, once again, that planning can only do so much. You never know what opportunity may arise to whisk you in a new, unprecedented direction. Exciting, isn’t it? There is so much waiting for us out there in the real world, most of which we have no knowledge of yet. Anxiety inducing? Perhaps. But that is the magic of opportunity, adaptability, and wheels.