2020: Onward & Upward

Published in

Nirvana Soul

6 min readDec 31, 2019

Not only are we at the end of a year, but the end of a whole decade. Can you believe it?

What were you doing 10 years ago? Jeronica and I recently had a long chat about all we’ve accomplished — both personally and professionally — in just one year alone, and to think there were an entire nine years beforehand that made us who we are today.

10 years ago, I wasn’t even a marketer. I had no intention of being a marketer, either. This is one of my favorite stories to tell:

At the start of 2010, I was a full-time administrative assistant at the pest control company I’d worked part-time for through college. On the side, I was freelance writing for a local online publication and preparing for either my second attempt at journalism grad school or my first attempt at an MBA. In my mind, I’d be writing for Essence Magazine as a career, so this little day job I had was just helping me pay the very minimal bills I had.

By the end of the year, I was a marketer. Not by choice, but by chance. I had finally moved on from the pest control company at the encouragement of my team and my freelance editor. Since I had my degree, I suppose it was about time I used it.

At the new company (a law firm), I signed on to do some paralegal work. A few weeks in, I was approached by the founding partner to move into marketing. Marketing?! “I don’t have the experience!” I said. (Plus, how would I manage a “real” job and my aspiring journalism career?) His reply: You don’t have paralegal experience either.

Touché.

So I became a marketer. Right then and there. And, as the universe would have it, I wasn’t half bad at it. Like, I really LOVED it.

I threw myself wholeheartedly into marketing, seeing myself as somewhat of an underdog. There was no training. It was just me and Google, making a way. Then later, some fortunate encounters with people and technology would make all the difference.

I’m proud to be here 10 years later as a marketing director in hyper-competitive Silicon Valley and on the verge of opening my own coffee shop as CMO. What a difference one decade makes.

Now, I’d be remiss not to tell you Jeronica’s 10-year story too. Here goes:

10 years ago, Jeronica was a barista at Peet’s Coffee & Tea in Sacramento. She was a year out from getting her undergraduate degree in psychology and, soon after, would embark on her MFT degree as well.

Jeronica’s longtime goal had been to open up her own coffee shop, but with her mounting student debt, the path didn’t seem so clear. So she took on some odd jobs, doing everything from housecleaning to babysitting to even selling makeup door-to-door.

For all the much deserved good that’s come her way of late, Jeronica mostly had 10 years of hard lessons. She suffered the loss of a very close loved one, had some extremely dark days and nights, had relationship ups and downs, and kept having to start over.

What was constant through it all? Coffee.

With every setback, Jeronica turned to coffee. Her return to Peet’s actually came as a result of getting let go from her former role. (Remember that pest control company I worked at? Jeronica was the one who got me that job!) She also landed at Apple’s cafe, Grace Coffee Roasters, and Scooter’s Coffee all while trying to find her way through.

Finally, after one last setback in Sacramento, she came back home to San Jose. (Ok, also with a little prodding from her obnoxious little sister.)

And here we are! Two sisters whose skills, talents, and ambitions have collided is such a magical and beautiful way.

Jeranka post-panel on women entrepreneurship at the AACSA

I tell you these stories to say this: we can plan the hell out of our lives — dreaming of Essence Magazine or having our own cafes — and there’s really no telling how things will turn out. Life is a maze, not a tunnel. There are a million ways to get to where you want to be. All we can do is keep moving in the direction of our dreams and be prepared to pivot as new information or opportunities arise.

What Jeronica and I are focused on now as we look ahead is how we want to feel. Our question is the same: by 2030, how do we want to be experiencing our lives? We always say: the only difference between people who fail and people who succeed is the people who succeed didn’t give up.

So lean into your dreams. Show up fully and joyfully in every aspect of your life. Say YES! You never know what this moment will mean for you later.

Happy New Year, y’all!

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Nirvana Soul 2019 Highlights

Decision — In January, we decided we would open Nirvana Soul. Our goal was to open December 31, 2019. We had no idea what it would take, but we felt strongly that picking a date was necessary. We’re not open yet, but we’re so close! Stay tuned for grand opening deets.
Pitch Party — On March 23, we hosted our friends and family for our very first pitch presentation. We created a slide deck and everything! It was the first time we publicly shared our dream of opening Nirvana Soul and the feedback was fantastic. We have shared this deck, with a few tweaks here and there, dozens of times since then.

Jeronica sharing her coffee love during our Pitch Party preso

First gift — Following our Pitch Party, a girlfriend of ours stopped by and gave us $500. She said she believed in us and wanted to get us started on our fundraising journey. Since we were starting at $0, this was when shit got real! We’ve been able to raise thousands of dollars since then between friends, family, and personal savings. Every dollar counts!
LLC — On August 23, we officially became a limited liability corporation (LLC)! We weren’t quite sure what this would all mean for us, but we knew it had to happen and it has definitely made us legit. We just recently pulled this bad boy out for banking and loan purposes.

Opened escrow — On December 20, Nirvana Soul opened escrow on an existing cafe we want to purchase. We dropped our first big money, which is super exciting! If all goes well, we’ll be moving in and opening up in a short couple of months.
Pre-Qualified — On December 29, we were pre-qualified for our loan. We set out at the beginning of this journey with a tight, but comfortable number in mind, and we’re now preparing to work with a little more than we originally planned. Won’t He do it?!

Nirvana Soul is a soulful coffee & tea shop bringing exciting flavor, creative artistry, and bold inspiration to the Bay Area. Follow our journey on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

2020: Onward & Upward

Written by Be'Anka Ashaolu