Moving Our Business Across the Country: Thoughts as a Small Business Owner
My son exploring our new “in-between” world in Austin, TX
I’m currently reading The Chronicles of Narnia to our 5-year-old son, in the first book when Digory and Polly discover an “in-between” world--a world of enchanting pools, each leading to a different realm, where the possibilities are infinite. Just like them, our journey to Texas felt much like stepping into an in-between world, where uncertainties loomed, and the path ahead was unclear. Or at least, that’s what it felt like in Texas after we had signed all the papers, moved our boxes into our little ranch house, and Jaime flew back to Chicago to continue the closing out of jobs in Coterie’s Chicago shop - all while simultaneously packing to move back to Texas. My mission was to find a suitable school for our son, organize our new home, secure funding, and begin cultivating relationships in this unfamiliar town.
We hoped that the in-between pool we jumped into would transport us to a place where we could finally grow our business in the ways we had always dreamed, allow us more space and time to be outdoors, and give us the opportunity to grow a garden, collect some animals and raise our son in a way where he can be close to our business and learn the trade.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, Jamie shuttled between Chicago and Texas, bringing back pieces of our Chicago shop with each trip. At the same time, a brand-new Coterie shop was taking shape in Texas, and I was working on our website, reaching out to potential clients, and acclimating to this brand-new place.
Though we encountered a few setbacks, we remained undeterred. Originally, we planned to rely on semis to transport our shop from Chicago, but the congestion at the ports and the diverted flow of trucks made it impossible to secure a reliable trucking service. With time being of the essence, we made the decision to purchase our own truck and trailer, transforming Jaime into a makeshift trucker. Our crazy decision paid off: we managed to keep our Chicago shop running smoothly while packing only the essentials needed for ongoing projects, ensuring that both shops remained productive!
A few of our new friends and neighbors
When the contents of our shop were finally with us in Texas, Jaime spent weeks configuring Coterie's new shop to full efficiency, while our heavier equipment made its way to us on a sturdy flat-bed. We were warned that finding a steadfast and dependable crew would pose the greatest challenge, but to our surprise, the task proved easier than anticipated. It’s been over a year since they started working for us and we can’t believe our good luck. They are always here, always on time, never say no, always do more than any tasks require, and our shop is seamless in large part because of them. Having successfully wrapped up all projects at our Chicago shop, we wasted no time in securing new contracts for two stunning millwork and FF&E packages for a bar/retail establishment that we will be showing you photos of soon, in Conroe and Katy, TX.
Once we came up for air, we realized that our in-between pool had taken us to a world that was better than we had hoped for. We are a company that ships nationally, so in the end it doesn’t matter to our clients where our shop sits, but it has mattered so much to us. New clients with super exciting projects are finding us, so much building and innovation is happening. We have been able to keep a lot of our trusted materials vendors and have found new vendors that align with our product and service standards, and there has been a flow here that can only be attributed to working in such proximity to fields, forests, water, animals, fresh air, and a sky that never ends. Our lesson after the in-between world, is that we didn’t just enter a new world, we created it for ourselves, something we have always helped other businesses do, we did for Coterie.
How have the past few years shaped your business? Did you have any obstacles that in hindsight you now see as advantages? We would love to hear from you!
The sunset at our new home in Austin, TX