We were lucky to catch up with Craig Avera recently and have shared our conversation below.
Craig, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
I think risk takers have a genetic screw loose to make them that way, myself included among the category. For better or for worse (honestly, both), I’ve never been afraid to take a risk if I know there’s a high reward that can be grabbed as a result.
I’ve taken many risks in life and I’ve failed and fallen flat on my face many times. I’ve also succeeded and landed on my feet, and the more I learn and evolve, the better my batting average gets.
Look, there are unnecessary risks too. I try and avoid those because that’s a high risk / low reward type of situation. But if I know that the risk is worth the potential reward, or the “juice is worth the squeeze”, sign me up all day.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Right now is a very exciting time for our company. We have 3 stores up and running, with 4-5 more opening this year, and exponential growth beyond that. We are really hitting our stride and as Cali Coffee grows, my role has evolved as well.
I started the company to make awesome drinks for people and make them happy. I had no clue we would grow to where we are now, let alone where we’ll be over the next 1-3-5-10 years, but it’s bittersweet in ways, as my days of grinding in the shop are less and less. But there’s an upside. My daily role now focuses on creating systems and structures that allow others to do what I once did, and to grow and spread the culture that put us on the map in the first place.
I’m also heavily involved in the development side of the brand, as well as the creative one. I truly enjoy what I’m doing now. No two days are quite the same, and it keeps me young, I believe.
There are so many young, passionate, driven leaders within our company, and I get to watch them flourish and grow – it’s an incredible thing to witness.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Open mindedness is a huge asset that I think I have a good sense of. It allows me to be adaptable, moldable, and willing to go off-course and consider new ideas. Being a bull headed CEO would not do good things for our company, and thankfully I’m not built that way. I will stand my ground 100% on things that I believe in, but am also always willing to hear out the room, and if someone has a better idea than I do, and it betters the company, then you bet I’ll listen, and my ego won’t take a hit either.
Any entrepreneur is going to face challenges and adversity. The successful ones learn how to navigate them. You can’t take things personally and you will never be perfect because there’s no one road to follow. You gotta trust your gut, do right by people, and sometimes accept a loss and move on. Other times, you gotta not take no for an answer. Identifying what battles to fight for and which ones to walk away from has been a large part of my growth journey.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I used to do CrossFit and some of those workouts are the hardest I’ve ever faced, both physically and mentally. CrossFit is great at showing you what you are NOT good at. A good CrossFitter will always play to their strengths but also work on their weaknesses.
You’ve given the hand that you’re dealt. But the beauty is that we have control over what we do with that hand. If we have a bad hand, we can work on fixing it and making it better. If we have a great hand, we can only ride that wave for so long before we will face another challenge.
The more prepared you are for an adverse situation, the better off you will be. So never get too comfortable, and know that you can always work harder. If you rest on your laurels for too long, it’ll catch up eventually.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.calicoffee.com
- Instagram: @calicoffee , @craigavera
- Facebook: @calicoffeeofficial
- Yelp: Cali Coffee
