We were lucky to catch up with Amy Stumpf recently and have shared our conversation below.
AMY, thrilled to have you on the platform as I think our readers can really benefit from your insights and experiences. In particular, we’d love to hear about how you think about burnout, avoiding or overcoming burnout, etc.
Burn-out can come in many forms whether it is that something becomes mundane, overwhelming, or too much of a struggle. If you love what you do, it is not a job. Finding yourself in a position that brings passion is an important first step. Getting stuck in the grind of going to “work” is not a career and will more likely bring on burnout. Take a deep dive into finding what brings you joy, purpose, and passion.
I enjoy meeting new people and bringing a little bit of sunshine to their day even if it’s via a smile, a good latte, and being kind. Taking time to get to know my customers is an important factor in my business model. Many customers have become friends and a support system. Attending events and being a part of the community is a part of my business and is something that I truly enjoy. Often, I come across a person(s) who impacts my life in a positive way. It is truly a blessing and something I remain grateful for.
There are times it can be hard but looking for the positive helps to keep gratitude in the forefront and propagates a productive mindset. Taking time to reflect, regroup, and restructure help work through setbacks, which if left unresolved can lead to burnout.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My story began before Christmas of 2022 where I was diagnosed with breast cancer. In that time, I began to reflect about life and how to begin living my best life. I knew my mindset had to be to beat it but to also focus on finding meaning, purpose, and happiness. My daughter had just turned 9 the day before and I knew that I had to fight. So, I dug into finding out the root cause of my sickness. One of the constraints to proper healing is stress. Stress can have a powerful hold on the soul. My plan was to begin with finding ways to change my situation to help relief some stress as best as I could.
One of those changes after focusing on my health was finding a way to earn a living to pay for alternative treatments since insurance doesn’t cover it. I homeschooled my daughter and decided it would be fun to attend local events with a handcraft coffee and specialty drink trailer. Not only would it possibly help with some expenses but it’s something special that my daughter and I could focus on building together.
My daughter loves horses, so we transformed a horse trailer into a mobile coffee shop. She helped with the menu, and other aspects like our name and design ideas. At first, we were only open a few days a week, which allowed time for homeschool, treatments, and finding joy in the little things.
Our little coffee trailer business has grown despite a reoccurrence of breast cancer in 2024. Despite huddles we have outgrown the trailer in terms of going to the next level; however, one thing remains steady: our love to meet new people, being a part of the local community and sharing our story to bring hope to families going through something similar.
We are hopeful in 2025! Follow us to see our schedule updates. We also cater special events, please let us know how we can help make it extra special.
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?
The fundamentals that have helped me not only in this journey but help in other aspects of my life are the following: faith, perseverance, and gratefulness. I do my best to live with these in the forefront in my daily life and feel they help to keep me focused and ready for what may come my way.
Faith in God is something I value and work to put first and foremost. Having perseverance to work through both the good and hard times is key. Even if it feels like there is no way out, just reminding myself along the way to have faith and put one foot in front of the other because it may just be the best adventure yet.
Living in the moment with a grateful heart definitely has its challenges but it’s important in my opinion to find the positive. Finding peace and joy through a grateful lens helps create a positive and healthier mindset.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
I have had multiple challenges along the way. There are always challenges with a small business, but we have done our best to work through as many as we can to keep our business afloat and moving forward. Challenges along the way have been things like weather. Weather plays a big role in having a food trailer. I definitely know a lot more now than I did when I had mine built. One struggle is that our trailer is not insulated, so extreme hot and cold temps make operating a true challenge.
The set-up of our trailer’s look and function doesn’t work well in the rain. While the trailer is our signature look and fits perfectly for many functions we attend, I would love to have another trailer that helps us overcome weather and interior size concerns. Since we are a smaller trailer, so it is difficult at times because it’s only my daughter and I are working hard to satisfy our customers. If we had a larger trailer, we could have additional equipment and another person to help us serve even more amazing people. We are grateful for what we have, where we have come from, and where we will go.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bunkerbrew20/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093627832286
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
