Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mark Anzelc. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Mark, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Our resilience was learned first from our parents. Both sets of parents were hard working, raised a total of 14 kids, and fought through a range of life’s challenges. We learned the value of hard work to achieve goals.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Deb & I have always been motivated to help others which probably comes from our closely-knit families and friend network. Deb & I have served on various boards such as the Zane’s Foundation (for special needs children) and Walsh Jesuit High School. We’ve supported countless helping organizations with donations of time and money. We’re committed to giving back. Recently, we decided that one of the best ways to help people is to create meaningful jobs and serve unmet needs in the community. The Peninsula Coffee House and Peninsula Wine Cellar do both. So far we’ve created 25 full and part time jobs that pay well over market rate. In the 6 weeks since we opened, we have served over 6,000 customers. We also invested heavily to renovate a 110 year old building owned by a wonderful not-for-profit organization, the Peninsula Foundation. From here, we plan continue to grow these and similar businesses.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
In terms of impact on the journey, the first thing that guided us was a clarity of purpose… a vision. We knew what we wanted to do and how to do it. Then came commitment. There were a number of challenges and surprises along the way that we overcame. And maybe a third thing was self-reflection. We asked if we were meeting our own expectations and made adjustments accordingly. And maybe one final point was that we made sure that we had sufficient financial and expert resources where needed. In terms of developing this, I’d recommend benchmarking. Look around at what other organizations have done… looking for successes and failures.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
We found many people and organizations who helped us. The Peninsula Foundation, our landlord, is exceptionally well networked into the community and helped us to understand the neighborhood and local regulations. Our coffee supplier, Ohio Roasting Company, was very helpful in developing our workflow and in understanding coffeemaking. Our interior design firm, Architectural Justice, was essential in helping us to develop a design and layout that leveraged the character of the building and provided a warm, welcoming environment for our customers. Our suppliers, such as Instant Whip Food Services has been has been excellent in helping us to establish supply lines and try out new ideas. And our multiple home bakers have been outstanding in providing delicious pastries. So, the point is to lean on your supplier-partners for expert help.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.peninsulacoffeehouse.com
- Instagram: peninsula coffee house and market
- Facebook: peninsula coffee house
- Yelp: peninsula coffee house
- Other: we also have mobile apps in the IOS and Android app stores.
