We were lucky to catch up with Tara Gullickson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Tara, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I found my purpose surrounded by freshly painted ‘Vintage Purple’ walls in the middle of my living room, brokenhearted by my most recent life crisis: losing my job as an Administrative Assistant in healthcare in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As I cranked sad songs from the 90s out of the speakers in our kitchen, I burst out into hysterical sobbing. I painted the morning away, singing at the top of my lungs at whatever song was playing in the background in the kitchen, thinking to myself just how absurd life truly seemed. The sobbing was followed by all-out laughter at the situation altogether as it turned rather comical in my head with all the emotions I had been experiencing, and the lack of sleep I was getting. I am certain that day was the day I finally cracked, as I painted my living room walls a brilliant shade of purple. When the room had its last coat of paint applied, I sat down exhausted, proud of the work I had just done. I was all cried out, my heart felt like it had shattered into a million little pieces for the last time that day, and then I suddenly felt completely drained of any human emotion. I put the playlist on mute and just sat in silence for a long while by myself, without thinking about anything in particular. I sat in the middle of the living room on the wooden floor, allowing thoughts to come in, whatever they were, and then letting them leave my mind afterward. I felt completely disconnected from this life as I sat on the bare floor that day, void of emotion.
After being released from my responsibilities in healthcare, I was free to do whatever I wanted for about a month before I had to start getting serious about finding potential work. I was thankfully allowed to give myself time to heal from life circumstances before forcing myself back into the workforce, and I did just that. Every morning, I did the same practice over and over again till it became a habit. I would learn a new healthy habit and quickly introduce it into my newfound routine. I didn’t know it then, but I had been nurturing my nervous system back to a full recovery. Day by day, I was starting to feel more confident in my skin again, more secure in my abilities, and my self-worth was getting healthier.
It was a little over a month when I found a job in an office within the construction industry, and I fully embraced the job role – I did my absolute best every day. But I still wasn’t feeling like my whole person at my fullest capacity. I had been missing something, and looking to take on more of a challenge, my current role was not keeping my mind busy enough, and I quickly grew bored with the office atmosphere. I craved something more thrilling, and I had a thirst for new knowledge. I wanted to do something I had never done before, and I also wanted to continue working with people in some way. I have always been interested in hearing others’ stories, struggles, and all. Our stories make us all unique; we all have a story to share to inspire the world. Stories are what connect us.
As I shared endless ideas with my family during my early months at the construction office, dreams were all they were then. Until one day, my fiancé agreed to one of my many sometimes off-the-wall ideas; I was beside myself as I couldn’t believe he agreed to a suggestion I had just given him – a coffee shop – but he suggested I start on a smaller scale. That is when the idea of the mobile coffee wagon came to be, and Jo’s Coffee Truck was born! At first, I tried talking myself out of the idea of running my own business. I do not know what I was thinking, and thankfully, it must not have been too serious a thought as I was soon knee deep in a plan review with the State of Minnesota, and taking food license courses for food and beverage handlers.
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?
What we promote is clean, quality, sustainable, and simple ingredients in our coffee beverages we serve to our beloved customers. We small-batch craft all of our simple syrups & sauces in-house, and that is what is used in our beverages versus the overly processed versions of coffee syrups & chocolate sauces sold and served in most coffee shops in America. We are a specialty coffee shop on wheels, and we offer rural areas a variety of flavors throughout the season, April through October, weather permitting. This Spring, we started with our classics, honey-lavender and pistachio. New this year, we added a limited-time edition simple syrup of cardamom plum, which turned out to be a hit! Next in our Summer lineup, Raspberry is back, along with a brand new simple syrup, Spiced Orange. We are looking forward to hearing feedback for this new limited-edition summer flavor. Come Autumn, we will be unveiling another delightful, simple syrup for you all to try. Follow us for more @joscoffeetruck on Facebook & Instagram. We love to engage with our little coffee community online!
Another important value of ours is supporting local businesses & artisans within the area! We spread the word about local small businesses by hosting a variety of business cards that are on display at the truck. While customers wait for their coffee and pastries to be prepared for them, they often find themselves browsing the display rack for suggestions. We also prefer to use local ingredients, when able. Currently we have quite a few spice/herb/culinary extract vendors, a maple syrup & honey vendor. We are always interested in partnering with other inspiring vendors as we continue to evolve. Get in touch with us if you have something to offer – we would love to hear from you! It has been the richest experience getting to know other local artisans and business owners in the area, and collaborating with them on different projects we have been involved in over the past couple of years. We look forward to creating more memorable experiences as we journey along with you all.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I play several different roles throughout my work day as an entrepreneur, using key skills I’ve acquired in previous roles has proven to be very effective in the role I play today as a business owner. I would say this was most important, but it seemed the most silly at the time: Believe in yourself & your ability to adapt. Have the confidence that it takes to make room to make mistakes, as they make the best lessons, and I cannot stress this enough. Secondly, don’t take others’ opinions too personally – people say the darndest things. Whether they meant it in a positive light or took a more negative stance – don’t let it matter – because it doesn’t! Most people can’t run an entire establishment, and they know it – they just won’t admit it. Let people be jealous and miserable in their own energy, but do not let it affect your vision – your calling. Lastly, make time for the people and things that matter. I think too many people forget that individuals working in customer service are human, too. It’s quite common to be treated unkindly in the customer service industry today, which I find extremely disheartening, but I remain hopeful that attitudes will continue to be better as we all decide to make our own beds each morning. It’s important you take care of your mental health and the things in your life that bring you joy every single day, for life is way too damn short.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
It’s important that I remind myself often that I deserve the time off as much as anyone else, as I tend to become a bit of a workaholic due to obsessing over the smallest of details. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great quality to possess in the workforce, but my family suffers greatly if I am not careful with how I utilize my energy. Upon embarking on this remarkable journey, I have worked diligently to instill a healthy work-life practice into my life so I leave time for what matters most and not take life quite so seriously all the time. I realized relatively quickly that we only get one life to live, and I am choosing to live mine to its fullest potential. Death touches us all in a variety of different ways, and since losing my fiancée’s sister Jolene to domestic violence in 2021, I was then granted a new lease on life, so to speak. Losing her in such a sudden and tragic way, the whole experience makes me grateful for every breath I take today. When I am overwhelmed, I take time to breathe – slow, deep breaths, remain mindful and present in my body, and just be inside myself for a time. It is when I am feeling overwhelmed with life’s stressors that I take a step back and reflect in my journal, as I find writing helps.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joscoffeetruck
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joscoffeetruck
Image Credits
Tara Gullickson
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