We were lucky to catch up with Taylor Amstey recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Taylor, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I got my work ethic from my dad. He always worked incredibly hard in various sales jobs, but no matter how busy he was, he always put family first. When I was in high school, he decided to follow his own path and opened a wakeboard park just outside of Dallas. He built the entire space himself, from the pro shop and deck to the ramps and everything in between. I spent my summers watching him run the whole operation while I helped lead the wakeboarding summer camp.
A few years later, he opened a second location that included a restaurant, and once again, he built it all with his own hands. From the picnic tables to the bar, he did whatever it took to bring his vision to life. I worked there too, first running camps and later serving at the restaurant. What always stood out to me was how involved he was in every part of the business. He owned and managed the entire place, but he would still jump behind the bar to make drinks, help in the kitchen, or bus tables, doing whatever was needed to make things run smoothly.
He taught me that great leadership means showing up, supporting your team, and doing what it takes to create a positive working environment. His belief that if his staff was happy and doing well, then he would be too is something I have carried with me into Love Lamp Matcha. That value is at the heart of how we operate and how I have approached building this business.
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?
Love Lamp Matcha opened its doors at the beginning of January, 2025. After years of permitting the space and finding the best matcha possible, we could finally share our matcha drinks with the Austin community. Within a month of opening, we were offered an incredible opportunity to partner with Wanderlust Wine Co. They invited us to open a second location on the second floor of their Barton Springs Road space in the heart of downtown Austin, which, to our surprise (and relief), was already fully permitted. Now, with two shops on opposite sides of the city, we get to share our favorite matchas with even more people. It has been a wild and exciting ride figuring out how to run two locations, but we’re so grateful to be doing what we love.
Love Lamp Matcha is all about quality, taste, and creating a bright, welcoming space for our community. We serve ceremonial-grade matcha that we carefully selected after months of tasting and testing, and we’re passionate about making it the best we can by whisking it freshly for every single drink.
In addition to being a matcha bar, our original space is designed to one day house a community pottery studio, where people can create, connect, and drink their matchas! We love the idea of building a place where creativity and ritual meet, and where people feel welcome to gather.
We’re fully self-funded and putting our whole heart into this business. Every detail, from the recipes to the color palette to the way we greet you at the counter, has been thoughtfully considered. We’re proud to be building this from the ground up and are so excited to be here!
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?
1. Confidence in decision making/believing in the vision. Making decisions whether that be the branding, the product, or how to handle a situation, I felt like I remained true to myself and believed in everything that was decided. When you start a business, everyone wants to offer their opinions, and while it’s valuable to listen and stay open to ideas, it’s just as important to stay grounded in your own vision. Being able to fully believe in what you’re creating gives you the clarity and confidence to move forward, even when things get tough. My advice is to take in feedback with gratitude, but don’t let it drown out your own voice. Trust yourself, trust your taste, and keep showing up for what you believe in.
2. Knowing when to ask for help. Asking for help is a skill, and learning when to do it is even more important. I know it might sound a bit contradictory to my first point about trusting your own vision and making confident decisions, but I’ve found that both can be true at the same time. Trusting yourself doesn’t mean doing everything alone. Part of being a confident decision-maker is knowing your limits and recognizing when someone else might have the tools, knowledge, or experience to get you further than you could on your own. For us, trying to navigate permitting on our own was exhausting and discouraging. We kept thinking we were almost there, only to be handed another long list of to-dos. Eventually, we realized it was time to bring in a contractor to help guide us through it. That decision only supported our vision and allow us to move forward.
3. Understanding restaurant business operations. I had a lot of background knowledge from my dad about what it takes to run and operate a restaurant. My husband also spent about six years working at a restaurant POS company, which gave both of us an even deeper understanding of the inner workings of restaurant operations. Because we already had a solid grasp on the basics of running a service business and managing operations, we didn’t have to start from zero. That gave us more time to focus on what makes Love Lamp Matcha special: learning proper whisking techniques through Japanese tea ceremonies, developing recipes we were proud of, and pouring our creativity into branding and marketing. My advice is to lean into the experience and knowledge you already have, even if it doesn’t feel directly related at first. It might be the thing that gives you more time and space to focus on what makes your business special.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Love Lamp Matcha would not exist without my husband. His encouragement, support, and willingness to take on whatever role is needed have been essential. Whether it’s being an audio engineer, pop-up master, or troubleshooting the ice machine and plumbing, he does it all with zero ego so I can focus on the heart of the business. He picks up where I lack and brings a sense of calm determination that keeps us moving forward. His endless ambition has pushed me to grow, trust myself more, and dream bigger than I ever thought possible. He is the best partner in every way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lovelampmatcha.com/
- Instagram: @lovelampmatcha
Image Credits
Max Schnitzer, Sarah Lacerte
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
