Week 1 and 2: G6 #biz + #life

The new year always feels like a time I should revisit my own goals. Something about starting anew and focusing on the learning that happened the previous year makes for a brilliant plan coming into the new year.  Right?! 

We kicked off with a busy morning at Cloudy Cafe - I was drinking their mimosa and BAM, they got slammed.  Dionne and I are taking cutesie photos of her mug with a latte in it that Maleah (guest barista and Devin’s girlfriend) made me.  It was roaring, everyone woke up in Ballard, and it got busy. I look over, and Maleah is slammed at the bar.  I do the one thing that I find equally fun but also an easy way to escape - pull espresso shots on bar.  Uh, I did that, helped expedite food, and before I knew it was bar shift.  I felt like I pulled a bar shift.  

Pro Tip: I wear Danskos, so that always makes it easy for me to hop in when needed. I have a client tell me I’m not ever really dressed to work on the floor, but hey, close enough - I am dressed well enough to hop in when needed for a short amount of time. 

David dove into his projects in Laurelhurst and wrapped up a few from various ones, including a big kitchen project in Mukilteo, to gear up for another big one in Kirkland.  

Our house is still full of our children with their friends and partners visiting our house, which felt like a Bed and Breakfast.  I kid about it, but I love it.  My kids ask “what’s for dinner”, talk about their workday, and spend time watching movies together.  We had Stranger Things to finish and wrap up our winter/holiday movies like Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and Family Stone - oh, and Love Actually.  

It was time to send Madi back to college.  We were leaving on Sunday to go to Vancouver, BC, for a work retreat, but she wanted to leave sooner.  She left on Saturday.  Hannah, Isabelle, and I, with our G6 Retail Renovation Team, left Sunday to head out to Vancouver, BC.  

The retreats are meant for twice a year.  We all work from all over.  We work from home, and some work from home in different states.  For us to connect in person is valuable.  Everyone who works for us is mostly part-time; we carry two full-time employees.  We are all busy, and what makes this business great is the autonomy to get your work done when it works for your schedule (obviously, within reason).  I love having part-timers join the team. This way, they get to know us, and as the business grows, they grow with us.  It's a win-win in my opinion.  

Back to the retreat, we wanted to go to LA, but time didn’t allow us to plan well.  I felt like, between David’s and my workload, this made it hard for us to get that to work out well.  The drive to Vancouver from our office is 2 hours.  It was just enough time for us to giggle in the car and land in a fun place to eat + connect with each other.  

Sunday was more of a day to get into town - the Social Media Team (Ella, Milla, and Hannah) were interested in going shopping at Artizia so we found a mall to explore.  We sat in the Artizia cafe while they shopped.  We walked around a bit before our reservation for an early dinner.  

Monday was spent focusing on our workshop.  Our roles and responsibilities have crossover, and it’s a good thing.  I don’t think anyone “owns” any task.  We should all be able to support one another and jump in when needed. But…it can also get messy if there’s a ball dropped because we assume someone else did it, or double duty is not great, as labor is our primary cost. 

Our keyword was growth.  Our team wants to grow as professionals in their field of expertise, but they also share the same passion as I.  They want to help small businesses grow and have intentionally sought out folks they see or know who may need our support.  I love that I am not the only one inspired to support small businesses.  

This was our 3rd retreat.  I have saved all of our notes that have goals for our team members as well as our company goals.  I am proud to say, we have hit the mark each time.  This retreat for January 2026, we made more aggressive goals.  The businesses we support in 2025 also have goals and expectations for us to help them to achieve.  We dovetailed that with our initiatives.

We had a great time with each other, and I feel well supported by this team.  I feel fortunate to work alongside them.