Waking Up | Barriers, part 3

A third trend I see in the obstacles I've encountered is probably the greatest and widest spread, though it appears to be the simplest to solve. It is simply that of the habits of both supplier and consumer. It is apparent to me how rare an occasion it is when a customer asks in depth questions that the seller is caught off guard and thrown a little bit. Neither side is used to this level of interaction which makes it very easy to slip into typical practices and not follow though.

My most recent example of this, and I freely admit the blame falls on both sides, is when I initiated contact with "Harold the Coffee Man", founder of Brownstone Beans in Brooklyn. I heard of Harold when I walked by Urban Spring on DeKalb Ave in Fort Greene and noticed their chalk-board sign pushing "Locally Brewed Coffee - Roasted Just Down the Street!" Turns out, Harold is a local guy who, indeed, imports beans from Nicaragua and elsewhere and began roasting them right there in his brownstone apartment to distribute to a few coffee houses and businesses. I did some research and called him up, and to his credit, Harold called me back a few days later and enthusiastically chatted to me about his beginnings, his day job as a teacher, and his new facility in Greenpoint. He told me he had a shipment coming in a few days and would let me know so I could come by and check out his operation.

And I haven't heard from him. I left another message for him once, but haven't followed up again. He is clearly in his routine and busy with an end of a school year and his business, and I'm busy with my day job and making inquiries as often as possible to broaden my scope. It's so much easier to just go about our day-to-day, even as a local entrepreneur and someone dedicated to making connections, than to pursue it. If we can't even make the connection happen, then it should be no surprise that most of us don't even bother trying.