A cut above the rest

Angie Hatzifotinos Baughman, owner of Jekyll & Hyde Salon , is a Clintonville lifer with deep roots in the community. Just over 4 years ago I walked into an adorable salon and received one of the best cuts I had ever seen my head wear. Her infectious laugh and radiant smile made it easy to come back time and time again.

It has been astounding to watch her grow her business into a new, beautifully restored building adding staff, a spa and continually pushing her education with products and new techniques. Angie's incredible drive as a small business owner and lady boss has certainly inspired us on our hardest days to keep pushing. With every cut we scheduled she offered words of encouragement, support and even her time to help organize nuts and bolts, brainstorming and incredible treats from Fox in the Snow.

On an exceedingly challenging day, she showed up with her shears and gave us an instant pick me up with onsite haircuts. Who does that? Angie does! Because she knows it takes a village. She knows how incredibly difficult it is to just get your doors open and that a fresh cut can bring anyone out of a sweaty, downtrodden funk.

Thank you Angie and your team of greats. You have always been so gracious and kind to our family and we just can't wait to feed you and yours. That's what it's all about. People. People being great to people. Small businesses supporting one another and pushing through to give our little city something else to smile on.

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Cha-Ching!

The rest of the money is in the bank, ya'll!

With the last bit of funding comes the last bit of construction. The team at Baba's will be working tirelessly over the next few weeks to put in all the final nuts and bolts. It is still a wee bit early to sound off on an opening date. But we will be updating the blog with our process to keep you in the loop.

Gotta go for now, there is a floor sander calling our names!

Tap Tap Tap

The sounds of our toes impatiently tapping away seconds.

With a new year came the need for our business plan to be reviewed and given the ole government approval. With so many change in the last year, our business and financial forecast was looking very different. As with any government communication, things are taking a long time. Since January 1st, we have submitted no less than 15 drafts and are now, hopefully, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We seem to have found the magical string of words for the government to give us the green thumbs up.

Our last bit of investor money is quietly waiting for us and we couldn't be more thankful for the tremendous patience everyone has shown us. 

And here's to a new year!

As we are climbing out of our pie comma and shaking off the haze of a holiday hangover, we find ourselves staring into a bright and sparkling 2016.

We could go on about the growth and struggle super hero duo that followed us around last year, but we prefer to hold tight and bite into our plans for 2016.

So cheers to a new year! May we all find patience, progress and the deep determination to push forward the things that move you.

With so much love and gratitude,

Dan & Caroline Kraus

When we took another look

Simplify! Simplify! Simplify! Even when you think there is absolutely nothing left to let go of, a new perspective brings options.

Regrouping after the failed Kickstarter, we found ourselves in deep and meaningful conversations with other small business owners and a few of our investors. Laying everything on the table and looking back at obstacles, something very clear came to light.

Scale back. More.

The very expensive electrical issue that is keeping us from opening has forced us to make the decision to cut out the wholesale baking portion of our business plan. For now.

As we stand, we are able to open with breakfast and lunch options as planned and dinners through the weekend. The price of opening has dropped to under to $10,000. That finishes the hood vent, pays the Board of Health’s final walk through, one small refrigerator, product, tables, chairs and packaging.

We have options. A few of those currently in the works.

We are moving along, and feeling a little lighter. With this reduced amount to get open, we are optimistic for the new year!

[email protected]

[email protected]

Thanksgiving thoughts of 2015

We began this day, taking a moment to allow social injustice to rage. To be angry and downhearted. Having an open dialogue over chocolate milk and donuts with our 6 year old son about the horrible things that arise due to exaggerated self-opinion.

Slowly unpacking this holiday for him in a way that serves honesty and preserves those that remember this day as a massacre. And not just this day, but every day that passes where lives are lost and groups of people are treated like a disease. Facing hardships that we, a lower middle class white family, may not ever understand, but can absolutely live with empathy and accept our bias and figure out how to use it with love. Not shame. Not ego. Not hiding our eyes from the hate.

This is the type of conversation that never ends. It grows up with him. It grows out with him. As his presence begins to fill out in the world, so will his compassion.

Giving balance in this discussion we move on to seeing the light in our own lives. What feeds us, makes us stronger and provides us with something to wake up and show up for everyday.

We are thankful for process: At the end of our longest days, we are thankful for change, challenge, new perspective and the opportunity to fail. Taking the chance to work above our abilities, fall short, find where we went wrong, rework it, try again. Moving through the process.

We are thankful for growth: We see how the tree grows. With each failure, a new branch is born that will hold the weight of future decisions and actions. Sometimes that branch will be abundant and fruitful. Sometimes that branch will die off. We find comfort in this. Each challenge is an opportunity to find our way around or through a new situation. Growth mindset, elastic ways of thinking, will get us where we need to be, feeding the people, running a small, local, business and finding ways to give back.

We are thankful for perspective: The biggest thing about putting yourself out there is gaining sentiment. All of the ways the world shows itself to you. In the blinding midday light, glaring truths come at you quicker than you can process, while others leek in slower and allow time for deep contemplation. We are not concerned with saving face, as it is no way to adapt and grow. We are compelled to share every up and down of this journey so that those following our story have a transparent and clear view of what it takes to chase a dream. We are the anti-reality tv.

We will spend the rest of the day filling our hearts with gratitude and expanding our minds with new ways to create everyday empathy. We hope you do the same.

XOXO

Dan & Caroline Kraus

Where we say goodnight

We have to admit, we are relieved to be done with the Kickstarter. It is a taxing process.

At the end of the 30 days, we can say we did the best we could with what we had available to us, and are thankful for the 76 people who were able and kind enough to fling cash our way.

We are not let down. The truth is we know more people struggling to pay their bills than those who aren’t. It’s a tough time for a lot of people we love and are empathetic to their situations, just as they are to ours.

Please know, this is not the end of Baba’s story, just another chapter in the novel. Dan, Matt and I will be taking a few days to recover, readjust and reconsider options to move forward.

We send deep gratitude into the world. It’s hard not to feel selfish asking for money for a little bakery, when there are so many dismaying and atrocious things happening in our world right now.

All we know how to do is share the love. Create a community driven space. Give back. And keep going.

With much love

Dan, Matt, Caroline