Author: Reachany

Everyone Makes Mistakes (And That’s Okay) When I closed my first coffee shop in 2021, I felt like I had lost everything. I made plenty of mistakes, and it cost me my savings. That’s completely normal. Making a mistake doesn’t make you a bad person or a failure. It just makes you human. What really counts is what we do after we mess up. Do we learn? Do we try again? That’s what separates people who grow from people who stay stuck. My First Coffee Shop: An Expensive Lesson Let me tell you about my biggest mistake. In mid-2021, I…

The Day I Realized Business Books Don’t Teach You Everything You know what’s funny? I spent years reading business books and listening to success stories. I thought I had it all figured out. Then I opened my first café, and reality hit me like a ton of bricks. Nothing prepared me for the real world of running a business. The theories? They stayed in the textbooks. The overnight success stories I read about? Complete fairy tales. Here’s the truth nobody tells you: Success takes time, patience, and a whole lot of stumbling around in the dark. My Café Dream Started…

It’s a quiet afternoon at my coffee shop today. The slow pace gives me time to think about my journey—the mistakes I made, the lessons I learned, and how I rebuilt my business from scratch. If you’re working toward your goals right now, you might wonder: “Am I actually making progress?” Let me share five signs that show you’re moving in the right direction, along with my own story of failing and starting over. My Coffee Shop Story: From Failure to a Fresh Start In mid-2021, I opened my first small coffee shop. I was excited but completely unprepared. I…

I used to think luck was something that just happened to other people. You know, those folks who seemed to be in the right place at the right time. But after running two businesses—one that crashed and one that’s still going—I learned something important: luck doesn’t just show up. You have to give it a reason to find you. The Truth About Luck and Risk Here’s what nobody tells you: luck and risk are basically the same thing, just from different angles. Think about it. Every time someone gets “lucky,” they probably took a risk first. They applied for that…

It was almost 2 in the afternoon when I heard someone walk into my café. I was busy checking the ice bucket because, honestly, at 35°C outside, ice melts faster than you’d think. The Press Day Coffee doesn’t have the best air conditioning, and on days like this, keeping things cold is half the battle. “Hey sis, can I get one coconut coffee? Nice and cold, please.” I turned around so fast I almost knocked over a cup. But it wasn’t a stranger—it was Mr. Makara, one of the teachers from the international school down the street. He comes in…

You know what’s funny? Starting a business is actually the easy part. The hard part? Showing up day after day when nothing’s working. When customers aren’t coming. When your bank account is screaming at you. I learned this the hard way in 2023 when my first coffee shop went under. I’m not going to sugarcoat it—that failure hurt. But it also taught me something important: most people don’t fail because they’re not good enough. They fail because they stop trying. Here’s what kept me going, even when I wanted to quit. Stop Waiting to “Feel Like It” In the beginning,…

When everyone around you has an opinion about your life, choosing your own path takes real courage. I learned this the hard way when I decided to trade my economics degree for a career in coffee making. Why I Chose Coffee Over a Corporate Career Back in 2016, I walked across the stage at the University of Management and Economics with my bachelor’s degree in hand. My classmates were celebrating and discussing job interviews at prominent banks like ABA and ACLEDA. But I had a different dream. Since my first year at university, I’d been quietly dreaming about opening a…

You know what held me back the most when I wanted to start my business? It wasn’t money. It wasn’t connections. It was me. Let me tell you my story. My Dream Started in a Coffee Shop I graduated with an Economics degree from the University of Management and Economics in 2016. Right away, I knew what I wanted—my own coffee shop. Something small, something mine. But instead of chasing that dream, I got a job at a coffee shop in Battambang in 2018. I worked there for two years, learning everything I could. I made drinks, talked to customers,…

Why “Perfect Timing” Is Just an Excuse How many times have you told yourself, “I’ll start when the time is right”? I used to think the same way. But here’s what I learned: that perfect moment you’re waiting for? It doesn’t exist. Let me tell you my story. From Coffee Student to Business Owner Back in 2018, I enrolled in a coffee-making course at COFICO Vocational and Technical Training School. I loved everything about it—the smell of fresh beans, the art of brewing, the smile on people’s faces when they tasted a good cup. For the next two years, I…

It’s 8 a.m. on a Tuesday. People are heading to work and school like always. But inside my little café, The Press Day Coffee, something feels wrong. Nobody’s here. The silence hits me hard. My mind goes straight back to 2023, when my first café failed. That’s when I learned something important: a quiet café can either break you or teach you a valuable lesson. I chose to learn. The Sound Every Café Owner Fears You know what scares me most? It’s not an angry customer or broken equipment. It’s the air conditioner. When customers fill my café, I never…