Top 20 Under 30 Young Professionals Winner!
Our owner Hannah was nominated and chose to be on the “Top 20 under 30 young professionals” list for West Michigan, hosted by MiWorks!
Congratulations also to Karla Ortega, a fellow local who made the list as well!
Here is the interview Hannah gave as a finalist in the publication:
How old are you and what is your job title?
I'm 29 years old and I'm the owner of Stella's Coffee House, a specialty coffee shop in Hart, MI.
Describe a day on the job for you:
I'm a classically trained pastry chef and I do most of the baking for the shop myself so that usually means I'm waking up around two every morning, possibly earlier if it's a day we do cinnamon rolls. I head into the shop to bake and make sure pastries are in the case by the time we open at six am. After that every day looks kind of different. Sometimes after I'm done baking I run necessary errands for the shop or I do office work: making menus, ordering supplies, researching recipes or trends that are popular at the moment. I have a seven month old daughter and a great support system that helps watch her during the morning so that I can work, and then I have her with me every afternoon while I juggle supporting her in the ways she needs and being available for the coffee house as well. That could mean anything from running to the store to pick up more supplies or going in to help set up a large or specialty order.
Note: Due to some health issues that are current for Hannah, a majority of the baking is currently done by our fantastic baker Krystal Peterson. Hannah’s daughter is also currently 11 months old.
What do you enjoy about your job?
I really enjoy being a good part of someone's day. Or providing the thing that is a highlight of their day. Baking is my passion and I really enjoy the challenge of creating something truly unique and delicious, but I enjoy even more being able to love people through my pastries. I also created the drink menu and the recipes for the drinks we serve with the help of brainstorming from my staff as well so when I hear that people loved their drink or their food and had a good experience that really makes me happy.
How do you keep a healthy balance between your work and your personal life?
I definitely don't do it alone. I have a fantastic support system of my husband, family, and my staff that makes it possible for me to have balance, and even then I'm still learning. Being my own boss definitely helps because if I need a break or if something is too much I can make the executive decision to change it. I'm an overachiever and a perfectionist at times - even when I was 8 months pregnant and the shop was just opening I had a hard time making myself rest. I'm always looking for ways to be "more productive", but I know that the value of a person is not based on how productive they are so I'm giving myself space and grace to find that ideal balance. My daughter is a pretty good motivation for that.
What have your role models taught you, and what guidance do you or would you offer to others?
My biggest role models would be my parents. No one does warmth and hospitality like my mom and my dad is one of the most selfless and hard-working people I know. I got a lot of my best traits from them. I also got one of my most often used sayings from them: "Just take the next step." Big steps like opening my own business, especially being pregnant at the same time, felt incredibly daunting. Even if it's not something that big, just something new and kind of scary my advice is always to just be flexible, eager to learn, give yourself grace, and take the next step. The steps don't have to be big, or even in the same direction, just keep moving and you'll find the right path eventually. And find people who inspire you to take the journey with. My biggest inspirations are my parents, my incredibly loving and dependable husband, my daughter, and my amazingly talented staff. The other thing my mom taught me that I think is valuable is that if you want to love people just cook them tasty food. It really is that simple.
What makes the Midland area unique from other places you have lived or traveled?
We live in a truly unique area. I think the nature is some of the most beautiful and peaceful I've ever been in. I love nature so I really appreciate that there's easy access to a lake or a forest from basically anywhere and even all of our small towns are so charming and unique in their own ways. I think there's a lot of promise to our area, a lot of really awesome and fun potential and I love being part of the new things that are happening.
What is the most important challenge that our community needs to address?
One of the reasons I even started thinking about opening a coffee house was to address the lack of a sense of place that our area had. I was at a rural community conference once and they talked about how everyone needs to have three places: Their home, their work, and a third place where they can go outside of the first two that feels like theirs. I think our community especially lacks that. We don't really have a lot of good options for that third place for people to go regularly. When my foster sisters were in high school I became aware of the fact that a lot of kids had nowhere to go after school. They would generally wander around town or sit outside of our local library or one or two other public outdoor areas. Nothing that really felt like a second home. I think people deserve to have a place they can go that feels like that and I wanted to create something along those lines that could be that for anyone. That's how Stella's came about and I feel very passionate about creating even more spaces like that in the future. I love creating a welcoming environment that warms you up on the inside from the second you walk in the door. We all need that.