Meet Sarah Chartier | Retail Store Owner-The Spice & Tea Exchange

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Chartier and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, the decisions we make often shape our story in profound ways. What was one of the most difficult decisions you’ve had to make?
The most difficult business decision I have had to make thus far was deciding to close a second location we had in Vail, Co. We had this store open for about 4 years, and honestly it was a struggle the whole time. Sales were well below projections, finding and keeping employees was a challenge, and not to mention living 3 hours away. This made managing the store, inventory, and employees all that much more difficult.

With all of that said it probably would seem like an easy decision to close, but it wasn’t. It was hard to give up the dream of what we thought was possible in that location. There was always something to give us just enough hope to keep holding on; a new manager with good potential, a successful season, or just new determination to work even harder! But eventually the stress of that location started to take a toll our personal lives and we just could keep giving any longer to try and make it work.

And the great thing is, once we closed that second location, things improved everywhere else. Our personal lives, of course, were less stressful. But we also did not realize how much stress and increased workload that second location was putting on the employees in the first location where all the production was done. Our sales numbers in our original store increased significantly after closing the second location. Made us wonder why we didn’t cut our loses quicker.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We celebrated the 10th anniversary of The Spice & Tea Exchange of Fort Collins this year! Seems crazy to think of!

My business partner and I were both in local government jobs before entering into entrepreneurship. We would spend late nights at our desks sharing recipes and talking about the yummy creation in the kitchen we just cooked up. So that got us thinking about what we could do in our “next life”. Could we possible leave our secure jobs and do something we love, something that revolved around good food? We dreamed of what that could look like; was it a restaurant or a catering company? We had no idea but kept talking and dreaming big!

Then we stumbled upon The Spice & Tea Exchange, and it seems like everything we wanted and loved, without the risk of a restaurant. So we made the jump, switching careers, and bought a franchise. That was the easy part. The hard part came next. Finding the perfect location and securing financing. Convincing others to take the risk and a chance on us based on what we believed we were capable of doing even when our applications looked like two women who had zero business experience and limited financial backing.

Eventually, we found a small, local, farm bank that was looking to diversify their loans to back us up. And it took two years to negotiate a lease with the big corporate landlords but in the end we got the space we were hoping for!

What I learned then, and continuously through new lessons, is that sometimes the riskiest thing you can do is be vulnerable in your communication. Vulnerable in owning your short-comings, stating when and where you need help. Vulnerable is admitting when you have made a mistake or a decision turned out to be the wrong one. And vulnerable in being okay not having all the answers, knowing it is okay to say “I don’t know, but I will find out.”

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We would start off the morning checking out The Localist in Loveland. This is my favorite retail to gift shop at (besides my own of course!). She supports a ton of local vendors and always has so many beautiful things to look at. Then we would hit Buzz & Bliss for massages and facials! Head over to Arboretum Coffee for a delicious post-massage pick me up. The best thing about this coffee shop is that it is a non-profit, so you get to sip on yummy coffee and support recent migrants. The we would finish off the night in Old Town at BreadFellow. My new favorite restaurant, all things made in house fresh and perfectly.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My business partner Kirstin Ruehlen. She is the “ying” to my “yang”! We have a great partnership full of trust and mutual respect.

The Foundry Advisory is a peer to peer business advisory group for Christian business owners in Northern Colorado. Having a group of business owners committed to business, personal, and spiritual growth who help hold me accountable in all these areas is amazing. It is like having a Board of Advisors or my own C-Suite to bounce ideas off of.

Instagram: spiceandtea.fortcollins