Christal Brodziak
4912 50 Avenue, St. Paul, AB
The Nest vision came out of sheer desperation and need for change. I did not feel supported in Motherhood and I felt that same deep disappointment from so many Mother's I supported in my previous job. My role in my job was changing and it was beyond my control, I knew life was too short to be doing something I didn't love, and the vision for the Nest came to me.
As our vision has evolved we began to realize that these same feelings are similar to new community members, people feeling isolated living in remote areas and people were attracted to the Nest vibe.
When I first had the idea to start up my business, The Nest Cafe & Boutique, I had no idea how I was going to get funding to support my dream. I approached the bank and they would only give me funding for tangibles like my building and equipment. I knew there was more to a business start up than that. So I approached community futures, and they replied with an extensive business plan template. I am not going to lie, I was a little overwhelmed at first. As I began to go through the items it made perfect sense why so much information and research is required in order to think through the whole business process.
Once I completed the business plan, I felt ignited. I was inspired by my own vision and had so much clarity about how I wanted to move forward. I submitted the plan to the advisor to review, we had a meeting and he had some engaging questions that got me thinking beyond the now and into the how.
Fast forward 3 years and I often reflect back to my business plan as my business is growing and evolving. It is a feature I share with my current business partners to help support them in reflection and it keeps growing and evolving. We currently have 2 stores open and 3 more on the way in the first quarter of 2025. I didn't realize expansion was in the plan but I quickly came to realize that my community wanted it!
Website: https://thenestcafeboutique.com
