Moving Part 3: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish

March 15, 2025

 

In 2020 during the pandemic, I sat on my couch, brainstorming an Instagram caption for my Piedmont Pennies' post.

I Googled "Penny idioms" for something cheeky, and "Penny wise, pound foolish" came up in the search. Hmmm. 

Should I call my Dad? He knows the meaning to ALL sayings... All Dads do for some reason! But instead of calling during the work day, I read further online,

 

"...'Penny wise, pound foolish,' refers to a situation where someone is overly concerned with saving small amounts of money (the pennies) but overlooks or neglects the larger, more significant expenses (the pounds)..." - Venugopal Ramanathan 

 

 

At the time, I didn't use the idiom for that Instagram post... but it resurfaced for me, and has never applied more than the last eight weeks in our new production space. 

 

 

Penny wise - Saving small amounts of money in the short-term

January 2025, the end of our kitchen and warehouse leases approached. The time was yesterday to sign a lease for a new space. Look too soon for a space, and pay double rent. Look too late, and you're out of work for months until you find something. 

I'd been proactive in my search, for 18-months I toured spaces from Charlotte to Greensboro. Driving up and down I-85, I'd come home exhausted and defeated. Something was always off with the spaces. Too expensive, too much upfit, too far for my team to drive, too small, too large, too big of a landlord (and therefore, too many unfeasible requests of us... Longer lease term, higher security deposits, etc.).

Not to mention, neither Coble nor I wanted to face the difficult conversation of moving, Even if it was the only option. Some nights around the dinner table, it was an exciting adventure, a new leaf, more convenience, more space... Other days, it was sad, scary, expensive, and the unknown. 

December 26th, 2024, I toured the new warehouse in Matthews, NC. It was the best option I'd seen, with enough space for us to grow into. January 20th, 2025, we signed a lease. I was a penny wise, thinking about small savings in the short-term. "We can upfit for a month, then keep production goging!" "Our team can stay on and help with other tasks!" "We won't have to pay double rent!" 

We thought (conservatively) we'd be up and running in one month (pending equipment installs and permitting approval). OoOh. Wrong. 

 

 

Pound foolish - More significant expenses in the long term 

Now, I realize the permitting needs are more extensive than expected (filing for a new certificate of use, rather than a trade permit) and unknown electrical and plumbing upfits have surfaced. Permitting timelines that did not come up during the lease negotiation, nor did I know enough about to bring up...?

Today, we are waiting for engineer drawings, meetings with the county, and permit approvals. And the bank account dwindles as we pay for equipment, equipment installs, engineer drawings, and permits. 

 

In five years of Piedmont Pennies, I've had three anxious nights with little sleep, two have been in the last two weeks. But, I keep hearing this voice when my head spins and doubt creeps in...

Breathe. It will all be okay. Have faith, have patience. I've got you.

I am grateful to know a loving God that is bigger than the trials I face, and has the whole world in His hands (including my little permits). 

 

Monday, I read on a church placard, "Hope is not found in certainty. Hope is found in God." No amount of certainty or control will bring you the peace only He can give.

We are imperfect humans living in His perfect grace. 

 

It feels cathartic to admit. I jumped into the new warehouse before understanding the permitting process, timeline, costs, and potential delays.

I made mistakes.

Phew. It feels good to get that off my chest. Why was that so hard to admit? Why do I need to act like the perfect business person?

It feels good to give myself grace. I'm doing this for the first time gosh darn it. We are ALL doing life for the first time! 

 

So when the numbers don't match the forecast and timelines are delayed, I listen for the voice...

*Breathe. It will be okay. Have faith, have patience. I've got you.*

And when I need something more tangible, I'll pull out my (amateur) sketch of Jesus that I drew before a scary Zoom meeting last week.

 

 

Small businesses don't have deep pockets, but we do have each other.

Thank you, Bob of Queen City Pretzels, (hand-rolled, soft, Bavarian pretzels sold in Charlotte-area breweries) and Hannah of Honeybear Bakeshop (delicious cookies and baked goods), for allowing us to rent back our old kitchen at night to keep up with production.

 

Check out our current ops here. 

 

Thank you, Katie, of Queen City Crunch (crunchy seasoned pretzels), for sharing your heat sealer last minute when ours broke on the worst week possible. 

 

I'm excited for the future. Temperatures rising and new flavors dropping... :)

There is a lot to be grateful for.

 

Where do you need to give yourself grace?

I hope this blog gives you permission to stop, reflect and do so.

Remember, hope is not found in certainty, it's found in Him.

 

We'll get there. Stick with it.

Thanks for reading and being a part of our Penny Pal family. 

 

Stay Cheesin!

Becca

P.S. If you’d like to help Pennies during this transition, order Pennies and merch at piedmontpennies.com or support a local retailer near you. We are shipping orders Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (while supplies last…) and your orders give our team purpose and momentum during this transition. Thank you for being a Penny Pal!