You, Me & Mike – Ep. 124: The Story of Armor Coffee
Release Date: November 17, 2022
Hosts: Jenn Todryk (@theramblingredhead) & Mike Todryk
Podcast: The Rambling Redhead / Thirteen Media

Episode Overview

In this in-depth episode, Jenn and Mike Todryk share the origin story of Armor Coffee, their local craft coffee shop (and now brewing business). The conversation covers the challenges and triumphs of entrepreneurship, navigating COVID-19, branding decisions, the realities of small business ownership, the importance of community, and practical insights for aspiring business owners. The episode is filled with candid stories, actionable advice, memorable moments, and the Todryks’ signature banter.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Entrepreneurial Origins & The Leap to Coffee (00:20 – 04:44)

• Timeline Recap: This episode is a direct follow-up to their previous discussion (“The Entrepreneur in You,” Pt. 1), picking up on Mike’s early entrepreneurial ambitions and the eventual acquisition of what would become Armor Coffee.
• Early Concept: Mike explored the idea of a co-working café called The Armory, inspired partly by the WeWork trend (01:08).
• Acquisition Strategy:
  • Decision to buy an existing coffee shop (“The Village Coffee”) to avoid starting at zero.
  • Advantages included inheriting trained staff and established processes (03:21).
  • They paid cash for the business, avoiding initial debt, which “gave us a lot of security” (03:35).
• Key Lesson: Attempting to keep his corporate job while launching the business nearly led Mike to burnout:
  • “Not you can’t do both. Don’t do it. Unless you have a full time ops person that you really trust, you cannot.” – Mike (04:28)

2. Navigating the Pandemic (04:44 – 07:45)

• Timing: Mike left his corporate job a month before the COVID-19 shutdowns (04:57).
• Unique Challenges: While Jenn filmed her HGTV show, Mike suddenly became full-time at-homer and homeschooler, launching a business in crisis.
• Drive-Thru Lifeline: The business survived thanks to its drive-thru and ability to remain open as an essential food business, even with a limited menu.
  • “Our saving grace were like, the two croissants that we had at the time.” – Jenn (06:47)
• Community Support: Local patrons and Jenn’s Instagram followers were key to making it through: “You guys kept our business going. You kept our doors open in Covid.” – Jenn (07:24)

3. Brand Identity & The Naming Journey (07:45 – 10:45)

• From ‘The Village’ to ‘Armor Coffee’:
  • Mike wanted a unique, personal brand and a stronger mission-driven identity.
  • A trademark issue forced a rename from “The Armory” to “Armor.”
• Faith-Informed Branding:
  • Mike finds Psalm 91:4 (“God’s faithful promises are your armor and protection”) in an old Bible, confirming the new name’s significance.
  • “So God's faithful promises are your armor and protection.” – Mike (10:45)
  • Jenn coins “#ArmorUp” as a brand mantra.

4. Building Community & Culture (10:45 – 13:46)

• Armor’s space hosts Bible studies, student groups, and community connections.
  • “It's the way it's a community to connect and to be out and create relationships.” – Jenn (11:19)
• COVID has underscored the human need for in-person gathering, even as drive-thrus remain popular.

5. Business Growth Philosophy (13:22 – 17:31)

• Focus on Brick and Mortar: Strengthening local, physical spaces is prioritized over quick online scaling.
  • “That's still our number one focus.” – Jenn (13:22)
• Quality Over Quantity: Refusal to sacrifice core values for fast growth.
  • “I will never… sacrifice quality and customer experience for quick buck.” – Mike (14:11)
• Reality Check:
  • “If anyone tells you you’re going to be a millionaire owning one coffee shop… don’t believe them.” – Jenn (14:14)
  • Coffee shops are low-margin, high-touch businesses—only viable as owner-operators or by scaling to multiple locations.

6. Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs (15:24 – 18:57)

• Jenn & Mike’s Core Business Advice:
  • Be passionate.
  • Identify a real need/solve an actual problem.
    • “Are you solving a problem? An actual problem?” – Jenn (15:38)
  • Be ready to work harder than ever.
  • Prepare for less income at the start—and for longer than expected.
  • Balance family and business with deliberate boundaries.
    • “It's really, really easy to not shut it off... you have to really tell yourself, nope, for these three hours, we're gonna have dinner time, family time.” – Jenn (18:12)

7. Resilience Through Setbacks & the Power of Pivoting (18:57 – 20:16)

• Grit and Pivots: The journey is full of grind, setbacks, and pivots. “Every failure is only failure if you don’t learn.” – Mike (30:20)
• **A business is not an identity—being willing to sell or evolve is healthy and realistic.

8. Favorite (and Hardest) Parts of Entrepreneurship (20:17 – 28:17)

• Favorite Part – Mike: Creating jobs, meaningful culture, providing a workplace people are proud of (20:41).
• Favorite Part – Jenn: Witnessing employee excitement, thriving culture, and great customer reviews (24:30).
• Tangible Pride: Seeing Armor T-shirts “in the wild,” i.e., people representing the brand (22:12).
• Biggest Heartbreak: Experiencing employee theft early was crushing and shook their optimism, but ultimately made them wiser and tougher (34:40).
  • “If you’re going to be embarrassed and take it as like a value as a person, don’t be an entrepreneur because you don’t know what you freaking don’t know…” – Jenn (31:26)

9. Hiring, Delegation, and Scaling (31:26 – 46:49)

• Learning to invest in hiring people smarter or more experienced than themselves, e.g., bringing in an operations partner (Kyler) was transformative (31:44).
• Delegating — especially creative and marketing processes — is necessary for sustainable expansion.
• Marketing Lessons: Early marketing relied entirely on Jenn’s Instagram and word of mouth; realizing the need for dedicated, professional marketing as they grow (43:42).

10. Fear, Doubt, and Faith (37:13 – 42:56)

• Jenn admits to little business fear—she trusts her gut (and Mike), prays, and says she’s not risk-averse.
• Mike confesses to constant fear and doubt, checking contingencies—but sees it as useful for warranting caution and responsibility.
  • “I have constant fear and doubt… but it’s about looking at the worst case of things and my brain looks at contingencies.” – Mike (40:01)
  • Faith and courage help him act in the face of fear.

11. Vision, Expansion, and the Definition of Success (46:49 – 51:45)

• Mike reveals his “Vision to Reality Board” (VTR), underscoring deliberate planning for expansion (multiple coffee shops, breweries, potential franchising).
• Defining Success:
  • Jenn: A balanced, happy life doing work you love, providing for your family, and being a good parent and spouse (47:30).
  • Mike: Quotes a sports psychologist: “Success is the pursuit of a goal worthy of your time.” (49:12)
  • Deep relationships—not money—are the key to long-term happiness.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Not you can’t do both. Don’t do it. Unless you have a full-time ops person that you really trust...” — Mike (04:28)
• “Our saving grace were like, the two croissants that we had at the time.” — Jenn (06:47)
• “God’s faithful promises are your armor and protection.” — Mike, quoting Psalm 91 (10:45)
• “If anyone tells you you’re going to be a millionaire owning one coffee shop… don’t believe them.” — Jenn (14:14)
• “Every failure is only failure if you don’t learn.” — Mike (30:20)
• “I never regret anything because every heartbreak or hiccup we’ve had… what came from it is something so much better because it made us better, stronger.” — Jenn (31:26)
• “Marketing is something we need to work on… as we expand.” — Mike (44:06)
• “I have constant fear and doubt... but it’s about looking at the worst case of things and my brain looks at contingencies.” — Mike (40:01)
• “Success is the pursuit of a goal worthy of your time.” — Mike, quoting Dr. Milt Lauder (49:12)

Key Timestamps

• 00:20: Introduction & recap, setting up the Armor Coffee origin story
• 01:17: Mike’s early business ideas and market research
• 03:21: Benefits and risks of acquiring vs. starting a business
• 04:28: On the impossibility of juggling a coffee shop and a corporate job
• 06:47: How drive-thru and two baguettes kept them open during COVID
• 10:45: Discovery of “Armor” in Psalm 91 and its significance
• 13:22: Why brick-and-mortar community spaces are their main focus
• 14:14: “If anyone tells you you’re going to be a millionaire…”—coffee shop realities
• 18:12: Family/business balance—intentional time off
• 20:41: Favorite parts of entrepreneurship for Mike
• 22:12: Jenn spots an Armor T-shirt in Target
• 24:30: Jenn’s favorite part—cultivating positive culture
• 31:26: Learning resilience from setbacks (theft incident)
• 34:40: Deep dive into learning after setbacks
• 40:01: Mike on living with fear and using it as a tool
• 43:42: Evolving from social media to professional marketing
• 46:49: Mike’s “Vision to Reality” board and plans for franchising
• 47:30: Jenn and Mike on the meaning of success

Tone & Style

The episode is conversational, frank, humorous, and laced with practical advice. Jenn and Mike’s dynamic is both supportive and playful, blending serious business lessons with personal anecdotes, behind-the-scenes realities, and honest reflections. Their open, faith-driven perspective informs much of their decision-making and approach to setbacks.

Final Takeaways

• Armor Coffee’s story is a blend of faith, community focus, entrepreneurial hustle, and learning through adversity.
• Success in small business is about much more than profit—it's about people, culture, and meaningful work.
• Real-world advice: Know your market, be prepared to work hard, hire great people, pivot as needed. And—never underestimate the power of a drive-thru (and a supportive local community).

--

This episode offers a candid, practical, and inspiring roadmap for anyone dreaming of starting—or surviving—an independent, community-based business.