My husband and I have always been passionate about coffee. We even met on a coffee farm in Colombia! Not long after we got together, we visited a farmer\u2019s market in Los Angeles. We saw a coffee cart there and my husband said, \u201cWe could do something like that!\u201d My husband is a doer\u2014so it didn\u2019t take long before we followed up on the idea. In 2019, we sold our own coffee, Los Altona<\/a>, at the Hamburg Ottensen market. We now have two roast coffees in our range and we’re in direct contact with a cooperative in Brazil. Small but nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can\u2019t give a blanket answer because we went through so many different phases with our project. When we first started Los Altona, we invested the most time for sure. We had to do everything from scratch, the whole organization, logistics, etc. We were at the market every weekend, getting up before sunrise. That was exhausting, and we realized it wouldn\u2019t work for us in the long run. Then the pandemic hit, which forced us to rethink anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot more has changed for us since then: We moved to Heidelberg and welcomed our son. We are currently in the process of rebuilding our business and our community here. With the addition to our family, we have much less time than before, so we\u2019re taking a different approach: To start with, we\u2019ve looked for an external partner who can handle the logistics. Also, instead of weekly markets, we rely on small grocery stores and delicatessens that offer our coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My husband and I have always had full-time day jobs. We worked on our side hustle in our free time, late in the evenings, on public holidays, and on weekends. It wasn\u2019t always easy, and now that we have a baby, there\u2019s even less time. First, don\u2019t overthink it. Without my husband, I probably wouldn\u2019t have dared to start Los Altona. He\u2019s someone who doesn\u2019t plan everything to the end and has more of a learning-by-doing mentality. Diving into cold water is scary, but it\u2019s the most important step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, make a list of things that you want to do in your life, or that are important to you. Then start to prioritize. If you really want something, you\u2019ll always find the time for it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Amanda](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jimdo.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/amanda-los-altona-coffee.png?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1\")
How do you balance two jobs at once?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jimdo.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/los-altona-coffee.png?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1\")
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It’s easy to explain how we manage it: We don\u2019t put any pressure on ourselves, there are no fixed goals. Los Altona is powered by our hearts and our joy, and that\u2019s important\u2014whatever comes out of it is good enough for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat advice would you give someone who\u2019s thinking about starting a side business?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n