Entrepreneur Spotlight: Carrie Nolen

“I did everything wrong, so I hope no one takes my advice.”

Not exactly what you expect to hear from an Entrepreneur of the Year Award recipient, but Carrie Nolen’s sentiment is felt by many who have had the guts to open their own business. 

Nolen opened Sassafras Coffee in Green Lake eight years ago and has proven that bucking traditional business advice can actually pay off. 

“I took out part of my retirement to fund the business, and you’re definitely not supposed to do that, but maybe that's why I'm so invested,” she reflects. “I worked really hard to get this started. When it's your own money, you are more apt to knuckle down and get it done.” 

Nolen is being honored as one of Town Square’s 2021 Entrepreneurs of the Year due to her perseverance, grit and determination. The Entrepreneur of the Year Awards is sponsored by Huberty, a CPA-led, professional service firm offering accounting, analysis, strategy and planning services.

With a background in nursing, Nolen discovered her passion for food service and hospitality while working part-time at Sugar Lips, a now-closed coffee and gift shop in Green Lake. Nolen was a stay-at-home-mom to her daughter, Sadie, working just a couple hours a week when Sugar Lips owner Sue Ellen Bloch announced that the shop was closing.  

“When you find out the one coffee shop in town is closing, there were so many locals and regulars we would see each day, and I was thinking we can't lose that in Green Lake. Sue Ellen and I talked about my future plans and she encouraged me to open my own coffee shop,” Nolen said. “It was a great opportunity at the right time. It fit in the lifestyle I wanted for my daughter and myself.”

With the guidance of SCORE Fox Cities, a network of volunteer business mentors, and Dave Norton of Norton’s Dry Dock, Nolen was able to pull together a business plan in just two months. She opened Sassafras at its first location, 524 Mill Street, just a month after that. It seemed fast, but Nolen was driven by a gut feeling. 

“I was so convicted. It was going to work, all the puzzle pieces fit together and I hadn't had that feeling before,” Nolen said. “Also, being a good role model for Sadie lit a fire under me.”

A recent survey conducted in April 2019 on 232 coffee shops in the U.S. observed that 50 to 74 percent of independent coffee shops fail in the first five years. Nolen’s research showed that in the Green Lake area, the average coffee shop’s lifespan was about two and a half years. 

“The statistics are horrible,” she said. “So the fact that I've been here eight years says a lot. I feel very lucky, supported and loved.”

Nolen most enjoys making connections with customers, whether they are year-round residents, seasonal residents, or weekenders and daytrippers. 

“My favorite thing about this job is socializing,” Nolen said. “I know most people who come in here. I love fall and winter when people come and sit at the bar and we can actually talk and catch up.”

Nolen is originally from Madison, but her parents retired in Green Lake over 20 years ago so she became acquainted with the community while spending weekends here. She moved to Green Lake permanently 10 years ago to be closer to her family.

“Just being in Green Lake the last 10 years, it's the most comfortable I've ever felt in my skin,” Nolen said. “I feel like it's home for me and Sadie. And it's a good feeling.”

In 2019, Nolen purchased the former Sugar Lips building at 509 Mill Street where her journey began and started a new chapter for her business. The timing couldn’t have been better, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“Buying this building was a huge change that was good,” Nolen said. “It was a blessing to be in this building because we have a side exit, so the flow of traffic can just walk through. COVID has been a challenge, but it’s doable in this space.”

Despite the challenges of the past year and a half, Nolen remains committed to her business, which is her biggest piece of advice to new or potential entrepreneurs. 

“You have to be committed. You can't say ‘I think I want to.’ You have to say ‘I'm going to.’ You have to want it.”

Stay tuned for our second Entrepreneur of the Year Spotlight on Joel Baranowski, owner of North Bay Sport & Liquor!

Photo courtesy of Fortifi Bank.