Submitted by: Submitted by queenv
Views: 10
Words: 1137
Pages: 5
Category: Other Topics
Date Submitted: 10/12/2016 08:44 AM
Emma’s Parlor
The Case
Emma Lathbury’s shoulders sagged as she flipped the cardboard sign hanging in the window of her
tearoom’s door from “Open” to “Closed”. Then normally indefatigable 52-year-old owner of Emma’s
Parlor was born-tired. Any doubts she’d harbored about the wisdom of seriously considering some major
changes in her business were just fast disappearing.
She hadn’t felt this weary since she’d left nursing in the early 1990’s. After years of working as in
intensive care nurse – with its grueling hours, emotionally draining work, and lack of both respect and
autonomy – she’d developed a bad case of burnout. At the end time, she was convinced she could walk
away from a secure, if difficult, profession and figure out a way of making a living that suited her highenergy, outgoing personality. Then one day, she noticed an 1870s-vintage Gothic Revival cottage for sale
in the small Illinois farming community near where she’d grown up, and the answer to her dilemma came
to her with a startling clarity. She’d get the financing, buy the house, and open up a cozy Victorian
tearoom. Emma was certain she could make it work.
And she had. Her success was due in part to her unintentionally perfect timing. Specialty teas had
taken off, with no end in sight to the current double-digit annual growth rate. But of course the solid
performance of Emma’s Parlor owed a good deal to its owner’s hard work and all those 60- and 70- hour
weeks she’d put in, which was more fun when she worked for herself. She’d personally chosen the precise
shades of purple and plum for the cottage’s exterior, hung the lace curtains, selected the fresh flowers
that graced the small circular tables, hired the staff, and tracked down and tested recipes for the finger
sandwiches, scones, jams, and Batttenburg cake that earned her glowing reviews in numerous guidebooks
and a national reputation. Quickly realizing that special events were key to attracting customers, she
organized...