ADHD Meets Anxiety: How Unhinged Coffee Got Its Name | Cody Vaughn | Unhinged Coffee

Cody started Unhinged Coffee in April 2025 - and it wasn't planned. After 18 years in corporate America (Wells Fargo, all the way up to VP), they were over it. Missed the human connection. Felt like they were watching communities from the outside.

Around the same time, Cody was processing the loss of his dad. The way they connected? Over coffee. Morning, afternoon, and evening coffee. All day, every day.

The mission? Rooted in mental health. Breaking stigma, creating community, making resources accessible.

In this episode, Cody talks about leaving corporate, why he is doing Find Your Therapist speed dating events, and the lesson about who actually shows up to support you (spoiler: it's not who you think). We get into hot yoga disasters, collaboration bike rides with ice casualties, and why their mugs say things like "I love hot dads" and "rise and fucking shine."

Plus: miso caramel hojicha lattes, why planning beats rushing, and the 16-foot coffee trailer coming soon.

Soft opening this Friday April 3rd. Grand opening in May. Knightdale needs this.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Unhinged Coffee: Located at the old Rewind Retro Bar, Knightdale NC
• Instagram/TikTok: @unhingedcoffee.co
• Soft opening: Friday, April 3rd
• Grand opening: May 2026
• Wake Forest Farmer's Market (Saturdays)
• Knightdale Farmer's Market (monthly)
• Run club launching February
• Collaboration bike rides with Bike Library Raleigh
• KJ / Social to Social (Pilates event host - previous episode guest)
• Raleigh Founded (coworking space)
• Blu Co (e-commerce focused coworking)

Transcript

Kayleigh 0:01

Welcome to All Up in Your Business with me, your host, Kaylee Vane. And today I'm super pumped. I'm in a part of town that I have maybe been in once. Um, it's on the other side of Raleigh in Nightdale. Really cute town, by the way, which is next to Wendell Falls, which is even a cuter town, which we're gonna get into. But I am here with Cody, and I am so jazzed. So, Cody, what's your business?

Cody 0:26

Uh unhinged coffee co.

Kayleigh 0:29

Coffee shop. Delicious. What is it that I'm drinking again?

Cody 0:33

You are drinking Hojija, and it's a um uh miso caramel. So it's a house made uh our feature syrup right now.

Kayleigh 0:41

I'm just gonna keep calling it my miso soup latte. It's not a latte, and it's not even like miso soup, I promise. Not even a little bit, and it's not a latte either, but it's so good. Like the only way I can really describe it is like an even better matcha, and it's not overwhelming with matcha, it's perfect.

Cody 0:56

Yeah, yeah. Hojica is um, I always like to like tell people, especially if they're like, oh, I hate matcha. I'm like, try hojicha, it's a little different. Same, same leaf, just different process.

Kayleigh 1:07

And you can get like remnants of it, but it's not like overwhelming by any of the bigger. Yeah, it's not like you're drinking grass. It's so good. I want this for every meal and everything I drink now. What's your favorite thing that you make or that you like to make?

Cody 1:20

You know, I'm really basic. I generally drink like an ice coffee or an Americano. Um, if I'm feeling like fancy, I'll do like a flat white. Oh, what's a flat white? Uh flat white is basically think of a latte, but short. So it's if you want to taste more espresso, it's gonna be less milk. So it's like five to six ounces of milk. Okay. So it's a shorty, essentially.

Kayleigh 1:41

It's a shorty.

Cody 1:42

Like it's good, it's good. But um, yeah, so I'm I'm pretty basic.

Kayleigh 1:46

I love that though. I mean, sometimes the basic things are really easy and they're just really good.

Cody 1:50

Yeah, no, we we spent a lot of time like trying to figure out like all these cool drinks that people will really love, and people get so excited about it, and they're like, Have you do you drink it? Like, is this what you like to drink? And I'm like, I didn't try to really just stick to like coffee. I'll even like just have drip coffee, and I'm like, I'm really boring. I'm sorry.

Kayleigh 2:06

Oh, I love I like doing um, I do um pour over coffee for mine.

Cody 2:11

See, I want to get into pourovers because I feel like there's like a whole art to it.

Kayleigh 2:14

Um I mean it's pretty easy. I I love it. It's just I think I because I don't want to wait for a whole pot to be made, and I don't care for the cure because I don't like the way that tastes. I'm real picky. Yeah. So when I pour it over, I'm like, all right, it's great. Just pour the water and it's done.

Cody 2:28

No, that works. There's there's a lot of coffee shops that do like even roasters in the area that do like it's called cupping. So you can go and they'll do like pourovers and you can like try and sample each one. Um, I would really love to do something like that one day.

Kayleigh 2:40

I really want to do coffee flights.

Cody 2:43

That, yeah, yeah. Saunders, I think, does does one like that with some of their like holiday drinks or their seasonal drinks.

Kayleigh 2:50

I've heard of Saunders. That's not far from here.

Cody 2:52

No, it's in Windows Falls, yeah, it's not too far.

Kayleigh 2:54

Oh, well, it's right next to them.

Cody 2:55

Yeah, yeah. But I'm glad you're here.

Kayleigh 2:58

All right. So yeah, so if you're in the Raleigh area, um, Unhinged Coffee is located right now in where are we at? Nightdale.

Cody 3:06

Yeah, we're in Nightdale. Uh we're we are operating currently out inside of Rewind Retro Bar. Um, we are mobile, so we you also may see us downtown, you may see us in Greensboro. I mean, we're kind of everywhere with with the coffee car as well.

Kayleigh 3:22

I saw that you guys were at Raleigh uh Founded. I'm I'm pretty I love Raleigh Founded. I think they're great. And so um I go to the Carrie Founded a lot.

Cody 3:31

Okay.

Kayleigh 3:31

But um, I had a friend, I have quite a few people I know in Raleigh Founded. So I saw you were there, and I was like, oh my god, I wish I was there.

Cody 3:37

Yeah, we we try to go there there, they were originally like one of our first partners that we kind of have collabed with. Um we did some some events for their members, and then it kind of just turned into like set up when I whatever days you want. So we generally do like Thursday, Fridays, and we'll serve their members, but we also have a QR code. So if someone's not a member and they want to come and co-work, they can scan the QR code. It's like $15 a day instead of $25. So um cool benefit for people that want to come and co-work and use the the benefits of Raleigh Founded, but not the commitment. Or you can stop by and just get coffee. Um, but honestly, some of my favorite people and some of the people in Raleigh Founded, and like they're all most of them are entrepreneurs or have founded a company um or are part of a small business that um is doing really, really great things. So it's like one of my favorite places to go and network and meet people.

Kayleigh 4:31

It is definitely one of the coolest places to go and network because there's so many different kinds of people there that do so many different things. And 100%. I love the founded community. I think they're such a cool core group of people.

Cody 4:44

Yeah. Have you seen um, I think it's Blue Co. is like the extension of yeah, I haven't actually been or seen it.

Kayleigh 4:53

I I've heard of it.

Cody 4:54

Blue Co. picture Raleigh found it, but on steroids with um more of an e-commerce lens. Oh, cool. So it's kind of like instead of like little offices and suites, it's like storage space and product production work or e-commerce storage and packaging. And then you can do all of it under one roof, ship it from there, um, as well as like conference rooms and different amenities and things like that. So that's so cool. Where's that? Um, there's a few. They just opened a new one in Fuquay. Fukui, yeah, Fukui. Fuque Fuquay, one of the things and then there's one in Raleigh. I want to say there's at least, I think that Fuquay was the third location. I don't know where the other one is. But interesting. Really cool concept. Um, yeah, sorry, got totally off track.

Kayleigh 5:39

Yeah, I know. It's totally fine. I love a good tangent.

Cody 5:42

Yeah.

Kayleigh 5:42

Um, but all right, let's talk about a little bit about like you and your story. So, what how long have you had Unhinged? Also, by the way, I love the name Unhinged Coffee. It's amazing.

Cody 5:53

It's a little too real sometimes.

Kayleigh 5:55

Um, it's so perfect though.

Cody 5:57

We we actually so we started in April um of last year. So 2025? 2025, yeah.

Kayleigh 6:03

We I forget we're in 2016.

Cody 6:04

I know it's weird since COVID, like nobody knows what year it is. Um but yeah, so 2025, April, um we started and like made it official. Um was not a planned business. This wasn't like anything in the making for years. Um, I had been in corporate America for 18 years. So I started at 18, um, worked at Wells Fargo, um, all the way up from like entry-level position up to a VP position when I left, and um spent some time dabbling in some different um worked in law, um, went back into corporate America. But essentially, I was over all of corporate America, which I know you probably hear that a lot, but um I missed the connection, like the human connection. I felt like there was all these communities that I was sitting outside of and just watching. And I wanted to be a part of it, like I didn't want to live in FOMO, like you know, and and it wasn't necessarily like I needed to be like doing all these different things. I just I wanted to be connected and I wanted to like feel like a human again. And yeah, my around the same time I was kind of also processing the the loss of my dad. Um, he had he had passed um three years ago now, and him and I, the way that we connected was over coffee. Like we would he would have morning, afternoon, and evening coffee and all day coffee.

Kayleigh 7:25

My dad is the same black, or how do you like his coffee?

Cody 7:29

Yeah, he would. Well, yeah, he would mostly do it black. Yeah, he had this whole system too. My stepmom still does it to this day where like they would heat the cup up with water in the microwave first so the mug would stay hot when because he wanted it to stay hot. So then I started doing it. It's a whole thing, but it's when in reality you could just get like a hot mug or you could do, I don't know there's so many other ways. Yeah, yeah, mine gets cold because I just forget about yeah, but uh it it's things like that that I I love to think back on. But um, so I was really trying to process and figure out like what I wanted to do, and then um my partner and I were just kind of talking about about the ideas, and he had this unhinged coffee name, and I was just like, that's really cool. And I've always kind of wanted to be involved in the coffee world. Um, and so the background of the name, he kind of was more playing with it, it wasn't really even that a true thing. And a few days later I came back to him and I was like, I really love the idea of like getting into coffee and like starting small, but like creating something. But I was like, I don't want it to just be a name, like I don't want Unhinged to just be something cool. I want it to like have meaning and a mission behind it. And so um, for me, I've struggled with mental health since I was a really young age. I have had a lot of adversity and things to overcome, trauma. And so um I, you know, have dealt with like suicidal ideation and I've you know been on medication for a long time to to deal with anxiety and things like that. And so um I wanted Unhinged to have more of a meaning, and so I we kind of decided that our mission would be rooted in mental health. Um, and my partner, where we got unhinged was really the fact that people call us unhinged because he has ADHD, I have anxiety, we're like together, it's just chaos. Um, and so yeah, so that's kind of how the name came about. Um, but the mission behind it was really rooted more in like trying to create community in the mental health community, um, not bridging the gap between um clinicians and practitioners and just everyday people in the community that need help. Um and I think just creating more resources and more accessibility to uh those mental health resources, but also being able to kind of break the stigma. You know, if someone comes in and they're having a shitty day, I'm like, Do you need a hug? Like, come around the bar, like I'll give you a hug. Or if I need to step outside and just, you know, chat with someone, like I'm 100% down for that. Um, and there's obviously so many different forms, it's not like everyone's dealing with anxiety or depression. There's a lot out there that a lot of us don't necessarily see or hear, and you know, but just them being able to walk through the door and know that, like, hey, like these are my people. Um, for me, that's that's it's a lot of fun. So we we're trying to center a lot of our focus in our uh like events around mental health. Um, so I'll have to fill you in. You'll have to actually come and do our speed dating. We're doing a find your therapist speed dating event.

Kayleigh 10:32

And I think the speed dating idea is so much fun.

Cody 10:35

Yeah, I like I mean, I know most people on speed dating in their mind, they're like, um, they're trying to find a partner or something. But to me, like, where can you go and get in front of multiple different therapists or clinicians, you know, different, um, there's gonna be therapists and psychologists, but multiple different ones, be able to actually ask questions and be able to like see if you connect and vibe with them and find out are they affirming? Do they deal, you know, if you're dealing, if you're struggling with like uh deconstruction of religious trauma or whatever, whatever thing that you need the support for, um you can do that without having to go through the whole intake process, pay all this money to find out that oh crap, I don't even like this person I'm talking to. Um, or they are not, you know, what they say they are online, or their bio is, you know, all of those things. And so while maybe not 100% of the people that come are gonna be able to walk away and be like, oh yeah, I booked an appointment, that's okay. It's just a matter of being able to have that conversation and taking that first initial step without the fear of losing money or um feeling obligated to come back.

Kayleigh 11:40

I think another big part of that too is like you're not one, like you're you're taking the step to go do that.

Cody 11:45

Yeah.

Kayleigh 11:46

Um, but two, you're also in a room full of other people taking that first step too. So it's like you're not alone. Yeah.

Cody 11:51

That's the goal.

Kayleigh 11:52

Coming from, I'm pretty sure we are the same age, if I'm thinking about this correctly. So, like from our I feel like our parents' generation, like going to therapy is just kind of like a it's like this weird stigma where it's like, I'm not gonna go see a shrink. It's like, well, first off, like we don't call shrinks anymore. Uh they're therapists, like they're there to help you. Yeah, because I started seeing a therapist oh, last year's, I think I finally started going to one. Because like I got a lot of my own stuff that happened, and it's it's stuff I've also never really talked about with some people, and I've never told any most of it to anybody, yeah. And I don't plan to. So, but it's just like when I talked to my therapist about it, I remember like I find I think I like I just started crying one day, and she's like, Do you need a hog? I'm like, I don't know what I need right now. Like, I this is weird for me. I'm not really good at crying in front of people, but um, yeah, taking the first step to see someone, it's always like it's crazy and overwhelming but exciting at the same time, yeah.

Cody 12:49

And I mean it's therapy, like it's a lot of people look at it too like it's uh it's meant to be a uh fix or like you're you're fixing something, but for some people it's preventative, like yeah, it's maintenance just like it is for your vehicle. And I say that in the worst at taking my own advice. So for whoever's listening and you're calling me out on my shit, it's it is real. I am trying my best. I'm also trying to get myself back into therapy too. So uh hopefully by the time it comes out, I'll actually be back and things will have settled.

Kayleigh 13:22

But uh I know I have I have to get back and see my girl because like I went on because I have PMDD, which is premenstrual dysphoric disorder. So like it's just PMS, like steroids. And it's more of a mental thing than anything else. And they're like, of course, there's not enough studies about it, and there's no medication for it. So they're like, oh, like diet and exercise. And I'm like, all right, first off, you call me fat.

Cody 13:45

It's just like that's not helping, no, right?

Kayleigh 13:47

And it's just like secondly, like I'm trying to do all things, and like they say, like magnesium and all these things. So it's just like going to the therapist and like kind of un, you know, dumping on her everything, and then um then I mean, like PMDD, it's only like it's a one week out of the month, but it is seven straight days of pure hell, like like mental health, yeah. And so it affects like your friendships and it affects how you see yourself, and you're like, you could go to anyone, you're like, Are you mad at me? Are you mad at me? Do you hate me? Like, and it's so mentally this is probably not a non-recording week, right? Oh my god, it's no yet no. I make sure I cancel everything, and I like and thank God I have like the coolest job ever. Like they're the most flexible, and like and they're very mental health friendly. So it's like if you need a mental day, like go take a mental day. Like, we have unlimited PTO, yeah, and so they're just like, you need a day, go take a day. And I'm like, I love you guys, like this is amazing. So it's like finding people and a job and other things like that around you that yeah support the mental health, I think is huge.

Cody 14:47

Yeah, I agree. Um, I think I don't know, I it it's it can all be really heavy, like um, especially because I think now that we've kind of stepped into this space of like, oh, we want to be, you know, our I always talk about like coffee's the the vehicle, but mental health is like the mission. And so like now that we've stepped into space, I'm kind of like, okay, how do we keep this going? Like, to what extent can we do we not cross any lines? Can we can we do this in a way that like is helping people and not hurting people? Um, so like even with that event, like I had to be very, very specific and like share with people like, hey, you know, this is not meant to be uh an intake appointment. This is not you getting therapy, whatever you share in this space, other people can't hear you. Yeah, yeah, right. You're not in a closed room. Yeah, so you know, but but I think, I mean, at the end of the day, I think the the important part is that we're trying. Um, and we're not just trying, like, I'm not just saying like everybody therapy's gonna heal everyone. We try and balance a lot of it with like wellness activities. Like we just did a collaboration bike ride with um the bike librarian Raleigh.

Kayleigh 15:50

I saw that. That looked like it would be really fun. It was fun.

Cody 15:53

Um we had two people go down on ice. Oh, yeah. I call them our ride warriors, but uh it was a cold, cold morning and there was a lot of ice. Um, but yeah, it was we started at bike library. Um they're off of Kabaras, they're downtown Raleigh. I don't know. Um, do you know where the platform apartments are? It's right right next to Homebody Yoga. Sure. Okay.

Kayleigh 16:14

It all sounds so familiar. Yeah.

Cody 16:17

Um, but the really great um Cam is the owner. Um, shout out to Cam. He's actually running for Raleigh City Council at large. Um I'm really proud of him. But no, he he he and Lauren, um, his wife uh own uh the bike library and so not to go too much into what they do, but uh we have now done two collaboration rides with them where we start with the air shop, we end here, um, grab some coffee, get some food to refuel, and then we ride back. It's like 17, 18 miles each way.

Kayleigh 16:47

I was just about to ask. Wow, so that's like an all-day thing.

Cody 16:51

Kind of, yeah. The first time we did it was a little bit faster because there was no ice, and so we were able to get here in an hour and a half. But um the second, this most recent ride was really pretty brutal with the cold and the ice, and so we uh took us at least two hours to get here. So it was a good, really good ride. Um, but I mean, what better way to like create some like healthy habits for yourself? Like biking. We're starting to do, we're kicking off a run club soon um in February, so we'll have that as well. We've worked on trying to introduce like yoga and like just different wellness things that people can do as a community, but also like a lot of those different things that you can do to help with your like within your own ability to help yourself maintain your mental health is some of it is physical. Um but so we're we're trying.

Kayleigh 17:43

And I think showing people those what those the other ways that they can release the stress, like yo, like I love yoga. I don't know the last time I did yoga, but I love yoga, like it's great. Like my hamstrings are the tightest of tight, and like I am not flexible, but there's something about yoga, like the meditation part of it, yeah, like corpse pose. Oh, I love it. Give it to me all day long.

Cody 18:03

Like, I like the beginning and the end when they're like lay in what I mean. I I do like the actual yoga piece, but like my favorite part is the beginning and the end when they're like lay in whatever position you want, and it's just your eyes are shut, like you have maybe a towel on your face, and it's just like peace. And like I could nap, like especially with their voices, man, they're so like calming.

Kayleigh 18:22

They're so soothing. Yeah, it's like can you just like record yourself?

Cody 18:25

Can you come home and like just talk to me while I sleep?

Kayleigh 18:28

Yeah, no, can you just like read me a lullaby? I might not be allowed back to the yoga studio, but my first experience with yoga was in college, and we had the labyrinth room. I'll never forget this. This room was cold as hell. Like when I say cold, it was it felt like it was 20 degrees. It obviously wasn't, but it felt so cold.

Cody 18:48

That's interesting because usually it's either hot or room temp.

Kayleigh 18:51

But you would think, no, this room was ice cold, and I remember I didn't bring socks with me, and my feet were frozen, and it was the most like I'm like, this is awful. If this is what yoga is, this sucks. So then my friend, she's like, No, no, try it again. Bring socks with you. All right, so I brought the fuzziest socks I could, and I remember they're like, Okay, now I don't there's a word to like what the practice was, but it's like you when you're laying there in corpse pose, and they're like, Okay, we're gonna start at the top of your head and feel the tingling through your hair, and now un unclench your jaw. Now take your tongue. And it's like they go like literally body part by body part. Oh, and then it ended at my toes, and they're like, Okay, now just let your ankles sink into the floor. I'm like, oh my god. Like, and I oh after that, I was like, I'm in, like, story.

Cody 19:35

Yeah, I had my first yoga experience was embarrassing. Uh, it was it was I don't know why I thought that I would do hot yoga for my first yoga experience, but I died. Like, it was the most embarrassing thing because I was like, this is easy, it's just stretching. No, I was sweating everywhere. I was like, I couldn't make it through certain movements. It I couldn't follow along. I'm like, how do you move your body and listen at the same time? It was it was not good.

Kayleigh 20:01

Fun fact back in 2016, 2019 no, 2017 and 2019. I I managed and then I owned a hot cycling hot yoga studio.

Cody 20:13

Oh, cool.

Kayleigh 20:14

And so I did the cycling classes and then I had instructors help with that too. But after the cycling, you do the hot yoga.

Cody 20:21

Okay.

Kayleigh 20:21

Oh my god, nothing feels better. Like, because I've I mean, we've both done like hot yoga, it sounds like, and regular. Hot yoga is cool, like as much as it absolutely sucks, but it's amazing. You're already like warmed up, and it's like you can like get into positions better, and like you can actually like feel to me. I like being hot, I hate being cold. Yeah, part of the reason why I moved down south, and so it's just like being in the hot room, it just feels cozy, yeah.

Cody 20:48

Sure.

Kayleigh 20:49

And then you sweat your ass off, and then you just lay there, and that's nice.

Cody 20:52

Yeah, yeah. It's its own, it's own, it's its own piece.

Kayleigh 20:56

Oh, absolutely.

Cody 20:57

I have not ventured into Pilates yet. That's like I feel like that's hardcore.

Kayleigh 21:01

I just did an event with Pilates and it was so hard. Yeah. Oh my god, it was an event where all these like there was 300 of us. Oh my gosh. When I tell you, I first off, I didn't know anyone in this room, and it's my friend, she runs this event, Socials and Socials. Yeah, I wasn't saying shout out, KJ. She was actually on a previous episode, and um, she's like, You have to come, and I'm like, okay, I'll do it. I I went to the hardest one, just like I didn't know anyone, and it was funny because I'm like, I'm really awkward. And I'm like, all right, I need friends. Kayla, Kaylee, just get out there and go, like, do things that make you uncomfortable, right?

Cody 21:34

Yeah.

Kayleigh 21:34

That was like, this is the year of doing things that make you uncomfortable. So I did it. I was scared as hell because I forgot my mat. I literally forg I like watching with them, like, oh my god, oh my god, I'm the one person here out of 300 that doesn't have my mat. I was freaking out.

Cody 21:49

I'm sure someone had extra, yeah.

Kayleigh 21:50

They didn't they didn't have an extra one, thank God. Because we are in the 17th floor, this unfinished.

Cody 21:55

Yeah, it looks so cool. I saw the event coming up.

Kayleigh 21:58

It was so cool. I know, and I'm like looking, I'm like, all right, I need to find someone to sit next to because I don't know anyone. Yeah. Because I signed up solo. And so I sat next to this girl and she was funny, like, she didn't really talk, but she was also like in the mindset, like about to work out. So I get it.

Cody 22:12

Yeah.

Kayleigh 22:12

And I was just like really nervous. I'm like, hey, like, have you done this before? And she's like, no. And I'm like, oh girl, you are fitter than fit. Like, you're gonna be fine, right? No, we get going and we're both dying. And I was like, I'm about to collapse. Like, this is hard. It's like I'm watching everyone in the room, even though all the guys were like the big beefy dudes, everyone was struggling. So, like, we were all struggling. It was hilarious. And we were at the one point we just started laughing because we're like, we can't keep doing this. Like, this is hard. But it was so much fun. And so um, I want to go back. She has a bunch of those events coming up.

Cody 22:48

I know. I need to actually like I keep like saving them in like in Instagram and stuff, and then I'm like, I'm gonna go to this one, and then I I don't end up getting there, but I'm going to KJ coming.

Kayleigh 22:58

KJ, we are both gonna come to another one. I'm gonna do it again and remember my mat. I'm putting it in my car, I'll never forget ever again because that was the hardest we got. So I've I forget everything, so there's that too.

Cody 23:10

It's the notepad.

Kayleigh 23:12

Yeah, the notepad, all the things. But um, yeah, so going back, so like your main mission is mental health and coffee.

Cody 23:18

Yep.

Kayleigh 23:19

Um, I uh I love that. I can't stand behind that enough. Um, so do you work with like any nonprofits or anything like that?

Cody 23:27

Or so we've done like a I think for the first like few months that we're in business, we did do some like monthly donation base, like a percentage of our sales went to um, I think one one month was most of them have been local. Like one of them was like a a family that had gone through um the mother, my mother had lost her two sons in a fire caused by their father. It was long story. You probably saw it in Garner. No, I did not. My daughter was to school with with the did go to school with the the boy that had passed. And so one of that that was one of the things that we we donated towards. And there's some other um mental health focused two months before those that we did, but um two months that's so very specific. Um but we our goal is to start being able to actually incorporate more of the nonprofit work. So um trying to remember the name of the it's a nationwide organization, but they have a Raleigh chapter, and I'm trying to remember what the name is, is it Nama? I'm not sure. There's one that I've been looking into on like one that we can actually contribute to. Okay. Um, but yeah, that is a goal of ours, is trying to figure out how do we incorporate, like, yes, we're doing the work of holding events and things like that, but how can we raise money for local charitable charitable needs within mental health focus, mental health space? Yeah, wrong words.

Kayleigh 24:57

I I totally get what you're saying, though. I I like that. I love I love working with nonprofits, like that's kind of like one of my yeah, core like passion things to always do is always partner with a nonprofit. So I run a meet and mingle networking, which is literally just like a networking group for all professionals, and it's meant to be like a place for like people who aren't comfortable to go to a normal networking event where there's like speaking and maybe people are too dressed up and all the business cards, it like makes people overwhelmed. Like my space is a very like just come as you are, like it's chill. Like, we we've a lot of people that go are also regulars, so they're just kind of like, oh yeah, what's up? And like everyone like welcomes everyone in, like, and so that's kind of like my main mission is always to make everyone feel welcomed. Yeah, but then I also partner with a nonprofit. I try to do every month if I can find someone, yeah. But um, no, I always like I always I always like going to places that support yeah any kind of nonprofit.

Cody 25:50

We've worked with um Raleigh City Farm quite a bit. I it's obviously not specifically like mental health focused, but um we've done a lot of events with them, like their farm stand is a pay what you can. Yes. Um, and so we've really enjoyed working with them and and we've like our compost that we have from all of the coffee beans and stuff goes to goes to their farm um as much as possible. So there's definitely a lot of Raleigh has a really a really good like community of nonprofits. Um you've got like the great Raleigh cleanup and like all the different ones. Um so I'm excited to see what else we can find.

Kayleigh 26:27

Oh, there's so much. I'm um I do marketing for one nonprofit called um the Realtor Giving Network.

Cody 26:31

Okay.

Kayleigh 26:32

And we basically help raise money to give grants to all the smaller nonprofits. So like Casa, Caring Place, yeah, women's center. There are so many different ones. And for me, it didn't really hit me. I mean, I feel like all of not all of us, but there's a lot of us, you know, like we grow up like I want to say like airport, like privileged, like you know, like we don't have to like worry too too much.

Cody 26:56

Yeah.

Kayleigh 26:56

But then it was like took like going to the women's center, and like we were presenting a check to them to have um more beds and cots for women to sleep on. And like when you walk in there, you're like, oh my gosh, like all these women's like this this is their home, and they're even lucky if they get it because they have to come at a certain time to claim their bed. Yeah, and it's just like very eye-opening moments like that. And so I've learned since that was two years ago, give or take, but um I've learned like Raleigh's community is like huge, like they really come through for like the nonprofits in the area, yeah. I agree, and then the nonprofits themselves. Like, it's just I love Raleigh. Yeah, Raleigh's great. So, what uh what is a hard lesson that you've learned since you've opened this coffee shop?

Cody 27:44

Um one that I think about.

Kayleigh 27:47

I know there's like a probably a bunch of them, right?

Cody 27:49

Yeah, one that I think I think about a lot, and I've had to work really hard at not holding this against people, is like the people that end up being your biggest supporters are the last people you would have thought would be your biggest supporter. Um, there's people that you know, when you're talking about doing something cool and like they're you share it with them and you know they're very involved, and then all of a sudden you're just like, Where are you, where are you been? Like, have you ever have you have you even seen what we've created? And I I think for me, um, you know, I take a lot of pride in what we're trying to do. And um, we've we've built a really good team, all of all of which have their own mental health journey and are very rooted in our mission. Um and so I think for me there's a lot of pride in it. And so I think it was really kind of just a it was a little bit of a bummer to like not see um some of the folks that I thought were gonna be very engaged and very like participatory, you know, um, be involved in all of it. But that's okay. I um we've we've definitely had so much support and um you know, people that are strangers that have just been incredible. Um I have people that come in, even if they don't come in daily, there are a few that come in daily, but um they'll bring in like they'll they'll notice they'll like, oh you need this, and they'll bring it in. And I'm like, you don't have to do that, it's really okay. They're like, no, I I have it, it's okay, like I have it laying around, or like, because we're we are a small business and we're new and you don't always think of every little thing. Um like even our mugs, like our mugs are not like uh what you would see going to like a normal coffee shop. They're literally um different. We have like a little team of our like key customers that come in daily that are going to like Goodwill and other thrift stores to find unhinged mugs that say ridiculous things. Like I love mashed potatoes or I love hot dads. Um I think there's one that's let says like rise and fucking shine. Like oh my god. So there's there's just you know it's so cool. Yeah, it's really cool. Um, the other thing I will say if I'm allowed to say too is um don't believe, well, let me say that, let me go back. I think it's great to hold others' accomplishments as inspiration, but especially in the coffee community, there's so much like TikTok, like, oh I did this, I started this business off of $1,500, and now I'm doing, you know, I have five different shops. Yeah. Um, not trying to be too specific, but there was definitely one or two that I was like, they did it, I can do this. And while yes, we're doing it, I don't think I I think what I had to learn was that there's a lot in between that they don't talk about that that like, yeah, you may have started on that $1,500 credit card that you maxed out, but where did you get like how did you get to that next step and who helped you? Like, or what happened? Like, there's there's so much more that I think that we're missing, but we get so excited and we feed off of that energy that we're like, oh, I can do this. And I I love that that it allows us to think, put that like belief into ourselves. But I just also want people to like kind of learn or realize that, like, hey, there's more to this. Like, do your research, take your time, don't rush it. Um, I have very little patience, and so I have found myself in a lot of situations where I've rushed things and um now I'm trying to figure it out.

Kayleigh 31:29

Yeah, I mean, I think that's a great lesson because I mean everyone they see what they're seeing on TikTok, Instagram, they're like, ooh, like bright, shiny, that looks simple, cool. I'm gonna do it.

Cody 31:38

Yeah.

Kayleigh 31:39

And they go do it. They're like, wait, wait, but wait, why is it what what's happening?

Cody 31:44

That only worked for the first month. What do I do now? Yeah, right.

Kayleigh 31:46

It's like you gotta make it sustainable, but like you gotta figure it out too. And um, so one of my favorite questions, which is actually gonna be my next one, is I always ask, like, what's advice you'd give someone who wanted to open a business. And I like so far I've done 12 different people.

Cody 32:03

Yeah.

Kayleigh 32:04

And no one said the same answer.

Cody 32:06

Interesting.

Kayleigh 32:07

And I think it's so interesting because like going back to where you were just like, you know, like we gotta figure it out, and there's like not enough like being said about the in-between. Yeah, that's what I'm hoping this podcast helps with. Like that in between where it's like, tell me about like so, like when you opened, yeah, like what was one of the hardest things like you had to do besides like trying to make it flow? Um, like what was a big learning where you're like, oh my god.

Cody 32:31

I think trying to find balance in like wanting to do things the right way, because you hear a lot, a lot of people that, especially in the small business community, I shouldn't say especially, in some in the small business community, but also in like the corporations. Um we won't call any large corporations that serve coffee in this area out, but there's a lot of talk about like um wages, um, benefits, and things that are not um acceptable. And so, like for me, trying to figure out like how do I balance that because in the beginning I was like, I want to make sure that you know everyone's getting a you know a livable wage, and then I kind of found myself, I'm like, okay, well, everyone has a livable wage, but I'm not paying myself. I don't have a livable wage. I don't have a livable wage. So I'm trying, like, for me, it was trying to find like balance in like the other thing too. Like, you you want to source things from the best, like you want, you know, things to be ethical, and you want to have like all the major things organic. And I'm not there's nothing wrong with any of that. I love all of it. I think it's just a matter of like, okay, do what you can do and upgrade as you can, um, and be responsible as a business owner, but be smart. And um don't let all of these things like making sure that you have to to have this brand or this thing make it to where you are no longer sustainable. Yeah. Um, and so I think for me, just that balance was something that I did not fully understand um and I'm learning and paying for now. Um, but as far as advice, I would say plan more than just your first like opening. Like plan your year, your second year, like plan as much as you possibly can. Like, you can't plan for every hiccup or every um opportunity that comes your way, but you can plan for um some uh common things that pop up, or you can talk to folks that are in that in that business or in that space and try and gauge kind of what how long it takes for them to break even or do your research. But planning I think is really, really key.

Kayleigh 34:45

Love that. You've given so many good nuggets.

Speaker 1 34:49

I'm just kind of sorry, there's a lot.

Kayleigh 34:50

No, no, it's like really good stuff. I'm just like, there's just so many good nuggets and all that. Oh man, I love it all. Yeah, like planning is key. Business plan, if you don't have one, get one.

Cody 35:02

Yeah.

Kayleigh 35:03

And if you really need help, Chat GPT can at least help you start.

Cody 35:07

Yeah, it gives you some groundwork.

Kayleigh 35:08

Oh, right, like don't make it do it for you, but like give like have it like so. The company I work for at Walk West, like we are a very like AI forward marketing company. So like we just teach it's not all we we actually do a lot. Um, like I produce I produce a lot of podcasts there.

Cody 35:25

Got it.

Kayleigh 35:25

Um, but like another thing we just started is like we actually go into the community and like we teach people how to use AI to make your business easier and better for you.

Cody 35:33

Got it.

Kayleigh 35:34

Um, which is super cool. So like for me, like I was very against AI. Yeah, like big, because I mean I did social media marketing for three years. And I'm like, it's gonna take my job. It's meh. And I was kind of like, okay, like if I keep resisting it, I'm just I'm not gonna learn anything, and I'm not gonna be using it to even help me in all like the top people who say they're like, Oh, just do this one thing and you'll make a hundred million dollars. I'm like, all right, first off, again, going back to what you said, like, what's the in-between that you did? Yeah, like because it didn't just happen for you.

Cody 36:06

Yeah, not just the thumbnail, yeah, right.

Kayleigh 36:08

And so, um, but no, like leaning in, and again, like I know AI is very controversial at the moment, but leaning into it just to at least just help you, just say, like, hey, I have this crazy idea, here are all my thoughts. How what would be a what would be the best way to create a framework to come up with a business plan? Yeah, and then at least it can just give you the starting points, and then from there you can plan.

Cody 36:33

100%.

Kayleigh 36:34

Because if you don't go in with a plan, then you're going in with failure, I feel like.

Cody 36:38

Yeah, I agree. I think the AI world is is definitely interesting. I've even had like I don't want to say trolls because they weren't like trolls, but random people like comment on like posts and they're like has like the picture of like an anti-AI symbol or something like that. And I'm like, we don't really use a lot of AI, like when we do, it's very, it's really just like because I'm in a rush. And so part of my response to that is like when you're a business owner and you run everything yourself, um, come and talk to me. But two, um, you know, I think I think there's a time and a place for AI. Um, but learning how to use it is smart, like how what you're talking about with the with the um company that you work for, I think learning how to use it and leverage it properly makes a lot of sense. Yeah. Um, but expecting it to do everything for you doesn't necessarily work.

Kayleigh 37:32

No, like I mean, I definitely, I mean, I'm a busy lady. Yeah. So doing all the things, I like I have it helped me. I'm like, okay, like I because I every time I do a a show, I get a transcript. Yeah, I feed it the transcript, and I'm like, all right, right, help me write a quick description for this because I don't got time. Yeah, but that's also I'm a terrible writer and my grammar's awful. Yeah. And my spelling's also not that great either. So it's just like, it's just, it's just helping me. Yes. It's just elevating what's in my head. Um, so I mean, like I say, like, don't don't use it for every single thing, but it definitely helps it when you need it.

Cody 38:10

For sure.

Kayleigh 38:11

Um, but yeah, so again, this isn't coming out for a little while. So what are I guess what are what what would that be? Q2? I I guess what are the plans for the for the middle of the year?

Cody 38:24

Well, um forever. We definitely have had a lot of um transitions, I like to call them. Um we've had a lot of transitions and changes in kind of our business model. Um right now we're looking for some permanency. So right now we're work we're operating out of a rewind retro bar, um, but we're looking for a permanent place for us. And we'd really like it to be a nightdale because we're rooted here. There is no technically no coffee shop, like community coffee shop here. There's really not. No, there's a Starbucks in a Panera. And so you've got to go to Wendell, which has some amazing coffee shops, or Raleigh, which I myself do that all the time. But um, I would like to keep the community that we've that we've created here um and be able to have it rooted here. If we expand in the future, great. But I'd really like it to be rooted here if we could just get some more real estate in Nightdale. Yeah. Nightdale Town Council, come on. We're rooting for you. Yeah, please. Um, but uh so we're look we're looking for permanent space. So hopefully in in May, maybe we'll have that fingers crossed. Um, but if we don't, um we'll we still operate a coffee cart. So we do um farmers markets, especially a spring and summer startup. Um right now we operate at the Wake Forest Farmers Market every Saturday, or almost every Saturday. Um we usually do the Ninetale Farmers Market um every month that they do that. Um and then we book like private corporate events and weddings. Um, and then we have a trailer in production from Aero Build. Um, Aerobuild is out of Nashville, Tennessee, and they build trailers specifically tailored to your business. So um for us, it would obviously be coffee shops. So like your refrigeration, your plumbing, your sinks, your espresso machine, everything is built into it. So you literally can roll up and just start serving.

Kayleigh 40:14

Um I never even thought about that being like a thing, but yeah, yeah, it's cool.

Cody 40:18

I guess every 16-foot trailer.

Kayleigh 40:20

Yeah, I guess like every coffee bar or cocktail bar or even like taco maker. I don't know, like anything. Like it they could make it super customizable.

Cody 40:29

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And it they try to they they do a really good job of like trying to figure out like the code for your like your local county and all that stuff so it can make sure it meets everything from day one. But yeah, so we have that in manufacturing right now. Um, I think ideally we're hoping like March, April, but with I don't know, you never know. But so hopefully we'll have that kind of you'll see that going around. Um, so yeah, so I'd say uh follow along on socials. Instagram probably is our most Instagram and TikTok. Um, so you can kind of see where we are, keep up to date with us, um, and hopefully we'll have a permanent space for y'all to come and chill at or work at. Um, yeah.

Kayleigh 41:07

Love that. Also, fun fact, I learned about Unhinge on TikTok because I had put a TikTok out there, like, hey, like starting this podcast, I'm looking for people that are in the nonprofit sector, in the local business, like people have really cool stories, and I just want to like share the stories, right? And the first comment I got is like someone's like, you have to, you have to talk to Cody from Unhinged. And I was like, okay, I've never heard of that before. Okay, and then I'm like, I went digging and Instagramming and I was like, all right, I think this is unhinged. And I'm like looking at like, is there a Cody here? Yeah, and you're like, hi, that's me. You know, I was like, okay, thank God, because this would have been real awkward if we watch it.

Cody 41:44

We we uh I I tend to overshare, especially on like our socials, and so um, and I and part of that I do purposefully, it's it it isn't something that I necessarily enjoy doing. I I am surprisingly a little bit like I get very nervous about that kind of stuff. I'm not really like wanting to put my myself out there, but I do it a lot for the shared vulnerability. And so um, yeah, so I we share a lot of a lot of stuff out there that most people most coffee shops, you're probably not gonna like see the owner uh, you know, talking about the stuff they're going through personally. But I don't know. I think I think it's something that kind of sets us apart, and I am completely okay with with sharing. And I've had a lot of people share things back with me and and just stay connected through all of it. So I love that.

Kayleigh 42:35

I think a big thing as we like wrap this up, um, I think a big thing is is like a lot of people can be going through their own things, especially business owners. Like, there's a lot of shit that happens, and just like and you're kind of on your own island. Like, I mean, even if you talk to people that you know and love, like they're not doing that, so like they don't totally understand it. Yeah, so they won't fully understand like what you're going through. Like, they can sympathize for you, but they won't understand. Yeah, and then it just takes you sharing your story like one time, and then you then you catch those people like, oh my god, thank God someone else understands. Like, so then you don't feel as alone because I know like I get kind of vulnerable on my story sometimes. Sometimes it's like very just like I'm just like putting it out there, just put it out there because I'm like, I need to get this out somehow. Yeah, and then it's like the most random people that would respond to it. I'm like, Huh, oh wow, like you you feel that way? Yeah, they're just like, yeah. And I was like, that's wild. I would have never thought that.

Cody 43:28

Yeah, I mean it's important, and I think like the other thing too, and I know we're wrapping up, but like checking on your friends. Like, I talk, I always talk about it in um different like social media posts and stuff, or I'll say it, but um I'll actually I do go and if I don't hear or like see from someone or that came out weird. If I don't hear from someone or like see one of like our regulars or someone that's normally in here, I will reach out and be like, Hey, are you okay? Like, how's it how are things going? And I had one I felt kind of bad because uh Uh she hadn't responded and I was like, oh my gosh. Like, okay, one, I'm my brain is starting to go. I'm like, okay, something's wrong. I always hear and from them or see them. Um, and so the fact that they didn't respond the first time, I was like, this is weird. I was like, something's wrong. So I reached out again. I was like, I if I don't if I don't hear back from you, I'm sending like a someone to check on you. Like, are you good? And eventually I heard back from her. But yeah, so try to try to do those those things. 100%.

Kayleigh 44:26

I'm all about a good wellness check. Yeah. My friends, they'll they'll joke with me because like one of them just like went through a breakup, one of them just had a baby, and I'll text. I'll be like, wellness check, like, how you doing? I like that, right? My best friend, and like they know like I'm quirky, and like they can like hear it in my voice. They're like, oh my god. So she's like, my one friend who just had a baby, and I'm like, hey mama, how you doing?

Cody 44:45

That's sweet.

Kayleigh 44:46

You going crazy yet? She's like, It's so exhausting. And I'm like, I know, but you're doing so good. Because I'm not doing that.

Cody 44:53

Yeah.

Kayleigh 44:53

So no, definitely do wellness checks on your friends and family and anybody. And yeah, anything else you'd like to add? Because you've been full of good stuff.

Cody 45:03

Um, I know. I don't know how I'm actually exhausted. I may not seem like it's a lot of people. I feel like I'm really tired. I've had a lot of coffee, but still doesn't do much anymore. Um no, I I think uh I think one, thank you for for doing this and also like shedding light on businesses and the ups and downs and all the stuff in between. Um, I think that that's really important. Um there's you you mentioned in a minigo, like there's not a lot of of space out there for for for business owners to like kind of share. And I think if you can find your your village of people to share with, um, whether they're business owners or or people that understand, you know, whether like consultants or whatever that understand the struggles of a business owner, um, to lean into that and and really be involved and engaged with it because as much as you need them, then they need you. Um, because it's a 24-hour thing. You people say that and you don't think it's real. It is real.

Kayleigh 46:01

It is 24-7, seven days a week. Yeah.

Cody 46:03

Yeah. So it's kind of like being a pastor on call, like you're you're just it's 24-7.

Kayleigh 46:08

So yeah, very true. Well, thank you so much. I know we've been trying to plan this for a while, so I'm really excited we finally made it out.

Cody 46:15

Sorry, I'm the worst with respondents.

Kayleigh 46:17

Sorry, no, this is not a you thing. I also am terrible at and I've been busy, and so it's okay. We finally nailed each other down though. So no, I'm excited. We made it work, so very excited. If you haven't, actually, this is gonna be in May. Um, how did I want to say that? When you when you see Unhinged out in the wild, go get their coffee. It's amazing. Also, what am I drinking again?

Speaker 1 46:39

Hojica.

Kayleigh 46:40

Hochicha. Did I say that? Did I say that?

Speaker 1 46:42

Hojica, yeah, yeah.

Kayleigh 46:44

Go get it, because it's really good. Um, but yeah, so if you want to go follow them on social media, what is your what do your what are your handles?

Cody 46:51

Unhingedcoffee.co.

Kayleigh 46:53

Unhingedcoffee.co, go follow them. Go find them, go get their coffee, say hi to Cody. How many were how many um barisas do you have?

Cody 47:02

Three.

Kayleigh 47:02

Three. Well, say hi to all the barises too. I'm not here with them, but I'm sure they're great. Yeah, I can imagine they're great people. Um, but yeah, so thank you for tuning in to another all up in your business where we got into Cody's business today. Uh, you know what to do. Just go like, subscribe, rate, whatever it is that you do on here. And yeah, oh, and I'm on YouTube too. Yeah. So go watch the video and you can see they're really pretty unhinged merch. And what are these things behind me?

Cody 47:30

Uh, those are kegs from the bar.

Kayleigh 47:32

Those are kegs.

Cody 47:33

Empty kegs.

Kayleigh 47:34

Because I know what a keg looks like.

Cody 47:36

Yeah.

Kayleigh 47:37

But yeah, so you like that cool. I own the