Cheboygan Main Street: Why you can do it here, in Cheboygan
Being born and raised in Cheboygan, Michigan, like many kids today I decided to move away after high school. Grand Rapids, Michigan, was home for eight years and then two years in Northern California. In 2015, 10 years after graduating from CHS, I moved back to my hometown to pursue an opportunity.
But why come back to Cheboygan, of all the places that you could go?
Interesting enough, I took a life changing business course in 2014 that changed my path. The class was about "finding your purpose" and the point was to find your trifecta. Something that you love and would do even if you weren’t paid to do it, something that you could make money doing, and something that you are really good at. When you find the thing that fits all three categories then … bingo!
For me, at the time it was coffee, but it's going to be different for everyone. What I learned from the exercise was really to learn to go after what is in your heart. The idea then being that you can do most of, if not all, of what is in your heart, just about anywhere that you choose.
What inevitably drove me back to my hometown was a heart for Cheboygan. Why not take what you’ve learned and share it with your community? See it grow economically, thrive socially, and sustain purpose.
If you can start anywhere, why not your hometown? Volunteer, grow your business, hone your trade, whatever you choose to do. Cheboygan is a great place to plant seeds for the future and now is a great time to get involved with building the community up.
Hopefully a story of how a CHS grad made it back to Cheboygan can help inspire students and others out there to consider bringing their talents, skills, and knowledge back to Northern Michigan.
In 2015, I moved back to Cheboygan to start a small batch, third wave coffee roasting company. I wanted to make coffee that tasted really good. Seven years later, in 2022, it still never gets old to me, when a customer tells me "You’ve ruined every other coffee out there, your coffee is the best!"
I will leave you with an inspiring acrostic poem about Cheboygan!
Come
Here
Enjoy
Beauty
On
Your
Greatest
Adventure
Now
— Travis Neuman represents Downtown Cheboygan through his efforts as; Technical Director for the Cheboygan Opera House, Market Manager of the Cheboygan Farmers’ Market, and Owner/Operator of Aroma Logic Artisan Coffee est. 2016. Travisneuman.nswe@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan Main Street: Why you can do it here, in Cheboygan
