This study investigates how small business owners, particularly in local coffee shops, balance profit and purpose. Regardless of the celebration of entrepreneurship in the United States, many small businesses are fail due to factors like poor planning, funding struggles, cash flow issues, inadequate management and difficulty finding good employees. Through qualitative methods, including interviews and ethnographic observations, this study examines how owners make the operational decisions needed to run their businesses while maintaining profitability and purpose. The findings propose that while many of these owners prioritize fulfilling their business values and contributing to their community, they often sacrifice their well-being for the sake of their businesses, risking burnout. To tackle this, I make recommendations for future small business owners to establish structures within their businesses that allow them to step back from the business without negative consequences. This study contributes to the complexities of small business ownership and entrepreneurial space. It further offers some insight for small business owners to achieve a potentially better balance between profit and purpose without compromising their well-being to do so.