Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Acey Slade, CEO of Catfight Coffee, located in Newark, NJ, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Catfight Coffee is an eCom coffee company that lovingly produces the greatest coffee in the universe. But coffee is just part of what we do. Catfight Coffee is an inclusive community of outsiders, rebels, and misfits.
Tell us about yourself
My wife and I started Catfight Coffee on the heels of my other coffee venture when Covid kicked began. My 'day job' is as a touring musician, and all touring for the foreseeable future was off the books. We saw a way that I could still connect with music lovers through our socials and provide a service to them. In some pretty weird times, people needed something that seemed like their normal routine. That routine usually involves coffee.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Anytime someone tells me that they have never been a fan of drinking their coffee black but tried ours without milk or sugar and are now converted to the dark side.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
No matter what you do, you are ALWAYS on the clock. There is never a day where you say, 'OH! I finished everything! Time to shut down the computer and go watch some TV.'
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- You have to be in it for the long haul. Starting a business is a process, not an event. You are likely to get a lot of support at the beginning from friends and family. They will fade, and that's where you need to get in the trenches.
- If you can avoid it, don't have business partners.
- Do your best to take one day a week for yourself and one hour a day. But also be honest with yourself: did you do your best that week? Did you put in as much time as you could? Were you there for every customer? If you can say yes, decompress...I didn't mean for that to rhyme, by the way.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
If you do treat your customers right and make them feel like you have their undivided attention, they will stick around. People can spend their money anywhere and choose to spend it with you. Respect that!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.catfightcoffee.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Catfightcoffee
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catfightcoffee/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CatFight_Coffee
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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