Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Daniel Alma, Owner of Doing Work Coffee, located in Key West, FL, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We are a coffee roaster in Key West, FL, that operates a coffee shop serving the best coffees from around the world and scratch-made baked goods, all served in compostable packaging. We cater to locals and tourists in our shop or anyone wanting freshly roasted specialty coffee from across the country.

Tell us about yourself

Doing Work Coffee started as my 3rd job or side hustle and grew into our shop here in Key West. Every day we focus on providing the best products we possibly can. We believe that the credit goes to the people growing our coffees because they do the hard work, often building on generations of work, whereas our preparation of the products takes a tiny fraction of that time and effort. All of our coffees have a social component. We often tell people we cheat in our sourcing effort because we use a couple of the largest coffee wholesalers in the world, search for their top-rated coffees and then research the growers to see who we want to do business with. The growers we use absolutely must be doing more for their communities and/or environment than just growing great coffee.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Taking the leap to start our business and not compromising on our values, even if it means smaller profit margins.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Staying focused on your mission and goals. There is a ton of noise saying to follow trends, but followers don't often get to be leaders.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Never compromise.
  2. Believe in your vision.
  3. Be relentless.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://doingworkcoffee.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoingWorkCoffee/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingworkcoffee/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DoingWorkCoffee


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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