Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Alexa Daniels, Co-Founder and CEO of KeJoy Donuts, located in Longmont, CO, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
KeJoy provides the only plant-based and low sugar donuts. Made from all-natural, high-quality ingredients, so you can maintain a joyful life free from regret. Originally founded in my hometown of Anchorage, AK, as Fossil Fuel Donuts, we moved the company to Colorado in 2020 and just this year reinvented ourselves as KeJoy. You can now find our products in most of the Natural Grocer Vitamin Cottage locations across the nation, as well as various independent retailers.
Tell us about yourself
I started this journey after I dropped out of business school and was seeking an alternate path. I wanted to commit to a goal that was larger than myself... and why not do it through something as friendly, positive, and approachable as a healthy donut? Now it is about figuring out how to be the person who can best support our team in accomplishing this vision. When there are moments that I want to give up, I remind myself that the uncomfortability is growth. If I stay and figure it out, it will likely be one of the most pivotal moments in my career.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
How something as simple as a donut has had such an impact on so many people's lives. Whether it be employees we've had or customers with multiple allergies and health concerns who claim the donuts bring them joy, hope, and ease while managing their conditions. This is something I never expected in the beginning, but it has made the journey all the more rewarding, and I would consider it our biggest accomplishment.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The constant ups and downs and uncertainty is a hard lifestyle to adjust to. It is also very rewarding to look back at challenges that seemed like the end of the world just a couple of years ago and realize they're just a minor hiccup today.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Embrace all of the uncomfortability, and you will grow. Resistance will trap you.
- Nothing will get accomplished if you wait for it to be perfect. Take messy action.
- Trust yourself. Nobody knows what's best for your business better than you.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.kejoy.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kejoy.co/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kejoy.co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kejoy/
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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