Learn from our community entrepreneurs! In this interview, Sarah Buzby shares the story of building and growing Mainely Coffee, located in Millinocket, Maine, United States.
Hi! Tell us about your business and what problem are you solving?
We are specialty coffee roasters and tea blenders who specialize in using cascara (aka coffee fruit) in our signature blends. Our customers tend to be those who prefer quality over quantity when it comes to their hot beverages.
Roger's brother first introduced us to roasting coffee at home by sending us a Ziploc baggy filled with beans and no explanation. After clarifying that he wasn't just dividing bags of coffee among the family, he sent us a link to the $1k+ machine he bought to roast coffee in. We couldn't afford that, so we jumped on YouTube and found we could roast coffee with a popcorn popper, and we never looked back. We are constantly in pursuit of the perfect cup, whether it be coffee or tea.
What's your one biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I would say that growing our company to the point where we no longer require an outside source of income has been our biggest accomplishment to date.
What’s your one biggest challenge you face and how do you overcome it?
The financial stress is the worst. Will we sell enough to pay the bills and pay ourselves? What can we do to ensure that? These are the things that keep us up at night.
To anyone looking to start or grow a business today, what three tips would you give them?
1. Do your due diligence; make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.
2. Be sure to do everything by the books, don't cut corners or dodge regulations.
3. Never stop learning and never be afraid to ask for help.
Where can we go to learn more about your business?
| Website | https://mainelycoffee.com/ |
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| https://www.facebook.com/MainelyCoffee | |
| https://www.instagram.com/MainelyCoffee/ | |
| https://twitter.com/MainelyCoffee/ |
