Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Obel Hernandez Jr., VP of Strategic Partnerships of Bean2Bean Coffee Co., located in Philadelphia, PA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
"Bean2Bean is an expression of our passions and personalities. We capture a lifestyle that coffee drinkers aspire to be - creative, thoughtful, and outside the conventional norm. In the same fashion in which music, art, and food are universal languages that unite people, we roast our coffees to create a special relationship with you."
Tell us about yourself
Bean2Bean is a family-owned business founded by my father Obel Hernandez Sr. Obel Sr. was a coffee taster for Maxwell House for twenty (20) years. Then he went to work for Caribou Coffee as a roaster. He is also one of approximately 40 coffee graders in the world certified by the InterContinental Exchange (a division of the New York Stock Exchange) to grade coffee.
What motivates me to do what I do each day is the opportunity to bring people together. There is something about bringing people together that has always captivated me. As an entrepreneur, I’m using coffee as the social stimulant to bring people together.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
The biggest accomplishment as a business owner thus far has getting through a year with a global pandemic and the next year having the most growth in the company as we've ever had.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things about being a business owner is realizing that there will always be new opportunities. Sometimes, you have to say no in the present for better opportunities in the future.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Save money, so when you're ready to start your business, you won't need to take out a loan or borrow money.
- Know more about your businesses industry than anyone else in the room
- Patience. Growing a financially healthy and sustainable company takes time.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.bean2bean.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bean2beancoffeecompany
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bean2beancoffeeco/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bean2bean-coffee-co/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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