Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jared Stayton, Co-Owner of Brickhouse Coffee Roasters, located in McCordsville, IN, USA.

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

We are a family-owned and operated coffee roasting company. We sell Direct Trade coffee to those who love freshly roasted coffee.

Tell us about yourself

I've always had an entrepreneurial mindset and discovered a newfound love for the coffee industry as my family prepared for our missionary journey to Southern Spain. I had an opportunity to attend a barista school prior to leaving for Spain, and I fell in love with what I learned and couldn't wait to put it into practice. It wasn't until we returned from Spain almost 2 years later that I actually began to implement some of my schoolings. I began learning the art of coffee roasting in 2013 and then preparing freshly roasted coffee at our church's coffee ministry. I did that for about two and a half years before we began to look for a new space to expand our business. Then in 2017, we opened our first Roastery Crafthouse (aka specialty coffee shop).

I love meeting new people and being in a coffeehouse, seeing several of the same people many times a week, and ultimately getting to know them and building a relationship with them. Even though we had to close our coffeehouse in 2020 during the pandemic, we have been able to pivot, focus on the roasting side of coffee, and recover and rebuild. I still have many of those same customers as great friends to this day. I get to serve and work alongside my family every day and continue to meet new people and create new lifelong relationships. All thanks to this wonderful product called coffee!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I would say that learning more about myself and my ability to persevere through hard times and that we just celebrated 10 years in business.

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

Sacrifice. It takes a lot of grit and patience, and the need to put in the time day after day. It also takes being ok with failure and knowing that failure is not the end but just destinations along the path to success.

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

  1. Study multiple business models and find the one that has the best possible return on time and investment.
  2. Do not undercapitalize. Make sure you have enough start-up capital to open and operate for at least 6-12 months.
  3. Discover your purpose. We were all created for a purpose and have been given talents, skills, and abilities. Find a problem that you are able to solve and then refine your market as specifically as you can to help bring a solution.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://brickhouseroasters.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brickhousecoffeeco/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brickhousecoffeeco/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BCRlocal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brickhousecoffeeco/

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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