Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food & beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Amor Hernandez, owner of Café Amor & Art, located in Windsor, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Cafe Amor & Art is a small family endeavor whose main product is specialty coffee: lattes, cappuccinos, flat whites, flavored coffees, matchas, chai, iced coffees. We complement Mexican sandwiches, pastry, and desserts. Our shop is adorned with Mexican motives, Latinamerican books, and local artists art exhibits. The colors and the "make yourself at home approach" create a cozy, quaint, and warm atmosphere. Seeing our customers happy is our main reward.
We run a free art program that allows local artists and crafters to display and sell their work for a month at the shop. Everything is free of charge, no commission is taken. We also hire local musicians to perform at the Cafe on the weekends during the summer months.
We have built such an amazing community in a positive way by not only providing the best specialty coffee in town but by bringing people of all backgrounds together. What a satisfying feeling.
Tell us about yourself
I am a Mexican woman who came to Canada long ago. I always missed the warmth, generosity, and hospitality of my parent's home. I often thought of creating a space where people would feel welcomed, taken care of, and free. My parents were big coffee drinkers, hence I became one, too. So the idea of a coffee shop started developing in my head and after years of imagining it, it finally materialized in 2020.
What motivates me? The shop means my parents, means my home, my values, and my principles. I see it as an honor to my parents. They were very hospitable persons, very generous, very friendly, they brought our small community together and that is what I saw, that is what I learned, that is who I am and that is what I want this shop to be. I love what I do, and when you love what you do, it is a great pleasure to get up every day with the best of feelings, happy to give the world your best.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment was to be able to set up the shop in the middle of a pandemic (July 2020). Against all the odds, we have been successful all along. It has been the best experience ever and we dream of staying in business for many years to come.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
First of all, it is very difficult to find financing from government or bank programs. It is never available for small start-ups.
To balance personal life with business life.
To find the right team.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Be passionate about your goal. Believe in your dream. Love your dream; only this way, you will be able to break any barriers that come along because starting a new business is not easy at all. Define exactly what you want your business to be. Don't make excuses, because if you do, you will never start your business.
Where can people find you and your business?
http://instagram.com/cafe_amor_art
https://twitter.com/cafeamorart
https://www.facebook.com/CafeAmorArt/
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.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.
