A Community Place to Be - Crumble Coffee & Bakery

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Laura Edgar, co-founder of Crumble Coffee & Bakery, located in Bloomington, IN, USA.

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

Our goal is to create a welcoming space for every member of our community. We serve a variety of baked goods (scones, spanikopita, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and cakes) and have a full espresso and tea menu as well. We have gluten-free and vegan goodies available every day. Our stores are located in a college town in southern Indiana, so we enjoy meeting a variety of customers every day! Students enjoy using our space to work on homework, meet for group projects, or hang out with friends on the weekends. One of our stores is in a neighborhood, so we enjoy seeing local families and kids come in to celebrate birthdays weekends or grab a cookie and hot chocolate after school (the 8-12-year-old bike brigade is one of the most adorable parts of our late afternoon!). Retirees, grad students, professors holding department meetings or student meetings--we love our community and love serving them! We offer special order cakes, so we love the opportunity to celebrate special occasions with our regulars!

Tell us about yourself

My business partner and I started working on the business in 2012, while I was a senior in college. We opened the fall after I graduated, in a tiny corner store, and waited to see what happened! Our community did the rest--we've grown from a tiny 16-seat capacity area to two stores, each with 50-75 seats. For me, the people are the main motivating factor. I had dreamed of building a business that would really invest in our people and be a positive place to work. It's challenging every day, but we have an amazing management team made up of talented people who are great to work with. I love getting to know our customers and making their day better through every interaction. Watching kids grow up over the years, students graduate from college, dissertations completed--it's just a really lovely opportunity to build and maintain relationships with our community here.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

There's never just one thing! My business partner and I have learned so much over the years. I think the major thing might just be sticking it out and staying the course, especially through the early years when we weren't always sure we would make it. Other than that, I think our biggest accomplishment has been empowering our employees (new staff, experienced staff, and managers) to be creative, make decisions, and teach us things over the years. We highly encourage creativity by giving our bakers and front-of-house staff the ability to think up new drinks (we have a seasonal drink menu that changes four times a year) and fresh pastries or flavors (croissants and spanikopita both came from their ideas!).

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

Getting up and keeping going. Making thoughtful, wise decisions on small things as well as big things. It's tempting to make split-second decisions (or no decision at all, which is its own decision) without thinking about the impact it will have on our employees long-term.

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

You need to have someone (or someone) who is a talented business/accounting person and someone who is good at producing whatever it is your business makes.
Make your hiring decisions carefully, with the long-term perspective in view. People are not expendable--they are critical! The right people can really make your business thrive, but hiring people who are a bad fit will be a detriment to you & to your team.
Make sure your customers and employees know how much you value and respect them. Apologize honestly when you need to, and give praise out thoughtfully and quickly.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://crumblecoffee.square.site/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrumbleCoffeeandBakery
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crumblecoffee/

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.