Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Floyd Sartin, Co-Founder of MochaBox Coffee Company, located in Bowie, MD, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
MochaBox is a specialty coffee company whose products and services represent coffee & culture. We service e-commerce customers, large retail wholesalers, and office buildings.
Tell us about yourself
Our story began in 2015. During that time, we had the vision to provide customers with coffee made by roasters throughout the US. Newcomers to the coffee industry, we were completely unaware of the lack of African-American representation within this large community. We instantly realized that we wanted to change this narrative by being a loud voice within a market where coffee is primarily sourced from regions dominated by people of color. MochaBox Coffee Company quickly evolved into a full-service micro coffee roastery.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
MochaBox has morphed into a full micro-coffee company over the last five years, offering online commerce to consumers and wholesale to businesses. This is a huge win for us, being that we started a third-party coffee subscription supplier.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest thing about being a business owner is ensuring that your customer is always satisfied with your product. The ability to maintain long-lasting relationships with your customer is extremely important to ensure their loyalty to your brand.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Always do your homework on the market/get to know your customers before starting.
- Find out what you're good at and stick to it. You can't do it all, so when you figure out what you do correctly, keep doing more of it and don't adjust.
- Ask for advice. You won't know everything, and that's ok. Don't be afraid to ask for help from trusted members in your industry. Build up a network and keep them close by.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.mochabox.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MochaBoxCoffee/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mochaboxcoffee/
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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