Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Angela Serna, founder of Pure Heart, located in IL, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are specialty coffee producers focused on social and environmental sustainability. Our customers are passionate about the environment and are also passionate about vulnerable communities around the world. We want the business to be a force for good, where people are empowered, and the planet can continue to thrive.
Tell us about yourself
I saw an opportunity to build a business based on my values. I could truly align everything I ever knew to be right into an activity that benefits many people, families, plants, and animals. The way we live right now is unsustainable, and something has to change. We feel that even though our business is small, it doesn't have to sacrifice anything in order for it to be successful.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
To have already begun to change the culture around coffee farming, even if it is only happening at our farm. We are building a coffee-producing culture around equity, inclusion, diversity, and education.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Thinking that you have to have it all figured out before you start doing anything. Feeling constantly behind because your competitors have been in the business way longer. Be confident in yourself and your decisions.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
If you want to start a business because you want to earn more money, get a job. Starting a business is not about getting rich. Money comes and goes, the legacy you leave, the people you care for along the way, that matters. How is your business going to address a problem that is not currently addressed by the rest of the companies in your particular industry? How is your business contributing to a more just, equitable, and sustainable world? If you are not value-focused, you are bound to fail.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
The greatest joy of having a business is about constant growth and learning. You don't have to know it all to start; just start; you will learn what you need along the way.
Where can people find you and your business?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nobrandpureheart/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nobrand_pureheart/
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.