TAMPA, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — She worked in corporate America for years, but then one woman decided to pursue her passion: A perfect cup of coffee in the perfect setting for pleasure and business. Now she shares her secret to creating a multi-million-dollar business one cup of coffee at a time.
Serving up cup after cup after cup. Barista’s here work sunrise to sunset to turn Buddy Brew Coffee into much more than just another coffee shop.
“I like the fact that it is a living room you are always welcome to hang,” James Bearly said.
Lauren Katz told Ivanhoe, “I have my own company and just to be around people that are working and motivated helps when you don’t have an office.”
The first year, she and her husband barely cleared 25 thousand dollars.
“There was a lot we did not know about how to start the business, how to run this business, how to grow this business,” Susan Ward, Owner of Buddy Brew Coffee, said.
By the second year, profits doubled, and soon Susan faced a career crossroads.
“We both quit our jobs,” she said.
But they have even better ones now! What started in a garage has turned into six coffee shops, with 89 employees, pulling in over six million annually as estimated by owler.com. But don’t think it was easy, she says to forget about free time. She worked many days until 2 or 3 am. And realize, there is no certainty of a paycheck. Some weeks you get one, some weeks you have to put it all back in the business to keep it afloat.
“I would say do not let that intimidate you, what you don’t know. There is always a way to find the answer and to creatively solve the problems that are in front of you,” she advised.
With a lot of perspiration, inspiration and help from the company’s namesake, Buddy… it all worked out.
Buddy’s beans are sold in every Whole Foods Market and almost every Publix grocery store. For more information visit: www.buddybrew.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Susan Ward
Sources: https://www.buddybrew.com
https://www.yelp.com/biz/buddy-brew-coffee-tampa-3
Contributor(s) to this news report include: Sarina Fazan, Producer; Bryan DiCerb, Videographer and Roque Correa, Editor.
To receive a free weekly email on Smart Living from Ivanhoe, sign up at: http://www.ivanhoe.com/ftk
