Whenever Marissa—a barista and coffee educator—would ask about coffee beans from Asia, she was always told the same thing: there was only one coffee from Asia and it was bad. This did not sit well with her. And as she researched further into the matter, Marissa found a plethora of Asian coffees, each with their own unique flavors ranging from notes of chocolate to floral and herbaceous flavors. With this knowledge, Marissa decided to show others how, just like how no countries in Asia were the same, neither was their coffee. Listen as Marissa shares how she began her business: Tanbrown Coffee.
Business Tips from Marissa:
1. Incorporate all your talents for the good of your business.
“Think about the things that your good at already that are not necessarily your focus in terms of your small business. So, for example, do you already have an aptitude for writing? Then you can write all your copy. Or maybe you’ve done art. Use that kind of stuff to influence how your branding might go.”
2. Share the passion you have for your business with others.
“One of the pop-ups I’ve been doing most recently is in a Patagonia shop. I met one of the event manager people at a friend’s wine-tasting event like a year ago and we just talked. I told her about how much I love coffee and a year later, she was like, ‘Can you make coffee for people at these things?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’”
3. See a collaboration where others see competition.
“For me, finding people who are like-minded and who want to be able to learn from each other and grow together, it’s only beneficial to me. Because I think of it in the future as, ‘Oh, maybe we have a collab release together or maybe we host an event together.’ And it shows more expansion for the industry that we’re in rather than make it so individualistic.”
Website: https://tanbrown.coffee
Instagram: @tanbrowncoffee
TikTok: @tanbrowncoffee
