Wayne Martin coaches martial arts at the gym he co-owns: Red Wolf Martial Arts in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Recently, he and business partner Mike Mendoza added something new. Most Fly Coffee Company is a Filipino-inspired coffee shop next door to the gym. A window connects the two businesses, so Red Wolf patrons (often parents watching their kids’ classes) can order coffee without having to leave the gym.
In this article, we break down how Wayne and Mike are building one community space out of two businesses.
Blasia Esposito is finishing up her third year as a 7th grade English teacher. She was in her classroom when our team spoke to her on Zoom, backlit by string lights and an announcement of “13 Days Left of School” written on the whiteboard.
She may be counting down to a break from the classroom, but she’s gearing up for a busy season for her business: Blasia’s Coffee and Tea.
For small businesses, it feels like no amount of marketing can ever be enough. More social posts, more reviews, more events! If you feel like you’ve tried every creative way to drive foot traffic through your doors, we’ve got an alternative solution for you: coffee.
Picture a trip to the book shop, the garden center, the car wash, the gym, or the hair salon. What would make each one just a little better?
Texas Coffee School Celebrates Women Owned Coffee Businesses
Every March, we celebrate Women’s History Month and the women in our industry driving growth and evolution. This year, the impact women are making in specialty coffee feels especially tangible.
Despite hurdles that have made ownership and leadership challenging, the numbers of women opening coffee businesses are surging. We see this in the data, and we see this in our classroom.
This month, Texas Coffee School turns 16. That’s a fully licensed-driver of creating, refining, and elevating our coffee business education programs.
Our own journey as a small business has been anything but a straight road. As entrepreneurs, we know that every phase of business comes with unique challenges–from idea to start up to growing through hurdles. “How can we possibly make this work?” is a question we gotten to know intimately through the past 16 years.