My first encounter with lemons and coffee was when my daughters' lemonade stand took a sharp entrepreneurial turn.
Turns out my kids were on to something and did not realize it. I recently had the good fortune to meet Stephanie Plunkett, a young and very focused entrepreneur who recently turned her passion into profits when she started Lemonade Coffee Company. I love it when I learn something from another entrepreneur.... One of the biggest learnings I had in my discussion with Stephanie was "focus" - you simply cannot do everything all at once (my teammates hope that someday I heed this lesson!)
Stephanie's story is a great reminder that not all businesses require a lot of capital to get started. Sometimes courage and tenacity are enough to turn an idea into reality.
I was so inspired by Stephanie's story that I asked her to summarize her journey so I could share it with you.
Stephanie's Story:
My name is Stephanie Plunkett, I'm a 26 year old female who earlier this year started my own coffee company, Lemonade Coffee Company!
I’ve always believed that it was my mission in life to one day create a third place, a true “home away from home” for people of all ages. Having grown up playing sports (soccer, rowing, basketball, and volleyball to just name a few!), I naturally gravitated to loving group settings. As a result, I spent a lot of my time thinking about what truly makes a great environment for everyone (while at different coffee shops of course haha).
After studying Psychology and Management at The College of William & Mary, and from there working as a General Manager at a coffee shop in Washington DC, just a few months ago, I decided it was time for me to venture out on my own - pop-up style!
My concept of Lemonade is simple. I want to create a space that inspires everyone to make lemonade every day! I want to curate an environment that views the world as half full rather than half empty. I want to create a third place that turns strangers into friends. I want to inspire others, including myself, to live an intentional, fulfilling life. I want to make business decisions that will make the world a little better for everyone, including the next generation. I want to provide a space that believes that anything is possible. Like I said, I want everyone around me, and myself, to be making lemonade every day! I want to make the most we have of our one life, together, in community. That is my retail concept - making lemonade :)
At the moment, I'm popped-up at two locations, the Great Falls Community Farmers Market on Saturdays and the West End Farmers Market on Sundays (I've also done some catering as well as popped-up inside of a Crossfit gym for a few weeks), and I was hoping y'all could help me think of other pop-up opportunities I should be considering?! After all, 50+ heads are better than one :)
So far, I've been trying to think of opportunities that are in the Northern VA area; have low rent (including electricity); expect 150 minimum daily transactions; is indoors and has storage available; and shares similar company values.
However, with that being said, I'm open to considering options that fall outside of that criteria, so if you think of anything, please feel free to visit my website at www.lemonadecoffeecompany.com and fill out the contact form and I'll get back to you within a day or two!
Thank you all so very much for your time and energy, I really appreciate you all taking the time to try to help another entrepreneur out (special shout out to Rod Loges in particular!), and I hope you all have an invigorating, lemonade-filled day :D
All The Best,
Stephanie
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