I have always been a big coffee person. Growing up, we had a coffee bar at home. My mom and I split the cost of an espresso machine when I was in high school and I taught myself to make good coffee. I was a Team Leader at Target and part of my responsibility was Starbucks. I learned more about how to make coffee and got to experiment with different flavors. I fell in love with it. Since then I wanted to start my own business. It took about two years but I did it.
My mom encouraged me to attend a CIE business class for women in business. I learned a lot about how to run a business and what it would cost me. I also met a community of women who wanted to follow their dreams like me. It was very motivating to just keep going.
Now I have my business and my coffee cart. We are still small but we’re slowly growing and getting a little more publicity.
CIE was a big encouragement for me. I got to hear stories of people who were in my place and saw how they succeeded. We had an amazing instructor who was very patient and willing to teach. Seeing people who were very successful made me believe I could be them one day.
I didn’t continue college after my two year degree. I knew that without my degree I would have to figure something out in order to make a living and have a family one day. Knowing that I could have a successful business made that all seem possible for me. It gave me confidence that my dream of owning my own successful business could come true.
CIE broke down business terms so I could get a true understanding of what I would be getting myself into. They broke down the pros and the cons, showed me if it would be worth it or not. CIE showed me this was possible.
