We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Corey Cantrell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Corey, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Corey – owner.
I think my resilience comes from multiple areas in my life.
Growing up I was raised by my grandmother and mother and I always saw them working hard and never giving up. I never saw them complain but make the best of what they had day in and day out.
I took their work ethic with me throughout my life.
Once I joined the Army my resiliency was brought to a new level.
I learned how to adapt and overcome every situation thrown at me. Never give up had a new meaning and quiting was never an option.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Myself my wife Anissa and my little brother Jacob (Airforce Veteran) all own and operate Campfire Coffee. We are a mobile coffee trailer in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
We began the business right when Covid was hitting and the city of Colorado Springs began to shut down. We debated if we should put the Initial phases of the business on hold. Getting the licensing, plans, trailer finished, permits etc. We decided to push through and make it happen as, at the time, we had no idea how long the closures would be. We are really glad we did not wait !
We branded ourselves and even our logo with Colorado in mind. Colorado residents are very proud and outdoorsy people and we wanted to capture that pride with our mobile Coffee shop. We even custom wrapped our trailer with the pines and Colorado Vibes in mind. We think it really paid off and our customers love the brand and rocking the merch.
We opened in May 2020 and began to get our name out there as much as possible. We took events and locations at every chance we got. What’s so cool with being mobile is we can set up in parking lots, street corners, and buisnesses. This dynamic eventually spilled into us becoming very popular with schools. We get to set up at times in their parking lots and serve the staff and teachers. We have been able to set up outside of medical offices, parks, and even large events like the graduations for the United States Airforce Academy in Colorado Springs.
What’s really awesome is being able to create a customer base all over our city. In the near future we plan to expand into roasting and be able to provide a variety of small batch roasts to include doing our own packaging and shipping. This would be an extension of our mobile coffee trailer.
In the summer we are a part of farmers markets as well with our main one taking place every Saturday in Black Forest Colorado with the “Backyard Market in Blackforest” this takes place from May-October.
We also serve smoothies and specialty teas. Our smoothies are a big hit with the parents bringing by those younger kiddos.
As we are moving all over the city our schedule is posted weekly on our Instagram and Facebook page. Both can be found at
Colorado campfire coffee
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
We had no prior business knowledge before starting up Campfire Coffee. But we believed in ourselves and our ability to learn. I would say stay determined and do not underestimate what you are capable of.
Having partners or a support system you can rely on makes a huge difference. Between the 3 of us we are able to get tasks done and Conquer new problems that arise.
Being willing to improve and adapt is also key. Over time we have made recipe changes, menu changes, better equipment in our trailer to improve customer serve time. There will always be areas that can be improved and having an open mind to this, will greatly benefit any business. Businesses that fail to assess their own issues no matter how big or small, will lead themselves on a path of self destruction.
So over all be determined, have grit, believe in yourself and find a good support system. And at the end of the day always be open to making changes as time goes on.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
What a tough question! I feel being well rounded in all areas of your business is ideal. But knowing your weaknesses is key. If you can place a team of people that excel in your weaknesses and uplift your strengths then you are winning.
For example I am really good with customer service and I love interacting with our customers at our window. I have great people skills but maybe not as great technical skills.
My wife Anissa known as Anissa the Barista is a beast on the espresso machine she can whip out drinks faster than any of us and definitely faster than me! Having her on espresso is amazing.
My brother Jacob is quiter than me and not as fast on the espresso bar. He likes following recipes and seeing the final product he created. He is our milks and back of house boss. He excels at assisting espresso bar and whipping up smoothies and teas perfectly everytime by following precise measurements and recipes.
Now all 3 of us can swap in and out of each roll and do at times. However we all have our strengths and weaknesses and are aware of what they are. When the 3 of us our in our strongest position that’s when we have the best and most efficient customer service and product.
So I think diving into your strengths is great if you have other that excel in our weaker areas. But at least being well rounded and able to perform all task if needed is definitely ideal.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Coloradocampfirecoffee.square.site
- Instagram: Coloradocampfirecoffee
- Facebook: Coloradocampfirecoffee
Image Credits
None
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