We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hannah Kopplin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hannah below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Hannah with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
Our company and brand takes every chance we get to highlight women’s rights, entrepreneurship, and overall importance in our community. This all stems from witnessing my mom’s work ethic throughout my childhood. Growing up I remember how much my mom would work while also showing up for my sister and me. After 10+ hour shifts she would show up to our soccer games with a smile. She often talked about how important it was to “do the job you want to get” – we watched her do this time and time again. It really shaped who both my sister and I are today. Fast forward to today -my mom, Tami Kopplin, is now my business PARTNER and the knowledge and drive she has brought to Tots on the Street is truly remarkable and so fulfilling watching her inspire our employees in the same way.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
In my early 20s, I opened a Tater Tot Food truck with a giant dream and an empty wallet. I have always known I wanted to grow my own business- paring my love for food and people made so much sense to me! Currently, I have the privilege to serve the public, grow a team of amazing people, and am lucky enough to have seen success! We were voted #1 Food Truck in Milwaukee is 2024 and have successfully launched our Wholesale Program to retailers around Wisconsin.
The most exciting part of what I do for me includes all the people I’ve been able to meet and learned from, growing my businesses with my business partner/mom, and seeing hard work pay off. It’s not been the easiest yellow brick road, but I’d have it no other way!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Thinking about the skills that have helped me throughout the years of Tots on the Street are all over the place.
The first year or two, my Hospitality skills were definitely the key component to our initial success. I worked for years in bars and restaurants, and it allowed me to gain the skills and fall in love with customer interaction and service. I learned how to make peoples day and ensure they have a memorable experience and want to return. Our first few years I really focused on creating a one-of-a-kind memorable experience for our customers at the Food Truck and it truly paid off. For years to follow this has shaped how we train our employees and continuously try to improve our customer’s experience.
My second skill is quite niche, but in the spirit of highlighting my family, this is a huge shoutout to my Dad – Quinn Kopplin. My dad is a handy man through and through. He has built houses, built cars and motorcycles, fixed just about every neighbor’s lawnmower – you name it. Although I wasn’t always THRILLED, he would have my sister and me help with these jobs and builds whenever he could. When I just started my business, I would call him ALL the time – generator repairs, engine problems, etc. 7 years later, whether it be a generator problem or a deep fryer not lighting, I am able to fix it without hiring costly help. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a dad that can teach you this, but I preach constantly to my fellow small business owner friends to learn and educate yourself on the jobs their specific business will need help with, and it will really change the game.
Lastly, more prevalent to now! A few years back we launched our Wholesale Program. We quickly learned the retail business is a different world than food service completely. Although connections and outreach on a local level helped significantly while launching our Food Truck – connections and “who you know” has proven to be one of the biggest keys to success in a launch into retail. My mom (and business partner) and myself have a good amount of networking experience, but this was a skillset we definitely had to improve on and quickly. Our advice is to ask as many questions as you can, reach out to as many people as you can, create and tend to these relationships. We were shocked by the number of responses we got and people in the industry that were willing and happy to help us and connect us to the right people at the right time. Be confident, be consistent! There are tons of people out there that want to help others succeed!
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
As we work on expanding our wholesale accounts regionally and then nationally, collaboration is our main goal as we move forward. We are eager to meet owners of small to medium size markets, Restaurant and brewery owners, and even larger retailers! The best way to contact us to discuss further is visit our website – https://www.totsonthestreet.com/ to inquire! We’d love to connect with you!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.totsonthestreet.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/totsonthestreet/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/totsonthestreet/
Image Credits
All Photos: Rebel Squid – https://www.instagram.com/rebelsquid/
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
