Meet Miranda Conley

We were lucky to catch up with Miranda Conley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Miranda, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

It definitely took some trial and error. I have always been passionate about helping others. I was involved in Lifesavers in High School and ultimately decided to go to school for Social Work. I graduated with my bachelors and quickly realized any decent jobs in the field required a Masters degree. I took a year away from college and worked at a Community College and then decided to go back to get my Masters in Social Work. I was part of the accellerated Masters program at SIUC and completed my Masters in a year, got another job in the field and quickly burnt out as I struggled not to take my work home with me at night. I was and am still not great and compartmentalizing when situations are upsetting to me. In order to protect my own mental health, I decided I needed to take a break from that world. I worked some part time jobs for a while, worked running a bed and breakfast in Anchorage, Alaska for a while, got home sick and returned to the Midwest. I decided to move to Cincinnati for a change from Southern Illinois that wasn’t a 14 hour trip from my family. I have some family in Cincinnati and just took the first job I could find. Whole Foods Market. I worked in the Prepared Foods department for a very short time and loved it but was being pulled toward the Specialty Department that sold fancy cheese, coffee, wine, and beer. The team leader of the Specialty Department essentially “poached” me from Prepared Foods and the rest is kind of history. I feel in love with learning about specialty cheeses, building charcuterie boards, experimenting with different pairings, and of course took a special interest in coffee and learned how to barista as well. I worked in Cincinnati for almost two years and found myself still missing home. A position opened up in the Specialty Department at the Whole Foods in the Central West End and I jumped at the opportunity to come back to good old Southern Illinois. There, I learned even more and developed managerial skills, temporarily was the buyer for the Specialty Department and I was happy. However, after Amazon bought out the grocery store, the culture shifted significantly. I was not a fan of the “new and improved” management and how much it stifled everyone’s once thriving creativity. I started talking to my Dad about it and he actually suggested turning half of his print shop and newspaper business building into the coffee shop that is now Press Coffee and Tea. I’ve shifted my purpose and passion into creating a sense of community, giving opportunities to others to learn the skills to barista, empowering others to nurture their wild dreams and hobbies, and most recently give back to the underserved community of individuals struggling with addiction. I lost my little sister to a fentanyl overdose about 8 years ago, she was only 20 years old. It was devastating and there was plenty of guilt and regret about how I acted and treated her when she was struggling. As the years have passed and I have learned more about the disease of addiction, I have become more compassionate to the mountain of challenges that come with addiction for those in active addiction and for their family members who are almost equally as affected by this terrible epidemic as well. In an effort to raise awareness of these issues and give back to that community, we have started donating a percentage of every bag of coffee we sell to The Zoe Foundation (a non-profit started by my parents after my sister passed). The Zoe Foundation focuses on helping those with addiction and recovering addicts by donating funds raised to various rehab facilities, organizations that hold group meetings, and programs that aim to help recovering addicts develop skills to enter the workforce. Whether it be learning a trade, helping create a resume and develop job skills or interviewing skills, it is vital that they be accepted and find a purpose in their everyday lives again. Having a set schedule or routine, making money, and contributing to society again is so important in individuals journey to sobriety. Second chances shouldn’t be reserved only for those who are viewed as morally elite. Everyone makes mistakes and some people might make mistakes that aren’t viewed in a forgiving light. That doesn’t make them any less human or less deserving of help and compassion. As a society, we could all benefit from being less judgmental and more curious. Press Coffee and Tea provides an avenue for customers to help through purchasing freshly roasted coffee sold under the name Camille Coffee (in honor of my late sister and Mike and Sybil’s daughter Zoe Camille Conley). Every dollar raised is carefully placed with an organization we trust is helping fight the opioid epidemic that affects so many people in this country, whether it be directly or indirectly.

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?

The backbone of what I do is make great coffee for Press Coffee and Tea in Trenton, IL; whether that be roasting it to preparing it for your cup. I think its important people have access to quality ingredients even outside of the city or heavily populated areas. Sometimes that is hard to find in Southern Illinois but I am happy to at least contribute by providing weekly fresh roasted coffee to our area. We recently launched a new coffee brand to sell our beans in shop and eventually online called Camille Coffee. I came up with the name Camille Coffee to honor my late little sister (Zoe Camille) who struggled with addiction. Something special about this brand is that with every bag sold, a percentage is donated to The Zoe Foundation (a non-profit organization) that helps fund programs to provide resources for addicts and recovering addicts. We hope to begin to start selling this coffee nation-wide through online sales in the near future. We are signing on with a new Point-Of-Sale system that will help me navigate the online sales and shipping world as well as guide me to better marketing campaigns. All of this is in an effort to help give back to an underserved community of people we are passionate about helping. Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date on all our exciting new drink specials, evening events, and news regarding Press Coffee and Tea and Camille Coffee. Recently, we held a very successful Barista 101 class that sold out and we are planning to offer another because of the amount of continued interest. We have an Affogato Night coming up on July 15 where we will be preparing Affogatos for customers and will feature live music by Emma Page, who has a beautiful voice and we love working with. You can also find us serving up drinks as a vendor at an upcoming concert at EvUCC in Highland, IL on July 9th. If you have an event you’d like us to cater, feel free to reach out by visiting our website and submitting a request or by calling (618) 224-9884 and talking to Miranda. I am currently in the planning process of hosting a Tea and Tarot Reading night with a local tarot card reader as well.

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?

Three things that were important to my journey would be empowerment, resilience, and humility. I have only come this far because I have had amazing friends, family, mentors, and customers who encourage me to follow my dreams. It is vital that you surround yourself with positive influences who will support your ideas and cheer you on. Resilience is a key characteristic important to any small business owner. There are days, weeks, and even months that you might be unsure how you’re going to keep the lights on, pay for ingredients, and cover all the hours necessary to stay open. In order to stay sane you have to both take it one day at a time and keep on trucking through while also keeping your long term vision in the forefront of your mind. Humility is going to come in handy because you will make mistakes. You will fumble, you will handle situations wrong, you will mismanage, and more. No one is perfect and it is important to be able to acknowledge our mistakes, take accountability, laugh at yourself if you can, and move on. You’ll do better the next time around.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I am always open to a good collaboration. We have a big announcement to make soon about a collaboration starting in July. We have to keep it a secret for now but be on the look out for big news about a collaboration with another woman-ran business we will be partnering with. Feel free to reach out through social media or our website to discuss future collaborations with us!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://presscoffee.shop
• Instagram: camillecoffeellc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/presscoffeeandtea/