In 15 years of business, you learn a lot about how you want to do business. We are a people-oriented company, and if it weren’t for our team, we wouldn’t be in this business. As we grow, we want the opportunities for our team to grow with us. 

As I mentioned in last week's blog post, for a long time Casey was steering this ship alone. The brand and company lived inside her mind, she had her key players but there wasn’t an executive team to really pull the ideas out of her brain. 

I can train you on how to be an amazing barista, but being the right fit for this kind of job is something you need to decide for yourself. A personality trait we love to see is self-motivation. Do you have the drive to pick something up and make it your own? 

I worked in a café for years before Event Espresso, and then I catered for Event Espresso a year before I decided I was ready to pitch myself to Casey (and I hadn’t even met her yet). To say I am full of gumption may be an understatement. I’d already spoken with Casey about her ethos on business and how she wants to create a working environment where people can thrive to live their lives. So there was a strong gut feeling that I was the right fit for Casey. 

Casey and I started off with small assignments just to see my flow and to build trust. After a couple months of doing this alongside my barista work, I began training her employees. Once she saw my knowledge base and care for her team she had her first epiphany around my role – Product Manager. 

Once I was promoted to Product Manager, we spent nine months revamping our offerings as a fully mobile coffee shop. We started with loose-leaf tea, sourcing from a beautiful shop in Raleigh, NC – Tin Roof Teas. Our partnership with Ryan and the care he brings to his products, got us thinking about how else we could expand. 

Around this time I remembered an old friend who wholesales for ARTEAO, a premium matcha and tea company also based in Raleigh. Aki, the co-owner, has been a wonderful addition to our partnership network. Once we began working together we expanded into being able to serve a wonderful chai, as well as matcha. But we were also able to think outside the box and begin offering fully customizable drinks. 

The range of products ARTEAO offers led us creating tailor-made drinks based on a company’s brand colors, theme, and aesthetic. It’s just one of the ways that we are able to be adaptable to the needs of our clients. Fitting the atmosphere and being able to create unique experiences for our customers' events. 

Once Casey saw I was an established teammate and coming to the table with big ideas she had her second epiphany about my role with Event Espresso – Brand Manager. The role brought me to Chicago over the summer to give our territory there some tender loving care. In Chicago we saw the complete dedication and drive of Ruby and Izzy, two all-star players within Event Espresso. In conversations with both of them, they shared desires to be a larger part of this company. 

We listened to both of them, prioritizing Izzy for our Community Cup Club events and sending their sparkling personality to important travel events. And I am sure in no time we will see Izzy’s role grow. From Chicago, we promoted Ruby to our Social Media Manager, on top of her responsibility as our Assistant Manager for the territory. 

Chicago wouldn’t happen without either of these two. It has been one of my greatest prides in my role to have listened to both of them and worked to give them more of what they needed. 

After Chicago, seeing Izzy and Ruby’s drive got me thinking about how we need to re-do our barista job description. We aren’t just asking people to make quality coffee, we are asking them to be the face of our brand at every event. This is a much greater responsibility than dialing in and making latte art. We want our hiring process to reflect the importance of our team mates. 

After Chicago, I spent about a month in Raleigh, NC resetting with our team there. During this time, we were able to promote Soph to Manager of our South Eastern Territories and Jaeda to Product Manager. 

Soph was a dedicated Assistant Manager maintaining our hub office, and even learning machine maintenance when asked. They showed up, they went above and beyond what they were asked and showed us how dedicated they were to Event Espresso. When the time came where North Carolina needed a transition, Soph was there ready to keep our momentum going strong.

Jaeda is an exceptional barista, has a deeper understanding for tea and coffee products than me, and fits the atmosphere of our executive team. It was the right move for our company, just as creating the role was for me. We couldn’t be more grateful that the role already existed and we had the perfect candidate to fit the role. When you have the right people on your team, it’s important to increase their value alongside your own. 

It’s one of those key ethos Casey shared with me when I was deciding if Event Espresso was the company I wanted to give my energy to. We are still growing, but as we do, we are bringing our team with us. I am proof that Event Espresso invests in the wellbeing of their employees. Listening to their needs and making necessary adjustments for our happiness. 

Work isn’t something we strive to do 9-to-5. We want to live 9-to-5 and have work be able to support that.