We recently connected with Jessica Aubrey and have shared our conversation below.
Jessica, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I had just finished a shift at work and found a moment I was able to finally take a break. I started scrolling through my various social media feeds. As I was mindlessly browsing, I stumbled upon this super cute vintage camper that had been converted into a bar on Pinterest. I thought to myself that this was probably the most unique thing I had seen in a long time! It was then and there, in 2018, that I decided my goal of owning my own camper bar.
Up to this point, I had been working as a bartender/assistant manager at a local bar. Honestly, I was pretty miserable – I was burned out and felt like I was just going through the motions just to get a pay check. When I saw that picture of the camper, I felt a spark and thus set forth my desire to launch my own business and never work for someone else ever again! A week later I found a vintage camper for sale for only $700 and only 2 miles down the road from my house! I knew it was fate! I immediately contacted the seller and next thing I knew I was driving home with my camper and starting the first step to making my vision come to life!
I won’t pretend that It was an overnight success, it took the support of my family and friends to completely renovate the camper and convert it into a mobile bar – a project we thought would only take a week ended up taking four months! Finally, in April of 2019, I quit my job and launched my own business! The Sip Social Co. was in full swing and proudly the FIRST vintage camper mobile bar in Northern Virginia. I knew instantly that my bar would be the perfect addition for brides looking for a unique twist on bar service at their wedding!
Fast forward to 2020, with a global pandemic and social distancing in place, I found myself no longer pre-occupied with events – I needed to come up with a plan, and quick! I started designing and advertising my Cocktail Toppers as an add on to my existing services. I knew that brides were always looking for small details to really make their weddings unique, so I decided to launch an Etsy store and that’s where the magic happened. Our products took off!
Once Weddings started picking up again, I could barely keep up with balancing my events and selling my products. So, last year I decided I was going to end the bar side of my business in 2023 and focus on products only. I just recently launched my acrylic accessories line. My goal is to be a one-stop-shop for unique event details. April 29th we will be working our last wedding with our camper bar and celebrating 4 years in business. As much as I appreciate the bar side of my business, I love being able to design and create products for my clients. I am proud to say that I still am my own boss and I am able to do what I love every day!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I was born in New York, but I grew up on the East Coast of Florida. I have always been in the service industry, mostly as a bartender. My first job as a bartender was at a golf course, where I worked as a bartender/server – that’s where I learned how to pour draft beer! I have had a handful of bartending jobs through out the years. Mainly at restaurants. Later on in life I found myself relocating to Alexandria, Virginia when my fiancé accepted a job offer in the area, We have been in Virginia off and one for almost 9 years now.
My experiences from bartending have made me knowledgeable about cocktails, which played a large role in me being able to craft custom cocktails for each of my events based on my clients’ vision. Although working at a brick and mortar bar was not the most enjoyable at times, the experience and understanding I gained from working and managing set me up for success to run my mobile bar.
After working numerous weddings, I’ve learned more about brides and the type of details they wished they had at their weddings to make them unique. As a result, I spend a lot of my time creating unique designs for my cocktail accessories that are strictly tailored to weddings. While I love designing for weddings, I am now doing custom drink accessory designs for all types of events! We have done anything from birthdays to graduations and bach parties! I will always appreciate a great party theme because it allows me to fuel my creative side. I love hearing my clients’ ideas and working with them to come up with super fun and unique designs!
Despite my successes, owning my own business has presented challenges. I have had to sacrifice several events and weekends for the last 4 years. While I do not regret being self-employed and would do it all over again, owning and running a business is hard, especially when you don’t have employees. There are no days off and I do have days when I want to give in and quit, but I remind myself of why I started. I think about every previous job I have had and remember how I never felt happy or satisfied. I NEVER want to be in that place again. And that is why I continue to work hard every day, so that I will never have to work for someone else’s dreams except my own. It fills my heart receiving the number of messages and emails I get from my clients telling me how much they love their products, which serves as a constant reminder that I love what I do. My goal is to keep doing what I love by bringing excitement to my clients through my products.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In 2019, March 22nd to be exact, a month before I planned to launch The Sip Social Co. we were nearing the finish of the camper bar build. I got an unexpected call that my older brother was in the hospital with no idea of the severity of the situation. A few days later, we were told he had Stage 4 metastatic melanoma – it had spread to his brain. I dropped everything and drove to Florida to be with him in the hospital. I had left my fiancé and a friend to continue renovations on the camper while I was gone. I had high hopes that my brother would bounce back, he seemed to be improving. After spending two weeks at the hospital with him, I decided to return to Virginia to try to stay on track with launching my business. I ended up doing a soft launch on April 28th, but received a call a few days later telling me that I needed to come back to Florida. My brother was being put on hospice care. On May 15, 2019, I lost my brother. This was the hardest thing I had ever experienced in my life. When I finally got back to Virginia, I was depressed and didn’t think I wanted to continue on this business journey. I was completely lost. Then one day, I was looking through pictures on my Instagram and I clicked the first photo of the old, ugly camper that I took the day we got it. I looked at the date. The day I brought that camper home was my brother’s birthday; that was the moment I knew I couldn’t give up on my dream. He is my motivation every day. I know now, that whatever hardship or obstacles I face on this journey, I will be able to overcome and persevere.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I am a firm believer that you should not and do not need to go into debt to start a business. I funded my business by saving as much money as I could from the job I had while I was doing renovations on my camper. I eventually saved enough to cover my startup costs, all the renovations and a few months’ worth of bills. Sure, I could have picked the “easy” path and taken out a loan and bought a brand-new custom-built camper for 30K+, but I didn’t want to be in debt before I even launched my business. Due to my hard work and perseverance, I was profitable going into year 2 and never once have acquired debt. My business has allowed me reached financial freedom. I always preach that you don’t have to go into debt to start, and it’s so true. You just need to be smart and strategic!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thesipsocialco.com
- Instagram: @thesipsocialco
- Facebook: @thesipsocialco
Image Credits
Poppy and Lace Photography