We were lucky to catch up with Angel Moore recently and have shared our conversation below.

Angel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

As a business owner I would have to say that that going into business for myself is truly self-rewarding. However, I don’t think I will truly be happy until Bol has reached the level that my husband and I have envisioned for our company.

I am only guessing but I think everyone not just business owners in the formative parts of their dream struggle with am I on the right path or should I have done something else. Constant reaffirmation of your ambitions by yourself and others help those feelings subside so that you can remain focused.

I remember when we first launched Bol online as well as currently with the mobile truck. What you hope for is a torrent of customers flooding you with orders and there are some days when that is not the case starting out, and to be honest that can be discouraging. Or being at an event with other vendors and they have a line and you don’t. the way I found to work around that feeling of am I worthy is by being confident in my product, understanding that I will be happy if I can make one person smile from what I serve. I want to make a genuine loyal customer who will come to my food truck wherever it is. I found that that idea has kept me strong on days when I want to throw in the towel.

Angel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In late August 2019 Angel & Mike launched BOL with the basic idea of supporting themselves and their two daughters, nothing more. Before that time Mike was a preacher and Angel was a stay at home mom. When Mike decided in 2019 to stop doing ministry the question was what to do next. Both of them were highly skilled and educated; Mike being a candidate for his PhD, and Angel with a degree in literature. But they opted out of going back to work for others, they thought it was time to take all their skills and fulfill a dream they both shared since their days in New York City. The dream of owning their own business

At the time they didn’t know they would be running an acai bar, but they knew they wanted to serve people, have fun doing it, and make enough money to put food on their table. The idea came later like a bolt of lightning. Mike’s dad was on the verge of dying and had lived a long time plagued by poor health due to diabetes. At the same time Mike was 320 pounds and looking to make some changes in his diet. While watching YouTube videos Mike & Angel stumbled across acai bowls. “It was like a sign, and we both knew this was us, this was our business.” Two months later after devoted research and many acai bowls, Mike & Angel officially incorporated BOL acai bar.

BOL to Mike & Angel is not just their company, it’s all their hopes, dreams, frustrations, ambitions, and passions. BOL is their love for food, family and life. Their hope is that you experience those qualities in every delicious bite.

Have you ever had to pivot?

There has to be some fluidity in your strategy as an entrepreneur or business owner otherwise when potential risks arise, and they will, you are impacted negatively as opposed to being able to flow with the changes.

We have had to do that on numerous occasions since starting Bol. Two moments that are always in my mind is when our company had to move online due to Covid.

We were just starting out doing pop ups around town and had finally secured some place to serve like the YMCA, when the shutdown was announced for Cincinnati. We could have called it quits at that moment having no place to serve but we decided to move our services online and serve acai bowls online. This turned out to be a great decision as it kept us afloat during the pandemic and gave us a captive audience.

The second big pivot was just a few months ago when our first truck broke down and could not be fixed. This happened as we have just got the truck finished and set up to serve at Esporta Fitness in Oakley. We were freaking out. The truck that we had personally invested over fifty thousand dollars in was finished. So, we made a pivot, rather than scrap the truck that just broke down, we decided to just park it permanently on Central Avenue and serve out the truck curbside, but it did not deal with the other issue, we no longer had a m0bile truck for parking during the week. Luckily, we scrapped together every dollar we could and found a cheap truck that we bought. Most people don’t know that the truck that is roaming around Cincinnati is our second truck.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Bol has always been funded by me and my husband. We purchased our first truck for three thousand dollars and built it out for seventy thousand. All that money came from us piecing together the funds ourselves. I worked two mortgage jobs to help keep our house afloat and still work to this day to help feed our family until Bol can do it,

Early on we attempted to run a Kickstarter Campaign to raise fifteen thousand dollars that failed horribly, and we received five thousand from family and friends over the past two years.

I say that to say this, nothing can stop your dream from happening except your own fear. We wanted to be an example to others out there who have ideas but no money. If we had the money, trust me, we would not complain, but we didn’t and still don’t but that hasn’t stopped us one bit.

Contact Info:

• Website: bolonline.org
• Instagram: @cincyacaibol
• Facebook: @cincyacaibol
• Twitter: @cincyacaibol
• Yelp: /biz.yelp.com/biz_info/szkKoJ8eLAIgYzKEeYnB3A

Image Credits
Michael Moore