Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Arie Kirsch. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Arie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?
We’ve been running Brighter Days Coffee truck since December of 2019 and at the time we were the only full-service coffee truck in our city. In the last year or two we have seen a massive increase in the “trendy” coffee truck concept and our city now has at least 8-10 new coffee trucks on the scene. I think one of the major misconceptions that we hear quite often is that this is a cute, trendy and highly profitable business model with an easy start up, when that is simply not the case.
Starting up a coffee truck is a major commitment and investment both financially and in time. You are not only purchasing the same equipment you would need for a traditional standalone coffee shop but also are purchasing and upfitting a trailer or truck. Trucks and Trailers come with repairs, engine trouble, and the need for expensive generators and constant fuel refills. On top of that, you are limited to setting up during events, markets or festivals where as a traditional brick and mortar can be open for service during any times you choose. Our event days can start as early as 4am to pack and get our truck ready to go, and it is not unusual for us to work overnight serving the local film industry (which we love). Additionally. in the summer our truck can be upwards of 120 degrees inside or below freezing in the winter. Though we pride ourselves on being a cute little teal and pink coffee truck, reality is not quite as cutesy and glamorous as we make it look on social media.
Having been in this industry nearly five years, we understand the hidden costs of running the truck. Whether it’s oil changes and repairs for the generator, paying staff, travel and set up time, or maintaining espresso machines, there are a whole lot of behind-the-scenes expenses involved in running a mobile business. We see that a lot of these items are not taken into consideration with new startups and in doing so other trucks are undercharging for their drinks and for their coffee catering services. More and more trucks pop up and sadly we see them fizzle out just as quickly as they started. This hurts everyone all around. It’s awful to see people’s dreams crushed and for them to lose a business we know they put their heart and souls into. At the same time, it also hurts other established trucks in the area. When you underprice your business in a way that is unsustainable long term it not only oversaturates the market which ultimately takes events from other businesses, but it also lowers the expectation of the consumer. The consumer now thinks they can receive a top tier coffee service at a price that will put you out of business. This has been a growing hurt for us personally in the last year. Trying to match these unrealistic prices will ultimately take your business down as well.
We love seeing people pursuing their dreams, after all that’s how we started Brighter Days Coffee ourselves. If you are passionate about starting your own business of any kind, we encourage you to take a deep dive into understanding the ins and outs of the industry. Talk to other experienced owners to find out what has worked for them and what they’d do differently. Ask them about things you wouldn’t know from the outside looking in, the behind-the-scenes victories, the struggles, and the downright ugly parts of running a business. When you have a full understanding of the workings of the industry and you are sure you have the grit it takes to see it through, then you can race ahead and be the wild success you have dreamed about while everyone else cheers you on!
Arie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Arie Kirsch, I began Brighter Days Coffee in December of 2019, right before the entire world fell apart. Though starting a company in the midst of a pandemic was no easy task, it was exactly what everyone needed, a Brighter Day.
This company is the fulfillment of a long-time dream of mine, to create community over cups of caffeinated goodness. I felt like a truck would offer the opportunity to serve people from all walks of life in our city and that concept has proved to be true. I ran this business as a single mother for four years, and now I get the privilege to work full time with my husband as we continue to expand the company together. We have had the opportunity to serve at local farmer’s markets, weddings, large festivals, schools, offices and over twenty-six film productions. We absolutely love our community, and we thrive on being able to set up in a new place and see new faces each day.
Our coffee truck features a host of house made syrups and a rotating seasonal menu items utilizing unique ingredients and flavor combinations. In addition to our truck, we also have two pop up carts used for catering indoor events. a tent we set up for markets, and also do coffee delivery for smaller events or offices. We utilize all of these different catering options depending on each event and the needs of the client.
We pride ourselves on being more than a coffee shop, we have a focused approach on customer service that we hope leads to developing community and connections with everyone who visits. We never want people to feel like just another person in line, but strive to make each person feel appreciated, valued and wanted in this world. We do our very best to live our slogan: “Kindness Matters, Coffee Helps” and work hard to deliver coffee and kindness wherever we roam.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
I ran Brighter Days Coffee by myself for the first four years we were open. On top of that, I was doing it as a single mom. Burning the candle at both ends would be the understatement of the century. My (now) husband and I started dating in 2022 and married in November of last year, and since then I’ve been able to bring him on to work full time in the business. It has been an amazing partnership within the business in many ways because he and I have completely opposite strengths. I am the fun, artsy, creative one who loves to come up with new drinks to put on the menu, create social media content, and spend time chatting it up and connecting with customers. He is so very good at all the behind-the-scenes things that I secretly dread, like making large batches of syrups, servicing the generators and vehicles, stocking and doing inventory. He loves those and I am forever grateful that we both get to focus on the aspects of the business we truly enjoy. I have seen a big difference since he has joined me because I am not stuck in burnout and am able to focus fully on creating a great experience for our customers, we have also seen an increase in our bookings, and I think a lot of that can be attributed to finding the perfect person to compliment my strengths and weaknesses within the business.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Late last year we signed a lease for a small brick and mortar location. Adding a brick and mortar to our truck operation had been a long-time dream that we fought for for a number of years. It was a very small location which we felt would be the perfect hub to park the truck, store our supplies, as well as be a permanent location for our established customers. The location was in a trendy and well known, highly coveted part of our city, a spot where local small businesses fight to be part of. After signing, we immediately put in over $20k to upfit the space and the stunning interior design became an instant viral hit on social media.
But almost immediately we had all sorts of troubles with our storefront. Our AC was down for 5 months and repairs kept being put off by the landlord. The landlord abandoned the property, leaving the landscaping overgrown to the point it was a hazard for customers. But the biggest issue was that our water quality began to decline rapidly. We refused to use the water for our coffee products, and brought in our own 5 gallon filtered water jugs. The landlords insisted this was our own issue we had to solve, wanting us to drill a new well or run new water lines. After 6 months of being unable to use our store water, I went to the city and did some research only to find out that our water had been hooked up to an irrigation well instead of drinking water. This was never disclosed to us and it is not legal to operate a food and beverage business without having approved water. Even with this information, the landlord would not allow us out of our lease and wanted us to pay rent for the remaining two years of our contract. What a mess! In the end, our landlord held all of our upgrades, fixtures, outdoor furniture etc. as payment for breaking our lease.
This was absolutely one of the most gut wrenching and difficult lessons I have had to learn as a business owner. We put years and years of savings into upfitting this location and were only open a handful of months, only to lose it all and have to walk away because of unsafe conditions. We learned the hard way that no matter how well known an area is, or how trendy and popular it is, that does not mean that it is run well and often times other small businesses in the area are hurting and are afraid to speak out. Always, always have a professional lease attorney review any leases before signing them to make sure that the landlord can be held accountable for defaulting on their end of the lease. Even though this was a painful lesson, instead of throwing in the towel we have thrown ourselves full force back into making our coffee truck a wild success and are making a comeback bigger and better than ever.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brighterdayscoffee.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brighterdayscoffee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrighterDaysCoffee/
Image Credits
All photos were taken by Brighter Days Coffee