We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brittany Koester a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brittany, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I became a business owner after losing my mom to cancer in 2017. I was working an office job but her death changed my entire life and inspired me to find my passion. I found that coffee is the best part of my day and so I decided to open a coffee business. I had never even worked in a coffee shop before but I quickly learned and started a mobile coffee business which I operated for several years. I always knew I wanted a brick and mortar coffee shop though, and the more I learned about coffee, the more I knew I wanted this future shop to focus on supporting women. Women are often the ones doing a lot of the work on a coffee farm but the farms are typically owned by men, and therefore the women struggle to grow financially and professionally within the industry.

When I opened Azalea, I decided to honor my mom and the women that raised me by naming the shop after my hometown of Summerville, SC which is known for the azaleas that bloom in the spring and summer. I also made the decision to source all of our coffee and tea from female producers, and work with local, woman-owned businesses for every aspect of our shop – yes, even down to the tables which were built by a local woodworker.

Operating a coffee shop that focuses on supporting women is a very new concept in our community but we have seen such amazing support and it makes me so incredibly happy. I believe in this business so much and it is such a great feeling to know that your community does as well.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I answered most of these questions in the previous section but here’s a little more about our coffee shop:

Azalea Coffee Bar is a woman-owned coffee shop in Columbia, SC that supports women through coffee. We source all of our coffee and tea from female producers and work with many local women and minority-owned businesses in our community. Imagine walking into a bright, colorful coffee shop and everything (coffee, tea, food, even the tables) was made by a woman. That is what it is like entering Azalea Coffee Bar.

We got our start in events and we still offer a mobile espresso bar for events. It has been a great way to grow our brand and let people know about our brick and mortar location.

I am most proud of the community that we have built at Azalea. Our customers are so supportive and always show up for us when we need them. We also have made the best connections with other female owned businesses and we are growing a local collective of women that are doing some amazing things in Columbia.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I decided to open Azalea Coffee Bar in 2021 when we were still in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic. Looking back, it seems crazy, but at the time I was so excited about my business that it did not even occur to me that it may be difficult to grow a business during a pandemic! I worked so hard to build a community at our shop and when we were struggling, I let our customers know and they showed up for us. Small business is hard. Small business during a pandemic is very hard, and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to build given the circumstances.

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

I think funding a business may be the most difficult part about being a small business owner. You always need more money than you think, and that is why so many businesses fail early on. I’ve been grateful to have access to funds from the death of my mother which I put towards my business. Now, it isn’t a huge trust fund or anything, but it certainly helped and I am so grateful. Initially, I attempted to do a crowdfunding campaign but it was not very successful (probably because we were in the middle of a pandemic). I also had a friend that gave me a personal loan and I was able to secure a loan from the City of Columbia. However, I am still always looking for more money.

Knowing what I now know, I would have definitely sought a larger loan initially so that we wouldn’t have been so strapped for money.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.azaleacoffeebar.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/azaleacoffeebar/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/azaleacoffeebar

Image Credits
Stephanie Williams Portraits Jamison Photography