Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carl Rand. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Carl thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I got the idea from friends that I had worked with in another industry. I was a chef at the time after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America. I was a chef for 10 years and had to figure out something else to do to stay in Durango, the town I enjoy, but hard to make a living. It wasn’t easy but keeping my full time chef job and another part time job as a ski instructor I was able to quit my other jobs and live off my business after 5 years.
In the beginning it started out slowly but there wasn’t much good coffee available at the time in 1984. Having a back ground in the restaurant business it was easy for me to get my foot in the door at the local restaurants having the back ground in the industry. After a few years of working out of my house I was able to move into town and open a retail location. From that location sharing a space with another business I was able to buy a commercial building and expand from coffee into gourmet kitchen items and a small cafe. Along with wholesale I was consumed for 10 years and finally able to split off the retail and sell that portion and keep the wholesale coffee roasting. I’m still enjoying my passion 41 after years.

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 graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1972. I worked in the industry for 10 years. I’ve had the pleasure to work in Hawaii, Jamaica, Jackson Hole, Durango Colorado, Marthas Vineyard and Waitsfield Vermont. I’ve had a passion for good food and drink for many years. I worked many positions in the kitchen in hot food and cold. I finished as a pasty chef and wanted to continue that along with developing my passion for fresh roasted coffee. As the coffee continued to grow and consume all my time I shifted focus and instead of offering pastries, which were time consuming also, I shifted into gourmet kitchen items. After many years in the coffee industry I’ve had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world in the coffee industry and source some amazing coffees to offer our customers.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I had two pivots in life. The first was starting a new career in coffee after 10 years in the restaurant industry. I researched for a couple of years before starting the business. The second was giving up my pastry background and expanding into a kitchen shop.

Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.

I sold the retail portion of my business to focus on wholesale coffee roasting. Owning your own business if time consuming and you have to be willing to be adaptable and change course when the market demands it. Always be open to new opportunities that may present themselves and work as hard as you can for as long as you can. You are lucky if it pays off in a few years. It usually takes years to harvest the fruits of your labor.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.durangocoffee.com
• Instagram: Durango Coffee Company
• Facebook: Durango Coffee Company
• Linkedin: Carl Rand

Image Credits

carl rand