We recently connected with Christina Bishop and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Christina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Success is perspective, it all depends on what your version of success looks like. My version of success may look very different than someone else in the same field.

In my experience being highly motivated is what sets you up for success in your chosen field. For example, as a small business owner motivation is imperative for success, the level of motivation I have determines the outcome, if I don’t strive for more the business does not move forward. I can set the bar as high or as low as I want but in the end it all comes down to my motivation that impacts results.

Ask yourself why you want to start your own business or why you want that promotion. Is it passion driven? Money driven? Time driven? What is your motivation behind your version of success?

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

Hi, my name is Christina Bishop and I am the owner of The Hungry Draft LLC, operating The Hungry Draft Food Trailer and The Thirsty Draft Soda Saloon.

Let me share with you a small part of this exciting & nerve wracking journey of becoming an entrepreneur.

In 2018 I was working in my degreed field, business management for an agricultural feed company. Like so many entrepreneurs I had that pivotal moment happen where my focus changed, I no longer was interested in climbing the management ladder but instead felt the need to start something that brought me more than a title below my name.

The Hungry Draft Food Trailer was started in 2019, a beer inspired menu with a focus on customer experience. When I looked into possible start ups a food trailer was at the top of the list, at the time the food truck industry was booming and coming from a foodie family it felt like the right fit for my business ownership journey.

By 2020 we had a full year of events booked, my spouse Chris had just left his career in cable engineering to help me run our food trailer. We were so excited, our dream of working together in our own business was finally happening, we couldn’t have predicted that covid would happen a few short months later. A full season started to dwindle to nothing and as a fairly new business it was terrifying. But we did what we do best together, we rallied, we changed our strategy and adapted to the temporary change.

The lesson from this is, in business you will have obstacles, especially when you are starting out. Whether it’s out of your control or something you overlooked, obstacles will happen. Being able to adapt is so important, it may feel like you’re getting kicked in the gut when something goes awry, which will happen, but problem solving and finding a viable solution will make you a resilient business owner.

Fast forward to 2021 our vision back on track, we purchased our second trailer, The Thirsty Draft Soda Saloon. Ten flavors of old fashioned soda on tap made with pure cane sugar, operating a 6 week county fair schedule along side our food trailer. This second trailer came into our lives at the right time, right place kind of situation. Not all businesses have calculated growth, sometimes an opportunity just happens and you have to make a choice to move with it or leave it behind. Being in the fair circuit we had two goals for this concession trailer, to provide a pure cane sugar craft soda option to our customers and to be able to eliminate single use plastic items used in the trailer at the county fairs. We are proud to say the soda saloon provides reusable cups that are made in the USA, top shelf dishwasher safe and after they are no longer reusable they are 100% recyclable. Being able to partner with a company that provides a product that can be reused and is the type of plastic that can be recycled was a big win for our business goals.

Presently both trailers have a seasonal scheduled, throughout the spring, summer and fall you can find the food trailer at local breweries, county fairs, city events and private events. Our soda trailer can be found at local county fairs across Minnesota.

Business ownership has been a crazy journey, one that I am so appreciative to be able to do alongside Chris. I am appreciative for my family who helped build me up and calm me during this adventure and to all the friendships we have made along the way.

To all the future entrepreneurs out there, don’t give up, being in business for yourself is hard work, you are going to question everything and obstacles are going to happen. Your business doesn’t need to change the industry or fulfill a gap in the market to bring value, find your motivation behind your drive to be a business owner and build lasting relationships with your customers and pears, that is what gives your business purpose.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Coming into this industry I knew how much relationships meant to the success of our business, making sure we provide our customers with exceptional customer service and our partnerships with a high level of professionalism was always the main focus. So often in business people are looked at as stats, contacts or prospective customers, I didn’t want that for my business, I wanted relationships and connection’s with our customers and the people who work alongside us. To build those personal relationships that makes our food trailers a staple in the event circuit.

Our business model will always stay customer focused, providing a quality product at an affordable price. People work hard for their money, so when our customers decide to spend some of that money with us I want them walking away feeling positive about that experience.

Building relationships with our pears has been crucial in our success. I believe in building others up, we all come from different backgrounds, we all have unique skills to share. If I can help someone avoid a mistake I made I will share that valuable information. Be a pilar within your industry, don’t be the person knocking others down.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I originally did not set out to be an entrepreneur, I had goals of climbing the management ladder with the company I had worked for for several years after college. I enjoyed my career path, I had goals for growth and I wanted to create change within that industry.

A year before I started my entrepreneurial journey my dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor. During his recovery period he called me at work to check in. I was sitting in my office, overloaded as usual, and I told him that I was too busy and I couldn’t talk. Within seconds of getting off the phone I realized what I had just done, I told my dad who had just survived brain surgery that I was too busy to talk to him. That was my pivotal moment when I knew I needed to make a drastic change in my career. I gave my 30 day notice within weeks after that phone call with my dad and The Hungry Draft LLC was started 8 months later.

One of my college professors once told me my senior year, “love what you do or get paid enough to be miserable”. As a senior in college I did not fully absorb what he had just said, after leaving my career and starting The Hungry Draft I now understand the full meaning behind that statement. At the start of this interview I was asked what I thought it took to be successful and I said success is perspective. For me success is time, time with Chris working alongside each other everyday and time to answer the phone when a family member calls just to chat, that is my motivation.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: thehungrydraftfoodtrailer
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehungrydraftfoodtrailer