We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful James Thomas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with James below.

Alright, James thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

This is really a loaded question that has many answers to it about if I am happy as a business owner. I think the majority of business owners would say no as we are normally very self critical of ourselves. We are constantly feeling that there is a need of improvement or something is not good enough and we cause ourselves extra stress to be bigger and better than what and where we are. For myself, I am content that I am far better off today in my business than where i was a year ago. At this time last year I was grasping at straws to get bookings and build up my clientele to build awareness of what my business has to offer to the public. This year has been a complete in turn in my fortune for my business! Since March of this year I have been blessed to be booked up every weekend continuously with gigs and bookings all over the KC area for small private gatherings to large high profile events. The connections that I have made have been instrumental in being the catapult of my business surging to new heights. So to answer the question, I am happy with how the business has grown from day zero to today and the prospects that are knocking on my door for 2024 that I am excited to open and explore into.

I have a day job of Monday thru Friday and run a business so I know good and first hand the benefits and struggles of having both of those. The benefits are that I have a solid income coming in no matter what my sales are with the business and health insurance that I do not have to buy into as a business man. One of the pitfalls is that I can not 100% dedicate my focus and energy into the business full time and there are some gigs that I just can not accept due to me having a 9-5. Luckily, my job knows and is 100% supportive of me aspiring to be a successful entrepreneur which is definitely a blessing than having to stress about splitting my time and attention. I could not have of asked for a better full time job to be at that supports and pushes me to be the best I can be whether its with them or on my own business dealings.

There are definitely days where I want to take a day or 2 off work just so I can work on business concepts or just business related issues to get it handled and completed in proper time. Most of my business is done once I clock out and on the weekends so it can get hard to get certain business tasks done in a certain window when you have a job that requires your time and focus. I almost want to tell my boss I will work 3 days a week and take off 2 for the business but i know that would never fly in real life LOL. Its a constant battle of time management and juggling but I am getting better at figuring out how to make my time work the most in tight time constraints.

James , 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?

I am James Thomas born and raised from Kansas City Mo and continuing to live here to enjoy the immense growth and progression the city has made in the last 10 years. I am the owner of Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri shop the focuses on selling frozen cocktails and mocktails at various events and locations across the metro area. We cater to anything that ranges from intimate house gatherings all the way to public festivals and events. The peak season for us is summer where we sell a wide range of flavors that range from daiquiris, margaritas, and sangrias. In the fall and winter we switch to more fall flavors like wine slushies and beer and hot apple cider. Our product line this year expanded to include more of people’s favorite drinks such as seltzers, beer, and wine to capture more of the market share.

Brain Freeze is setup multi state to do events in Missouri and Kansas as a fully licensed and insured mobile beverage bar. One of the facts that people love about us is that we can go anywhere and setup, whether its indoors or outdoors or on the roof, Brain Freeze can be there. This year we had a few top highlights of us being booked for some high profile national athletes and key public events across the metro area. We take pride in treating all our customers like they are family and that we want them leaving our table saying wow! If they are not saying wow after their first sip then we failed to make their experience the tropical oasis that we promise in providing.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

While the sole focus is frozen drinks and its a huge summer hit, I have to pivot as we are heading into the cold season. Its hard to sell the fun and excitement of frozen drinks when its snowy and 10 degrees outside lol. As a result, I had to go into my thinking cap and see how I can navigate to make the business more viable for everyone no matter what month it is on the calendar. I introduced hot drinks such as hot apple cider and hot chocolate as that can appeal to kids and adults with the spiked versions of the drinks. Furthermore, I added beer and seltzers to the menu to gain even more business for those that may not like sweeter type drinks. By me including all types of adult beverages and virgin drinks, I’m able to provide for everyone in the family no matter what their age or preference may be. The goal for Brain Freeze is to make it the one stop shop for everyone, regardless of age and taste bias to capture and control the local market share.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

The thing that I have figured out is that life continuously passes whether you are ready or not, it may not be perfect but its the right time. When I started thinking and the concept for the business, I didnt have stacks of money laying around available to splurge on the business so I used my own personal finances to pay for all the start up costs and operations. I slowly during the process of getting started purchased equipment and goods needed to make my business operational. By buying items one by one, it made it easier and less shock to my pockets to make the opening easier to absorb and allowed me to refine the things that I wanted. Bootstrapping helped me stay level headed and strategic as I was more invested to make sure I the vision that I had was executed how I wanted vs how some investor may have saw fit for my business. I was offered a couple deals from investors but something inside me didnt sit right for me someone on the outside to change and make it something that I was not 100% my way or vision.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brainfreezedaq.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/brainfreeze_daiquiri
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/brainfreezelawrence
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/brainfreeze_lawrence