We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jennifer Icard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
In July of 2021 a spot opened up at a strip mall in town and my husband said I should open up a coffee shop (it had always been my dream for our small town). At the time I was 40 years old, a mom of 5.. and we were also fostering kids at the time. I told him that I had been a stay at home mom for 13 years at that time raising our 5 kiddos and I just didn’t think I could do it. He called the owner of the building and said, “we will be renting it, hold it for us.”.and she did. We took a leap of faith, worked day and night for 7 months and finally opened on February 14th, 2021 and we have been open for 2 years now!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have lived in Fayetteville my entire life and I use to dream about one day opening up a coffee shop in our town. But life happened, I went to college, graduated, got married, and started having kids and that was my life. After 5 kids and my youngest being 7, my husband really pushed me to open a coffee shop, knowing I had always dreamed of it. We had no idea what we were doing, we have been learning as we go. When we started this journey, we started a Facebook page and took everyone on the journey with us, which is how we gained our customers, living in a small town also helps knowing everyone. I’m most proud of what we stand for here at SheBrews, we use Freedom Hills Coffee. They are Veteran Owned and that is important to me as I am a daughter of a Veteran. My dad was a Navy Seabee, he served from 1969-1974 as a construction mechanic. With that being said, for every coffee bag that is bought, you are helping a veteran. Freedom Hill helps veterans with ptsd, helps them find jobs and they advocate for Veteran and First Responder mental health. We also donate to our local Veteran’s home and this past Christmas we were able to fill 77 local veteran’s Christmas list. With our town supporting us, we are then able to support our local Veterans, our school, the soccer, basketball and softball associations, along with donating to different fundraisers.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I’ve lived in my home town for my entire life.. Ive gotten to know a lot of people and Ive grown up with the same friends who then have kids the same age as mine. My parents and grandparents live/lived in this town for over 60 years so, a lot of people know who I am through them. I believe because of the reputation of my parents and grandparents, people knew I came from a good family.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I was 26, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy who unfortunately only lived an hour and 49 minutes. Not only did that change me but it has shaped me into who I am today. I am far more compassionate, loving, non judgmental and kind to everyone I meet because you never know what they are going through. Losing my son made me realize that life is short, to live it to the fullest, choose happiness when you wake up even on your most difficult days.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070893274759&mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2021_shebrewscoffee?igsh=YjdwMTJtcjd3bGxk&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070893274759&mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shebrewscoffee2021?_t=8kVqcHa692R&_r=1
Image Credits
Photos by Rylee Phelps