Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelsey Schoen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kelsey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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?
When it comes to planning things, some would say, I am obsessive. My husband and I wanted to start a small business and we both love coffee, so we decided to open the first bikini barista trailer in Springfield, Missouri. The idea to execution took about 2-3 months and probably would’ve been faster if we didn’t have to wait for funding to come through. We joined several mobile coffee trailer and coffee shop owner Facebook groups to start learning what all we would need. My husband found an adorable trailer for sale on one of the groups and after falling in love with the trailer, we purchased a truck, just so we could drive to Mississippi to get it! Driving back was the first time either of us towed anything and our 9 hour drive turned into almost 12. I had already contacted offices in the city to figure out what licenses and permits we needed. The next big to do was finding employees. After I had three baristas hired, we had a soft opening and my best friend came by to try our drinks. She ended up taking a photo and posting it in an online group for Springfield and it BLEW UP.
Kelsey, 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?
Before owning Vixen’s Brew, I had never worked in food service. I opened the trailer because I love coffee, was tired of getting inconsistent and super sweet drinks from local chains, and wanted to give women a space to express themselves and feel confident in their skin.
We now offer a huge selection of drinks from specialty lattes, ceremonial grade match, traditional masala chai, fresh lemonade, Red Bull infusions, dirty sodas, along with cider and hot chocolate when it is colder outside.
Being a small, mobile trailer has been harder than anticipated. Finding a space that would allow us to park, and had electricity available, wasn’t an easy task. We’re situated at the busiest intersection in Springfield, Glenstone and Sunshine, but we don’t necessarily see that trend in sales. Starting a business is tough, I wanted the trailer to take off overnight, and that just didn’t happen.
I am trying to market us more on social media and do collaborations with local businesses to get our name out there. Our brand sets us apart from any other coffee shop in this area, but a lot of people have had a negative feeling about the bikinis. I’d like to encourage people to come by and try a drink from our ever growing menu, and judge us off of that, not the attire we wear.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
My business partner also happens to be my husband and our story is pretty great. We started dating when we were just 16 and got married at 22. We moved from our hometown to Springfield for college and created a life here with our own careers. Unfortunately, instead of growing together, we grew apart and divorced at 27. After close to 3 years of being apart, we began talking about some hard life experiences we were both going through. He was living in Arkansas and I was still in Springfield. In late 2023 we began dating and re-married on Halloween of 2024. He has supported this business venture from the beginning and is my biggest fan. I couldn’t have created this without him.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I think this whole business launch illustrates resilience. We are by no means raking in cash or super busy. It’s something I’ve struggled with because I am not a patient person. I wanted success to come overnight and I constantly have to remind myself, we’ve not even been open a year. It takes time to build trust with the community and a customer base. Even though we struggle to have consistent traffic flow at the trailer, I make sure we are open weekly when I have barista availability, because the loyal customers we do have, are amazing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www/vixensbrew.com
- Instagram: vixens_brew
- Facebook: Vixen’s Brew
- Other: @vixensbrew on TikTok
Image Credits
Images taken by me