We recently connected with Leslie Swedish and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Leslie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, one thing many business owners consider is donating a percentage of sales or profits to an organization or cause. We’d love to hear your thoughts and the story behind how and why you chose the cause or organization you donate to.

$1 for every item sold is donated to the Moxxi Women’s Foundation. The foundation issues grants and offers other supports to ambitious women of the Capital Region, NY in pursuit of purposeful goals

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

Moxxi Coffee was launched on Sept 1, 2020. Prior to the pandemic I was a hairstylist out on maternity leave. During this time my husband began talking about starting a coffee company where a light roast coffee was marketed similarly to the way many dark roast coffee’s are. At the time I had no interest but was supportive of his endeavors. As time went on he began to mention that there were very few women owned coffee companies. I told him he could use my name but that I was a hairstylist with no interest in shifting gears. He asked for help in naming the brand. That made me reflect on the role coffee played in my life which was that it was a pilar often looking to coffee as a goal to reach periodically through my day and it often got me through many hurdles, especially as a single mother always on the go. The grit and tenacity required for many of those tasks made me turn to the name Moxxi. We began to play around with the logo and eventually the pandemic hit which had me re-evaluating my future. The thought of changing careers again was not an easy one. I thought back on some of the careers I loved but abandoned. It honestly made my want to turn my back on the coffee endeavor until I realized that the reason I walked away from passions was always money, and never very much. I had been a tattoo artist, a real estate agent, an airbrush artist and chose to abandon those careers when I was lacking funds to continue on, and support to encourage me to take a chance and continue on. From this realization the Moxxi Women’s Foundation was born. I decided to donate $1 for every item sold to the foundation and issue grants and offer supports to women of the capital region, NY in pursuit of purposeful goals. Once I decided to start the foundation I was completely invested in both the coffee company and the foundation and basically told my husband, it’s mine now. We launched with the first two of our ambition line, Bold ambition, a low acid, monsoon malabar dark roast and Blonde ambition a third wave style light roast coffee. In August of the following year I launched a line of botanical coffee , several blends of coffee which are infused with blends of herbs and botanicals for the medicinal qualities. To my knowledge there are no other coffee companies doing this in the way that we are. The foundation has grown and we have given out over $13,000 in grants and are working on developing a new chapter in delaware county, NY. I’m extremely proud of all aspects of both businesses.. The coffee company has beautiful eye catching packaging, a message of supporting ambitious women and coffee blends as unique as you are. Each blend is carefully selected and can stand on it’s own as for why someone would want to try it. For instance, Blonde Ambition is naturally sweet and complex unlike most light roasts that tend to be very flat. Bold Ambition is a monsoon malabar blend. The green beans are exposed to the monsoon rains in India which washes away the acidity giving a bold flavor up front without the acidity in the back and it won’t upset your stomach. Wild Ambition is an extra dark roast which is surprisingly smooth. To roast to this degree of darkness without bitterness and burnt flavors is no small task. The botanical line in and of itself is unique to the coffee world and then of course for all of the coffee and merchandise $1 for every item sold is donated to a foundation that supports women. Whether they need, funding, training, or just someone to be in their corner and encourage them to continue on , we’re there!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson to unlearn were my own limiting beliefs. As I mentioned earlier I walked away from passions to default to “safe” choices because of small financial hurdles and BIG confidence hurdles. I am constantly battling imposter syndrome and the idea that I’m not qualified, educated, resilient or accomplished enough to meet the goals that I set for myself. It’s daily work to remind myself that I’ve accomplished great things in a small amount of time with limited resources. I have to dig deep before I go in front of my foundation or peers to find the confidence poise to present to the world my work. I now encourage other women to identify their limiting beliefs and where they stem from so that they too have the tools necessary to overcome them and move forward in their pursuit of purposeful goals. I often find myself wondering if I had had one person in my ear all those years ago reminding me of what I’m capable of, where would I have taken some of those endeavors. I strive to now be the person in someone elses ear reminding them that they are strong, smart, capable and worth taking a risk on.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been in person events. This is two-fold. I sample coffee at these events because I believe people love to “try it before they buy it” I know my product is good so once I find the appropriate blend for someones pallet I’m almost guaranteed a sale and a re-order. I also let every customer know about the foundation and how their purchase helps others in need. I personally am in attendance at every event to make sure that all of the information about both the coffee and the non-profit are accurate and up-to-date. I get an opportunity to build a relationship with individuals in that space which is maintained through social media, newsletters, events and email. My clients know they can reach me personally for assistance and I make a point to do live broadcasts and personal messages often.

Contact Info:

• Website: moxxicoffee.com moxxiwomensfoundation.com
• Instagram: @moxxicoffeecompany @moxxiwomensfoundation
• Facebook: moxxi coffee company moxxi women’s foundation
• Linkedin: Leslie Swedish
• Twitter: coffeemoxxi moxxi_womens
• Youtube: Moxxi Coffee Company Moxxi Women’s Foundation

Image Credits
Snapped by Kiki Taylor Petroski Photography