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

Alright, Tiffany thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?

For the first 8 months of operation, my business partner Katie and I did 99.99% of the daily operations along with administrative work. The other .001% came from recruiting our husbands, kids, or dear friends to help sporadically. Those 8 months were HARD. And full of so much hustle. But we learned the “ins and outs” of our business and built our brand in a way that allowed us to successfully grow.

We have always taken a very intentional approach to hiring. We are not looking for warm bodies to fill space, but rather someone to basically join the Birdies family. We are a close-knit group, and we take interest in our employees beyond how they contribute to the business. The interview process is pretty straight forward, and we have always looked for behavior fits to our business and our brand over someone that has barista experience.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Birdies is about two best friends chasing simplicity and a love of coffee, treats, quality time, and community. Our vision took flight in May of 2022 after careful consideration and a desire to build a family business together. Birdies values partnership and we have sought out some of the best in the industry to help us spread our wings.

After 6 months of operating out of a camper on 321 between Boone and Blowing Rock, NC, Birdies Coffee & Treats was approached by Watauga Medical Center about opening up in the main floor of the Schaefer Family Patient Tower. We have been honored to have the opportunity to now serve hospital staff, patients, & visitors since September of 2023.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Katie and I actually met right out of college. Most people don’t know this, but we both obtained degrees in exercise science and started working at the Wellness Center in Boone together in 2010. We quickly became friends and over the years have walked alongside each other through weddings, pregnancies, childbirth, more school, new jobs, vacations, etc. Business ownership seemed like the next step.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Sourcing local as much as possible. Our espresso beans are roasted here in Boone and we proudly serve locally made pastries and treats as well.

We also keep quality, consistency, and customer service top priority. Our staff are encouraged to build relationships with our customers and we do not take those interactions for granted… you never know what someone is walking through!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://birdies.coffee
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birdies.coffee/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/birdiescoffeeandtreats

Image Credits

Cartner Photography