Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Wanda Guyton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Wanda 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.

On a monthly basis, I donate a percentage of all Coffee Rendezbrew Beach Brew sales to Read Aloud Delaware. Read Aloud is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a life-long impact through early childhood literacy. Read Aloud has a community of volunteers that read aloud to children across the state to ensure they have the foundational literacy skills needed to succeed in school and life.

It was easy for me to choose Read Aloud because I love reading and understand the benefits of early intervention for children. My mother instilled reading in my brother and I at a very young age, and the benefits from that early introduction to reading surpasses any extra activity that may have otherwise, been an expense for my mom to keep us a step above educationally.

Wanda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved the smell of coffee, and as a little girl, I would sneak coffee from my mother’s cup! That love has never changed and it’s why I created Coffee Rendezbrew. I promise to give my customers freshly roasted, premium coffee, with the same great tastes and aromas I fell in love with years ago. I believe that coffee IS life and every lip should enjoy every sip!

My name is Wanda Guyton and I am the CEO of Coffee Rendezbrew. I am the sole owner and operator. A native of Chicago, IL, I moved to Atlanta for school and work at the age of 21-years old. During my time in Atlanta, I attended and graduated from DeVry Institute of Technology in 2002, Magnum Cum Laude, with a Bachelors of Science degree in Telecommunications Management. I have over 35 years of professional experience in sales, marketing and customer service, and over 25 years of work experience as an Information Technology (IT) Consultant, in which I helped multiple organizations across the U.S. implement learning management, time and attendance and electronic record systems.

I came to DE in 2014 on a contract position for a local hospital in Lewes, DE. I proved to be a valuable asset to the organization and was offered a full-time position in 2015 as their Learning Management System Administrator, a role I held until April 2023.

Over twenty years ago I began taking small steps toward owning a coffee shop, by attending small business classes with SCORE. The process was halted by the full-time responsibilities of work, being a full-time student and having a family.

Fast forward 20 years, it was during the COVID pandemic that I decided to pursue my dream of opening a coffee shop and began the research to make it happen. The COVID pandemic changed my idea of owning and operating a physical location because of the build time and costs associated with opening a store. Instead, I opened as an ecommerce business and marketed and sold my coffee, tea and sugar online via my self-developed website at www.coffeerendezbrew.com and on Amazon.

Main products consist of nineteen different coffees (six are specialty roasts known as ‘beach brews’), sixteen gourmet sugars and twelve loose-leaf teas. The six specialty coffees focus on a Sussex County Delaware theme – Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach, Lewes Beach and Rehoboth Beach, Beaches Brew, and Cape May. All coffees have a unique flavor, a gourmet sugar pair and a story to go along with each flavor. Sales online, in pop-up shops, and at community and private events across Delaware are going well.

The long-term vision for Coffee Rendezbrew is to sell freshly roasted coffee, use the products and services to support the greater good of community and to maintain the traditions of coffee that keep people, culture, and community working together.

Coffee Rendezbrew offers sponsorships to local organizations and donates monthly, 20% of beach brew purchases to Delaware’s statewide non-profit organization, Read Aloud Delaware (www.readaloudde.org).

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I love people. I love meeting and talking to people, especially about things that interest me or that I am very knowledgeable about. Because I’m comfortable with getting in front of people, it was easy for me to speak to people about my product and services. I’m never afraid to ask or take risks. Any chance given, I’m always talking about my coffee, sugar and/or tea.

Building my reputation for the brand was a combination of people knowing I am passionate about coffee, invested in the community, and have a quality product.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I started marketing in Sussex County DE and in Atlanta, GA. Both markets are very different and require different approaches. In Atlanta, I rented a space in one of the local market places and began selling my coffee…without even sampling the products! I did ok and still have some loyal customers from that area. In DE, it was a bit different. Because my dream has always been to get in stores (big or small), I basically had to go door to door or shop to shop and ask someone if they would allow my coffee in their store. I was met with a lot of NOs. A lot of NOs. It was very discouraging because no one would allow me to put my coffee on their shelf. I stress no one. Of course this hurt my feelings and was very discouraging, but I still marketed online and on social media. For a while, I stopped asking other store owners to carry my brand and just focused on digital marketing. Eventually one store owner believed enough in me and really enjoyed my coffee and put me in his shop. The rest is history!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.coffeerendezbrew.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coffeerendezbrew/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coffeerendezbrew2
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CRendezbrew
• Youtube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCTvcGUgTpW5eH2aPe7JkR8A