IAM1173- Co-Founder Creates the Ultimate at Home Coffee Experience

Ella Jesmajian, a New York native is the cofounder and photographer of Honey & Roses Coffee, an online coffee platform that “brings the best of the coffee shop to your door”. Partnering with 55 small-batch roasters and dozens of bakers and chocolatiers, Honey & Roses Coffee prides itself on creating the ultimate at-home coffee experience.

• CEO Hack: Boundaries- creating a structure to my days
• CEO Nugget: Crisis will always occur in business, go with the flow and separate yourself from the fire you have to put off
• CEO Defined: Freedom and responsibility

Website: http://www.honeyandrosescoffee.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeyandrosescoffee
https://www.instagram.com/honeyandroseshome
https://www.instagram.com/honeyandrosestreats/

Facebook:

https://web.facebook.com/honeyandrosescoffee/
https://web.facebook.com/honeyandroseshome
https://www.instagram.com/honeyandrosestreats/

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Transcription

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00:00 – Intro

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

00:23 – Ella Jesmajian

It means freedom and responsibility. I think working for yourself or working with other people but being your own boss is incredibly rewarding and validating. It's also incredibly challenging. And you know, the freedom of to be able to do whatever you want and create your business, however you want. That's awesome.

00:51 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Ella Jusmasian of Honey and Roses Coffee. Ella, it's great to have you on the show.

01:00 – Ella Jesmajian

Hey, thank you so much for having me.

01:03 – Gresham Harkless

Yes, super excited to have you on and I know you're doing so many awesome things that what I wanted to do is just read a little bit more about Ella so you can hear about some of those awesome things. Ella, a New York native, is the co-founder and photographer of Honey and Roses Coffee, an online coffee platform that brings the best of the coffee shops to your door.

And partnering with over 55 small-batch roasters and dozens of bakers and chocolatiers, Honey and Roses Coffee prides itself on creating the ultimate at-home coffee experience. Ella, super excited to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to this I AM CEO community?

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01:33 – Ella Jesmajian

I'm ready. I'm ready.

01:35 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Well, let's do it then. So to kind of kick everything off, I want us to rewind the clock a little bit here, a little bit more on how you got started, what I call your CEO story.

01:43 – Ella Jesmajian

Sure. So do you want to hear about sort of the backstory of the company or how I got into this industry?

01:51 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, a mix of both would be great.

01:53 – Ella Jesmajian

Sure. So I totally, 180, I studied criminal law in college. I never really intended to go into this kind of industry or e-commerce. And I was working actually in the restaurant industry for quite some time and kind of always wanted to do something else. I've always been a photographer. I did a lot of travel photography and landscape photography for years. I had toyed with some e-commerce businesses. I had a Moroccan import company for a while that just did not work.

I learned a lot, but I lost a lot of money. And I was kind of always looking for something else to do, but I didn't really know what I wanted to do. And my best friend's husband is a British-born guy who works in finance. And we just were talking for a few months kind of about the ideas of starting our own company, not necessarily together. It was more of just, you know, shooting the shit and kind of brainstorming. And then one random day, I'll never forget, we were eating Vietnamese food and Joe just turned to me and said, Hey, do you want to start a coffee platform? And I was like, okay.

I don't really know if there's that much more to it than that, I think both of us were really big travel and foodies. You know, and when you travel around to a new place, I think everybody's sort of the same in this you want to discover the local new coffee shop, whether you're in, you know, the United States or outside, it kind of connects you to the local culture and you want to discover a really cool bakery or restaurant or a cocktail bar and kind of walk around and explore.

And we kind of wanted to create that experience from the comfort of people's own homes. Also, you know, on the flip side, there weren't at the time many coffee companies online. You could get coffee directly from a roaster and possibly order it online, but there hadn't really been the shift to, directly to your door from a coffee perspective back in 2017, or 2018. It was starting, but it wasn't really there yet. So I think both of us really wanted to create something that we wished we had in our lives. And yeah, and that's kind of how it came about.

03:56 – Gresham Harkless

Nice, I absolutely love that. And especially how you, you know, you just decided that that kind of just start something. But I appreciate you because I think so many times when you talk about and hear about somebody starting something, it really seems like I think the best business is a lot of times aligned with things that you're passionate about.

And even though it's like you decided to start the business maybe on that time when you were sitting on that couch, but you had been doing work, it sounds like for years and years and years just because you were already exploring, you were looking at different types of things that you can eat. And it sounds like all that helped you to build everything you've been building so far.

04:30 – Ella Jesmajian

Yeah, and I think also the direction the company evolved into, and I can get more into that, is more than just coffee. We kind of became a marketplace, we also have small batches of baked goods and chocolate that we sell. We work with a bunch of bakers and chocolatiers across the country, kind of giving them a way to showcase their craft and giving consumers the way to discover, you know, not only great coffee but also sweets and, you know, other unique niche baked goods. And we also expanded to our own line of sustainable homeware, which I and my team have designed.

And those are all, you know, things we've come up with. And a lot of the inspiration from that came from traveling, you know, going to a different country and seeing some mug in a coffee shop that I thought was really cool. And then wanting to create something, you know, similar or, you know, I remember I was in Bali and there was a company like a little tiny roastery on the side of the road and they were selling something and it had a coffee leaf on it nothing like our logo but I just remember thinking it was so cool to take a piece of you know this other place home with you So we also wanted to create something that was like that as well, where you could kind of explore a marketplace, you know, and get this really unique experience at home. And then the pandemic happened and it became a very oversaturated, but also much more relevant as well.

05:47 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, it definitely became something that is part of, you know, everybody's, you know, day-to-day and trying to get that experience. But I love that word. And I love the kind of whole psychology behind everything you've been able to build. I love, you know, the marketplace, and it just, you know, it takes me to like, every time you go to someplace new, you go and travel. Sometimes just going to explore, to try the different cuisines, to try the different food, coffee, see what's there, get crashes and all those.

It's a whole experience. And I love that you've been able to kind of recreate that with everything you're doing. Thank you. Absolutely, absolutely. So I know you touched on, you know, a little bit more on like what we can find on the site. Was there anything more that we could find there or anything more that you're potentially working on that we can kind of look forward to with Honey Roses?

06:27 – Ella Jesmajian

Yeah. So we've kind of morphed into, we call ourselves either we're bringing the coffee shop home or the ultimate kind of at-home coffee experience. So we really do have 3 factors of the site, which are homeware, sweets, and coffee. We also offer gift boxes that I kind of custom create based on the season, you know, taking from new partners. Sometimes we have some suites, homeware, and coffee.

We have a bunch of really cool gift boxes and gift options, and pre-paid coffee subscriptions, which are great. We've realized a lot of people give them to new parents. And I never even thought of that. It was more customers, you know, wanted to write custom messages, congratulating, you know, their friends on there, the birth of their new child. And we realized like, of course, that's such a given.

How did we not think of that? Like if you need coffee to survive. So we do a lot of, you know, prepaid gift subscriptions and things like that. We also offer coffee subscriptions. We have a cold brew subscription. We have a K-cup subscription, regular, decaf. But we really try to brand and focus the attention on the marketplace aspect because we really don't wanna control how consumers purchase.

We want customers to come on each month to discover new products and we constantly are adding new roasters and new partners and I think that's kind of what sets us apart. And yeah, so That's kind of our offerings as for things we're doing in the future. There is something really big in the works. That I don't know if I can announce yet. But it's going to be exciting.

08:01 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. Well, we'll definitely have to have you back on when everything does launch. And, you know, it's always exciting to kind of hear that. I think, and for lack of a better term, it sounds like an organic kind of evolution of everything you've been building, because sounds like you're just kind of really paying attention to the clients, really paying attention to even both of your experiences as well too, and trying to recreate that as much as possible for the person that's going on the site.

08:24 – Ella Jesmajian

Yeah, yeah.

08:26 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, So I know you touched on your secret sauce as well too. Do you have one that you feel sets maybe you personally apart in addition to the business that makes you unique?

08:38 – Ella Jesmajian

I have one for the business. I'm not sure if this is what you mean, but one of the things, I'm a photographer and I run all the social media and the content creation. And one of the things that I've always wanted to do that I've been told over and over by many people is too time-consuming, or maybe not, you know, the best ways it's like not the best way to spend my time is putting so much effort into the content we produce, never replicating the same photo twice, constantly editing on many different apps to make sure everything is really cohesive, creating really unique blog recipes, really fun coffee cocktails and coffee recipes that I know I could do without.

They don't necessarily add that much to the company when on strictly a numbers level, but I feel like adding really cool free content adds value and kind of creates this community that I feel like a lot of brands lack. And I and my co-founder want to be really genuine and want people to feel comfortable messaging us, commenting, asking questions, or recommendations. And I feel like we've done a really good job at basically everything they tell you like quote unquote business school, you know, to be, you know, generic.

If somebody messages you say, oh, sincerely, the Honey and Roses team, we do the opposite. We try to be like, hey, it's Ella, or oh, message Joe. We just try to be really authentic and genuine and talk to you how we would talk to a friend. And I feel like that's actually really helped us.

10:03 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Well, I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

10:16 – Ella Jesmajian

I think boundaries, which is something I really struggled with in the beginning, especially because we started not too long before the pandemic. So everyone was home, you're on your phone 24/7, and, you know, I'm checking emails if I can't sleep in the middle of the night. And I'm checking emails the minute I wake up. I think it took a while, but I think learning how to create a structure for your day, especially when you are working from home is really important.

There are certain tools, and I'm not gonna say that one is better than the other, but there are different task management tools that are great for running your staff or for running your own schedule. I am known and notorious and also made fun of for handwriting everything. I write everything in scraps of paper. And sometimes when my partner Joe asks me to send him something I will send him a screenshot of a piece of paper. But I think having just structure and times where you turn off your phone, you put it on airplane mode, it doesn't exist, and you have screen time limits set on apps. That is something I do pretty much every day. That has really helped, yeah.

11:22 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. So I want to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. And you might've brought your attention to this, but this is kind of a word of wisdom or piece of advice. It's something I say if you were to happen to a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

11:35 – Ella Jesmajian

That's a good one. That things kind of ebb and flow and that you're going to face a lot of challenges and crises. Crises are always going to occur. And there's a lot of situations we've been in that at the time, I thought were incredibly dire, whether it's a package was lost, someone is coming after you legally. There are a million different things, especially when owning a business, any kind of business that you're going to face. And in the moment, you think it's the end of the world and you are stressed so much about it and you're worrying about it and obsessing about it.

And I think things are constantly changing and a month later, it'll be something else and you will have completely forgotten about that original thing. So I think after time and kind of being a seasoned, you know, entrepreneur and business owner, you do realize that, yeah, there's always going to be things, but you just kind of have to go with the flow and try to separate yourself from whatever, you know, fire you have to put out that week. And, you know, in another week, you'll have completely forgotten about it. And so will everyone else. So I think that's something that, I don't know if that qualifies, but.

12:41 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. So I want to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So Ella, what does being a CEO mean to you?

12:51 – Ella Jesmajian

It means freedom and responsibility. I think working for yourself or working with other people but being your own boss is incredibly rewarding and validating. It's also incredibly challenging. And the freedom of to be able to do whatever you want and create your business however you want. That's awesome. Especially when you're creative and you have creative freedom, when people are more financially driven and they wanna make money, they can add new products and add new campaigns. So I think that's really awesome.

And it gives you unlimited freedom to also live the kind of life you want, work remotely, pay, move to, you know, South Africa or Indonesia, you know, you have more freedoms than having a 9 to 5. But I also think with that on the flip side comes a level of responsibility that you just don't have to have when you work for someone else, because regardless of how hard you work and people work really hard for somebody else, you still are not responsible for the image of the company or the little tiny minute details of the company. So I think it kind of is a melting pot and a little bit of a mix of both positive and negative, but to me, it means, yeah, freedom and responsibility.

14:06 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Well, Ella truly appreciate that definition and I appreciate your time even more. What I want to see was just pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know and of course how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things you entertain more working on?

14:21 – Ella Jesmajian

Sure, so obviously our website is basically just www.honeyandrosescoffee.com. You can also find us on Instagram at Honey and Roses Coffee. We also have an Instagram for our sweets. So that's Honey and Roses Treats. And we have an account for our homeware, which is Honey and Roses Home, and a lot of social media. You know, the same goes for TikTok we have now, which has been a huge thing to get on board with, but Honey and Rose's Coffee.

And if you have any questions, you can either DM us or email us at help at Honey and Rose's Coffee or, you know, there's pretty much every social media and on the website, there are many ways to contact us that are listed. And yeah, I recommend signing up for our email list. I know I hate email lists in general and I never participate in pretty much anyone's email list. With that being said, going back to my content thing, we'd create these really elaborate emails with really cool graphics, content, video, and really cool stuff.

And we have a lot of really big things coming. So that's always the best way to learn about anything we have going on sales, discounts, new products, and new campaigns. And yeah, the only thing that we have coming up and I guess it will be public by the time this launches, but we have a new business partner who is very well known who is joining our team. He is an actor and comedian and he's amazing. And so there's gonna be a lot of really cool, huge things going on from that. And I can't say anything more than that. But stay tuned.

15:52 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. And join the email list as well, too. So make sure that you get that in your box right when it's announced.

15:58 – Ella Jesmajian

Yeah, that way it will be announced pretty soon. But there

16:01 – Gresham Harkless

you go. Yeah. Well, awesome. Well, I truly appreciate that. We will have the links and information definitely in the show notes as well, too. I love everything that you've been able to kind of do and build and be able to kind of be ahead of the curve as well, too, as things have changed a lot, you know, during this last year and a half, 2 years or so. So thank you so much for being the change you hope to see. Yeah. How important that is. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

16:24 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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