Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food & beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Bromlyn Fitzgerald, Owner of Bees Knees Coffee, located in Pleasant Gap, PA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Bees Knees Coffee is Central PA's first mobile coffee shop and delivery service. We operate in Centre County, primarily at farmers' markets and events. Our deliveries are of our beverages that we have made cold and put in aluminum cans that we offer to retailers in our area and deliver to the 15-mile radius of our production site in Pleasant Gap.

Tell us about yourself

I opened my first coffee shop in March of 2015. I had worked for the previous owner for nine months before they decided to move on and sold the business to me. After about five years, I started to burn out and looked for a more novel solution for my business.

I found a vintage trailer in October of 2019 and had our debut at the Boalsburg farmers market in May 2020. I had no idea that my dream of having a mobile coffee unit would be the best business model for entering 2020, the year of the covid pandemic.

Every day, my team and I strive to serve a consistently delicious product to our customers. Whether we are trying something new for the first time or making the tried and true signature latte, The Bees Knees Latte (local honey, vanilla, espresso, and milk), we want our customers never to be let down that our product will taste different from hot to cold, or a takeout cup or recyclable and usable cup.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

The power of referrals. I am constantly talking to friends, customers, family, and local business owners about their favorite places in our area to do business. If you need a recommendation for a house cleaner or somewhere to buy new and vintage vinyl, I know a guy/girl.

The referral process has done wonders for our business. I make it a point to tell everyone that a community and business strive on local referrals and local shopping, from haircuts to coffee, to get your taxes done.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Growth and a healthy work-life balance.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Start anywhere. Whatever seems the most interesting or most manageable.
  2. Don't let anyone tell you no for invalid reasons. Be stubborn. Take the chance.
  3. Don't forget to celebrate yourself and continually remember you are a human. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Look for us at the Boalsburg and North Atherton farmers market every week until the end of the outdoor season. We are on West College Ave in State College Wednesday-Friday until Thanksgiving. Our takeout window is open every day from 7:30a-12:30 starting October 3rd.

Find us indoors for ski season at the Tussey Mountain Ski Lodge. And as always, you can order delivery at beeskneesdelivery.com and visit one of our wholesale partners (Way Fruit Farm, Rooted Farmstead, Belle Mercantile)f to grab a can of your own!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.beeskneescoffee.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beeskneescoffee
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bees.knees.coffee/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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