Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephan Brower
Hi Stephan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My business partner (Garrette Roff) and I met each other through some mutual friends, quickly becoming friends ourselves through shared interests. We both came from scientific backgrounds, Garrette working as a Radiochemist in a lab, and myself working as a Nurse Practitioner at a local clinic. Although we both enjoy what we do, our professional careers left little room for the creativity and urge for adventure that we both desired.
We both had recently become fathers, which spurred conversations of lack of sleep and the necessity of consuming large amounts of coffee. Garrette had been experimenting with roasting his own coffee beans for some time, and it was truly some of the best coffee I had ever had. It was at this point we decided to combine our passions for quality coffee, along with our love of outdoor adventures, thus creating Red Drum Roasting Co.
The goal was to create something to aid in the escape of the mundane life. To encourage people to step outside their normal routine, if only for a short time, and to experience life outside the office. Fishing, hiking, camping and spending that much needed quality time with the people you love.
We’ve been operating for only about 6 months now, selling direct to consumer through our website. We didn’t really know what to expect when we launched, but the overall initial response has been nothing short of fantastic! Life is much too exciting to be stuck in the mundane, and much too short to be drinking bad coffee!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m not sure any road you choose in life will necessarily always be smooth. As a newer, smaller company, we’ve had struggles that I’m sure others have experienced along the way. Trying to compete with the larger corporations in terms of pricing and name recognition will likely continue to be an issue for some time. Theres a lot of upfront cost associated with starting a company in general, and managing initial cashflow can be challenging. We have so many great ideas on what we want to do next, that it’s sometimes difficult to determine the best approach to efficiently scale the business. Mistakes are going to be made, and we’ve made it a priority to view these instances as opportunities to learn from.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Red Drum Roasting Co.?
Because our coffee is roasted in extremely small batches, there’s an incredible amount of detail placed into each bag. All of our coffee is ethically sourced from single origin farms, and is typically roasted within a day or two of someone placing an order. This allows us to provide the freshest and highest quality product available. As a small company looking to grow, we love hearing feedback from our customers about what type of roast or product they want to see next.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can always reach out to us through our website. We’re always looking for feedback on our different coffee roasts, and love getting recommendations on what we should be making next. We periodically will post discount codes on our instagram account, so make sure you follow us for any special offers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.reddrumroasting.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reddrumroastingco/
