Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine French.
Hi Jasmine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As a little girl I struggled with depression, anxiety, and just being a quirky human. That lead to feeling on the outskirts of friend groups, and places – not really fitting in any where or with any one. As I grew up, I found my footing, my safe spaces, and protective people. I’ve found the support to manage my depression (shout out to therapy!), and embraced all the quirky pieces of myself.
Now, what I want to do most in life is find the best way love on hurting people, on the unseen.
For most of my life I have felt like a wallflower not seen or heard, yet I have the biggest smile and the loudest laugh around, ha!
I wanted to find a way to help the unseen feel seen, provide a tangible space for folks to find peace in the midst of chaos, and to cultivate an environment where community can come together, and boom . coffee shop .
So much community is created over a cup of coffee, right?
But coffee shops have this unfortunate reputation of being a little clicky, and judgmental . . . “you don’t know what a Gibraltar is?” I can feel the judgement already. That is where my idea for Are & Be Coffee came into creation. Are & Be will be a shop that welcomes and encourages people from all walks of life to come as they are & simply be .
Are & Be is doing business differently. I am on a journey to open a different type of coffee shop. One that does good at every step. Every product procured is done ethically through sourcing fair trade, local, and women owned wherever possible. Additionally every product gives 10% back to a mental health non-profit .
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This has definitely has not been a smooth road, but I think that is part of being a small business owner stepping out for the first time, I think of it as a right of passage. I thought I could go from concept to brick and mortar in the span of 18 months. No background in coffee or hospitality. I quickly learned that slow and steady was the way to go. I started with small pop-up events with just coffee and stickers, and now have expanded to tea, drinkware, prints, and apparel. We are now doing small pop-up and private events working toward building out a coffee cart that will feed into our seed funding for the brick and mortar. I believe going this route will give me the much needed experience without going into debt, and building a community along the way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My entire professional career has been in the non-profit space, which has been very fulfilling. I love that both in my professional work and through my business I can help make the world the smallest bit better and brighter through storytelling and communications. I have a passion to fight and see the unseen. Maybe because that’s how I feel, I’m not sure! Through high school and college I was known as the “fair trade girl” or the “justice girl” I started a high school group around anti trafficking and led one during college, I then went on to work for a local food bank, a national fair trade org, and now a legal advocacy organization. I genuinely want people to thrive, and I’ve experienced some of the challenges that can keep you from it, e.g. mental illness, race, and gender. The world can be a hard place to be in especially as a Black woman. My passion to give back both in my professional and business stems from seeing and feeling the weight of the world, and wanting to make the load lighter.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
First and foremost God. My relationship with Jesus matters more to me than anything else.
My parents who are actually my grandparents that raised me since I was one day old matter to me. My dad showed me so much of what it means to be a hands on parent, and what I want in a partner, and my mom continues to shape, guide, and show me what it means to be generous, successful woman, and business owner. She carries on the legacy that she and my dad have made since his passing.
My fiancé matters me oh so much! He is so much like my dad, I only wish that they could have met on this side of heaven. I could go on and on, but he is the gentle steadiness I didn’t know I needed. He reminds me that I belong not only to with him. but in this world, and that its okay to take up space within it.
I want to help as many people feel a sense of belonging in this world. My dad instilled it within me, my mom reflects to me, and my fiancé reminds me of it.
I want that to be our legacy – that we felt like home to many on this corner of the earth.
Pricing:
- I’ve intentionally priced all of our products to be as accessible as possible, all while give back to mental health services.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://areandbecoffee.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/areandbecoffee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/areandbecoffee
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasminefrench/
