Today we’d like to introduce you to Katia Hayes.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Since I was a teenager I lived in the UK, later went to Bristol University, but always had passion for acting which made me take classes in the Old Vic school and I pursued it professionally after moving to the US. Acting is a lot of waiting around for a big break, and at some point I realized that I can not wait for life to happen. I need to create it. And the life that I was craving is the life of exploration and creativity. In its various forms. The first “REAL” business as I call it, and there were different things I always did, but this was the first real success, Enigma Escape Rooms, came about most organically, it was an inspiring idea urging to be born. My partner and I dived into it full force. I got to create scripts, act, entertain and learn a lot about business. Then came Enigma Coffee, first a small shop on Sunset blvd which grew into a full on coffee company. And now, our new adventure, a YouTube Channel “Enigma of Success”. I’m constantly moving forward, finding new inspiration and ways to learn and grow. It’s the most exciting process.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being an entrepreneur is never easy, whoever says otherwise, they are not being truthful 🙂 Or they’ve never done it. It’s always hard work, mistakes, adjustments, obstacles and overcoming them.
A motto I swear by: “if you want to do business you better have the nerves of steel”.
Something can always go wrong, and you have to fix it, adjust and keep going. There were a lot of things that were a learning curve, we started an escape room company when only a handful of people knew what escape rooms are in LA, had to sit around for 2 weeks after opening waiting, its nerve-wracking, by the way, to receive our first clients. With Enigma Coffee starting with construction for our first location, getting the permits, the time it takes, the unexpected expense, there were times when the problems seemed unsolvable and then the solution came. Being willing to make mistakes is a tough pill to swallow, but there is no getting around it.
But if you have a vision and are willing to do your absolute best to create the best service or product that you can, that sets you apart! It keeps you going.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Enigma Coffee?
Started from a successful escape room company “Enigma Escape Rooms”, the story is really a series of mazes. Enigma Escape Rooms really blew up in LA, with mentions in Forbes and OK!Magazine, the company grossed close to a million in its second year of business. Thousands of people went through the experience, many celebrities, corporate events, people celebrating special events or just as a fun night out with family and friends. The building on Sunset blvd became mythological with at times 40-50 people hanging outside, before or after the experience. An idea came to us, as a secondary business to the escape rooms to open a coffee shop, as a convenient way for people to sit and talk about the fun they had, instead of standing outside.
Little did we know, this fun little addition became a real passion and a serious business venture. It’s hard to imagine now that we knew nothing about specialty coffee world when we started, now Enigma Coffee is a company with four locations in LA, a roasting operation, an e-commerce store and now expanding into franchising in Texas, North Carolina and Florida.
The road was exciting, hard and bumpy, of course, but the passion was real and that propelled us. Amazing people along the way helped us learn what we needed to learn in terms of construction, coffee equipment, and coffee making. It was a step-by-step process. We developed our house-made syrups and specialty drinks that are now known and loved throughout LA, like our best-seller, The SAM made with our proprietary secret syrup – the salted vanilla. A must-try!
We later dived into learning how to roast coffee, and now Enigma Coffee is Specialty Coffee Association of America certified and roasts for its stores, wholesale clients and has a subscription program on its website: www.enigmacoffee.com for those who love to craft their perfect cup of coffee at home.
We are constantly evolving and looking for new ways to inspire our customers to expand, evolve and enjoy their everyday which of course starts with a perfect morning routine, a sacred coffee ritual and some inspiration, that’s why we started our new venture, a YouTube Channel “Enigma of Success” where we interview interesting people, talk about success and not just financial, share their inspirational stories and make, drink and roast coffee, sometimes not just coffee 😉 lol.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We are always open to collaborations at Enigma Coffee, any ideas or proposals, please feel free to reach out to us: [email protected]
We are currently working on developing an educational program to help kids and teenagers acquire new skills and get more insight into entrepreneurship.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.enigmacoffee.com
- Instagram: @enigma_coffee
Image Credits
All pictures presented are taken by myself (Katia Hayes) or my business partner, Yoni Babitsky, apart from 3 shot with Cameron Douglas with Enigma of Success on the background – credit Yury Rachkov 2 shot with Ferrari – credit Michael Kharlamov
