Current turn around time is 2-4 weeks ♥

Social Sunday Interview // Desiree of Coffee Reading Writing

Written by Vanessa Guerra

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Posted on August 28 2016


Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by! I'm super excited to have Desiree from Coffee Reading Writing on the blog today :) She's an incredibly sweet and ambitious Girl Boss with the most adorable mugs ever!
PS: Don't forget to stop by our Instagram account @ThatMoxieChickStudio for today's discussion post!
• Welcome Desiree! Please tell us a bit about yourself :)
Hey everyone! I’m so excited to be here this Social Sunday. My name’s Desiree and I’m co-owner of Coffee Reading Writing. I was born in New York during the most wonderful time of year (December), but raised in sunny Miami, FL.

• How did you come up with your business name?
When I was daydreaming about creating custom designed mug, I wanted to incorporate everything that I’m passionate about. I’m well-aware of my addiction to coffee. I’m an obsessive lover of books and fictional characters. I’m also a compulsive writer. I live with stories constantly in my head.

In the beginning days, I had a far more complicated name but then one day, I had a eureka moment that seemed so obvious. I kicked myself for not seeing it at the time. I removed the extra tag lines and left it plainly, Coffee Reading Writing.

• What inspired you to start your own business?
Ironically, as a lover of coffee, I never had a mug collection of my own. I always admired those who did and wanted my own cute mugs. One day, I started playing with ideas. ‘What would I want as a coffee addict, book lover, or writer? What would the community of those three categories want on a mug?

I sketched out ideas and started fleshing out all the components necessary to make this a reality. It took another three years before the beginning of that dream started to unfold.

• What do you love most about being a girl boss? What do you love the least?
I’ve grown up with the greatest girl boss inspiration ever and that is my mother. My mom is a fierce business woman. She’s a single mother of two. I’ve watched her create throughout the years and fight for what she wants.

It’s a beautiful thing to build something from its bare bones and watch it fill out into a tangible and magnificent reality. And then, to think…it’s yours. You did this.

I love and feel honored to have this opportunity of small business owner and hope to maintain the same perseverance I’ve witnessed in my mother.

What I love the least? The reality that what you’ve built is as fragile as a newborn and it needs consistent attention and nourishment. Decisions are never small when you’re building a business. Each one affects either the long term or short term outcome of it. No pressure, right?

I very much am mostly creative minded. The business aspects of it may not be my favorite but that’s only because when you care so much about the success of something you love, you feel the weight of each decision.

• Where do you see yourself both personally and professionally in five years?
Oh wow. Hm. Five years from now I would love to see CRW successful. And that to me doesn’t just look like, numbers; money. Sure, that would be very nice. I hope CRW could be a legitimate source of income for both me and my business partner, Melody. But, the whole reason I wanted to build CRW was to connect with the community of readers and writers.

I hope that CRW may be integrated in both communities and be a source that creates connections between book lovers and other writers.

Personally? I hope five years from now I have successfully published multiple books. I want a simple life; to be able to live out my days creatively and let’s be real, get paid to do it.

• As a busy girl boss, how do you stay organized? Got any tips?

Oh man. I definitely am juggling many things at once. I’ve got to maintain day jobs and projects aside from my dream jobs—CRW and writing—so, staying organized is a huge necessity and not always easy to do.

I love any and all stationary/office supplies! I’m a happy dork during Back-To-School season because of all the fun organization goodies.

Planners are my friend! I love planners. They give me the bird’s eye view of the week or month.

Notebooks and daily to-do list are vital for me to get through my day. I’m a pen to paper gal. I’m just very old school when it comes to needing the satisfaction of checking off or crossing out a task in a pretty pen or highlighter. Seeing my entire day’s list crossed out is the only way I truly feel accomplished at the end of the day.

• What is your favorite small business that you’d want our readers to check out?
Now, some may find my recommendation odd because in the business world, they’re considered our ‘competition’ (not really though because her stuff is fantastic) but I learned a valuable lesson during the beginning days of CRW. I don’t believe we should feel intimidated, stand-offish, or hold a rival mentality with other small businesses.

We were all dreamers one day. We’re all after the same thing and that is to create and share. The added bonus is when those you share your work with, love it. Greatest reward ever.

Most of you have probably already heard of Evie Seo of EvieBookish on Instagram. Her designs are stunning and through Society 6 she is able to have those designs printed on all sorts of merchandise. One of the popular items are in fact, mugs. They are also presented to the same communities we reach out to and guess what? There’s nothing wrong with that.

I believe there is a place for us all. We each have our own perspectives and talents to offer this world. I say, let us support each other. Not create a divide.

I apologize for that momentary rant. *hides face laughing*

If for some reason you haven’t check her out, I definitely recommend that you do. Everything she creates is breathtaking and the attention to detail is stunning.

• When you're not busy being a girl boss, what do you like to do on your spare time?
When life gives me a second to breathe, if I’m not taking that time to finally get some writing in, I usually love to get cozy in pjs (if I’m not in them already) and disappear into a book for the rest of the evening. I’ll occasionally allow my introverted self out to venture with friends to a movie, a coffee shop, or restaurant. As I mentioned previously, I’m a simple girl looking to live a simply life spent creatively.

♥♥♥

This is where I leave you all. I hope I didn’t ramble too much. Thank you so much, Vanessa for having me here today. This was fun and so motivating for the Girl Boss in me to keep pushing, keep building and never give up!
  
That was so sweet! Thank YOU for joining me today! I so appreciate your visit :)
To connect with Desiree and Melody you can find them here:
SHOP: www.CoffeeReadingWriting.com
Use code: MOXIECHICK for 25% off your order!
IG: @CoffeeReadingWriting
YOUTUBE CHANNEL
YouTube has been both a scary but fun project that has allowed us to really connect with both the reading and writing community.

Wherever you go, don’t hesitate to say, Hi! We love chatting with everyone!
♥♥♥

Don't forget to join us over on Instagram to join in today's discussion!
Today's question is:
What is the strangest thing you've ever drank or eaten out of a mug?
 
Looking forward to seeing your answers! :)
Here's a little behind the scenes pic of where the Coffee Reading Writing magic happens :)
 

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