Long Story Short

Coffee with a purpose! This week on a brand new episode of Long Story Short presented by Vistaprint, our host Carla Marie got a chance to speak with Margaret Nyamumbo, the CEO and founder of Kahawa 1893, a coffee company with a mission. Their goal is to close the gender gap within the coffee industry and empower women everywhere. Born in Kenya as a third-generation coffee farmer, Margaret grew up spending much of her time on her grandfather’s coffee farm before moving to the United States. After graduating with an MBA from Harvard, she was working on Wall Street before rediscovering her passion for coffee. Did you know East Africa is considered the birthplace of coffee? Coffee beans were first grown in Kenya in 1893 and despite producing less than 1% of all the coffee in the world, it has the reputation for being some of the best you can get. But it does come at a price. Currently, over 90% of the labor in the coffee industry in Kenya is entirely made up of women who are not fairly compensated because they do not own the land. Kahawa 1893 is trying to change that, not only by supporting these women but by taking action and doing something to create positive change in the coffee world. And this hasn’t gone unnoticed. Roasting and distributing their beans from San Francisco, California, Kahawa 1893 became the first black and woman-owned coffee brand to launch in the Trader Joe’s grocery chain at all of their California locations. In this episode of Long Story Short, Carla Marie chats with Margaret about the story behind the success of building her own business and how you can create customers who are passionate advocates for your brand! They also discuss how to make each and every interaction count and use word of mouth marketing to your advantage. Follow UsTwitter @vistaprint https://twitter.com/vistaprintFacebook @vistaprint https://www.facebook.com/vistaprint

Do you want to learn how you can turn your dream into reality? On this week’s new episode of Long Story Short by Vistaprint, our host Carla Marie is joined by the co-founders of She Chef Inc., Chimere Ward, and Elle Simone. They are here to discuss how you can turn your passion into a product, their experience growing a business, and what it takes to build a network of community support. Entering the cooking and catering industries between 2008-2010, Chimere started out taking free business classes and volunteering in kitchens while Elle had moved to New York to intern with the Food Network. They met in 2013 at the launch of She Chef, an event organized by Elle, and quickly became friends, co-founders, and mentors to one another. Together they have built an organization for women chefs of color and provide mentoring and guidance to young women who aspire to be exceptional within the culinary arts. As a team, Elle provides mentoring and guidance to prospective female chefs and Chimere grows SheChef’s community with online engagement and career development support. This week you’ll find out ways to create new opportunities to reach new audiences and how to use free resources to fill in educational, relationship, or experience gaps to help grow and expand your business. Also hear firsthand how Chimere and Elle have been able to give back to their community and create positive change in our world today. Their goal is to bridge the gap of equity and diversity in the food and beverage, media, and hospitality industries while striving to provide an uplifting atmosphere that will foster self-confidence. This year She Chef Inc. was awarded a Power Forward Small Business grant from Vistaprint and NAACP and is continually striving to make positive change and break boundaries for women of color within the culinary and catering industries. Follow UsTwitter @vistaprint https://twitter.com/vistaprintFacebook @vistaprint https://www.facebook.com/vistaprintInstagram @vistaprint https://www.instagram.com/vistaprint/ Presented by Vistaprint www.vistaprint.com

Growing your social media presence can be one of the hardest things to figure out as a small business. This week on Long Story Short, Carla Marie sits down with Habib Salo, the CEO of Young Nails, one of the most popular nail care brands online today! With over 5 million followers across all platforms, this family-owned company has managed to create a name for itself from YouTube to TikTok. Hear first-hand the ethos behind the brand, how they make the most of each new social media platform, and the different ways content creation can increase your company's online following! Follow UsTwitter @vistaprint https://twitter.com/vistaprintFacebook @vistaprint https://www.facebook.com/vistaprintInstagram @vistaprint https://www.instagram.com/vistaprint/ Presented by Vistaprint www.vistaprint.com

Finding new ways to grow is everything when building your brand. In this week’s episode of Long Story Short, we chat with Amy Faulkner, founder of the event production company Gilly Wagon, about virtual events, building a sense of community, and creating alternative revenue streams for your business.  Follow UsTwitter @vistaprint https://twitter.com/vistaprintFacebook @vistaprint https://www.facebook.com/vistaprintInstagram @vistaprint https://www.instagram.com/vistaprint/ Presented by Vistaprint www.vistaprint.com

Distilling your brand down to a visual is one of the most difficult yet lucrative actions you can take for your business. In this episode of Long Story Short, we speak with Hannah and Ariel Redmond, owners of Happy Box Store and industry pros with a combined 20+ years of marketing experience, on how to make your brand iconic.Follow UsTwitter @vistaprint https://twitter.com/vistaprintFacebook @vistaprint https://www.facebook.com/vistaprintInstagram @vistaprint https://www.instagram.com/vistaprint/ Presented by Vistaprint www.vistaprint.com

This week our host Carla Marie sits down with Adriana Carrig, founder of The Little Words Project, to discuss the importance of branding and brand personality. Adriana shares the distinction between the two and how your brand should offer an experience to your customer that keeps them coming back for more. We also learn how The Little Words Project shares their personality through the use of social media. Plus, a minute of wisdom from Olivia Christian about the standout lessons in branding from this week’s conversation. Follow UsTwitter @vistaprint https://twitter.com/vistaprintFacebook @vistaprint https://www.facebook.com/vistaprintInstagram @vistaprint https://www.instagram.com/vistaprint/ Presented by Vistaprintwww.vistaprint.com

Each week we break down the long list of ways that you can build your business by establishing your brand’s identity. Join Carla Marie as she sits down with experts in the fields of social media, visual marketing, and SEO to discuss the tips and fresh ideas they have in order to build your brand. We make the long stories of these topics short. Presented by Vistaprint.