It was almost three years ago when I sold Loam Coffee. I started Loam in 2015 and ran it for five years. Feeling burned out and needing a change of pace, I broke the company into two pieces and sold each part. With great relief, I moved on and threw myself into other endeavors and startups. But I couldn’t shake Loam Coffee.
I stayed connected to the brand and helped out from afar with a few social media posts here and there, as well as some articles and newsletters. Most often on social media, I’d simply “post and ghost.” That was it. That was my involvement. However, as I shared above, I couldn’t shake Loam Coffee.
Recently I was approached by the ownership group of Loam Coffee to see if I wanted back in. After lots of back-and-forth conversations, I realized the timing was right. I am now back at the helm of Loam Coffee.
So what changed?
As I shared, initially, I was relieved. It’s a lot of work running a coffee roasting company. There’s much to do, from sourcing green beans to roasting to packaging and shipping. That’s not mentioning branding, marketing, social media, and all other admin things. Before I sold it, I was doing most everything myself. That was a mistake. Not only that, but I made many other mistakes along the way. It is painful and humbling to admit.
As I’ve been thinking about this transition, my mind immediately thinks about how I can do things better this time. If so, what would I do differently? Better? First of all, I’m not the primary roaster. I’ve brought on a great friend to do the roasting and another to help with backend stuff like packaging and shipping. It’s a start. That frees me to focus more on branding, marketing, relationships, and sales.
It’s been a little over a week since this transition happened. I’ve slowly been getting organized and taking care of many unseen parts of running a company. Along the way, I’ve been updating the website, doing a slight brand refresh/update, and re-engaging on social media. Maybe you noticed, or maybe not.
While I’m on the front end of re-imagining where I want to take Loam Coffee, I am truly grateful for many of you who hung around. I’ve already heard from some of you, which is exciting. My work has only begun. We’re working on new coffee offerings, among other things. Since I sold Loam, one of the recent developments was buying a mobile coffee van I’ve affectionately called Nacho the Van. I’ll do more with Nacho for catering events, whether for races, trail building days, or anything else.
Lastly, and this ties in, I launched Trail Builder Magazine last year. While they are separate companies, there is some crossover, so I’m excited to see where these two sister companies go.
I appreciate you all and your patience. I am also grateful for your grace as I reflect on the six months leading up to when I initially sold Loam Coffee. There are relationships that I am looking forward to kicking back up. I trust you’ll tag along for this new chapter in Loam Coffee and our adventures together.
I couldn’t do this without you. Thank you.
Sean
