102: [BLACK MEN WHO LEAD] Behind The Coffee & Tea Brand BLK & Bold + Building A Business Rooted In Social Impact w/ Rod Johnson
Name: Rod Johnson
Business Name: BLK & Bold
Current Title: Co-Founder
Location: Des Moines IA
About BLK & Bold:
Being the first nationally accessible/distributed Black-owned coffee and tea business not only came with its own victories but it also came with its own set of challenges. Long nights, a lot of trial and error, high expectations, and pressure.
Four years later, BLK & Bold is celebrating their anniversary and rolling out their new cold brew. They have made it through covid, introduced new products, expanded their work environment and employee base, all while making their 5 percent contribution to youth programming a consistent priority. As they move into their fifth year in the industry they look back in reflection with a smile on their face as they know that the road hasn’t been easy but has most definitely been worth it.
Rod Johnson and Pernell Ceszar are two first-generation college graduates that became young black entrepreneurs with a mission in mind—to impact their community. BLK & Bold speaks to the products that they produce, coffee and tea, but it also speaks to them as individuals. They want to live, educate, support, and lead boldly. They wish to do so not only within their business and their community, but other communities that look like theirs and which they came from.
DURING THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:
- How they successfully built BLK & Bold with no prior industry experience
- Tips for starting a coffee and tea business
- The importance of building your business around the social impact model
- How to start and scale a social enterprise
- The importance of reinvesting in the community
- Ways to identify a social cause suited for your business
- Why building strategic relationships is important
- How to attract partnerships from major brands like Amazon and Target
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
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