This week on Eating While Broke, our guest entrepreneur Jon Kinnard has an incredible story of hustling to build his coffee business Coffee Del Mundo. We go all the way back to his upbringing in Tennessee where he experienced racism that lit a fire in him to want to make change someday, especially in education policy.

Jon is all about being strategic and seeking knowledge, which led him to find corporate management training programs early in his career to gain skills, even though he knew he eventually wanted to work for himself. His love of travel brought him to El Salvador where he was inspired to help coffee farmers and learned firsthand the unfair practices of the industry.

This experience motivated him to start his own coffee company that could showcase the stories of farmers and cultures behind the beans. What's amazing is the creative ways Jon bootstrapped his business on a tiny budget, like exchanging helping a company sell equipment for the chance to learn from them.

Jon's hustle is real! When COVID hit and funds were beyond tight, he actually lived out of an RV in the back of his coffee shop. His passion for bringing healthy drinks to his community kept him going.

I love how Jon focuses on honoring the origins of coffee and aims to shift the narrative to be more authentic. He believes coffee culture in the U.S. has been wrongly colonized by Europe. Even the names of drinks and equipment used are Italian, which ignores the real roots of coffee.

Coffee Del Mundo has an intentionally curated menu designed with people of color in mind. Jon's mission runs deep. Make sure to tune into this whole conversation to hear more of his incredible journey firsthand!

 

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