082: Revamping the Family Coffee Business with Hrag Kalebjian

Interview topics/highlights include:

The shock of going from corporate America to a small family-run business
How do I spend time doing things I enjoy doing and outsourcing things to other people
Hrag’s business has retail in SF and also sells online
Implementing change in a traditional family-run business
Why implementing change in the business was so difficult for his father
The reason Hrag left corporate America to join the family business
Importance of taking risks and trying things to succeed
The biggest risk Hrag has taken in investing in ecommerce and other things
The importance of believing in what you are doing
Hrag’s big bet on rebranding
How Hrag’s wife has been so helpful
How Hrag continues to learn and grow in the business
Hrag’s approach to branding and advertising by telling their story
People don’t buy coffee, they buy a part of the story and the family
Hrag discusses some of his many failures
Hrag’s advice for new entrepreneurs: look at failures as learning opportunities

Links:

For questions, comments and guest suggestions, contact the host, Andy Storch, at andy@andystorch.com