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Melissa Villanueva Highlight
Coffee shops have the ability to be a modern-day watering hole, where people come in every single day and you can authentically meet and get to know them.
About Melissa
- I worked as a Starbucks barista in high school and loved it because of the authentic experiences I’d have with customers.
- I majored in philosophy in college but wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with that degree.
- In order to help pay off my student loans, I took a door-to-door sales job selling books—I ended up being unusually good at it and was even ranked as the number four salesperson in the country!
- The skills and recognition I gained in that sales job led to business offers after I graduated college—I took a corporate job as a director of recruitment and team development for a financial firm.
- Eventually I met my husband, who encouraged me to quit my corporate job and become more of a dreamer.
- After going on a self-discovery trip to the Philippines, I told my husband that I wanted to open a coffee shop one day.
- While looking for an espresso machine on Craigslist, I found a coffee shop for sale and bought it within one month.
- Since buying that first location, we have grown to three coffee shops, an event space, and a coffee roastery!