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In this episode, I sat down with Jamila Wright, co-founder of Brooklyn Tea, to trace the full story of how she and her husband Ali turned tea dates into a business. Jamila walked me through leaving a career in education, emptying her retirement savings, and fighting a two year trademark battle before they ever opened their first location.
We got into the real financial decisions behind building out that first shop, including an SBA loan that arrived late, putting up her own home as collateral, and the lesson she learned about the difference between being an investor and being an owner operator. Jamila also shared how a relationship with a fellow Brooklyn business owner led to their current Lewis Avenue location.
From there we picked up with how Brooklyn Tea’s verticals came together, the financial setbacks along the way including a six figure loan and a partnership that fell apart, and the moment she and Ali finally started paying themselves.
Main Takeaways
- Big opportunities often come from saying yes rather than a master plan, so be ready to rise to the moment when it arrives.
- Waiting on outside funding like an SBA loan can force you to dip into personal savings, so plan for delays before signing a lease or starting construction.
- Choosing between taking on debt or equity investors should depend on your long term goal, whether that is building a legacy brand or eventually selling it.
- Paying yourself is a milestone that often comes after years of sacrifice, so figuring out that number is part of building a sustainable business.
Highlights Include
- (00:32) How Jamila and Ali went from dating over tea to business partners
- (08:12) The financial decisions behind opening the first Brooklyn Tea location
- (16:16) Why Jamila had to put up her Atlanta home as collateral for their SBA loan
- (19:38) Debt versus equity, and deciding what kind of business you want to build
- (24:13) The real lesson foot traffic taught them about their first location
- (29:45) How a relationship with Monique Greenwood led to their current Lewis Avenue location
- (37:33) Saying yes to wholesale and e-commerce almost by accident
- (47:39) Landing a licensing and franchising deal with an airport
- (52:12) The Saks Fifth Avenue partnership that fell apart
- (1:07:45) Paying themselves for the first time after two and a half years
Watch & Listen
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323
Social Media
Website: brooklyntea.com
Brooklyn Tea Instagram: @brooklyntea
Jamila’s Instagram: @jamilawright21
