Building Mozzo Bean-by-Bean

Firstly thank you to all at UnLtd for this opportunity to blog and supporting me with a Level 1 Award turning the Mozzo Art on the Cart Award from a dream to a reality!

The purpose of my blog is to give an honest and open account of my experiences as young social entrepreneur as I work to build Mozzo bean-by-bean.

In 2004 just as I was about to graduate from University I was told by a lecturer that if I was serious about running my own business I would not be sitting in this room but would be out there doing it! Well since graduating that is what I have done after starting Mozzo in 2005.

I set out to build Mozzo on community values by following my beliefs that in today’s global society organisations should be focused upon their impact upon People, Sources and Environments. If these are at the core of what and why an organisation does what it does then success will come.

My determination to show that business could be done a different way and my passion for coffee and art led my co-founder and me to start Mozzo in 2005.

The Mozzo journey started with our Community Coffee Cart in Southampton, UK. I believe it to be the first solar and wind powered art covered coffee cart (though if you know differently I would love to hear about it). Sourcing 40% of our energy from the sun and the wind Mozzo began to share its Fairtrade organic espresso coffee with the people of Southampton in October 2005.

I soon learnt my first lesson in business... flexibility and adaptation. When Mozzo started we were in the coffee retail marketplace however soon it was clear that the immediate future of Mozzo laid in a different sector of the coffee market as a growing number of bars, cafes, hotels and restaurants asked to serve the magic Mozzo beans.

I took time to adjust to the reality of the immediate future of Mozzo but soon realized that in business as in life you can only worry about the 'controllable' and not the 'un-controllable'.

For me the 'controllable' will always be the ethics and product values of Mozzo. The 'un-controllable' will present the challenges, risks and opportunities that lay ahead.

So in 2006 Mozzo and the magic beans shifted focus into the coffee wholesale marketplace.A new set of business challenges presented themselves and at times it felt like three steps forward two back but in May of this year Mozzo was ready to be launched in the UK coffee wholesale marketplace.

Since May 2006 my Mozzo journey, which has been made entirely by foot, bike or train, has taken me from Southampton to Brighton to London to Coventry and Cambridge.

Every day has been a different day in the life of the magic Mozzo beans; some days have been highs, some real lows and many frustrating. I have made mistakes, learnt a lot about the people I knew, I have met some wonderful people, seen many interesting places and above all have learnt a lot about Grant Lang.

My journey and Mozzo is just beginning. Mozzo has been built on community values by determined, passionate and creative people. It is the goal of these people that Mozzo Coffee will become the leading premium ethical espresso coffee brand. It is the dream of these people that Mozzo will become truly socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.

An old man once told me to… “sleep at night and live my dreams by day.” That is exactly what I intend to do as I journey to build Mozzo bean-by-bean.

You can find the magic Mozzo beans at www.mozzocoffee.com