Southern Utah is known for having the best entrepreneurial spirit. The women in particular are something special. Nicole Tanner, Lori Hanna, and Natalie Brown are movers and shakers who have journeyed their way to the top, with tremendous amounts of wisdom that they share exclusively with Catori Utah.
NICOLE TANNER | FOUNDER OF SWIG
Q. Share a bit of your story with our readers. How has your journey to entrepreneurism been for you? Hard, easy, a bit of both?
The idea of Swig came from many, many visits to Sonic to get my drink fix (Diet Coke with lime). We loved the pebble ice and foam cup but sometimes felt like a number in the drive thru. Sometimes the wait was long because people were ordering food that took time to prepare. Sometimes the cup would smell like onions or be greasy. We knew there was a better way to get our drink fix with a superior product, in a fast moving line and amazing customer service. We didn’t see any other business that had that so we created it and the Swig journey began. We opened our doors to the first location April 2, 2010. We now have 45 locations. We have learned so much along the way from using technology to better the business, to rebranding and design to finding the right partner. There have been bumps and learning curves but I wouldn’t want it any other way. That is how you learn what your business really is. It gives it a strong foundation when you need to pivot and try something new and may be better for the business.
We opened our doors to the first location April 2, 2010. We now have 45 locations.
Q What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given, or that you would like to share?
- The best advice I would share is to be very present in your business because no one will protect it like you do.
- Don’t get in the way of your business’s growth. Sometimes founders or entrepreneurs think their way is the best and only way and so they don’t try new things that could be just what the business needs. Sometimes as business owners we need to get out of the way and let your business take flight. Best idea wins in the boardroom.
Q In moments of doubt, how do you pick yourself back up? What are the words you use to keep you encouraged to continue on?
- I tell myself that there are no failures in my business – only opportunities for learning and growth.
- Positivity breeds success
Q What does success mean to you?
Success is seeing the people on my team and seeing them grow as leaders and leading out in the company. Success is also giving back to the community and being the best part of our customer’s day!
Q Name the biggest lesson you’ve learned in owning a business?
Trust your partners and your team. You get to the finish line together – not alone.
Q Where can we find you/ your goods/ your products?
You can find us and our locations at swigdrinks.com and Swig Drinks on all of the social media platforms
Q. How do you start your mornings?
Always start with a prayer that is centered in gratitude and continued guidance for the company I have been blessed with
Q. What is your no-fail place or thing you go to when getting out of a creative rut?
I love to be in the outdoors and hike. It centers me and helps to remember what is important.
Q. When did you learn about your field of work and why were you called to it?
I learned that the fast casual/drive thru restaurant space is not for the faint of heart. It is always on and you have to be very present in that business. I was called to do it because I knew people like myself wanted to be made to feel known. We want our customers to know that they mean something to us and that we want to make their day better by seeing them in the drive thru. It’s about the personal connection. From the leadership in the stores to the customers coming to get their favorite drink.
I was called to do it because I knew people like myself wanted to be made to feel known.
LORI HANNA | OWNER OF PERKS ESPRESSO AND SMOOTHIES
Q. What did you want to be when you were a child?
Funny story, my mother recently gave me a box of my childhood things and in it, I found a letter my best friend wrote me in 8th grade, after I had moved out west… she was reminding me we had agreed to open “Gorliger Coffee Shop” (a blend of both our last names). She became a Dean at a college in Indiana instead and I… build community through coffee <3
I found a letter my best friend wrote me in 8th grade, after I had moved out west… she was reminding me we had agreed to open “Gorliger Coffee Shop” (a blend of both our last names). She became a Dean at a college in Indiana instead and I… build community through coffee
Q. What is your favorite thing to do after a long day of work?
Love love LOVE to have dinner with all my adult children and grandies! Nothing better!
Q. Share a bit of your story with our readers. How has your journey to entrepreneurism been for you? Hard, easy, a bit of both?
Honestly, the 20 years I’ve invested as an entrepreneur in the Coffee Industry has certainly had seasons of both easy sailing and gut wrenching agony! We came out of the gates with strong success, endured 2008 by the skin of our teeth, regrouped, reimagined and continue to innovate (Perks Roastery, anyone 🙂 ) as we meet each new challenge (I’m lookin’ at you, Covid).
Q. What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given, or that you would like to share?
Ok, this may be off putting but I think it has emotional value – If you are going to be in business for yourself you should come to terms that you may in fact lose everything. Once you determine if you can live with that vs. living with “what if” -it somehow actually made me even more determined to rise above, endure and succeed. IDK, reverse psychology? Probably good I didn’t try to be a Life Coach 🙂
Q In moments of doubt, how do you pick yourself back up? What are the words you use to keep you encouraged to continue on?
I am blessed to have a beautiful tribe of support around me. I also look at the Perks! Community – The lives we have touched, the impact we have had on individuals (yes, we aren’t just about cups of coffee! There is a tremendous amount of incredible interactions with guests and staff that I believe have lasting value)… THIS keeps me going.
Q What does success mean to you?
Success, to me, is simply this; Practically speaking, am I meeting more than just “needs”. Yes, well then, that is a “win”. More meaningful, Do I make life any better for anyone? If “yes” then, I’ve hit the jackpot!
Success, to me, is simply this; Practically speaking, am I meeting more than just “needs”. Yes, well then, that is a “win”. More meaningful, Do I make life any better for anyone? If “yes” then, I’ve hit the jackpot!
Q Name the biggest lesson you’ve learned in owning a business?
Be true to your vision. You can’t be everything to everyone so don’t try. “Do you” and you will attract the right group. (also, naps are helpful!)
Q Where can we find you/ your goods/ your products?
Perks! has 6 locations
St George: 1515 W Sunset Blvd, 619 E St George Blvd
Washington: 740 W Telegraph #3
Hurricane: 1065 State Street
Springdale: 147 Zion Park Blvd (inside the Cable Mountain Lodge Village)
Cedar City: 750 S Main St
Online at www.utahcoffee.com
Instagram @perks_espresso
Facebook: facebook.com/iheartperks
NATALIE BROWN | FOUNDER BONE APPETIT PET PANTRY
Q. Share a bit of your story with our readers. How has your journey to entrepreneurism been for you? Hard, easy, a bit of both?
I wish I could say it was a little bit of both. Very hard. But, also very rewarding in many different ways on many different days. For me, after relocating from a bigger city I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t get my pet’s natural pet food. And needed to go to Las Vegas or Salt Lake City to get it. These were the days before you could order anything online. It is easy to take for granted the array of services, products, health care and more that living near a bigger city has until you move away from it. I found other people that were in the same situation traveling to get their pet’s food. It started with just picking up pet food for others while I got mine with my mother, to taking a big leap and gamble into offering a small natural pet food business. There was no distribution for 90% of what I needed to sell, so I drove every month to Los Angeles to load up my SUV and bring it back to my inventory. I started Bone Appetit with 200 square foot of space, lucky to get maybe one or two customers a day, to now have two large locations with over 15 employees, offering more services and currently working on a third location. In my first few years in business I had a few local people that would stop in at least once a week to crack a joke at my business and say things such as ” Just thought I’d come by to see if you were still in business.” and even to tell me that they couldn’t support me because I was not a “member”. My heart broke many times. But then it was the customers that were hugging me and thanking me for being here. The customers that cried thanking me for finding their sick pet a natural food and holistic supplement that saved their life. It was those people that kept me going. Even the ones that put me down, they made me push myself harder to succeed. All I know is I work so hard all the time at what I am passionate about. And for success, you can’t stop.
Q What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given, or that you would like to share?
Now this is an easy one. I had what you would call a “colleague” and in many ways, she was my mentor. Filly Diaz Johnson. She owned the Doggy Dude Ranch in Rockville. She has since retired from the dog training and boarding business. She was someone who had been in business a long time. She knew the things I was going to have to learn the hard way. She is a spicy Latina. From New York and Dominican. So naturally, she said things very straight forward. I learned many things from her, but there was one thing that will always be true and I have to remember. “When you are a woman in business, they will always watch when you play, but never when you pay.” It is very true. No one sees the hard work behind the scenes. No one knows that you are working 24/7 and you are always on call. But goodness, if I was to ever take a day for something personal… I have learned you just can’t let anyone see you play.
Q In moments of doubt, how do you pick yourself back up? What are the words you use to keep you encouraged to continue on?
I actually don’t have words to pick me back up. But my amazing husband does. My husband is my rock. No one has ever been as encouraging of me as he is. And on mornings that he can see I am really struggling, before I grab my coffee and head out the door, he will stop me with the Bible in hand and read to me. He will meet me with a section in the Bible that is teaching and encouraging for whatever it is that I am struggling with at that time. And I am reminded that my story is already written. And I just need to do my best that day, and as hard as it is to not worry and stress, can any time spent worrying add a single hour to your life?
Q What does success mean to you?
Success is not money. And if you think having money makes you successful, you are very wrong and have a lot to learn still. To me, success is more about contributions. You can go to the store and buy apples. And yes, you will have apples. But if you can take a seed, and figure out how to plant it and grow it, even if it takes you many times to get it right, you will have apples also. But you just won’t have the apples. You will supply the apples. Then you will give apples, and you will teach others how to grow the apples. You will have contributed to making the world you live in go round. When you can take a seed and grow it into a giving farm, you have achieved success. If you have done this from seed, you have made it through all the hard parts and you are doing something right. Then financial security will follow along with it.
Q Name the biggest lesson you’ve learned in owning a business?
Imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery. But not really in business. Wherever there is a good business or good business idea, someone will be right there watching you. Ready to copy you. Or to steal your business away from you. Don’t get me wrong, healthy competition is a good thing. In business though, you must always have your guard up. In business, you must have street smarts and stand your ground. In business you are at the top of the pyramid and if you cannot be the strongest piece, all else will crumble.
Q Where can we find you/ your goods/ your products?
Currently our Flagship location in downtown 174 W Telegraph Washington City, Bone Appetit Natural Pet Pantry and in the Newer Harmons Plaza near Snow Canyon State Park at 3540 Pioneer Parkway Santa Clara Utah!
Q. What did you want to be when you were a child?
When I was a child I wanted to be a lawyer. What kid wants to be a lawyer? Well, that didn’t happen, but my gift for arguing my point definitely comes in handy daily in business.
Q. What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve made in starting a business?
The biggest sacrifice is with my family. Because of my businesses my children sometimes suffer, and sometimes because of my children, my work suffers. For a family that owns and operates a business, many times work will have to come before the family. But in order to support your family that is just what you have to do.
For advice on business from these entrepreneurs themselves, click the video below
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