Blissful BomBooch Kombucha was started in our little apartment kitchen here in Macau, China.
We followed the lead of the people of Macau who asked for more and more and began to not just create this probiotic "living tea" just for our friends and family, but our whole community and beyond. Take a risk and follow your heart, your heart won't steer you wrong. We started to experiment with fermented Kombucha, a tea full of living organisms that were known to help people with digestive issues. If your digestive system is in distress, this can cause your whole body to lose equilibrium: your mood, mental clarity, and energy. This tea began to help us all feel better so we began to have our friends try it at the restaurant, at first they weren't so excited about it. But we began to work with it's flavor and it became very popular quickly. We then invested in labels, bottles, and equipment and it paid off each month.
We have also started a little Vegetarian Restaurant and were just happy to feed our friends and family. It was always a passion project that was never about making money. We are in a community that has a primarily meat based diet and had always fed our friends and family who were part of the performer and elite athlete community, entertaining tourists on the Cotai Strip through shows and performances.
What three pieces of advice would you give to college students (young and old) locally or internationally who want to become entrepreneurs? Good advice is to not be too sentimental about a product, but to listen to the people.
Don't take criticism personally, use it to better your product and approach.
Hustle. When it comes to the product, you can't try to grow it behind a desk. Go to the places your people are, and even to where your people who might not be your sole demographic. Blissful BomBooch Kombucha goes to farmer's markets, festivals, and to different restaurants.
Free Samples can pay big. We gave a lot of free kombucha in the beggining to let people try it without losing anything. We still donate our product to charity, events, and even take to parties to give it exposure.
If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Every stumble we've had has been worth it, and built from. Smooth seas do not make a skilled sailor.
What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Hustle. Tough Skinned (don't take anything personally). And absolutely PASSION. If you go to work with passion in your heart everyday, it will show in your product.
