News Archives | The Drawing Board

Read the original article on Voyage Dallas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kali O’Campo.

Kali, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My pursuit of fulfillment began back in college when I realized how much I enjoyed GIVING and SHARING to make people feel a sense of great meaning in their day-to-day experience. I never realized it could become a career until I found myself as the Director of Client & Talent Relations for a niche philanthropy consulting firm in Hollywood six years later. After seven years of working with cause-marketing projects and events, I wanted to discover what I was truly capable of on my own.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, the inception of LYMI Coffee began in the living room of my El Segundo, CA apartment one Saturday morning. I had two incredible roommates who I shared quality coffee time with while the beach breeze filled our home, giving us breath to share stories and laughs before beginning our day. It was then when I was first introduced to quality coffee from different regions of the world, and it was then when I made a mental note of what it was I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to replicate that meaningful moment that I had experienced for others to enjoy as well but was lacking the “how” at that time.

After meeting my boyfriend in Los Angeles, we decided to move to Texas where he was originally from. The timing of our decision could not have been better as I was about to turn 30 and I was ambitiously ready to find new beginnings. I had hopes that I could paint a blank canvas where business was thriving in Dallas! After working a few different jobs for basic financial support, I finally found myself feeling at home while working alongside a great group of people at The Drawing Board in Richardson. My love for coffee had grown over the years and my entrepreneurial spirit had been contemplating how I was going to bring MEANING to people as a business, and then it hit me. It was that moment I had experienced five years ago with my roommates that was the catalyst I needed to begin building something of great value, and LYMI was born.

I believe coffee is a universal language that brings people together just like love. Whether it’s enjoyed on a cold, snowy morning in a cabin on the mountains, or sipped during social hour with an old friend or new stranger. Coffee is embraced in moments of people’s lives where they are in their thoughts, inhaling the aroma, exhaling the stress, and sipping at the pace of their own energy. It provides a sense of community and a shared positive experience.

After months of tasting various flavors of coffee from different regions, I finally decided on a special roast that would begin the official launch of LYMI Coffee. We call it HIGH VIBE, as its naturally higher caffeine content helps provide the positive vibes people love to enjoy. Just two weeks after launching, I had decided I was ready to leave my work-life behind in order to pour myself into my company and I’ve been extremely excited ever since!

LYMI Coffee is preparing to introduce new flavors, personal life-coaching, and self-development courses as well. This is part of its commitment to building a community that provides true value for everyone in everyday life. Between these value-adds and live events, anyone who joins the LYMI Coffee community can find connection and a sense of belonging.

Has it been a smooth road?Ha! Smooth road? Does that even exist in entrepreneurship? The beginning of this journey was seemingly “easy”. I figured all I had to do was select some coffee, create a logo, design the bag, put it up online and boom, sales and happy customers! What ACTUALLY happened was, once I was ready to launch, I had to start the process all over since things fell through with the first roaster I chose. Then, the design concept for the brand took WEEKS on end while I wracked my brain until I finally made a decision, and it’s STILL ever-changing. Getting past the initial “friends and family” sales has been a lot harder than I had expected as well, but the biggest challenge of all has been the demand to wear every hat in this business. As of now, I am the creative director, the marketer, the copywriter, the salesman, the customer service rep, the shipper, the ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that makes a company run. And every second of it is totally worth it! I am extremely grateful for the amount of positive feedback I’ve received so far on the quality of the coffee and the inspirational content I’ve put out.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with LYMI Coffee – Love You, Mean It – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.Simply put, LYMI Coffee provides a sense of community with likeminded people who want more out of life. We know it takes a village to raise a child, but the development doesn’t stop at childhood. Human connection is so vital in our overall happiness, and often times people don’t have a community to lean on in times of celebration or need of support. So while LYMI Coffee specializes in providing hand-crafted, organic and Fair Trade DELICIOUS coffee, it is our mission to bring value and meaning to those who are part of our community. That’s why we are teaming up with one of the best personal empowerment organizations, BE-U, that will directly impact our community members and coffee enthusiasts!

As a company that stands on quality, we are most proud of the difference our specialty coffee has already made with our customers! We’ve had coffee connoisseurs and your regular, everyday drinkers give us incredible feedback on the consistency, taste and natural peak in clarity they’ve experienced from our roast. Above all, quality in coffee and everyday life is what matters most to us here at LYMI!

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?When I first moved to Dallas from Southern California, I was anxious, excited, and full of optimism about the opportunity to thrive in life! For me personally, that means enjoying the day-to-day, connecting with people and creating new positive experiences. So far, after three and a half years, Dallas has not disappointed! The absolute best part has been the people here… I don’t know if I just hit the jackpot or what, but I feel as if I have met some of the most caring and supportive people throughout every community I’ve networked in or visited. I truly can say that I appreciate each and every person I’ve come in contact with.

The thing I’ve liked least so far is, well, the HEAT! Coming from the beaches of SoCal just doesn’t compare. It’s like Texas has its own Sun! There’s a lot less outdoor time that I get to enjoy, but I think I’m pretty acclimated now.

Pricing:

15% off coffee subscription on your first order and 5% forever after that–ends December 31st, 2019–Discount code: VOYAGE
10% off any one-time orders now through December 31st, 2019–Discount code: VOYAGE

Contact Info: