Charleston Women-Winter 2020

www.CharlestonWomen.com | www.ReadCW.com | www.CharlestonBrides.com CW employers, “The Movers and Shakers Mix” was a quarterly networking event where young professionals gathered to talk about their local endeavors. Guest speakers addressed captivated audiences, composed mostly of minority entrepreneurs. Each mixer featured a complimentary “signature” cocktail, and eventually we secured local and household alcohol brands to sponsor the signature offering each quarter. As we learned more about the business of beverages, we wanted to take our craft to the next level. We created our trademarked Instagram handle, Cocktail Bandits, and set out on a mission to educate, entertain and empower through craft cocktail advocacy. We worked hard to learn as much as we could about spirits and the beverage industry through membership in the United States Bartender’s Guild, which included access to industry events and more opportunities to learn about liquors. We realized that this was a whole new world, and we wanted to share it with our community. We approached The Charleston Chronicle, the only Black newspaper in Charleston, with an idea to write a weekly entertainment column to let people of color know what was happening in our fair city. They agreed, and we started writing about our adventures throughout Charleston, sharing custom recipes inspired by these experiences. In order to create ongoing content, we also followed The Charleston City Paper and attended all of the free events for the week — most events would feature some type of libation — then covered those experiences in our weekly column. People latched on and began to recognize us around town. Further down the road, we received an awesome feature from The Charleston City Paper, and that’s when our lives and business concept changed. Soon after the feature, we were requested by The Lee Brothers to curate a cocktail that represented the Lowcountry for the 2015 Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. This exposure allowed our Instagram page to flourish and established us as adult beverage authorities. Since then, we have received business opportunities locally, nationally and even internationally. In 2017, we were approached to write our book, “Holy Spirits! Charleston’s Culture Through Cocktails.” The book is the first cocktail book written by Black women in America and includes more than 50 original cocktail recipes. With our business constantly evolving, we have many more creations in the works too, including designing cocktails for every occasion. We’ve included our top three recipes for the winter months. charleston women Taneka Reaves shakes things up with a Holiday Picker Upper. ATOASTTOYOURVENTURE Tips on Creating a Successful Business from the Cocktail Bandits 1. Do what you love. 2 . Network and collaborate — you’d be surprised at how many people are willing to help you with your dream. 3. Be the change you want to see. 4. Make self-care a top priority. 5. Create your own personal mission statement, and stick to it. 6. In the beginning, say “yes” to everything, and figure it out later. 7. Always try to keep a positive mental attitude. Yoga, meditation and exercise help when it’s difficult. 8. Forgive yourself quickly. Starting a new business is difficult, and you will make mistakes. Forgive yourself, pick yourself up and keep going. Photo by Thomas Runion.