Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Scroggins.
Hi Angela, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In July of 2018, I lost my job. I wasn’t sure where to go from there. I knew I wanted to try my hand at being an entrepreneur. After talking with my wife, we decided to take our time with me finding a new position and look at different business opportunities. We knew we wanted something in the beverage industry. One evening of searching, “Kombi Keg” came up in my Facebook newsfeed with franchises for sale. In November, we decided to finally reach out and learn more about the franchise.
It took myself, my wife and mom, about five months to take the plunge and buy the Kombi Keg Tampa franchise. We all were extremely excited as the process started. One of the most exciting parts was the design of our logo. If you look closely, you can Jose Gaspar’s ship in the background with the Kombi on Bayshore Blvd. August 2019, our Kombi arrived all the way from Australia. The first six months we had some events/parties, and just as we were gaining our momentum as COVID hit. At the same time, we were also in the process of opening up a gym with co-investors. So it was an interesting year trying to manage both of the businesses. We have made it through one year of COVID and while we are still not as busy as we would like, we are hopeful that things will start to bounce back in the third quarter.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
While I love a challenge, this has definitely been a rough road. Our first year in business was spent with COVID-19 restrictions. Some of the struggles were the complete shut down at first and once we opened the amount of people that we’re able to gather. Our main focus is weddings, corporate parties, birthday parties. Many people were worried or cautious about gathering or throwing parties. And many had lost their jobs, so they didn’t have the extra money to spend on using a mobile bar service. For most of the year, they were non-existent. We were able to do some promotion events that benefited us and the business we were working with.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Kombi Keg?
Kombi Keg Tampa is a mobile bar offering a unique service for your wedding, party, corporate function, local/sporting event, festival, or any other special occasion where you can get your party started! Our beautifully restored 1970 Kombi is the epitome of classic style, with a sophisticated twist of vintage and ready to make your next event a memorable one. Enjoy a practical and convenient way to serve icy cold draft beer, cider, cocktails, soft drinks, water, and even wine. I think what sets us apart from other mobile bars is our capability to be versatile with the drinks we can offer and we are self-sustainable.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Yes, many lessons! When you think about your preparation for the stress of owning a business, then COVID comes. The amount of stress we have been under due to not having bookings has been terrible. While we are mobile, we still have overhead costs each month. At one point, Kombi Keg and our gym became the only thing we could talk about. How can we do this or pivot like this. What can we do for more business? We finally took a step back and had to set up boundaries and remember what we can control. I guess most importantly, we learned not to give up.
Contact Info:
- Email: Angela@kombikegtampa.com
- Website: https://www.kombikeg.com/united-states/tampa/
- Instagram: Kombi Keg Tampa
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/KOMBIKEGTAMPA/
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