Young entrepreneur serves up community coffee spot

For more than a year, 23-year-old owner Eric Graham has provided a special hangout for Maricopa residents.

An InMaricopa interview with Graham sheds light on how his business came to be:

When and why did you start your business? 
Honeycutt Coffee opened the doors on Oct. 2, 2012. The business started as an idea while I was still living in Washington. The owner of the Maricopa Business Center (the strip mall in which the coffee shop is housed) brought me down to visit Maricopa. While visiting I saw that there is a lot of people living here with few things to do. That is when I decided to open my coffee shop in Maricopa. I wanted to offer a place for people to hang out.

How has your business grown?
Business has grown mainly through word of mouth. Offering a cozy atmosphere and quality drinks and food really makes the customers happy. Adding customer service that goes above and beyond to make sure that the customers have the best experience possible has helped create a great buzz around town.

What does your business do?
Honeycutt Coffee offers much more than just coffee drinks. We also serve pastries, breakfast sandwiches, lunch sandwiches and salads.

What is the most important aspect of business to you?
The most important aspect to Honeycutt Coffee is certainly customer service. Your experience should always start with a smile and warm welcome. After being open for over a year now, many of our regular customers feel very comfortable having real conversations with our baristas. We feel that our customers turn into friends.

What are some challenges you have faced in business?
There are many different challenges when starting and operating a business. Designing and managing the build-out process came with many quick decisions. You really have to think on your toes. Other challenges that I have faced is finding those key products that people in Maricopa are really searching for.

What has been the most enjoyable aspect of starting your business?
The most enjoyable aspect of starting my own business is the freedom to make my own business decisions. I take input from customers and employees with which I get to tweak and form Honeycutt Coffee’s business into a business that is constantly evolving toward the customers wants.

What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my employees. They are always going above and beyond to help make Honeycutt Coffee better.

What is your passion outside of work?
Outside of work, I love to golf. Arizona is a great place to practice my hobby.

What is the best piece of advice you could give young entrepreneurs?
Being a young entrepreneur myself, the best advice that I can give is to practice thinking quickly. You will get 10 business calls a day all of which require some sort of decision. Being able to make quick decisions and move forward on those decisions will be what causes growth.

What is the best piece of advice you have been given, and who gave it to you?
My mom has given me the best advice, which is to stay positive. Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. Measure yourself by what you should have accomplished with your ability.

Who has been the most influential person in your career?
My dad has been the most influential person to me in my career. I can always go to him with any question that I have.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
This is going to sound very boring, but I have always wanted to be a businessman. I love the concept of being an entrepreneur.

What is the most unique aspect of your business?
The most unique aspect of Honeycutt Coffee is the amount of creativity that goes into our drinks. Honeycutt Coffee’s baristas are always coming up with new drink recipes. If you ask for something different or unique they certainly will have you covered.