Meet Janice Steffen | Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Janice Steffen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Janice, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My husband lost his job in September of 2013 due to cut backs at NASA and he is legally blind and I needed to find a way to replace his salary. So after noticing he had lost 10k from his 401k I mentioned to him about an idea I had. We paid cash for a 2013 brand new Nissan high top van and converted it into a Gourmet coffee truck .

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart from others is my uniqueness and my creativity. I don’t want to be like other food trucks. When I was younger back in the late 70’s and 80’s I use to oil paint that was my love my passion it was a hobby that grew to making money and as a 17 -18 year old I didnt enjoy it to much because my hobby had become work so I stopped. When I created Bluehousecoffeeonthego I took my creativity and my artist in me and decided to look at a empty cup as my new canvas and created new exciting unique drinks my real art comes out in our very unique Speciality frappes. When I created something new I try very hard to keep it as sugar free as possible and under 300 calories and sometimes thats a challenge but most times it all works out my changing a flavor or the type of milk we use. The lessons I have learned in this business is to be honest and take care of your clients treat them as you want to be treated .Everyone wants to be treated as if they are your best friend so when i have a new client I get to know them I will ask them a few questions about if they are diabetic,or do they have any issues with certain milks and the type of milk they desire before we create their drink. They work hard for their money and they are coming to my business to spend it so I want them to be happy and satisfied with their choice. I always ask them to please try their drink before walking away because if they dont like it I can fix it or make them something different i dont want them to walk away unhappy, thats not good customer service. I want the world to know that Bluehousecoffeeonthego is a woman owned business that we strife for greatness its always quality over quantiy im a hard worker and want my clients to come back and have a great experience with us. I love people and I am a talker, so I try to make their time with us fun and friendly and once you are a client your part of Bluehousecoffeeonthego family.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would say most probably find those unique food trucks and go show my support to them. By taking my friends or family too. Their are some amazing exciting types of creativity out their that are different in food trucks its so interesting to see others creative minds put to work how they took their passion and created some amazing foods. That are so different and that they show by the way their foods taste and look.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to recognize my sweet departed mom. She was my biggest cheerleader, she would tell everyone about my business that I created. She would pass out business cards and tell anyone that she came in contact ” HI have you heard about Bluehousecoffeeonthego my daughter owns it and her drinks are incredible give her a call”. She was so very proud that I created a business that didnt exist, that I thought of something to be creative and to bring back old fashion customer service. I lost my mom February 7 ,2018 she was my hero. In her honor I created a drink for her. She loved caramel,chocolate,pecans and I took her loves and created The Kentucky Truffle Frappe. It’s named that because she was born in Kentucky and moved to Texas at 11 with her family. My dad was my other hero, he taught me how to be a hard worker, he was the hardest working man that I’ve ever seen but he loved his job he was a bread man for most of my life. He taught me money doesnt grow on trees and if you want something bad enough you have to work hard and fight hard to have what you want. And i did just that by creating my business and fighting for all my city permits . My dad passed away October 24,2019 and I honored his memory with a frappe with all his loves that he loved in sweets.His frappe is called ” Kentucky sweetheart”. He was married to my mom for 64 years. They both were very proud of my accomplishments the hard work I put into creating my business at the age of 52 and the determination that I had to make it work and here we are about to celebrate 6 years in business August 27.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Bluehousecoffeeonthego

Image Credits
By janice steffen