Exploring Life & Business with Fanya Randall of Now Coffee

Today we’d like to introduce you to Fanya Randall.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Life can be so random and explosive even after you try your best to steer it in the direction that you think it should go. There are always key events that happen in life where you really get a good look at yourself and learn if you have all the qualities that you think you have. Mothers have a remarkable instinct when it comes to their children and by the age of two, I had some serious concerns on the development of my son. My gut instinct knew David had Autism but hearing it out loud from a well-known pediatric neurologist just made it REAL. “Your son has moderate Autism” the neurologist said. I was instantly devastated. I was fighting back tears so David wouldn’t question what was wrong. The doctor left the room and I looked at David and within a glimpse, I saw the life I had envisioned for him flash before me and then vanished. I smiled and grabbed his cute, small, doughy hand and opened the door. David pushed the button to the elevator and the door opened up and this older man looked at me as he is walking past and said, “You’re a great Mom. You are doing a good job.” I don’t know who he was but that is exactly what I needed to hear at that moment.

Fast forward a few years later, David and Dina went to a Montessori school and one night, my son frantically woke up saying, “head hurt, head hurt.” I turned to Dina to see if she could explain what happened to David. She told me that an older kid pushed him down then kicked David in the head and called him weird. This was a pivotal moment for me and where my life took a hard right turn.

I gave my company two weeks notice and then started a new mission in life. Thus NOW COFFEE was born. I realized that I couldn’t protect David from everyone and so the best way I could help David directly and indirectly was through education. I decided to write a children’s book “Elephant Ears” to help illustrate to young children what leadership and self-advocating looks like if they are being bullied or someone they know is. My hope is that by educating our children about mental health awareness and anti-bullying (learning what to do, the long-term effects of bullying, etc.) we will raise more empathetic and kind leaders. I believe these subjects are equally if not more important than math or English class. Bullying and suicide rates among teens is staggering especially with those with special needs and it needs to be taken more seriously. This is how I came up with my company’s name, NOW COFFEE, to let people know the urgency of the situation. 50% of my profits goes to charities who have this curriculum and advocate for it to be in schools year round.

I launched my coffee website and was voted top 3 of favorite coffee in Austin, TX! The latest with my company is the launch of my coffee truck (just two weeks ago) so far I have been fortunate with all of the support from friends, family and our community. It literally has been a labor of love in starting this company but I am truly thankful for this experience because David is the one that taught me more on who I am and need to be for him and Dina. I can’t protect my children from everything but I hope we can change the landscape in which we live.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been an uphill climb but with that some moments of clarity on trying to find peace with where I’m at in helping David. I am a fixer and I struggled emotionally because I felt hopeless many times. Three steps forward and then 13 steps back. David has worked so hard over the years and has improved dramatically in regards to coordination, speech, etc…I am still a work in progress on being patient and kind to myself knowing that I’m doing everything I can to help David.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Now Coffee?
My coffee company website is nowcoffee.com and I sell freshly roasted organic and fair trade coffee here in Austin, TX. To avoid huge inventory costs, I roast several times a week as we get orders and consumers get the freshest coffee possible so it’s a win-win. The best part about my company is that we donate 50% of profits to mental health awareness and anti-bullying curriculum in schools year round. And now you can get a latte at our new NOW COFFEE truck!

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
A LOT! The main thing I’ve learned is that I will always be learning and to be open to that and open to constant change. Change can be difficult since I try to control outcomes by preparing but life can give you a curve ball and as much as I thought I was ok with change I’m really not! So I’m still trying to learn to be more flexible with change and allowing myself more grace during challenging times.

Pricing:

• 15.95 blends
• 16.95 single origin

Contact Info:

• Email: hello@nowcoffee.com
• Website: nowcoffee.com
• Instagram: #nowcoffeeaustin
• Facebook: @nowcoffeeaustin

Image Credits:
Diana Lott and Ryan Goodrich