Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Joe.
Hi Mark, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m an identical twin. I was born to drug-addicted parents from upstate NY. My biological father left my life forever when I was 2 years old. Early on, we were always poor and sometimes homeless. My brother and I were in and out of the foster care system until I was 11 when my biological mother permanently forfeited custody of us to our foster parents. We were outstanding students and talented athletes, but then, when I was 16 years old, my older brother, my hero, died from an opiate drug overdose, and I lost all motivation to do or become anything. I left my parent’s house, started smoking weed, doing drugs, and selling drugs, and eventually was arrested and went to prison for possession of drugs—rock bottom. I spent 5 1/2 years in prison in New York State for possession of drugs. I came home from prison in January 2018 at 25 years old with absolutely nothing and had to start my life over from scratch.
When I came home, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life long-term. I just knew I wanted to continue paying my debt to society by helping make the world a better place and helping others positively change their lives. I became a personal trainer and quickly started a business with barely any equipment and little more than a closet as my “personal training studio” (it was not even 200 sq ft). Still, I moved into a 3,000 sq ft space in a little over a year. I was making $12,000 – $14,000/mo doing that, but, more importantly, I was helping people change their lives. During that time, I started working with a St. Louis-based nutritional supplement company called 1stPhorm, and they ended up being the reason I moved to St. Louis. They offered me a job at their corporate headquarters here in St. Louis, even though it required me to take an enormous income pay cut. I saw it as a stepping stone and an opportunity to have a much more far-reaching impact than the one I was making in my small town. Hence, I took the job and moved to St. Louis as soon as my parole would allow me to. At 1stPhorm, I rose through the ranks of their company, becoming their number 1 salesperson and a senior sales team manager before submitting my resignation in June of 2022 to follow my dream of sharing my love for coffee and my passion for helping people with the world. That’s how Omen Coffee Co came to be. My partner Tim and I started Omen Coffee Co last month (October 2022) to do just that. OCC is a St. Louis-based coffee company with a brick-and-mortal coffee shop location coming soon to Midtown St. Louis.
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Getting the coffee shop up and running has been a challenging road. My partner and I have limited funds and experience in construction (i.e., electoral, plumbing, carpentry, flooring) or interior design. Having limited funds or little experience is okay, but having limited funds and limited experience makes it tough to pull everything together.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Omen Coffee Co aims to create a culture that inspires people to live on their terms. I spent 5 1/2 years in prison, so I know what it’s like not to have an opportunity to build a business, travel, or go outside and take a walk whenever I want. Because most people lack that perspective, they fall into the trap of just going through the motions in life rather than living their life with intent. We go to work, go home, watch TV, scroll on social media, go to bed, repeat, and that’s no way to live. That’s almost the same routine that people live in prison, and that realization hit me like a ton of bricks one day, so the message behind Omen Coffee Co is: “no, snap out of it. We all have the potential and the opportunity to do and be anything we want in life, as long as we’re willing to sacrifice and work for it. This bag of coffee or this cup of coffee in your hand is proof because if I can do it after all the bad decisions I’ve made, anybody can do it.”
What’s next?
The immediate plan is to get our coffee shop location up and running before the end of the year, and within the next three years, we want to have one of the best boutique coffee shops in the nation right here in St. Louis.
Contact Info:
- Website: omencoffeeco.com
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/markanthonyjoe/
Image Credits
Matthew Joe, Posted. Social Media Management
