Heather Ciranna learned about Crimson Cup by opening her own coffee shop.
Born and raised in Stow, Ohio, she had dreamed about bringing a coffee shop to her hometown since she was a teenager.
After a 20-year corporate career in business, marketing and public relations, she brought Corner Cup Coffeehouse to Stow in 2015.
Her goal in building a small business was to offer a place where locals could connect and learn, with and about each other and their community.
From Coffee Newbie to Coffee Pro
“Looking back on when I was opening my first shop, I knew nothing about the coffee business!” she recalls.
When she found Crimson Cup, she remembers saying to herself, “Okay, now I don’t have to worry about my bar layout, product, recipes, training, equipment, or supply chain.
“And on top of all that, the coffee is the best I’ve ever tasted, and I knew my community would love it. And they did!”
Six years later, with Corner Cup transitioning to a new location, she joined our 7 Steps team.
Having gone through the program herself from start to finish and continuing to rely on it in her own daily operations, she genuinely relates to the needs of our shop owners.
“No two days are the same as a coffeehouse owner, and having an experienced resource who is a phone call away at any hour is comforting and invaluable, especially at the beginning of an ownership journey,” she says.
“Whether it’s a product issue, equipment question, brainstorming a marketing strategy, understanding financial goals, or addressing an employee challenge, we work through it together.”
Focused on the mindset and well-being of our shop owners, Heather provides support at every stage of ownership for our 7 Steps shops nationwide.
From planning Grand Opening celebrations, to developing a reliable staff culture, to offering feedback and constructive guidance on business practices to achieve sustainable growth, she believes that combining Crimson’s proven business model and award-winning product with customized consulting support is a key to long-term success.
A Crimson Cup Ambassador
“I know first-hand the value Crimson Cup brings to the industry and our customers, and I deeply believe in our quality product, core values, and the industry expertise we offer,” she says.
“We provide a roadmap for how to be successful in the coffee business. It’s a proven, repeatable, common-sense model that eliminates the guesswork for a new owner, while still allowing them to create their own vision and coffee community.”
Heather is passionate about sharing the Crimson Cup core values and the key principles of entrepreneurship in her own community, where she serves as a mentor and frequent guest speaker to inspire our youth to explore their dreams of business ownership.
Her personal motto is to be a key dropper who offers opportunity to others, as illustrated in this quote from the Persian Poet Hafiz:
“The small man builds cages for everyone he knows. While the sage, who has to duck her head when the moon is low, keeps dropping keys all night long for the beautiful rowdy prisoners.”
