(Photo: Submitted)
Recent Saint John High School graduate, Max Legere, was seeking a minimum-wage job in his Grade 11 year to start saving for university. What he got himself into was a lot more than a minimum-wage job.
College Fund Coffee is a coffee stand helping Legere build his college fund while also donating to local charities.
“I honestly thought I was getting myself into a minimum-wage job as a barista somewhere,” Legere said.
“Little did I know, I’d be starting [to] manage my own business, which was definitely much better than what I had envisioned.”
Every Sunday, Legere can be found at the Queen Square Farmers’ Market behind a stand selling hot coffee, iced coffee, and tea.
Image: Submitted
Even throughout COVID-19, College Fund Coffee appeared at the farmers’ market. The lineup for their stand is now socially distant and Legere and his employees always wear masks and use lots of hand sanitizer.
“Each one of us are wearing masks at all times. Unless we’re drinking coffee, then they come down for a second,” Legere said.
Coffee is a must for 18-year-old Legere. Running a business while going through high school led to many sleepless nights.
A medium roast with coconut or almond milk usually does the trick.
“May [2019] was our first market and it coincidently lined up with my school’s exam season,” Legere said.
Legere’s college fund will be going to good use in the fall when he attends Saint Mary’s University for commerce.
With classes being online in the fall, Legere might be able to stay home and finish the farmers’ market season in Saint John. But in the case that he can’t, Legere said he won’t let the business die. Legere said he has a younger sister who could potentially take over College Fund Coffee while he’s at university.
“As soon as I come back in April or May, I’ll start back up again and just continue as normal,” he said.
College Fund Coffee donated 500 dollars to the Teen Resource Centre. (Image: Submitted)
Although College Fund Coffee started in an attempt to build a college fund, Legere also fundraises for charity with his business.
The first charity he raised money for was the Teen Resource Centre [TRC]. The TRC in Saint John provides free services and programs to youth ages 13 to 30.
College Coffee Fund donated one week’s worth of profits as well as the tip jars to the TRC, totaling $500.
“I don’t even like saying that we donated that money because really, it was the Queen Square Farmers’ Market patrons who donated that money,” Legere said.
The coffee Legere sells is from JavaMoose Coffee Roasters in Saint John. JavaMoose provided College Fund Coffee with all the equipment needed to brew, store, and dispense the coffee.
“Without that, this wouldn’t have been possible,” Legere said.
“We would have had to buy all that equipment.”
Image: Submitted
College Fund Coffee also sells branded clothing. They recently released new College Fund Coffee quarter-zip sweaters.
“Going to school and then seeing somebody around just wearing your merch … [is] a really cool experience,” he said.
Legere was able to start making profits after four weeks of business.
As a teenage entrepreneur, Legere doesn’t consider himself an expert on business ownership, but he wants to remind budding entrepreneurs that building a business takes time. He said there will be good days and bad.
“There’ll be days in the market where it’s down-pouring and you might even lose money on that day,” Legere said.
“But the next day you get back in gear, you recoup your losses and you just keep going.”
Hannah Rudderham is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
