Meet Jason Simpson | Coffee shop owner/operator

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

Hi Jason, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I wouldn’t consider myself a risk taker but my business coach reminded me that I wouldn’t of opened a business if I wasn’t a risk taker to some degree. I guess I have always thought of risk taking as jumping in without regard to outcome, possibly driven by some fierce passion or calling. There is something inspiring to me about that but that is not how I operate. I am someone who is rooted in stability and consistency. Before opening Camp Coffee Company I’d only worked at two job over the previous 29 years. Leaving my job, where I had build a life of stability, was extremely difficult. I went through all the pros and cons and honestly could have gone either way. I think the deciding factor was my age. I was creeping towards middle age and didn’t feel like I had taken any real significant risk. So I jumped and took the risk. I left my 20+ year career and took a couple months to build my confidence through conversations with trusted friends and colleagues. What was and is hard to shake is the fear. It’s been there the entire time. What I have come to understand is that I am a calculated risk taker. I still go through a process to try to understand outcomes but I am more likely to step forward, taking a risk, hand in hand with my fear.

What should our readers know about your business?
I am the owner/operator of Camp Coffee Company in Oceanside, CA. We’ve been open since September 2019. We are a small cafe with patio in downtown Oceanside. I have always loved coffee and camping so naming my business after two things I love was easy. We want our customers to feel the same about about their experience at Camp as I do for coffee and camping. I give so much credit to my team. The relationships they have fostered with each other and our customers has made all the difference for the business. Our vision is to make our customers feel valued and appreciated. Everyday we work to make that happen.
Except for the first 6 months we have been operating in a pandemic. The good news is that we continue to grow but it’s a lot of work. I don’t take anything for granted. Almost every day there is a new problem to tackle. Right now cost and availability of items and staffing is a huge challenge. I do my research and have back up plans for everything.
One of our mantras is “simply, well executed” – it doesn’t take much to make coffee or camp but it takes quality ingredients and equipment to do it right.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Aurelia, were-wife and Camp Coffee co-owner, has supported me since I met her over 20 years ago. She knew I would open my own cafe before I did.

Richard, mentor and business coach, supported me opening Camp Coffee from day 1. He was there when I declared I was going to open my business and connected with me almost weekly until I opened the business.

Website: Campcoffeecompany.com

Instagram: Wearecampcoffee

Facebook: Wearecampcoffee