Meet Justin McLaughlin | Founder & Head Roaster

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

Hi Justin, how do you think about risk?
I used to be very risk averse, I was too afraid of failing or making mistakes. As I grew older, I realized that taking “calculated risks” is necessary for me to go to where the depths of my soul challenge me to be.

Taking risks has allowed me to have less dependence on me and my ability to do things, and more dependence on my faith and others to help me get to where I would like to be. Taking risks has given me opportunities in entrepreneurship that “playing it safe” would not have.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I still work an 8-5 while running Xenia Roastery.

My professional career has spanned numerous job classifications and job types. I am most proud of that fact that despite the fact that I have had to learn several skillsets throughout my professional career, I have never let an organization that I have worked for down due to incompetence. When I taught 5th and 6th graders, we used to tell students that they should be life long learners. I not only preached that philosophy, I am practicing it.

I truly have to say that the biggest impetus behind how I got to where I am professionally is faith/divine intervention. On my own merit, I got to where I am today professionally by being attentive to details, listening, and by working extremely hard and going the extra mile for the organizations and folks that I work(ed) for.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is such a loaded question for the DFW metro, so many options!

I love what Dallas has to offer from a culture and vibe perspective. I would definitely take them to Fair Park; since it is State Fair season, we would go to the fair for sure. We would have to stop by Deep Ellum and Lower Greenville for some laid back night life action. We would go by the Bishop Arts District, the West End, and Trinity Groves as well. I am not sure of the name of it, in Dallas there is a park that has the big letters- we would go by there too.

In Arlington, we would go to Cowboy’s Stadium for a tour as well as Globe Life Park. In Fort Worth we stop by the Stockyards and venture to Near Southside.

There are a lot of unique people and places to check out in the DFW metroplex, my hope would be to visit enough of them to leave a positive impression.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a special shoutout to an individual and an organization.

The individual’s name is Mr. Tony Murdough. Tony deserves a huge shoutout because he has been totally supportive of my vision for Xenia before I even had a name for the company. He was the first person to invest in Xenia, purely off of faith and a willingness to see me succeed. He continues to pour into me and the company; Xenia would not be where it is today without him.

The organization is Tarrant County College’s Small Business Development Center. Tarrant County SBDC has been an integral partner of Xenia before the company’s inception. The staff has helped me from business planning, to continued training on how to be successful as an entrepreneur. As a part of the Tarrant County College Everyday Entrepreneur Venture Fund, Xenia received critical grant funds to help us keep afloat as a startup. Specially, I would like to shout out Ms. Kem Grant, Ms. Lourdes Ramboa, and Mr. Rodney Johnson for their support and encouragement.

Website: www.xeniaroastery.com

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Image Credits
Hyper Visuals, LLC