Brewing Success: Lucretia Marsh’s Entrepreneurial Journey

The smell of freshly brewed coffee awakened Lucretia Marsh each morning when she was a child. Her hard-working mother, a devoted coffee enthusiast, brewed a fresh cup every day. By age seven, Marsh shared her mother’s love for coffee. Tempted by the lingering smell of roasted beans, she would sneak downstairs to finish the coffee left at the bottom of her mother’s cup. In 2017, Marsh’s mother passed away unexpectedly. As she struggled to process her grief, Marsh found comfort in each cup of coffee she drank.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Marsh was confined to her home. Bedridden with coronavirus, she began to have intense visions of her mother, coffee and God. The illness robbed her of her sense of smell, but even her then-limited ability to fully enjoy coffee reminded her strongly of her mother. Despite her inability to smell, she swore she could practically taste the coffee being brewed by family members.

As her visions continued, Marsh began to wonder whether her fixation carried a deeper meaning. After working as a nurse for nearly 30 years, she realized she had been called to follow a new path: entrepreneurship. She grew in certainty that love for coffee—deepened through the emotional connection the drink afforded to her mother—was God's vehicle to deliver a vision of her future. Still weak from illness, Marsh pushed herself to write down memories from her dreams. What she was able to recover from them and record provided spiritual direction to launch a coffee business.

Marsh was eager to begin developing her venture after her recovery, but the early stages left her feeling uncertain and overwhelmed.

“I knew I liked coffee and I drank it, but I didn’t know how to make it. As a child, my parents worked blue-collar jobs, and I didn’t see entrepreneurs around me; I had a vision about something I had no experience with.”

Marsh eventually sought guidance from local entrepreneurs and connected with the owner of a coffee business in South Bend: Karen Haun, former owner of Bendix Coffee. With the help of her new mentor, Marsh learned how to roast and grind coffee beans. In 2021, she launched her business, Coffee and Me, and began selling ground coffee and K-Cups. Catering community events drove increased demand for her products, prompting Marsh to educate herself on the business side of coffee production. In 2024, she enrolled in the South Bend Entrepreneurship and Adversity Program (SBEAP), an 11-month boot camp that educates disadvantaged entrepreneurs on venture development. Because she was unprepared for the challenges posed by rapid expansion, she came to the SBEAP program for assistance with marketing and finance.

“I looked forward to sitting down and listening to Dr. Morris every Saturday. Although we received business development printouts before class, the atmosphere of the lectures and networking opportunities with eager business owners was a great experience for me. The program’s official handbook, 80 Steps to Sustainable Success, is also amazing. It’s helped me focus on what I actually need for my business in a certain moment, and it’s taught me how to navigate the necessary steps for venture development. It lit a fire under my feet and helped me realize what I could do and who I could be.”

Marsh continues to utilize SBEAP’s resources by visiting SBEAP’s Collaboration Hub. The Hub, located in downtown South Bend, supports SBEAP’s alumni by providing tailored business assistance, ensuring every entrepreneur has the resources, guidance and support needed to thrive.

“Even now, I regularly visit the Hub to continue improving my business. The student consultants are still helping me plan marketing campaigns, manage my finances, and more.”

By the end of 2026, Marsh will have completed her fifth year leading Coffee and Me. Although she continues to face chain-based competition from corporations like Starbucks, she hopes to eventually become South Bend’s go-to coffee giant.

“Coffee and Me has expanded to other areas, but I’d still love to stay in my community. It’s important to keep my roots and appreciation for small communities at my business’s core. The neighborhood is where the love is.”