Building a Business by Building Community with Tamika Catchings

Running a tea house is one of the last things you’d picture for a WNBA star and four-time Olympic gold medalist. In fact, it’s not even what Tamika Catchings saw herself doing.

But in 2017, Tamika bought Tea’s Me Cafe in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has since expanded to a second location — even while navigating the business challenges that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Tamika, bringing people together is foundational. “I didn't get into it to get rich. I got into it because of the community and ... to bring people together and build this,” she says on the premiere episode of Be a Marketer, a podcast designed to help Constant Contact customers make progress at any stage of their marketing journey.

What has worked for Tea’s Me Cafe so far? On the debut episode of Constant Contact’s new podcast, Be a Marketer, Tamika and host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, unpack the tea house’s marketing opportunities and challenges. Tune in to hear how Tea’s Me uses social media to engage its community, what’s working for email list building, and how the tea house launched an ambassador program to complement these efforts.
👉 Check out the full recording of the event mentioned in this episode.

Meet the Guest: Tamika Catchings

☕ What she does: Tamika is a WNBA Hall of Famer, four-time Olympic gold medalist, speaker, community leader, and the owner of Tea’s Me Cafe in Indianapolis, Indiana. She purchased the business in 2017 and expanded to a second location. She has been a Constant Contact customer since April 2022.

💡 Key quote: “You can’t be me, and I don’t want you to be me, but I want you to be the best that you can be. Because when you operate at your best, no matter where you go in the world, whatever happens next, you will be better, and you will continue to operate at your best. That’s the only thing that I want.”

👋 Where to find her: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn

👋 Where to find Tea’s Me Cafe: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

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