Candy Palmer-Steele	The Week of October 2nd, 2005

Javette

1. What’s in your wallet right now?

A picture of my niece, a love note from my husband, $22.53, 2 credit cards, my Sam’s Club card, AAA card, my healthcare card, receipts, and my driver’s license.

2. What do you wish your parents taught you about money?

That two people need not fight over finances…calm discussions and planning works well.

3. What is your worst habit around finances?

Not watching my long-term investments close enough…such as my stocks and my retirement fund.

4. What makes you happy?

Spending my vacation at the beach with my husband, my sister and her family, and my best friend and her family…all 10 of us together—happy and laughing! This is the absolute best!

5. Personal philosophy around money?

I am frugal with my money, so I don’t spend it well. I give a lot of thought to my purchases and oftentimes talk myself out of life’s “non-essentials.”

6. Where does money come from?

Hard work, planning, education, the lucky sperm club…to which I do not belong!

7. What would you do with a million dollars?

Save half of it, take Javette to the next level, and go to the beach.

8. What is your most prized possession?

My husband, Mark.

9. Who is your role model?

I have lots of them. Oprah Winfrey for her ability to envision the impossible and to reach out to others with her success, Andrew Carnegie for his business model that eventually led to massive philanthropy, Napoleon Hill for his power of positive thinking, Tony Robbins for his plan to success, Dr. John Puskas for his spirit of innovation when others doubted, and Phil Miller, physician’s assistant, for his vision and daily example of what a full life can be when you add love to every aspect of it.

10. What is your greatest achievement?

Being a good wife, sister, aunt, and friend.

11. How did Javette come about?

Five years ago my 17-year-old goddaughter was preparing to go to camp in the mountains. Being in such a remote location, Stephanie lamented that she would not be able to get her favorite drink...a good cup of gourmet coffee. In the past, when Stephanie would go to camp, I would send her care packages of her favorite things. That year, I decided to try and grant Stephanie's wish for a good cup of coffee. I bought Arabica coffee beans, brewed them with a minimal amount of water, and, after an entire day over a coffee pot, collected 16 oz of a concentrated coffee product. I slapped a sticker on a bottle with the following directions: Mix 1 tablespoon of this brew with 6-8 ounces of hot water for a delicious cup of coffee. I crossed my fingers and mailed the concoction, hoping for the best. Stephanie and her friends loved it!!

I was elated, but thought it would be a better product if it were in a single-serving, lightweight, pressure resistant packet that you could take anywhere, and could drink at anytime. In addition, I wanted the concentrate to be strong enough that either a strong or mild cup of coffee could be made, depending on how much concentrate you added to the cup of hot water. After much research and hard work, there’s Javette!

12. What contributions to society do you want to make?

Be a mentor to other women who want to build their own business.

13. If you could buy one thing right now what would it be?

A swimming pool in my back yard. Atlanta gets hot in the summer!

14. Favorite activity that doesn’t cost a dime?

Gardening. I love working in the yard and getting dirty and sweaty!

15. How do you indulge yourself?

With my greatest weakness, Fried Chicken, the ultimate sin!

Candy Palmer-Steele is the founder and owner of Atlanta-based Javette, the world’s only single-serving gourmet coffee concentrate. She also works at Emory Healthcare's Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta as a perfusionist, a member of the cardiac surgery team responsible for keeping the artificial heart and lung machines running. Candy is an avid athlete who relishes challenge: she overcame her fear of flying by earning a private pilot’s license. Go, Candy!

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