Kombi for a Cause
Kombi for a Cause is about more than just great coffee: it’s a business that gives back to the community with every cup of coffee they sell.
Kombi for a Cause Melton is a newcomer to the Melton business scene, having just clocked up their third month of operation. The owners had originally planned to ease into their new business slowly, but things changed with a Facebook recommendation and continued to grow from there.
Venture Melton caught up with Alicia, co-owner of Kombi for a Cause, to learn more about what makes their business so special.
Tell us the story of Kombi for a Cause
Kombi for a Cause started with one of my footy mates Kyllie ‘Spokes’ Garrett. She was diagnosed with MS and her health was declining quickly. Her only real option for being able to live a full life with her children was to go to Russia for stem cell transplant surgery. As you can imagine, it was extremely expensive, so she needed to do lots of fundraising to make it happen. She was so grateful for everyone who donated, that when she returned home, fighting fit, she wanted to give back to the community and this is where ‘Kombi for a Cause’ was born.
My partner Stewart has always wanted to have a coffee van and I was looking for a career change. I loved her idea and have seen that she has been able to make it successful, so we approached her about considering franchising her business out to us. She was already in the process of getting a second Kombi fitted out to cater to needs, but luckily she did decide to sell her second Kombi ‘Rubes’ to us and I’m so glad that she did. She continues to run her light blue coloured Kombi in the Ballarat area and we have the red Kombi in and around Melton.
We took ownership of the Kombi on the 9th of April, 2021, and practised with the neighbours for the first week, giving away free coffees and hot chocolates while we learnt how to make the perfect cup. We had plans to just ease into this new business venture slowly. That didn’t end up happening because a recommendation on Facebook got us our first gig, which still continues to be our biggest at this stage, at the Victorian State Baseball Championships in Wyndham Vale. It was an opportunity too good to pass up.
We give 10% of profits to a different cause each month. For the most part, we would like to support local causes; helping people going through tough times through no fault of their own, just like Kyllie. However, as a booking incentive, if schools, sporting clubs, or community organisations book us for an event, they can choose to support our chosen charity of the month, or have the 10% of profits from that booking, go towards their fundraising efforts.
People are extremely generous and they love knowing that buying a coffee from us, helps support others in need. We also have a donation tin on the table to boost the fundraising for our cause of the month. I have been blown away by the amount of money people have added to this tin, where 100% of their donations go directly to the displayed cause/charity. Last month we were helping ‘Let Oscar Shine’; a five year old boy with Neuroblastoma, and collected $413.70 in the tin alone! This month we are supporting ‘Do it for Dyson’, a Melton Bloods footy player who suffered a severe injury while playing footy in May.
We aim to continue to grow and eventually work on this business together full time, if we can make it viable for the two of us to give up our day job as teachers. We hope to be in a position to work mornings (when coffee is most needed), book some regular big events, and have the opportunity to get work/life balance in order to enjoy our personal interests (bike riding, bushwalking, camping, building projects around the home, spending time with our kids).
What are some of the challenges you’ve experienced?
Driving the 1969 Kombi was the first challenge. Stewart and I were fighting over who got to drive it home from Ballarat when we picked it up. I ended up winning since I was going to be the one driving it the most while Stew still worked his full time job.
But I couldn’t manage to get it in reverse, so I ended up defeated and handing the keys over to him. I practiced driving it in the empty carpark of the old Bunnings - some people might have seen the red Kombi driving around in circles, doing laps, around and around. That was me, practicing changing the gears, getting the revs right, steering around corners, picking up some speed on the straights and getting the thing into reverse! It’s all good now and I actually really enjoy driving it.
The learning curve of running our own business has been a challenge too. It’s something that I have never done before and I have been making mistakes and learning as I go. Figuring out how much stock to order so that we don’t run out but can also use it while it’s fresh has been a challenge too but we’re getting there.
Lockdown obviously wasn’t ideal, coming just as we had started to get some bookings with schools and sporting events. However, we were thankful that, even though events were cancelled, we were still allowed to operate, so the challenge was to operate in a different way. We put a call out on Facebook, explaining that things had been cancelled and we had a lot of milk to use. We were asking people to talk to their neighbours, arrange for a minimum of 10 cups, let us plug into power and we would come to their street.
Friends shared that post, and we ended up getting booked by their friends. I am loving social media for spreading our message and growing our business. Word of mouth and recommendations on Facebook has helped secure us some more business which is fantastic.
What’s coming up next for Kombi for a Cause?
It’s just a matter of getting our business out there, speaking to the right people and securing some bookings. We are available for any event that people require coffee for. Ideally, we would like to work in Melton, but we are happy to travel to the surrounding suburbs as well.
We have put in an Expression of Interest for Council events as well as an expression of interest to have our Kombi serving coffee at the proposed Melton market that some locals are working on.
We would also like to serve teachers, parents and students at schools, during the day or at school pick up time, perhaps booking in a different school each day.
If businesses need coffee for an event or team bonding day, they can give us a call, we’re always open to new ideas and opportunities.
Moving forward, we would also like to make some more alterations to the Kombi, eventually changing from generator to battery and solar power so that we can have quiet operation and it will make it easier pulling up to places for a short period of time, without the need to plug into mains power or start up the generator.
What made you choose Melton to start your business?
I have lived in Melton my whole life. My first job was working at Coles Melton where I stayed for 19 years (while doing other jobs as well). I played football for Melton Centrals Women’s Football Club for 14 years. Since 2007, I have worked as a primary school teacher and taught seven years each at Kurunjang Primary and Toolern Vale & District Primary School, walking away from my career at the end of 2020. It was while working at Toolern Vale that I met Stewart, who is also a teacher, and we have been together for the last four years. Working together with Kombi for a Cause is something that we have been enjoying.
Anything else that you would like to share about Kombi for a Cause
I love that we have been able to involve our kids in our business. I can take them to work with us and they have been quite helpful (most of the time). They’re too young to make the drinks, but they have enjoyed taking orders and payments. It’s teaching them about the direct relationship between working and earning money and it’s giving them practise interacting with different people and helps them grow in confidence. They also hear about the stories of the people we raise money for and teaches them compassion and gratitude.
How can people get in touch with you?
You can find us on Facebook or Instagram We can’t wait to meet more of the Venture Melton network members.