Claudia Shivers shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Claudia, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What battle are you avoiding?
I have learned that we all only fight one battle and sometimes for the majority of our lives. I have, for many years, been avoiding the battle inside of me. I have been naturally shy and introverted since a child, but I always knew that there was something great I was meant to do that included many people. If I fight the battle to be the better me, the greater me, the me that champions for community and inclusion, what would my parents think? Now, at this point, only my dad is living and I don’t think he pays close attention. So, really the battle is to preserve a place in my life for my mom, the mom I remember though. I remember my mom wearing a bandana type scarf on her head because she had lost her “edges”. She wore jeans or pants and simple t-shirts, and she would walk us to the movies, to the civic center, to the public library. Her and my dad were married, but we only had one car and he drove that to work. She didn’t work much because she was home with us. She was happy with us, her kids, her husband, her family. She used to say, “I love my kids” so much that I used to think it was embarrassing. Then, IT happened. Her mom died and my dad left. My mom without her mom and my dad was a lost soul. That mom never returned. There was an amazing woman who emerged, but she always felt that I was trying to leave her behind. One of her favorite movies was “Imitation of Life”, a movie about a Black woman who has a daughter that she loves in a life consuming way. As the daughter becomes successful she denies her relationship with her mom because she did not want anyone to know her true roots. The mom dies and the daughter is overcome with guilt. As I write this, I realize that I have always thought that my success would deny the existence of my relationship with my mom. I have been avoiding the battle within myself that takes me to a level of success that gives me the power to lift up communities of people with me, because I wanted to hold on to the mom I remember and not the woman who died of an accidental overdose. Today, I see that I owe myself an apology and my mom my unconditional love.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Claudia Shivers, and I am the founder of Queen Coffee Bean, a specialty and gourmet coffee roasting company based in High Point, NC. The brand of Queen Coffee Bean was built from the flames and ashes of my former life as a tax professional. In 2018 I was indicted on several income tax charges which meant I had to immediately close any office I had. I had been building those offices since 1994. It was a body blow to my life as an entrepreneur and a staggering setback for me as the sole caregiver of 5 children. At my daughter’s suggestion, I got a job as a barista at a major coffee chain. I worked there until I found gratitude, and a new way to experience the beauty that is life. That was the beginning of the me I am today and the royal business of coffee.
After I began purchasing raw coffee beans and coffee equipment and products, my sister joked about my new found obsession. She laughed and said that it was like I was trying to be the Queen of Coffee. Being as timely as she was funny, she caused my mind to make a connection between coffee, a rebirth, and a way to honor my grandmother, Queen Esther, who had just passed away. Enter Queen Coffee Bean.
Queen Coffee Bean, the brand, is a way for me to teach skills to people who would benefit from learning new skills to build or rebuild their lives. I teach coffee roasting, craft beverage making, barista skills, customer service, and even coffee logistics to communities who need it. I show local governments and politicians how having safe “third spaces” benefits their constituents. We build community. We teach and train. We provide top quality delicious beverages. We are building a lifestyle, luxury coffee brand that remembers our responsibility to our communities.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
I’ll tell you what. I met a man about 24 years ago. He was handsome and he looked at me like I was delicious. I did what any woman would in my position. I ignored him. I wrote in my mental notebook, “He’s GOT to be trouble.”. Fast forward to 20 years later, I was in a warehouse where the second iteration of Queen Coffee Bean was being housed. I had on an ankle monitor because I was on the end of a 21 month prison sentence. I was laying flooring, roasting coffee beans with a $130 popcorn popper from Amazon, and sweating profusely. I must have smelled like a bag of garlic and onions. I looked up from whatever I was doing and across the room was standing that cup of refreshing water that I had met 20 years earlier. Somebody was talking to him, but he was looking at me, like I was delicious. We started spending time together and my sister asked him, “What do you think of my sister?”. He responded as if he was anticipating the query and immediately said, “Your sister is an angel.”.
Before that day, I thought of myself as the failed, fallen tax professional with a criminal record starting a second chance business out of desperation. That day, and every day after, I know that I am an angel because LaRon said so. He is now the Yin to my very Yang. He is my muse as I write all that satisfies me about writing. He is my patient, calm, loving, wise muse, and me, I am the angel who quenches his thirst and satisfies his palate.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
In suffering I have learned that God ALWAYS keeps His promises. At 15 years old my parents divorced and my siblings and I were left homeless. I never spent a night outside, but I did become pregnant at 16. I had Mikela at 17 and my life had new purpose. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 39, A week and a half before my 40th birthday I had a set of brand new breasts. I lost my tax business in 2018 and in 2021 I was on a nationally broadcasted television show on ABC. I now have a new life. God says that you will travel through the valley of the shadow of death, but remember that He is your shepard. You shall not want. He will always restore your soul. It is hard to learn or remember this in success because we often credit ourselves with our successes. I never used to take the time to reflect and reset during periods of success, oh but in times of suffering there is a mandatory sitting that occurs and only humility allows us to move. Suffering gives time for us to destroy the ego which should never be carried with us in the valleys, or paths of righteousness for His namesake.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
A decade ago, my answer would have been somebody like Malcolm X, or Thurgood Marshall. They were men who stood firm on their beliefs and put the well-being of others before their own needs. From what is written in the American history books, it looks like men like this knew very little in the way of pleasure. Since they were goals for me, I often denied myself fun and did only purposeful things. I wandered through life imagining myself a martyr, and never honestly experiencing pleasure because I was only concerned about the happiness of someone else.
Today my answer is different. LaRon, my life partner, my boyfriend, my boo thang and my center, is who I admire now. He is honest because he has learned that it is always best no matter how difficult the situation is. He is caring because he wants to be cared for. Most importantly, he loves unconditionally starting with him. He loves himself at all times and so he is an example of how you can do that for yourself. He is unwavering and never considers abandoning the people he cares about. I have learned what unconditional love looks like from him. I wrote about it in a piece called “Dope” on my website, claudiashivers.com.
Growing up I saw so many examples of how it was ok to leave a person, relationship, or a situation if the people involved didn’t meet your expectations. I saw parents abandon children. I saw spouses leave. I saw friends “cut each other off”, so I thought it was acceptable. I actually thought the course of a relationship was to assess a person, tell them how they let you down, and then punish them with your absence. Only as I sat in silence on that twin metal bunk bed located at 13 Lower, in Alderson West Virginia, did I realize that my life was missing the unconditional love that I needed to give myself. As they say, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. After 4 decades of living, and 20 years of evading, my eyes were able to see my teacher.
I often write him letters. They go something like, “Dear Lover, I have gratitude for the opportunity to learn to love you better everyday.” Or sometimes, “Dear Handsome, you are my muse and I write your name in the clouds when I daydream.”
I love and admire the character of a man who lives love, cares nothing about power unless it is the power of the tongue, and treasures people.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope that people tell stories when I am no longer here. It is my intention to live as if I am the main character in my own, living story, and a very interesting recurring character in anybody else’s lives. I hope people laugh so hard remembering the stories that they develop a set of six pack abs and almost lose their lunch. I hope people say, “Well, she DID that.”, and I want them to mean any and everything. I don’t need to go bungee jumping, but if I’m asked and I am already there, I hope I have the peace of mind to jump. I hope they say that I was a stunning, but subtle beauty and smarter than most people they know. I hope I would have been memorable enough to be spoken of. I hope my absence is noticed and my presence was cherished. I hope my grandchildren tell their parents that they have to do certain things certain ways, because that’s how Gigi told them to do it.
Contact Info:
- Website: queencoffeebean.com claudiashivers.com
- Instagram: @queencoffeebean
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taxesbyclaudia
Image Credits
Photos courtesy of Lincoln Griffith and Claudia Shivers
