27-year-old coffee entrepreneur Jasmine Diedrich is an effervescent personality, a big smiler and a rapid-talker as you might expect from someone who manages a miniature caffeine empire. In talking to her, I get the sense of how she can manage 15 coffee stands across a three-hour radius: seemingly boundless energy.

When I met her in downtown Everett, she wore a puffy vest and a beanie and laughingly apologies for her attire. “I have to fix an ice machine after this,” she says, describing herself as a “minor plumber.”

She’s no stranger to working on coffee stand repairs.

Throughout our conversation, she talks about her love for Snohomish County and Everett. She quotes Forbes when she says, as a small business owner, “You’re your best employee.”

Here’s how she got to where she is.

Jasmine Diedrich graduated from high school with her Associate’s Degree. She went to business school at WSU for one year before dropping out. She was homesick. It was 2011 and the Great Recession was in full swing. What was she going to do with her life?

She decided to put her college tuition toward starting a small business. She had always enjoyed making coffee.

At age 19, Diedrich decided to buy two failing coffee stands.

Like a true entrepreneur, she saw the down-tick in the economy as an opportunity.

“My plan was to grow as quickly as possible during the recession,” she said. “At the time you could buy a failing coffee stand for $15,000. Today a stand goes for $50,000-$70,000. For the first six months (of my business) I was sleeping on an air mattress on the floor,” she said.

She lived with three roommates to help make rent.

Jasmine’s plan was to invest almost everything back into her business from the beginning. During those early mattress-on-the-floor salad days she often told herself, “(Investing) will pay off much more wildly than a fantastic bedroom set will.”

She laughs now at that comment because, well, she was proven right.

Diedrich started off with the two coffee stands in 2011, bought another stand later that year, followed by two more stands the next year. She kept buying and flipping. Today she owns 15 coffee locations—13 stands, plus locations at the Everett Memorial Stadium and Angel of the Winds Arena.

Stand-flipping has been the basis of her business. She still does it today. A keen business mind is nothing without hustle to back it up. That's why, after our interview, she’s going to fix an ice machine herself.  That’s why you can still catch her opening coffee stands at 5 a.m.

“I’m not in the business to do okay,” she says.

Today Jasmine Diedrich sits on the board of the local chapter of the American Cancer Society. She’s an ambassador for the Snohomish County Economic Alliance and she’s part of the South Everett Rotary Club. She enjoys giving back through her philanthropic and nonprofit work. “I love making a connection with my community.”

She tries to set a standard of positivity for her company. “You should try to instill (a sense of) making employees want to do well for you.” She preaches respect—respect for yourself and respect for the people you hire.

Jasmine Diedrich is 27 now. In ten years she thinks that she may own 20-25 stands. She seems to be in the right place at the right time for coffee lovers, as the Greater Seattle Area continues to grow.

It’s a long way from a mattress on the floor to the top of your coffee game.

DIEDRICH ESPRESSO IN EVERETT

Deidrich Espresso 16th

1532 Broadway Avenue

Deidrich Espresso 20th

2011 Broadway Avenue

Deidrich Espresso South Everett

12807 4th Ave W

Everett Memorial Stadium (seasonal)

3802 Broadway Avenue

Angel of the Winds Arena (open with events)

2000 Hewitt Avenue

Richard Porter is a writer for Live in Everett.