Brunch has taken over the world. It’s the preferred past time of Millennials, Gen Y’ers and even most Gen X’ers alike on our lovely coveted Saturday & Sunday’s. What better way to chat it up with your favorite people than over bellini’s and yummy food! Mmm…we could go for a little Brioche French Toast right about now! Brunching is a lifestyle. It’s that serious folks and it’s largely in part to the beauty & brains behind the popular food and lifestyle blog, Bitches Who Brunch. We’re referring to none other than Co-Founder, Cori Sue Morris who recently took the time to answer a few questions for us about her triumphs, challenges, and her opinion of the best brunch spot in DC. We really dig Cori Sue. She’s a fashionable go-getter that never sleeps, continues to transcend barriers and knows good food. Just our type of #girlboss. Enter Cori Sue…
Q. BWB just celebrated 5 years, what has been the best part of building a lifestyle blog/brand? And what’s been the most challenging part?
The best part about Bitches Who Brunch is its evolution from a passion project to a business. We started this on accident when I was 23, and I’ve learned how to run and grow a business, how to monetize a website, how to hire, how to expand to different cities. I’ve learned about sales, management, operations, accounting, trademarking, you name it.
The most valuable part is working with my business partner, Becca, and hiring, retaining, and empowering a staff of 15 young women to be a part of and take ownership in the brand—it’s incredible. We just had a team retreat with all 15 girls in Washington, D.C., and each of these women is just so impressive in her own way. They’re awesome.
Media is a tough industry—getting people to understand the value of your brand and audience is frustrating. But, generally, owning a small business is tough—all of the expenses, and we don’t even have a brick-and-mortar! That’s why I have such respect for the small businesses we work with—like Heirloom, Glen’s Garden Market, Lavagna, JRINK. Small businesses are changing the makeup of our city, and our country, and it’s not easy. Kudos
Q. What’s a typical day in the life of Cori Sue? Any tips for how to juggle it all?
I’m lucky that there isn’t a typical day—I work remotely out of a coffee shop, Compass Coffee, and I work seven days a week, so I’m fortunate that I’m able to self-manage. I’ll have a meeting day, where I take 30-minute meetings back-to-back for hours straight, then a day of emails, a day of writing, and a day of fun meetings, like cocktail and lunch meetings.
Generally, I rise later than most (8 or 9 a.m.), and I work straight for about 10-12 hours. I’ll fit in a quick run or a workout around 2 or 3 p.m. if I’m lucky. If I have events to attend for Bitches who Brunch, I’ll have to break early around 6 p.m. But, generally, I’ll work until 8 p.m. and grab dinner with a girl friend or my boyfriend on 14th Street.
I’ve also been traveling quite a bit—so the routine will be the same, except in a hotel lobby rather than a coffee shop! I love a good change of scenery.
How to juggle? Stay healthy: sleep 8 hours, eat healthy, drink coffee, then drink wine if you’re about to spazz out. Use productivity apps: I use Things, Evernote, Google Calendar to keep track of things. I fit in short workouts of 20-50 minutes where I can.
Focus on what matters: I cut out a lot of extraneous things and people. I just didn’t have a choice. For instance, I’m terrible about answering Facebook message or texts from acquaintances—I just don’t respond. I don’t answer the phone if I don’t know the number. I need to get my work done, be a good leader for the staff of Bitches Who Brunch (there are 15 of us), and be supportive to my parents, boyfriend, and closest few friends. And, I want to be present—not on my phone—when I see the people that matter to me. You have to prioritize what is truly the most important to you—and surround yourself with people who understand and support you.
Q. When you were younger did you ever imagine you would be where you are now?
When I was young and silly, I always envisioned that I would be a fashionable writer who lived in a big city—I always fancied myself a Carrie Bradshaw, if you will. My current life is not dissimilar—I live in a small apartment that’s filled with shoes in the middle of the city and I spend a lot of time on my Macbook! In reality, it’s never as glamorous as you think it will be—but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Q. You have such an entrepreneurial drive, what do you think it takes to be a self-starter?
I think it takes self-confidence—I’m grateful to my parents for raising me to be self assured and independent. As an entrepreneur or creative, you have to be sure of yourself, your ideas, your business, and your ability to succeed—even when you’re not really sure at all, if that makes sense.
Generally, I find that the most successful people are those whose skillsets marry creative ability (big ideas!) with the ability to execute, and to manage themselves well. I’m always working on self management.
Q. Who is your role model and what have you learned from them?
I don’t have just one mentor or role model, per say. But I draw inspiration, guidance, and support from a few important people and books.
- My Dad taught me about business, encouraged me to take risks, and showed me that good guys don’t finish last—even if they have a few pitfalls along the way.
- My business partner, Becca, taught me a ton about content marketing, which has been instrumental to our business’ growth. She’s also helped me become a bit more sensitive, which is helpful when you’re managing women.
- Harrison and Michael of Compass Coffee, teach me about business, self control, and methods to accomplish nearly any task—they’ve also taught me a lot about coffee, but that was just extra.
- I turn to my favorite books, The Fountainhead and The Obstacle is the Way, when I feel frustrated or struggle to surmount a challenge.
Q. How do you think each city (DC, NYC, Chicago) differs in their brunch cultures/selections?
It’s funny, each city really does have its own brunch personality. DC is all about the food, and tends to be more laid back. New York is obviously more posh—and there are so many more party brunches. I wish we had more party brunches in Washington! Chicago loves its sports bars and hearty food—it’s a true Midwestern city. There’s a lot more beer and football at brunch in Chicago, that’s for sure.
Q. If you had to pick, what is your go-to brunch spot in DC and what makes it great?
Two of the best brunch spots are more upscale: Fiola Mare and Blue Duck Tavern. They both do a spectacular brunch.
I also tend to prefer more masculine bars—with lots of wood, leather, and whiskey—that serve a hearty brunch: Barrel, Bar Charley, DC Harvest, Beuchert’s Saloon.
Q. Sweet or Savory? (Waffles or Eggs? Bloody Marys or Mimosas?)
I used to have such a sweet tooth! My love of brunch began with a pancake joint on the beach that served these enormous banana chocolate chip ‘cakes. I loved carbs in the morning—croissants, pancakes, French toast, monkey bread, you name it. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun to prefer savory dishes, heavy on the protein. I usually order steak and eggs—and then end up having steak frites for dinner. I love a good steak.
Mimosas, always mimosas. When I sit down at brunch, I always order a water, black coffee, and a mimosa —give me all three, ASAP.
I’ve been called on to judge Bloody Mary competitions—those are always a challenge. All that tomato juice! But, if that’s my biggest problem, I suppose I have it pretty good these days.
Q. What about Bitches Who Brunch do you think keeps your followers loyal?
Well, it’s a fun brand—you gotta love brunch, fashion, parties, and great food if you’re a reader! But, from the beginning, we strove to provide a service: brunch reviews, travel guidance, fashion help—versus an all-about-me blog. We were both journalists, so we applied our editorial experience to create a consistency and quality editorial experience, plus ensured each post provided a service to our readers.
We take the feedback from our readers seriously—we read each email, each tweet, each comment, and see how we can improve. It’s definitely been fun, and it’s a business, but it’s still very much about the readers to us.
Lastly, being in media, you always have to adapt—if our audience is on snapchat (which they are), we’ve got to go there. (Follow us @bitcheswhbrunch) If they’d prefer short-form, hyper local culture content, we’ll do that, too. That’s the fun part of working in media.
Q. Congrats on the new website launch! What’s in store for the future of Bitches who Brunch?
Thank you! Redesigns are always a big lift. Over the next few months, we’re relaunching our online shop, with more Bitchy goods, like champagne flutes, coffee mugs, and Bitch-branded quippy tees our fans of the brand will love. We’re also creating a more robust e-newsletter strategy, with more brunch tips straight to your inbox. And, most importantly, we’re expanding to a few more cities.
We were thrilled to learn more about Cori Sue and all the new exciting things down the road for Bitches Who Brunch.
