Celebrating Women's History Month with Elevated Style

Here at KC Black Owned, we are celebrating stories of women business owners in honor of Women’s History Month. 

Women small business owners have come a long way in the past few decades. Despite barriers women face, like access to capital, family care, and inequitable tax codes, women entrepreneurs continue to persist. Through creative and innovative ways, women like Tamara MCConnell, mixologist and owner of Breathe Beverages, break down barriers to success and take on entrepreneurship with elevated style.

Creating Unique and Memorable Moments 

Breathe Beverages is a mobile bar that offers cocktails, crafted beverages, and mocktails for events or in-home gatherings. Their mission is to bring people together with a unique experience through flavor, culture, and the art and history of cocktail creation. They offer elevated services like Flights with Friends, a drink and learn experience shared with up to 6 others, and Class in a Glass where Breathe Beverages challenges customers to explore the senses with intention through crafting cocktails. 

Facing Challenges with Creativity

Tamara is among our nation’s group of women business owners that employ more than 10 million people and contribute massively to US revenue–somewhere to the tune of 1.3 trillion dollars. But COVID-19 brought a host of new challenges for Tamara and Breathe Beverages: “Finding new ways to stay in front of my customers during the pandemic was challenging being that most of our services are on site,” Tamara shares with us.

But Tamara and her team of 4 employees rose to the challenge. “We pivoted to virtual classes and contactless cocktail delivery,” she writes. Using tamper-safe pouches, Breathe Beverages was able to offer customers a new way to enjoy bartender-crafted cocktail recipes in the comfort and safety of their own homes. 

Throughout the pandemic, Tamara continued to get creative. She represented Kansas City as a bartender for Power of the Palate, a national cocktail competition. Inspired by Kansas City’s rich history of jazz and our love of barbeque, Tamara invented the Smokey Jazz for the competition. This signature cocktail is handcrafted using MCConnell’s own recipe for smokey pineapple syrup and is inspired by flavors of grilled pineapple, classic barbeque rub, and whiskey. 

Women’s History Month and Entrepreneurship

When asked to reflect on Women’s History Month and the impact women have had on the business world, Tamara shares that Women’s History Month is her opportunity to honor the foundation built by women who came before her. Women in business are often overlooked but through the sacrifices of many, Tamara and other women business owners are able to overcome barriers and reach their entrepreneurial goals. 

Two women, in particular, stand out Tamara. A business owner at 17, cutting hair in the basement of her childhood home, MCConnell’s stylist has been a business owner for over 20 years and “is a constant reminder of it’s not how you start but how you finish.”  Her mother is a source of inspiration to her, too. “My mother is my mentor…when I get lost in business she provides the reassurance and knowledge I need to make it past the bumps and bruises.”

Perfecting a Niche

Breathe Beverages offers clients an exclusive experience with a personal touch. When asked to offer advice to those who aspire to reach goals that Tamara and Breathe Beverages have already achieved, Tamara wisely shares a piece of entrepreneurial wisdom: “Everyone is not your customer, find your niche and perfect it for those who are.” We here at KC Black Owned are impressed by how Tamara and Breathe Beverages has done just that: perfected an experience that offers clients a creative and elevated bartending service.