Claudia Shivers
Claudia Shivers is the founder and owner of Queen Coffee Bean, where she leads the creation of exceptional coffee experiences through roasting, blending, and designing coffees that highlight the unique flavors of regional beans. Her dedication to sensory excellence ensures every cup delivers a memorable and meaningful experience for her customers.
As both an entrepreneur and a social justice advocate, Claudia is committed to conscious capitalism and community empowerment. She actively engages in initiatives that promote economic justice and inclusivity, bringing the same care and intentionality to her advocacy as she does to her craft. Through her work, she connects people, fosters community, and challenges conventional approaches to business and culture.
Claudia began her professional journey at Forsyth Technical Community College, earning a certificate in Accounting, which provided a strong foundation for managing and growing her business. She shares her journey and insights at claudiashivers.com, demonstrating how passion, purpose, and entrepreneurship can coexist to create lasting impact.
• Forsyth Technical Community College
Certificate, Accounting
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to reimagine what purpose and service can look like. My professional journey began in tax services, where I spent over two decades helping individuals and small businesses navigate complex systems. While it was stable and meaningful work, shifting circumstances pushed me to rethink sustainability, purpose, and how I wanted to make an impact. That reimagining led me to coffee not just as a product, but as a connector. Working behind the counter at Starbucks, I discovered that coffee could be a medium for culture, ritual, and gratitude. I also noticed a gap: mainstream coffee brands often overlooked underserved neighborhoods, creative communities, and working families. Recognizing an opportunity to serve these communities with dignity and accessibility, I decided to act. Starting small with my first roaster, I learned by doing experimenting, listening, failing, and trying again.
From those humble beginnings emerged a vision: a community-focused coffee roastery built on access, belonging, and respect. Today, that vision has grown into a full retail space with a bookstore and tasting room, where quality coffee is affordable, community is genuine, and culture, conversation, and commerce coexist with purpose. My success has come from following curiosity, embracing challenges, and staying committed to serving people in meaningful ways.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
No matter what anyone says as long as you're not harming anyone you should do it pursue your dream you should always plan for success that means figuring out every area and being prepared for any challenges that come or from the positive perspective of fulfilling large orders figuring out the insurance and outs that's often where people fail is because they want to believe in hope Instead of believing for certainty
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is gaining visibility as a smaller brand while competing with larger corporate companies that often focus on a single core audience. At the same time, this presents an opportunity to differentiate by connecting authentically with diverse communities and offering unique value that larger brands may overlook.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that guide me in both my work and personal life center on growth, service, and gratitude. Every dollar I earn is reinvested into my business and the communities it serves. My involvement on boards addressing infant mortality and supporting young, particularly teen, mothers has reinforced the importance of planning for growth rather than preparing for failure a lesson I strive to share whenever possible. I am passionate about writing and have also contributed to diversity and inclusion initiatives, which allow me to honor and give back for the opportunities I’ve been fortunate to receive.