Key Piquet Interest KPI Entrepreneurial Insights LGBTQ Editions

Chef Queen Precious-Jewel Zabriskie and Jay White co-owners of Indulge Catering discuss what it's like to be in business and how they manage to be authentically themselves in business.

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Key peaked interest, KPI, entrepreneurial Insight,

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L-G-B-T-Q editions. Today's guest,

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Chef queen presses, jewel Zaki,

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and Jay White of Indulge Catering.

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We're back with, uh, key Peaked interest, KPI,

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entrepreneurial Insights, L-G-B-T-Q edition.

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Piper and I are really happy to have our guest

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Chef Queen, precious Jewel.

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Yes, ma'am. And Jay White, who was a co-owner.

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They are co-owners of Indulge Catering Mm-Hmm.

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Along with another enterprise. Yes.

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So happy that you guys had time to come out

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and chat with us today. You thank Appreciate

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It. Thank you. Thanks

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For Having us. Yeah.

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So, um, one of the things that we wanted to do was

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to talk to, um, business owners that looked

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more like us, right?

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Mm-Hmm. Partners. Yes. Um, female partners in, in this case.

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And then that live

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and work together is even more crazy, right?

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Yes. And how do your friends ask you? How do you

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With Yeah. All the time deal

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with it Like they always say.

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And so you live together

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and you together all the time, 24 hours

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and you still like each other.

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Yes. And we love each other and we like each other.

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They like each other. Yes. Yes we do.

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Yep. So they always ask,

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When did you start your business?

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2014. Um, we started Indulge Catering. LLC, um, yeah.

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And it was, uh, the

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Big 10 we're We're, my gosh,

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You know how special that is? Yeah.

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We five was special. Five was really like, we were like,

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Wow. Yes.

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'cause people started pointing out, wait,

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y'all made it over five years.

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You know, those businesses don't make it five.

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And I was like, they don't, I was, I had no clue. Yeah.

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We were sta we are a business. Business. Yeah.

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I had no clue what the stats are. I don't know, whatever.

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Um, and then our kitchen manager, um, is like

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more excited about 10.

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She was like 10 years. And we were like, oh, wow.

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'cause a lot of our businesses were like, a lot of friends

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who we have who, um, are in business.

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They're like, oh, 10 year celebration, 10 year,

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and they're celebrating their 10 years.

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And I was like, Mm-Hmm.

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Wow. That's

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Us. Because we usually cater everybody

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else's tenure year. And we

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Were like, that's right. Oh

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Yeah. That's all with her. She

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was like,

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we gotta do something big.

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And I'm like, we have to. Okay. We have to.

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So now we're like, okay, we gotta put on a calendar

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So we can do it. So

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I can't wait to help celebrate your tenure. Yeah.

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That's awesome. So we started in 2023.

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So this is our 20, we started in 2003.

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Oh three. I keep adding the, the,

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I don't know, easy. It's easy to do it.

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Three. And so we're at 20 years. Wow.

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And I didn't, it just went right by. It went right by.

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It went right by. That's, that's

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A mess. That's amazing when

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it

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Goes by. Yeah. Yeah.

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That means you having Fun. Yes.

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And a lot of things happen along the way.

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So you, I not only in your partnership. Yeah.

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Like in your life, things have happened. Yeah.

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So have you had challenges that have come up that impacted

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what was going on with the business?

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Oh, yeah. Like, so we started in 2014 and we started,

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'cause I worked in corporate America.

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And, um, my, I would, you know, you always have potlucks.

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And then I am, I'm clean and I have curry.

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And everybody was like, we, we want you. Who made this food?

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And I was like, it was me. And it was like, okay, cool.

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So I had one lady, um, my coworker, she would pay me

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to feed her people because she doesn't cook.

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And she was like, oh, so can I, can you cook for me?

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And then Jay was like, if she paying, I'll cook.

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'cause I'm, I'll feed everybody. I'm the oldest of six.

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Well, that was after like the third time.

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The third time. Yeah. She was like,

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It's not, it's not just a favor anymore. Yes,

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Exactly. Because she

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Like, know you moved into professional

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Services. I use every

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pot in our house. What the world.

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And she got clean. So she was like, no, no, no, no, no.

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So she paid me and then other people started paying me.

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And then I came home and I really was like,

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I wanna start a catering company.

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She was like, let's do it. And I was like, really?

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And then, so it was more like a people really paying

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me to do my passion.

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What were you doing at this time? Were you I was

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In school.

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I was in school. We had just, we just got married. Yeah.

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Oh my God. We've been married maybe two years. Yep.

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Two years. And, um, I started school right

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after our wedding ceremony.

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So in our journey, yes.

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We were together a little while

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and I went back to graduate school.

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Right. Oh, that's right.

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And that changed, it changed our relationship.

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It changed the dynamics. Yes.

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What school did. Yeah.

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Because you know, you're two working people. Yes.

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You know, you kind of have the same schedule.

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And then school was like, no,

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I don't have weekends. Yeah. Right,

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Right. And

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that was us, like, we got married 10, 11, 12.

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She started school 2012.

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And she was slated for graduation 2014.

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Um, and then the business started picking up.

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And when the business picked up,

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I was working in the morning, we would get off of work.

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She would pick me up, we would go into the kitchen,

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cook the food to have overnight shifts, get off of work,

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maybe have an hour or two of sleep, go back to work.

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She would come and get me during my lunch break

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so I can sleep in the car.

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And then we would maybe go

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to an event or something like that.

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So we were working this round of clock thing. Mm-Hmm.

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And, um, we actually went to therapy

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because the therapist, we had

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to figure out how to stay in our lanes.

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And the therapist helped us talk to each other

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because we were really having headbutt moments.

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Mm-Hmm. And what we realized,

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No, the headbutt moments, you gotta tell

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what the headbutt moments were.

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The headbutt moments were,

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since I was in school, I wasn't working.

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Right. Yeah. So I'd go to school during the day.

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She would go to work. I had more time.

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Apparently. Her, Apparently,

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yes. I learned it apparently,

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Uh, to work on the business while she was at work.

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And then when she got off of work, she wanted

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to work on the business and felt some kind of way

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because I was off.

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I said, I'm off. I've been working on the business all day.

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Now it's your turn if you feel that way.

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So that's where the headbutt came in. Like,

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Because I couldn't see it.

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I couldn't see it. I was working my corporate job.

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And then when we got off, I'm ready to talk about menus.

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I'm ready to figure out what we're gonna do.

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And she's like, I just did eight hours of that. Yeah.

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And the counselor was like, um, let's see.

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You worked eight hours of corporate.

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She worked eight hours in the business.

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Now you wanna come and work eight hours in your business.

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And so you're making her work double shift in the business.

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I was like, no, I'm not. And she's like, no. Yes you are.

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And so when she fi we figured it out. I was like, oh.

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So did you do a time study?

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How did, how did you figure that out?

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You just like, you know, accounted

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for your time. Like, oh no.

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In the beginning. No, you Just work. Yeah.

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Did your thing until you stop.

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Like So your therapist helped you figure out Yeah.

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Just a parent uhhuh

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Well, helped us figure out we have different lanes.

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Yes. This is your role. This is your role.

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You're the CEO.

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She's the COO, let her do her thing. Okay.

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You do your thing and then y'all be

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fine. And, and it worked. Like,

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And it was And how long was that into it?

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Oh, that was the first, that

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Was the first year. First year.

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No, no ma'am. Wow.

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First year. Wow. That was the first year for you.

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It's first year. 'cause it affected our marriage.

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Marriage a little bit. Yeah. You know, um,

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And it was a marriage counselor, so Right.

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That was the other thing that it also,

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and the marriage counselor realized that, um,

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I don't tell Her no, she don't tell me.

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No. I didn't like that part of the therapy.

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When she said, do you realize you don't tell her? No.

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I was like, so what if she don't tell me? No?

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She's not supposed to tell. Exactly.

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Um, she's told me yes all the time.

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And she was like, well, she don't tell you no.

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So she's holding back the saying,

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I don't wanna do that. And I'm like,

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I am.

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Problem with that is so,

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So setting those boundaries Yes.

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Setting those boundaries was a big deal. Right.

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Very big deal. And so you, are you still seeing therapists?

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No. No. And you've learned about these boundaries? Yes.

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Oh, that first year. I'm

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so glad we learned that first year. On

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The first year, Man. Yes. It saved our,

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Now the other thing that I note is, um, did some, uh,

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interviewing with some other couples

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that were in business and they quit.

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It seemed that they quit around five to seven years.

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They quit working together. Mm-Hmm.

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They didn't really say why,

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other than they felt like they were just an employee

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or they, they needed to go do,

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pursue something that was more interest.

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Mm-Hmm. One of the partners. Mm-Hmm. Yeah.

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And so, uh, it's interesting

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that you guys are still in the same business.

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Yeah. So where does the joy come from for

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You in

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staying here? That is, that's very interesting. That

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Makes sense. Because it

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totally makes sense.

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And I think, um, so right now, so it's about to be year 10.

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We are in the moment.

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I think last year it started, uh,

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we do have a business counselor,

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a business counselor, a mentor

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Also we started was Also our, also our life coach.

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2018. Mm-Hmm. Uh, yeah.

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Um, she's also our life coach, you know, smart.

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So she takes that, uh, spirituality and business and life

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because you have to have healthy relationship, healthy life,

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healthy balance in order to have a healthy business.

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So do you, do you advocate

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that when you meet other people in business? Yes.

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Um, I do. Because it's important for me.

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I didn't realize, and I'm sorry

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to cut you off, I didn't realize that.

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Um, this has always been my passion. This is my business.

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And, um, and I say that for this point

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in the beginning, it has always been my passion.

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It's always been my drive. I can work this

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thing 24 hours a day.

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This has not been always her thing. She's been my supporter.

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And about the reason why I said it makes sense is

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'cause about five years is when she said,

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this is my business too.

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And I was like, you finally like this.

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What? The what the what? And then I said, oh,

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It was year Four. It was year.

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There you go. She finally

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Was like, have you had that?

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Yeah. Have you had that feeling?

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Yeah. I mean, because video was your realm.

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Yeah. I was a musician slash employed

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in a bunch of different places.

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And she needed a sound person.

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She needed, she was, I felt like she was,

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I don't wanna say you were disorganized.

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I don't wanna say that, sorry.

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But it was like, you would do the business.

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But the business of business,

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I didn't take much time doing it. Yeah.

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Yeah. And I had worked in my youth at a bookstore

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for a woman who didn't know anything about

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having a business.

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Ah. And I feel like I got a huge, uh, schooling education.

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Yeah. I didn't even realize what all I knew

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I did not have. And

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when she wanted to start doing this.

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'cause I was always like mowing people's lawns and painting.

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And I'd always have like, at least two part-time jobs.

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Maybe a full-time job.

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But I didn't realize like, how much I knew.

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And I was like, wait a minute, you need to get your EIN

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and you need to do all this other stuff.

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And she was like, well, can you just do it? Just do it.

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Yeah. And I didn't say no. Yeah.

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I still don't know if I say no.

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I think I do this past year. I think I have,

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Setting those boundaries is so important.

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Started So important. So important.

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So now you're feeling like you're running a long with it.

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That's, it's, that's

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One thing I have to say.

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Right. So those three, four years, right.

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Um, the,

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from year one to three,

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I felt like we were doing the business 24 7.

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Right. And as an entrepreneur, right. You, you are Right.

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But I was fighting it a little bit.

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I was like, I want some me time.

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Like I, I, I don't want to do the business 24 7. Right.

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And I fought it for three, four years. Yeah.

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And then I gave in. So when I realized thing going,

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this is your business too.

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You gotta, you know, go hard all the time.

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Yep. Is true.

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And you don't work for, you don't work harder

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than for somebody else.

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You're not gonna work for yourself. Right.

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And that is, you know, you see the fruits of your labor

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and you know, you have some satisfaction in your

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successes. Yes.

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But we didn't really see, we saw it, but we didn't see it

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because I was still working corporate.

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So we, I quit, um,

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my corporate job in 2016, about two years in.

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And it was underneath the stress that I quit.

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Um, because I literally were having an emotional breakdown.

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And I went out on leave, came back

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and sat in the parking lot and cried.

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Mm. I did not wanna go back and clock in. Oh.

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Because it was too stressful. It is.

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And, um, I prayed, asked God, I said,

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listen, is this what I'm supposed to be doing?

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And God was like, go do it. Step out, take the leap.

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And literally took the leap.

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Um, really heavy preyed upon it.

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And it's been taken off ever since.

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It literally was like, God was waiting

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for me to just listen.

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How long did it take you to get

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to replace your corporate job?

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Revenue?

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That we knew we replaced it. 'cause that's another part.

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Did not, knowing the books, not understanding

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what I'm looking at.

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Um, we actually replaced it year two.

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And not knowing that we replaced it on year two.

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Um, until somebody You were Yeah.

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We were, we were going, we were catering for high end

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because we did music festivals.

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So the part that people didn't know is

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that we got our start catering music festival.

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So we catered the article festival for two years,

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then we catered Moog Fest and we don't do vending.

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So we do high-end.

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You hire us to do your green, uh, green room backstage.

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So we turned the self-help building in downtown Durham into

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our own little restaurant and fed them three days

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for artists and staff.

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So we were catering 2000 people on no sleep.

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And we was doing it, me and her.

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And then we hired some people, but we were doing it.

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And everybody's like, where's your staff?

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You are looking at 'em right here.

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You know, we would hire, I call my mom, ma, come on down. So

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You, you were asking for favors from your

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immediate network?

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Yes. For the, yeah. First

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Team. We

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learned never to do that again. We love y'all.

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All right. So, so you have replaced,

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you don't know you've replaced your income.

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And now when did you figure it out?

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Um, we hired, We hired

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A-C-P-A-C-P-A. And then,

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You know, at the end of the year, tax time, we, like,

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we made that much money.

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I said, we not Make that.

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I don't see it in my, I don't see that.

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Make it. And She's like, you didn't know.

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And then I books saved, my books saved,

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however, my bank account don't say it. Right.

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And so from that, you learned

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what about looking at your money?

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Well, I didn't. I had to bump my head.

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So, um, I did not

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because I was, I ran the opposite direction.

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I didn't want to Mm-Hmm.

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So I was like, well, we'll just hire somebody to do it.

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And I didn't look and do a checks

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and balances, which I've known now,

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which is why I believe we're still here in business, is

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because of the checks and balances.

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And, and it's all a business coach.

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2018, she made us sit down and say, what do you even know?

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And I was like, no, I don't. I just trust. And then we, your

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Key performance indicators Yes. Are so important.

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Had no idea. Had no idea. You

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Just, you just knew I'm buying it for a dollar

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and I'm selling it for two

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And that's it. And we're

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supposed to be good. Yeah, we're good. Right?

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We're still here, we're good. I can still

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make some sort of payroll.

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Um, but she was like, you know, you really need to do this.

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You need to do A, B, and C. She made me do my resume.

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Her and my best friend, those two, they was like,

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you don't really know what you, how dope y'all are, do you?

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I was like, no, I really don't. No,

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You guys, We had no idea.

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Even still now is, which is really funny.

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No, it's amazing what You guys are doing.

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We don't know. They made me write down

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and write down what I wanna do

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and then realize how many things I had already done.

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You checked them off. Yes. You're like,

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didn't write 'em down, but you knew they were there.

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You knew they were there. Now when you write

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'em down now Yeah.

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How, how fast do you get there?

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It's really fast. It's really kind of funny though,

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because it is truly a manifestation of what you want.

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Um, and, but it's smart manifestation now

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and it's believing that I can actually do it

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and making, um, so we used to say scary leaps of faith

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where I'm just gonna say, okay,

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we just gonna jump off this bridge.

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But I know that God got me now.

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It's leaps in faith leaps that I know God is with us

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and we're doing these things because we are prepared.

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We know we can do, we, um, and my eyes are open differently.

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Yes. As a, as a business owner.

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Um, we are both employees of our business, which helped

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during COVID because we were employees.

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So glad to hear you guys say that.

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So what's your goal right now?

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Because what I know about your income Mm-Hmm.

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6% of women-owned businesses hit where you are. Oh, whoa.

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I know. That's, that was, that's, that's an eye open, right?

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That's it. Yeah. Well look at that.

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When you exceed the two 50 mark Yes.

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You're at the 3%.

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Wow. So you're, you're, you're breathing on it.

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Breathing on it. You are breathing on saw.

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Wow. That's result.

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So 6% of

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what women business owners typically do, that's freaking,

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So our, I think right now our goal

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is to, we just have to talk.

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Yeah. It's, um, moving from sustainability to growth. Yes.

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So, um, one

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of the things my business coach is really working

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with me on is understanding the difference

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and understanding that when you ask

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and you reach your goals that you have,

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and what you a your ask has to be in a part of growth.

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So make sure your foundation of sustainability is there,

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because then growth will automatically happen.

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So for us now, it is growing our

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catering side to be, um, sustainable,

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to get her outta the kitchen

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because I'm outta the kitchen. So, yeah.

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Yeah. 'cause now you can make the money moves

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and make these big dreams.

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Yes. Big possibilities. Yes. Happen.

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And so this is kind of where I think we are.

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We're trying to get you outta the kitchen. Yes.

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It feels good because when I came outta the kitchen,

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it was a necessity.

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So I came outta the kitchen actually,

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because I was kicked outta the kitchen in the sense of, um,

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the opportunity with the spice side with Gordon Ramsey came.

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Okay. Um, and so we, so

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You basically had to go film a, a show.

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I had to go film a TV show. I

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Had to leave and I had to leave.

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And they gave us one month

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We had to get our business processes.

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There you go. And order. Yes.

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So back of the house, like

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the back, back, back of the house stuff. In order

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We have that we are working,

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you know, business manual, right?

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Yes. That, so you have to have your processes

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and that is like so big to get, get you out.

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Yes. Now it happened for us to started in 2013,

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I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

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Oh. And I am, uh, sort of the,

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the, the big push.

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I bring people in. I talk to people,

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and picture is a big, you know, the big sexy side.

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Sexy sound is more important,

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But yes. Sound

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is more important. But I understand it's

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A big sexy side, right?

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Yes. So I, that was hard

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for us because I was doing a lot.

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I was in the kitchen and we weren't,

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we didn't have eight hour days.

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We were enough. No.

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We, we would get up and might have a meeting at eight

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and then like, come home after 11.

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Yeah. Um, so it became really important

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to have the processes for replacing me so

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that I could go through that.

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And I chose to do an accelerated treatment. Oh.

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So that it wasn't eight months,

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it was, you know, six months.

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It was, if I'd been gone

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for eight months, the doors would've closed.

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Yeah. Right. It was hard enough. We, or we had a big dip.

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But putting those processes in place helped us exceed,

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get to the, the 200,000 mark.

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Yes. Yes. Um, but it took us a little while.

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'cause we, congratulations. We didn't have a coach.

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Congratulations. We were doing it by the, by the seat

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of our pants and like, you know Right.

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You know, steering the boat in that direction. Yes. Mm-Hmm.

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And, and that's, that was the, the blessing.

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So you had those three months to,

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to get those processes in place and what did Yes. Written

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Down. Written down. We

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hired someone because they were in my head.

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Right, exactly. They were in my head.

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And we hired someone. So

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We hired someone to do it so that it would get done. And

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At the time we had, now that is money well spent, well

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Spent. Yes. So we

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kind of called in our, um, group of supporters,

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like, look, we need this.

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Can you, and what would it cost?

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And a lot of them deeply discounted some stuff for us.

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But they also just said, Hey, let me show you how to do.

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And so it was a lot of time of us sitting there

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and doing the work, sitting

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In it. Oh, we got our skate

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Zone skates.

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And so Those three months were the fastest

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three months of my

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Life. I know. Like,

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'cause you working like, oh my gosh.

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Extra work. Right. And now the next step in the process.

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Yeah. How do you make a sale?

533

Oh my gosh. So

534

Sale, because how do you make a sale?

535

That's the process that is next Yep.

536

That you need to write down. Yep.

537

Because Eventually you're not gonna be the salesperson.

538

See, and that's what, see,

539

right now I'm the salesperson. Right,

540

Exactly. I'm

541

The closer. So we're

542

working on getting me out of the kitchen so

543

that I can st I enjoy being the closer. Right.

544

Oh, well then that's where you're, you're strong. Yes.

545

That's where, oh, well, you know, I'm in,

546

I'm strong in the kitchen too.

547

Yeah. Yeah.

548

But yes. So yes. I love the people.

549

I love talking to people. I love emailing, calling.

550

She's the mayor. You know, that's,

551

that's my, that call her.

552

So if I could, you know, I'll, I'll do that part

553

to the, to the wheels fall off.

554

But I mean, they're not gonna fall off, but,

555

Right. The

556

Kitchen part, somebody else needs to chop. That's

557

Right. All right.

558

And, and, and we realized that.

559

So once I left, um, because nobody knew I left.

560

So the ruse was, um, I left last year

561

and no one knew I was going.

562

Everybody just knew like anybody other than my mother.

563

'cause you know, you gotta tell your mother, which,

564

'cause my mother's crazy.

565

She's from the Bronx and she's crazy.

566

She was like, where you at? No. Mm-Hmm.

567

It's not happening. No. I, I will figure this out. Um,

568

I'll send somebody.

569

Yes. So for you, no one knew I was going.

570

So we had to do it in a way where everything can still flow.

571

Everything could still flow. So the sales can still come in.

572

I, I do all the stuff

573

that I would automatically do in my head.

574

Making labels, making menu cards, making all

575

that stuff we had to train somebody to do.

576

Mm-Hmm. Um, so at the time, we had a staff

577

of five at the time.

578

Mm-Hmm. Um, and we're now down to three.

579

But we're, we had, we did everything that needed to be done.

580

S so P wise with the business coach with J White,

581

and really just saying, we gotta make this work.

582

This opportunity is too big.

583

It was huge. Big. Oh yeah. Huge. Yes, yes, yes.

584

Tell us. Mm-Hmm. Tell

585

Us. Oh my gosh.

586

Okay.

587

So first of all, never in a million years did I think

588

that I would get anybody calling me talking about something.

589

You wanna be on a TV show ever. So

590

How did they find out about you?

591

They found me. I didn't apply to nothing. I know.

592

But on Instagram, the,

593

the casting manager on Instagram found me

594

and sent me a message and said, um, there's a new show,

595

secret show coming out.

596

Your energy is dope and I think you'll be a great asset.

597

Are you interested in the news to go Ramsey show?

598

And I was like, you're lying.

599

News, news, news, news. This is a scam.

600

This's a scam. So I was like, yeah. Huh, whatever.

601

And I ignored it. And then she said again, Hey,

602

I sent you this information.

603

Are you interested? I was like, whatever. Email it to me.

604

That's my email it to me.

605

She emailed it to me and I linked and searched her.

606

Google search her. I did my,

607

I I was in high private eye real fast.

608

Right. And I was like, yo, this is a real person.

609

She really is a person. So I was like, okay, she's a person.

610

Then I was like, well, get on a call with me.

611

So she got on call me. She's like, listen,

612

your vibe is just dope.

613

I think this will work. So I got on a, I prayed upon it.

614

First of all, I talked to her

615

and nothing in my gut said, no, everything said, I'm open.

616

Let's go. Let's see what happens.

617

So we got on Zoom calls, talked to the casting manager,

618

talked to the executive producer.

619

So they was like, we need you on this show.

620

And I was like, okay. Sure. So she went through the process.

621

I went through the process and, um, they chose me.

622

And it's funny to say they chose me

623

because I I, that dumbed it down so much.

624

So Gordon Ramsey chose 23 different food-based products.

625

Him himself, with his team to come out to LA

626

do a preliminary where you had to, um, do two different, um,

627

tasks to even make it onto the show.

628

So I'd be out from the first 23 to get to the top 15

629

to make it on air.

630

But while she was out there, she found out that

631

thousands on thousands of people actually applying

632

Applaud. Yeah.

633

This show. And, and they

634

Just found you and said, They found me.

635

We want you. And so it was a literally me being myself.

636

Mm-Hmm. That's it. And it was just that

637

Authentically You. Yes. Yes.

638

I was having fun online.

639

Did they knew, they knew that you guys were

640

Together. Oh, yeah. And it

641

was from, I, so

642

that was the scary part though.

643

But I will tell you. So we've been together 16 years.

644

Mm-Hmm. We've never been apart.

645

So the scary part was

646

one in business, this is our business.

647

I fight very hard for them to know

648

that this is my co-owner, this is my wife.

649

This is my asterisk. This is comma half of me. Yes. Mm-Hmm.

650

They were like, okay, but we want you. And I was like, what?

651

What do you mean you want me? We're a pair. We're a pair.

652

And she was like, girl, go one. I was like, girl,

653

You Go. I was like, but

654

you but you a baby.

655

Yeah. She was so worried that I would be like,

656

She would feel so No, you're like cheerleading.

657

Yes. She's like, she was, yeah.

658

That is So Like the cam off the camera,

659

she did all pre-interview people,

660

like, Hey, yeah, she'll be right there.

661

No problem. She just cutting no makeup

662

and how are you doing it?

663

And the camera, come on and here's Queen.

664

And Jay's like, Mm-Hmm. Get it, baby.

665

And I'm like, you know what? She no, I don't. No.

666

All of our cooking stuff, she's like,

667

you could hear her voice, but

668

she's like, do I have to get on?

669

She gets on camera instant.

670

We get a hundred percent more views me by myself.

671

They're like, oh, it's queen. Yeah.

672

She's cooking J yt, what's going on? What's going on on?

673

So we go to la I go to LA

674

and it's like, we have to navigate the business, me

675

and the wife, me.

676

And also the, it truly was I ask God, so I pray to Allah

677

that if this is really meant for me to be here,

678

please help me to understand why, why?

679

And what I realized is it was meant for me to figure out

680

that I really am a bad chick.

681

I really have been doing this. I really, this is me.

682

Everybody's like, you didn't know that about you.

683

No, I did not. We cannot see how Dopeness Uhuh

684

No. And it's very hard

685

for people to see the adultness.

686

And I went out it, and I was like, wow.

687

It's the person that's supposed

688

to be your champion is trying to tell you.

689

Yes. And then you have people

690

in your life trying to tell you.

691

Like, but yeah. You're supposed to

692

'cause you're my, my my buddy.

693

You're supposed to. Yes. You know, I love

694

that you have worked with a coach,

695

and I love that you are, um, really taking all those

696

bit nun cooking out of the kitchen, uh,

697

tasks that you need to do Mm-Hmm.

698

To really launch to the next level. Mm-Hmm.

699

Now you've been asked to go to the show. Yeah.

700

You're, you doing these tasks. Yeah.

701

And you're feeling this,

702

you're probably feeling a little separation,

703

but you know you've got it.

704

Yeah. So what's the next step here with the Gordon Ramsey

705

Saga? Um, so

706

on the show, I made it to top nine.

707

Um, and on the day that I, um, I got eliminated,

708

it was a godsend elimination.

709

Oh. And people were like, what? How?

710

No, you have to understand, I found myself that day.

711

I found my voice that day. I understood my purpose that day.

712

I was able to call my brother and really told him.

713

I, I cried because I was like, I

714

I don't wanna disappoint you,

715

but I feel like this, he said this,

716

you're in LA filming a TV show with Gordon R at

717

what point is disappointment here?

718

And I realized that I had to be okay with showing my light

719

and shining of who I am to the world,

720

and it's okay to be seen.

721

And that's where I got such a sense

722

of being okay with leaving.

723

Because as I told my competitors, I said, I have

724

to leave so you can compete.

725

I already got what I was supposed to get out of this.

726

Which was that you are here for a reason.

727

You've been doing the work, and this is what the work is.

728

All the seeds that you have been sitting in there sewing

729

and growing and nurturing, this is what it's

730

for. Mm-Hmm. Um,

731

'cause it's not the end. This is not

732

the end. This is like, this is like next

733

Chapter. Yes. This

734

was the next, so I was able to be seen

735

because it was on Fox not Food Network.

736

Mm-Hmm. It was on Hulu. Not, you know.

737

So you got my, the, the people

738

who saw me saw indulgent essential spices,

739

understood who we were.

740

I was able to show people that I am A-L-G-B-T-Q, Muslim

741

black female from the Bronx, New York, and I'm here.

742

You're you're taking up the space. You're I'm taking

743

Up all the space. You're showing all

744

that light. Yes.

745

I Love the story.

746

So it was dope. And it was dope to also get going

747

around you to say he liked my food.

748

So I felt really ready. Good about that.

749

I also found my voice

750

because I didn't go to culinary school.

751

This, I'm not, this is self-taught from cooking

752

for my family and learning and flavor,

753

and listening to my ancestral saying,

754

how does this work and my smell.

755

And so we did a, um, thing in Napa Valley,

756

and everybody's like, so, you know, it's wine.

757

And I was like, I don't drink. And they was like,

758

so you can't just, I don't drink.

759

But I was able to show them

760

that I could still taste the wine on my palate.

761

Right. By smelling it and understanding the food pairings.

762

Um, also it was pretty dope

763

because since I don't do pork, um, my castmates,

764

every time we had a challenge

765

and the culinary team took all the pork out of our cooler.

766

So behind the scenes, they were so many people

767

who understood who I was as queen, precious jewel.

768

Yeah. That I was able to articulate to people.

769

And they'd be like, no, we don't do pork. No.

770

And even like, even gonna say, well, you know,

771

even though you don't eat pork,

772

maybe you can put some bacon.

773

No, not at all. I'm not doing that.

774

So it's always standing on who you are.

775

What do you believe in? Right.

776

You're authentic on that authenticity.

777

This is who I am. That's who you

778

Are. Yep.

779

So, And you know that this whole, uh, story

780

and being that authentic you Mm-Hmm.

781

Not hiding who you are. Shh. Letting that light shine.

782

Um, I am proud for you. Thank you. Thank you.

783

Uh, you know, I have no, you know, no reason

784

to feel like I am, you know, at all attributed to that.

785

But I am so proud for you. I appreciate that.

786

And what I wanna say too is, um, you know,

787

you guys are are planning this, this whole spice thing.

788

Yeah. Plan to me, what's going on there,

789

because this sounds like it's gonna be your

790

million dollar Yes. Business.

791

It feels so epic. Oh my gosh. Okay.

792

So indulgent, essential spices. We want to reintroduce.

793

Yeah. Say go ahead. Tell, tell

794

Us. Because when you said,

795

where do we want to be? What's next?

796

Right. I said a couple weeks ago.

797

Well, I've been saying it for like a year so

798

that we're millionaires.

799

Right. And then I said, we're billionaires.

800

We sold some more spices. I was like, we're billionaires.

801

Then we had this conversation of, okay, so you always say,

802

she asked me, you always say, uh, we're billionaires.

803

Is that in business or is that impersonal?

804

I said, I never thought about that. Yep.

805

Never thought about that. And in order to

806

manifest it, I gotta think about that.

807

I have to decide what do I mean?

808

Is that personal or business, you know? Right.

809

So business billionaires.

810

And so I'm hearing you like,

811

get hooked into the Gordon Ramsey thing

812

because of your social media.

813

Yeah. And my thinking is too,

814

that you probably have a big enough social media following

815

that this spice uh,

816

business is getting promoted

817

and getting propelled by this audience.

818

It is, but it isn't.

819

And let me tell you the part that, that,

820

that people don't talk about in business, how

821

giving yourself grace that I am the social media marketer.

822

I am the editor, I am the, uh,

823

everything that needs to be done.

824

Yes. That is the me.

825

And so when you say, Hey, did you post I have 30,000 photos

826

and videos in my phone?

827

No, I did not post what I did two years ago.

828

Let 'em own what I did last week.

829

Because somebody still has to stir the pot.

830

Somebody still has to get to

831

the somebody have to do the thing. That's right. Gotta

832

Get the inventory in.

833

Yes. Make sure things are fresh.

834

Got the menu, got the employees, got the Yes.

835

The gas in the car. Yes. The, the trash is at the curb.

836

The whole nine. The whole everything.

837

Everything. And then somebody, they forget

838

to tell you the how.

839

Mm. So it becomes a, everybody goes,

840

get outta your head and just post something.

841

Everything's content. It's not, everything is content to

842

who your audience is.

843

And if my audience does not care

844

that I am sitting here on the edge of my couch

845

and we're having a, oh,

846

we ain't getting no sleep in the last seven

847

days, why would I post that?

848

That's right. But however you do care how I use my spices.

849

Yes. So we're learning that fine balance.

850

So for us, the next step is understanding that fine balance

851

of indulgent essential spices as a high end spice line.

852

Mm-Hmm. We have glass bottles for a reason,

853

because my catering, indulge catering is high end catering.

854

That's right. We're pro, we're traveling personal chefs.

855

So we've been to California, New York, Maryland

856

doing catering and chef, um, services.

857

So when you taste my food, that thing in that bottle is

858

what you're going to taste.

859

There is consistency. Consistency and quality.

860

Yes. But then that also changes people's mindset

861

because what we also learned the first few years,

862

we didn't have our face on the business because we're black

863

and we're also gay.

864

Mm-Hmm. People don't wanna see that in the wrong space. You

865

Know about, you know about Pinky Cole?

866

Yes. Yes. I do. Have you met her?

867

Have I, my brother actually went to school

868

with her, but I have never met her.

869

What? But her story is just that you have

870

to be people now in the whole realm of DEI

871

and everything is Oh yes.

872

Let's see you. That's now,

873

before then, it wasn't that our first job

874

because we had somebody behind the scenes.

875

She said, you, you know, they didn't wanna pay you up front

876

because they wasn't sure for y'all would show up.

877

And I was like, what y'all,

878

You mean what is those people?

879

Yes. And then so we have to, we're still,

880

we're not seeing it as much because of how far we're in.

881

But it still is comedy when we get hit with that to say,

882

y'all are real expensive

883

for the black caterers. Wait, what did you said

884

Like, you put me in a whole nother like bucket. No. Yes.

885

No. And so what happens is that you just have

886

to acknowledge it, but then step away from it

887

and understand where your path is. That's

888

An interesting thing. Yeah.

889

It's an interesting thing,

890

but it's also a thing to speak it.

891

I, I spoke at something for the Secretary of State and she,

892

and this lady came up to me, she said,

893

thank you for saying that.

894

'cause no one believes me when I tell them

895

that they won't visit my business

896

because the what I look like.

897

But if I put somebody else in front, oh, the,

898

the sales that day is amazing.

899

But the moment I step in front,

900

they treat me like I am a worker versus the owner.

901

Yeah. And so I said, it's a thing.

902

And no one talks about how quiet is even on the show.

903

I had a conversation with somebody, he was like, yo,

904

this concept is beautiful.

905

Why don't you just go get funding? I said, okay. Okay.

906

Black woman don't get funding. I said,

907

They Like less than 1%.

908

Yes. So can you imagine going to a bank? Well, y'all can.

909

But for your audience, going to the bank,

910

having a six figure earning business saying, I want

911

to bottle the spices that I currently use in my business,

912

which has a track record because my clients want it.

913

Granted, I, no all the words

914

but them saying, okay, how much you need?

915

This is how much I need. Well, I'll give you 10,000.

916

It's like, you can't even get the first lot

917

Out, the 10,000, the cut course.

918

13. So what am I supposed to,

919

and that's the part that I had to explain to somebody

920

that you might not understand that

921

because you don't run up against that.

922

And you probably have heard it

923

because you read it, you saw it,

924

but you never met an actual person who was saying, sweetie,

925

look, I'm the person that's behind that statistic.

926

Mm-Hmm. So it becomes crowdsourcing.

927

It becomes grants, it becomes all that other stuff to get us

928

to that million, to get us to that billion.

929

But to get our name out there to people to know, you know

930

what, you're gonna spend some money on

931

indulgent essential spices.

932

I have no qualms of saying that. That's right.

933

However, my ingredients are organic ingredients.

934

My spices are vegan.

935

I love that you've positioned yourself into this,

936

uh, upscale market. Yes.

937

Well, I mean, just using the, just using

938

the word indulgent.

939

Yes. Because I remember the first time I met you guys Yes.

940

You were catering an event at Carolina Theater. Mm-Hmm.

941

And you gave me the card and I was like, indulgent.

942

That is not, you're not gonna forget that. No. Yes.

943

And just going ahead and flat out saying it.

944

And I was like, I'm gonna go ahead

945

and make these assumptions of this is high end.

946

This is Yes. I, I thought that was Junior

947

Appreciated. And

948

where did, where, where did the, uh, origin

949

of the name come from?

950

Yeah. Going back to, um, what she was saying about, uh,

951

one of our first jobs, they didn't wanna pay us

952

because of who, what we looked like

953

and the name of our business.

954

So when we first started, the name

955

of our business was Foods for Your Soul.

956

And it was Z at the end of foods because her last

957

Name is Za Bris.

958

Right. And I'm aze That's why I was like, za,

959

Brisky Z. Yes. And,

960

And the thing was crazy because we don't cook soul food.

961

We don't cook pork. And it was just all wrong.

962

It, It just, no. The branding was just,

963

Okay, listen. It

964

was your baby. It was my baby.

965

But I was like, so, because to me in the Bronx growing up,

966

food feed your soul.

967

Mm-Hmm. And then she reminded me.

968

But you in the south baby, the word soul means soul

969

food. That's

970

Right. You already

971

don't cook pork now you don't cook soul food.

972

That's right. So you're messing up.

973

Yeah. That was one of the things when we first started,

974

I was like, how are we going to stay in business

975

and we don't cook pork.

976

Yeah. In the south. We'll never make money.

977

And I was like, wow. 10 Years,

978

10 years later here We're, but so I,

979

I love, Love,

980

Love that you guys have positioned yourself

981

There. Yeah. But,

982

But how did you get Indulgent?

983

So, right. She told us.

984

And it actually, the person that told us used to be our,

985

it was our first business coach.

986

And then, um, so about it took us like two weeks, two weeks

987

of us saying in our head, we gotta change our name.

988

We gotta change our name 'cause it can't stop our paychecks.

989

You know, and gotta change our name.

990

So one day we were leaving out the house

991

and we had a sign, um, above our refrigerator

992

and it says Indulge. I

993

Had the sign sign for years. And

994

I looked at it like, before we even met. She had it.

995

Yes. This was mine. So this is like the fifth year we were,

996

the sixth year we were together.

997

Yeah. Um, so she said, I said, bay indulge. I saw the sign.

998

She was like, what? Yeah. I was like, that's the name of our

999

Business. And I was like, what?

1000

No.

1001

And then we did something that she asked.

1002

She said, talk to people who talk to your audience.

1003

Ask them how they feel when they eat your food.

1004

And they was like, Mm-Hmm. It's

1005

indulgent and it feels so good.

1006

And the flu. I was like, well, yes. Indulge. Mm-Hmm. Yeah.

1007

That's it. It stuck. That's it. It was amazing.

1008

And, and, and it's been that way since.

1009

'cause that's what I want you to feel when you my food

1010

and you see it and you taste it, you eat with your eyes.

1011

Mm-Hmm. And I am a big person. You eat with your eyes.

1012

Mm-Hmm. So if I have platting, I have all that stuff,

1013

like I said, which is why all

1014

of our bottles are glass bottles, even barbecue sauce.

1015

We are doing a Pomodoro sauce.

1016

All of that stuff is glass bottles.

1017

Because when you feel it, I want you to have some weight

1018

to it and know you are about

1019

to make something good with this right here. Right,

1020

Right. Right. The thing

1021

that we learned about having the catering

1022

business and the spice business is as far

1023

as like having a service business

1024

and then a product business, like you said,

1025

like you would think our social media

1026

is KU and this and that.

1027

'cause it has to be when you're doing product based things.

1028

Right. And so, like, we hired a social media expert

1029

and da, da da, but then they quit on us, so it

1030

fell back on our plate.

1031

And we like, girl, I gotta sturdy these pos.

1032

I I just don't have time. Don't have time to, to, to do it.

1033

You know? So, uh, with the product based business, um,

1034

advertising, marketing is the biggest thing.

1035

Showing people, it takes people, maybe it's the biggest

1036

Thing as far as bringing

1037

Sales, what did they say, 10 to 20 times to see something

1038

before they actually purchase it.

1039

Right. And you're like,

1040

I've been told you about this thing right here.

1041

And they're like, I just noticed it.

1042

But you have to have a plan from the start.

1043

Like, our plan has always been, uh, the consumer is stores,

1044

grocery stores, uh, restaurants.

1045

It's the bigger picture. Yeah.

1046

And those places aren't on social media per se, you know?

1047

Right, right. So, um, precious, jewel, always precious,

1048

Like Arrive on social media

1049

and I'm like, girlfriend on both businesses.

1050

Our, our avatar aren't even on social media,

1051

but it's such a, it's a thing,

1052

you know, it's like they got you,

1053

You Have to Exactly.

1054

Somebody some attention. That's what I tell her.

1055

I said, it gets us the attention.

1056

And so she's learned, she's gotten better at,

1057

okay, we can go live.

1058

I will hold the camera. Come on. You got 10 minutes.

1059

Let's go. What you gonna say? Let's 10 minutes, let's go.

1060

And then the drive from I'll kitchen to our home.

1061

Um, I'll edit something and then quickly cut it up.

1062

That's so funny. So it's, it's the, our mobile office,

1063

as we call it, is our car.

1064

And so you have to have good internet

1065

and then just put the laptop on and go. Right. So, yeah.

1066

So dividing your strengths when you're at home. Mm-Hmm.

1067

Do you eat, do you eat at work or do you eat

1068

Home? Eat at home.

1069

Eat eggs. We eat eggs.

1070

It's our favorite thing. But that, that has changed.

1071

It has it switched because we've

1072

gotten, we, uh, work out now.

1073

Yeah. So

1074

We have to eat, move your body. I love it. Have

1075

To. Yeah. We have to eat starch.

1076

1077

And on the protein our body tells us when we have not had

1078

enough, um, carbs

1079

and protein throughout the day. That's right. We feel like

1080

Crap. We've been on

1081

a weight loss.

1082

A healthy, not even weight loss. A healthy journey.

1083

Healthy journey. Um,

1084

after I came home from the show, I also realized

1085

that I was not in shape.

1086

I thought I was in shape. Mm-Hmm. I was not in shape.

1087

I was surviving. Right. Yeah.

1088

I was not in shape, but I'm a bariatric patient,

1089

so I had weight loss surgery in 2012.

1090

Mm. I've lost 150 pounds. Mm.

1091

So I was like, Hey, I'm doing good. Right.

1092

Until you have to run on a beach to do a challenge.

1093

And Gordon Ramsey is right there with you,

1094

then you realize you can't quite walk and talk.

1095

And the camera and the, I'm like,

1096

and I, I think my co um, my, my, my contestants

1097

who walked slower with me helped,

1098

Helped you Out, didn't make it.

1099

So I looked like the girl on tv.

1100

Like, um, there was one child who almost fell.

1101

I almost passed out in Arizona.

1102

And I was like, I cannot fall on tv. I'm a plus size female.

1103

I could not fall on tv. Right.

1104

Yeah. That's 'cause she was hot though.

1105

I was Hot. I almost passed out. I almost passed out.

1106

And so yeah. That having that that stamina

1107

for your business is

1108

Big. It just, just for

1109

Yourself, Your mental Yes.

1110

Your mental space.

1111

Right.

1112

Yeah. We can move around better.

1113

We've, for a year and a half,

1114

we have been really working out

1115

and we can move around better.

1116

I can lift five gallon jugs. I can lift racks of plates.

1117

Now. I told my trainer, I was like, I never knew

1118

that I couldn't lift a six and eight foot table.

1119

Well, until now I fling that mug. Like it's nobody's going.

1120

And my staff be like, if you don't slow down, I'm like, no.

1121

Move up. Come on, we got to go.

1122

We Gotta go. We has to go.

1123

Well, I wanna honor our time here. Yes

1124

Sir. Y'all

1125

have been a joy. I wanna have you back. Yeah.

1126

I know that we are heading into another eating holiday. Yes.

1127

Which means you're gonna be, the holidays are eating Right.

1128

Eating everything. Patrick today is less eating. Yeah.

1129

Less eating, more about the whatever. Yes.

1130

Y'all a bit of joy. Thank you.

1131

I cannot wait, uh, to hear more

1132

and see more about what you, what your business is doing

1133

because I am a fan.

1134

Thank you. Thank you. And I wanna see you succeed.

1135

And I think that the folks that, uh,

1136

will tune in will get a lot about, you know,

1137

what they should be doing in business Yeah.

1138

And what they should be thinking about.

1139

Especially as a couple going into business.

1140

Yes. Well, the whole,

1141

Whole thing of having the help at the beginning

1142

of staying in your lane.

1143

Yeah. Because that's a big thing with big

1144

Thing couples. Big thing. Well also, you

1145

know what we learned also

1146

now we changed it a little bit.

1147

We say, I need to have clear, concise conversation with you.

1148

I need to be clear and not just my clarity.

1149

I need to ask you, did you understand what I said?

1150

Because if not,

1151

my words might noti you might not hear what I'm trying to get to.

1152

So a lot of times now we go, okay,

1153

let's have a clear conversation before we even begin.

1154

Let's set the real expectations because we're moving

1155

and our business has changed.

1156

We're now, like you said, we're six figure earners.

1157

We're trying to get to seven. What does that look like?

1158

Mm-Hmm. And let's be clear about what that looks like.

1159

And if you do that, it'll help not

1160

just with the business, but with the marriage. That's

1161

And Clock in and clock out.

1162

Oh yeah. Clock in and clock.

1163

Yeah. That's hard. I'm not gonna lie. That's hard. Yeah.

1164

It is hard A lot of times, um, she might bring up a idea

1165

to me and if I'm on the clock Yeah.

1166

Um, oh, oh, oh. She says sometimes this will happen.

1167

She says, sometimes I just want my wife to dream with me.

1168

I don't want you to be well to do this.

1169

COA Would need B and a C need B.

1170

And I told her, I was like, well babe,

1171

I want to be that too.

1172

I wanna be a wife and dream with you and this and that,

1173

but we need to have a code word.

1174

You need to tell me I want my wife right now.

1175

Because if you're telling me about a new product or

1176

That feels like work.

1177

Yes. Listen. I'm like, okay, lemme get my my pad strategy.

1178

I'm like, yes. Lemme get my strategy. Yes. We have to.

1179

So we can make it happen. You know?

1180

So clocking in and clocking out is very important.

1181

It's hard, but you, you gotta do it to,

1182

uh, for the longevity. Yeah.

1183

Mm-Hmm. For the longevity.

1184

And then I told her also, get another person. Yeah.

1185

Get another person That's right. To make it happen.

1186

I said, I'm no longer that anymore

1187

because we're grown sober. Right.

1188

So big. Right.

1189

You've got not only just lanes, but like almost

1190

Different two departments. Different departments. Yes.

1191

Right. Yeah.

1192

That was important. Mm-Hmm.

1193

I wanna, uh, I can't wait till next time.

1194

So Queen, precious, jewel. Yes. Jay. Yeah.

1195

Co-owners of in adults.

1196

I want to see that million dollars happen. Yeah.

1197

Sooner rather than later. That's

1198

Right. In Shanghai.

1199

1200

Yes. In

1201

Key peaked interest.

1202

KPI, entrepreneurial Insight. L-G-B-T-Q Additions.

1203

Hey y'all. Hey y'all. I'm Piper.

1204

I'm Monique. As a woman

1205

and minority owned business, we're interested in talking

1206

to couples that look like us

1207

lesbian couples in a service business.

1208

That's why this podcast exists.

1209

I've been looking for a queer business podcast

1210

that showcased L-G-B-T-Q

1211

and Bipoc Owners found the few in each category,

1212

but none that mixed the two.

1213

So we created Key Peaked Interest podcast.

1214

This show is looking to honestly connect

1215

with other successful L-G-B-T-Q couples in business.

1216

We hope you enjoyed this episode.

1217

We're open to nominations, introductions,

1218

and suggestions for guests.

1219

Hit us up in the comments and thanks for watching

1220

and listening.

1221

Thanks.