Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Cuzin's Duzin founder, Todd Jones, discusses thriving through gentrification & donuts for adults

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Cuzin's Duzin founder, Todd Jones, discusses thriving through gentrification & donuts for adults · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

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Speaker 1: interviews I do on Money Making Conversations are for consumers
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Speaker 1: and businesses. I interview celebrities, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and what I
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Speaker 1: like to call industry decision makers. My next guest is
2:00
Speaker 1: Todd Jones. He has been in the donut making game
2:03
Speaker 1: for over forty five years and I'm a donut eating man.
2:07
Speaker 1: He started Cousins does His twenty six years ago. He
2:10
Speaker 1: is a mini donuts shop in downtown Brooklyn, New York,
2:13
Speaker 1: which I have visited and enjoyed eating those doughnuts because
2:16
Speaker 1: the reason I love it he makes the donuts right
2:18
Speaker 1: in front of you. You can just see him go
2:21
Speaker 1: round there. I want that when I want that one.
2:22
Speaker 1: It's really cool. They have different topies like glades, cinnamon sugar,
2:26
Speaker 1: and funnel cake powder. They also have what we're gonna
2:29
Speaker 1: talk about, have fun with doughnuts for grown ups. Please
2:33
Speaker 1: work on the money making conversations. A good friend of
2:35
Speaker 1: mine out of Brooklyn, New York, Cousin's dozens Todd Jones,
2:39
Speaker 1: How you doing talk? I'm well with how are you today?
2:43
Speaker 1: Because you should be happy. Man. You know you have
2:45
Speaker 1: to selling doughnuts coming out of the pandemic. You look
2:47
Speaker 1: like you're tired, man, look like you're tired and selling donuts.
2:50
Speaker 1: Come on, Todd, that's not the Todd I though. Now
2:53
Speaker 1: I'm not. I'm not tired now. I'm excited. As a
2:54
Speaker 1: matter of fact, I had to get up this morning
2:57
Speaker 1: four o'clock in the morning to get an order out
3:00
Speaker 1: to a client that I had. So, um, I'm off
3:03
Speaker 1: of making like, uh eighty boxes of donuts this morning. Man.
3:06
Speaker 1: So I'm ready man, those little mini donuts right, yes,
3:11
Speaker 1: so we we say Many is a new skinny, but well,
3:14
Speaker 1: I'm looking. I had a lot of your skinnies the
3:16
Speaker 1: other day because you because you shipped me like two
3:18
Speaker 1: boxes those little skinny donuts. And guess what they're tipping though,
3:22
Speaker 1: the mini donorts because they're not regular sized so you
3:25
Speaker 1: can just wind yourself eat them like free though with
3:27
Speaker 1: like potato chips. Exactly. Tell me about the popularity of
3:31
Speaker 1: your many, don't understand. Well, we've been in downtown Brooklyn
3:36
Speaker 1: for a number of years now, um, and we started
3:41
Speaker 1: to make the mini donuts down there, and uh, I
3:44
Speaker 1: came up with a new brand of new flavor called
3:46
Speaker 1: Donuts for grown Ups, and uh, right now we're featuring Hennessy,
3:51
Speaker 1: you know. So we say anything is possible, you know.
3:56
Speaker 1: So we we're just um, you know, turning out those
4:00
Speaker 1: on us. Man. We want to make a franchise out
4:03
Speaker 1: of it. We should be ready by the end of
4:05
Speaker 1: the year. And we actually want to sell the franchise
4:08
Speaker 1: as a woman entrepreneurs because the women are the fastest
4:10
Speaker 1: growing segment of the population that's starting businesses, absolutely, especially
4:15
Speaker 1: Black women. Now, let's let's talk about you know, because
4:18
Speaker 1: I've interviewed you before Todd. And actually, you know, I
4:21
Speaker 1: said earlier in my interview that I've been to your
4:23
Speaker 1: location in Brooklyn, which is really cool, very busy area
4:27
Speaker 1: in that little mall that you're in. Now, you just
4:30
Speaker 1: didn't just get in the donut game, you know, the
4:33
Speaker 1: US just just just wake up and say, Hey, I'm
4:35
Speaker 1: gonna just start doing donuts. Like I said, Earl, you've
4:38
Speaker 1: been in the donut making game for forty five years.
4:40
Speaker 1: Talk about how how you got in it, and let's
4:42
Speaker 1: walk through those steps as we go through your journey
4:45
Speaker 1: of cousins, of developing cousins, doesn't right? So? Um, what is?
4:51
Speaker 1: Six years ago? I got a job at a donut
4:54
Speaker 1: shop called the Cup and two, which was owned by
4:57
Speaker 1: three African American brothers. It was you unique experience for
5:01
Speaker 1: me because I got to see African American men run
5:05
Speaker 1: businesses and it really intrigued me. And you know, I
5:09
Speaker 1: just had the entrepreneurial bug from there. So I worked
5:12
Speaker 1: with them for about four years and then I went
5:16
Speaker 1: to UH Duncan Donuts, which uh I stayed there for
5:20
Speaker 1: twenty years. Wow. And I can say and they can say,
5:23
Speaker 1: I was the highest paid baker and Duncan donor history,
5:27
Speaker 1: you know. I mean, Sean is making so much dupe man,
5:30
Speaker 1: I was driving the BMW man unlikely said five donuts man.
5:35
Speaker 1: You know. So, so when you started first, when you
5:40
Speaker 1: entered baking, or that was just a job you took
5:42
Speaker 1: the responsibility on. When you started working with the gentleman,
5:46
Speaker 1: the African American, the baker bars, donut owners. It was
5:51
Speaker 1: a job at first, but then I really begin to
5:53
Speaker 1: like it because of the fact that you know, shan
5:56
Speaker 1: as as a chef and cook. You know, when somebody
5:59
Speaker 1: takes your stuff and really like it to put a
6:00
Speaker 1: smile on your face. I was seeing a response that
6:04
Speaker 1: people we were having, you know, when I made the donuts,
6:08
Speaker 1: you know, so I was doing it after school and
6:11
Speaker 1: in the summer came I do it during the summer,
6:13
Speaker 1: and it just became a passion man, right. And so
6:17
Speaker 1: the cool thing about it is that, you know, two
6:19
Speaker 1: of my favorite desserts are doughnuts an ice cream, you know,
6:23
Speaker 1: and so doughnuts I love, I like, I like the
6:26
Speaker 1: glaze donuts. I like doughnuts with something. I like those
6:29
Speaker 1: cake doughnuts, you know, I like uh donuts and stuffed. So,
6:34
Speaker 1: so what were you making and what became your favorite
6:37
Speaker 1: donuts in the early years because you said you went
6:39
Speaker 1: over the dunk and they do a lot of stuff donuts.
6:42
Speaker 1: So talk about to the steps of what what what
6:45
Speaker 1: is the difference between the cake the glaze, why the
6:47
Speaker 1: glaze is so popular? And then and then then and
6:50
Speaker 1: then the evolution of the stuff donut right well, well,
6:54
Speaker 1: first and foremost there's two types of donuts. There's a
6:56
Speaker 1: yeast donuts, which is the soft ones, which is the
6:59
Speaker 1: glaze and the jelas, and then there's the cake donor.
7:02
Speaker 1: The difference between the two. With the yeast, it takes
7:05
Speaker 1: more time to make because you gotta let it sit,
7:07
Speaker 1: you gotta let a rise. You're putting yeast in it,
7:10
Speaker 1: you know. The cake doughnuts, you know, you flour, you know,
7:13
Speaker 1: some water, some other ingredients and you can go right
7:16
Speaker 1: away with the cake donuts and make them right away.
7:19
Speaker 1: Um with cousins doesn't obviously we use the cake donors
7:23
Speaker 1: because you know, it's it's faster, you know, and I
7:26
Speaker 1: think it's a better tasting donor. You know, I like
7:28
Speaker 1: the density UH of a cake donor and the type
7:32
Speaker 1: of uh donor that we have. It's like preparatory where
7:37
Speaker 1: It's like a bunt of milk cake donor you know,
7:39
Speaker 1: that's where you get that when you want it hits
7:41
Speaker 1: your tongue. Man, it melts right in your mouth. This
7:43
Speaker 1: is true. This is true. You know. Now the stuff
7:47
Speaker 1: donut Now, like I'm just talking about the donuts in general,
7:49
Speaker 1: because that's not what you get into you know, and
7:52
Speaker 1: your your locations, cause it doesn't specializes in many donuts.
7:56
Speaker 1: But why your donuts? I can tell you. I just
8:00
Speaker 1: like doughnuts, but donut generally are something that you eat
8:03
Speaker 1: early in the morning. Or is it a snack? Or
8:06
Speaker 1: am I just assuming that because I get my donuts
8:09
Speaker 1: in the morning. Because a lot of people drink coffee,
8:11
Speaker 1: they tie donuts and coffee together. What is the evolution
8:14
Speaker 1: of the doughnut? What what tell us about that the
8:16
Speaker 1: donut in this popularity? Well, well, well now it doesn't
8:20
Speaker 1: want from just being a breakfast item to a twenty
8:23
Speaker 1: four hour item, you know. Um from the evolution of
8:28
Speaker 1: what I'm doing. As far as the donuts for grown ups,
8:30
Speaker 1: that's the alcohol if you donuts, you know, so, I mean,
8:35
Speaker 1: people aren't gonna eat Hennessy donuts in the morning, but
8:39
Speaker 1: you know, you never know it might eat for lunch
8:43
Speaker 1: for sure, Hennessy donut and I usually tell people at
8:47
Speaker 1: six o'clock somewhere in the world. You know absolutely, so
8:51
Speaker 1: you know another. But you have other flavors in Hennessey
8:53
Speaker 1: of Sharrock, you have to other than yeah, we do Starrock,
8:58
Speaker 1: we do pink for scotto. You know any any type
9:01
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9:05
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10:07
Speaker 1: just waiting for the And there they go, almost on time.
10:11
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Speaker 1: belonging begins with us dot org brought to you by
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Speaker 1: the AD Council. Welcome out in the shoes. Now, let's
11:35
Speaker 1: when we talk about donuts. You know, because we just
11:38
Speaker 1: came out of COVID and New York was hit the
11:40
Speaker 1: worst would shut down, shut that and all I could
11:44
Speaker 1: think about it is all my friends like you dealing.
11:47
Speaker 1: Would you know, no customers? Would they get a p
11:51
Speaker 1: p P you know, payroll projection plan alone? So how
11:56
Speaker 1: did you when when when we got shut down? In
12:00
Speaker 1: is too much walking through that stuff, the anxieties of
12:03
Speaker 1: what's gonna happen about your business? What what well? For me? Um?
12:09
Speaker 1: I had to do a pivot and the pivot that
12:12
Speaker 1: came to me straight from God was mail order. Start
12:17
Speaker 1: to do mail order, and I came up with this concept. Well,
12:21
Speaker 1: God gave me the concept do to door and I
12:24
Speaker 1: was shipping donus all across the country with Sean. It
12:27
Speaker 1: saved me. It saved me, you know. And another idea
12:31
Speaker 1: came to me that instead of doing brick and mortar,
12:35
Speaker 1: do mobile. Mm hmmm, so we're gonna be franchising mobile
12:42
Speaker 1: donor trucks. M you know, I got theme music to
12:46
Speaker 1: go with a two shans, like the Mr Softy Man. Man.
12:49
Speaker 1: When you hear this cousin does the song, you know
12:51
Speaker 1: we're on our way man. Well, you know, you know
12:53
Speaker 1: we're growing up. When that ice cream truck came in
12:56
Speaker 1: the neighborhood, I don't care how old you are. I
12:59
Speaker 1: don't care if your mama was spanking. She stops banking you.
13:02
Speaker 1: Go boy, here's a quarter. Go I think ice cream.
13:05
Speaker 1: And when you come back, don't be don't be crying
13:06
Speaker 1: out there. Don't let nobody know how to finished banking you.
13:09
Speaker 1: It was like, that's what the old, the old. The
13:12
Speaker 1: thing I love about your charges that first of all,
13:14
Speaker 1: you're you're you're you're a businessman. But you're alls you're
13:17
Speaker 1: passionate about your product. Because even when I was in
13:20
Speaker 1: your store and customers are coming in there, it was
13:23
Speaker 1: almost a relationship that you're creating with your customers as
13:27
Speaker 1: well as the passion that wanted to deliver a product
13:31
Speaker 1: that's gonna put a smile on their face. That that
13:33
Speaker 1: that just really so it's it's beyond just making franchising
13:37
Speaker 1: and making donuts. It's like a cultural or cultural change
13:41
Speaker 1: for you when people eat your food. For us, it's
13:45
Speaker 1: just not selling donuts. It's an experience. We want you
13:48
Speaker 1: to experience. We want you to see the donors, we
13:50
Speaker 1: want you to smell the donuts, we want you to
13:52
Speaker 1: taste the donuts. You know, it's an experience. Cousins doesn't
13:55
Speaker 1: as an experience, you know, And that's when we're where
14:00
Speaker 1: creating that the Cousins doesn't store. Now, when you when
14:03
Speaker 1: like you said, he said he ships his doughnuts, it's
14:06
Speaker 1: absolutely he shipped me some donors. He dm me on
14:09
Speaker 1: social Media's Richard he wants to donuts. I gave my
14:12
Speaker 1: email address, I gave my my building a dress. Food
14:15
Speaker 1: don't have to ride fresh with three types of topics.
14:18
Speaker 1: You know it was. It was the it was the
14:21
Speaker 1: finnel cake powder, it was the cinnamon chero and there
14:26
Speaker 1: was the glazy the glazy type of icing as well.
14:31
Speaker 1: And I was able to put them on all three
14:32
Speaker 1: of them. And now I like my donor's a little
14:35
Speaker 1: a little bit of room temperature. I stuck it in
14:38
Speaker 1: the oven for like fifteen seconds, only part of I
14:42
Speaker 1: put the plated them. Took a photo of sent it
14:44
Speaker 1: t with me smiling because if you just saw five
14:47
Speaker 1: minutes later the plates were clean. So I should have
14:50
Speaker 1: done that. I should I should have showed you a
14:52
Speaker 1: play empty in the plate food because a lot of
14:53
Speaker 1: people don't think that I eat food. You don't eat them.
14:57
Speaker 1: How can you stay as skinny as you'all? Hey, don't
14:59
Speaker 1: worry about high stair as skinn as I am. What
15:01
Speaker 1: you worry about? You sent me some good food. Rashaan's
15:04
Speaker 1: gonna eat it and give yours a pit. And like
15:06
Speaker 1: you said, when I ate the donuts, which is I'm
15:08
Speaker 1: would tell somebody about his cousins. Doesn't donuts because if you,
15:12
Speaker 1: if you try to watch your weight, don't go there
15:15
Speaker 1: because the donors to sneak up on you because they're
15:17
Speaker 1: so small and so tasty that I ate. I ate
15:22
Speaker 1: fifteen donuts. Yeah, I fifteen. I won't tell you the truth.
15:28
Speaker 1: I did eat fifteen donuts. Needs a little mini donuts.
15:31
Speaker 1: And in my mind I was rationalizing by it was
15:33
Speaker 1: like four equals one normal size donuts. That's how it
15:37
Speaker 1: was rationalizing. So I really ate four donuts, Todd. So
15:43
Speaker 1: just the mantra is when you eat the donuts, many
15:46
Speaker 1: is the new skinny. Many is a new skinny skins. Well,
15:51
Speaker 1: I'm skinny and I'm many, and I'm keep doing so
15:54
Speaker 1: I shouldn't be ashamed in my game. If I'm even cousin.
15:57
Speaker 1: It doesn't donuts like this. I'm taught. Yes, So when
16:02
Speaker 1: we when we talk about this, you know in Brooklyn,
16:04
Speaker 1: Brooklyn is hot, got them and got the Brooklyn nets
16:08
Speaker 1: is a city in itself. You know, everybody talks about Manhattan,
16:12
Speaker 1: everybody talked about Holler, but really Brooklyn is the new
16:15
Speaker 1: city borough. That's an exciting Burrow tell us about that
16:18
Speaker 1: community of Brooklyn. Brooklyn, man It's it's it's a uh
16:24
Speaker 1: diverse neighborhood. You know, you've got different ethnic groups, different
16:28
Speaker 1: you know, financial groups, and you know we were all
16:31
Speaker 1: in there doing that thing, you know. And with that
16:34
Speaker 1: being said, uh huh, I love Brooklyn because I know
16:39
Speaker 1: that Spike Lee his office is over there. You know.
16:42
Speaker 1: I know the Brooklyn Nets over there. I know high
16:44
Speaker 1: rises are being built out there over there in the
16:46
Speaker 1: Brooklyn area, Brooklyn area, you know that whole It is
16:50
Speaker 1: a large African American, very diverse population is based in Brooklyn.
16:54
Speaker 1: And Brooklyn started the hum you know because like growing
16:57
Speaker 1: up all you heard about Manhattan. Then you heard about
17:00
Speaker 1: Hall of Hall of Man, of Man. Not then you
17:03
Speaker 1: heard by queens, but Brooklyn. Man, Yeah, in Brooklyn is
17:08
Speaker 1: it man. And I've been in Brooklyn now for about
17:11
Speaker 1: I would say about fifteen sixteen years in the community
17:14
Speaker 1: embraces me. You know. Um when when we went through
17:19
Speaker 1: that gentification situation, I survived that, you know. So, I mean,
17:24
Speaker 1: you know Bruler's home. But but Sean, I'm announced right
17:27
Speaker 1: here on your show. I'll be down back to Georgia. Man,
17:31
Speaker 1: I'm coming back down there. Man. Okay, okay, you're bringing
17:35
Speaker 1: the Cousins dozen to Georgia, that's what you're saying. Are
17:37
Speaker 1: you making an announce I'm bringing the Cousins dozen down George.
17:42
Speaker 1: I think that's gonna be the first place I uh
17:46
Speaker 1: put the food trucks down there, because you guys have
17:49
Speaker 1: a very diverse and and booming food truck a business,
17:53
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna, you know, add my flavor to Okay,
17:55
Speaker 1: here's a deal to you know, you gotta let me
17:58
Speaker 1: know ahead of time so I can, like, you know,
18:00
Speaker 1: because because we're gonna treat it like a pop up.
18:02
Speaker 1: She's like a pop up because because of the fact
18:05
Speaker 1: that see what I've been knowing Tird a long time
18:08
Speaker 1: and he's always been uh see. The reason I like
18:12
Speaker 1: him is that he does what I always tell young
18:14
Speaker 1: entrepreneurs to do. He reaches out, then he follows up,
18:18
Speaker 1: and he's professional. See a lot of people when they
18:21
Speaker 1: reach out, if they don't get a response, they frustrate,
18:24
Speaker 1: they blow it off, and and so. And when I
18:27
Speaker 1: say that, you can't always assume that just because somebody
18:30
Speaker 1: and they immediately respond back to you, that there's a
18:33
Speaker 1: negative situation that's developing. Work with their schedule, send them
18:37
Speaker 1: samples of what you're trying to get them to understand.
18:40
Speaker 1: But you always have variety, and he always led to
18:43
Speaker 1: your success. Tell everybody about how important it is for relationships,
18:47
Speaker 1: Todd and building out your business and also franchise in
18:50
Speaker 1: your business, also create a mobile business. Relationships is the
18:54
Speaker 1: key to cousins doesn't success correct? Yes, absolutely, It's all
18:59
Speaker 1: about relationships from sean um before anything. People want to,
19:04
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19:08
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Speaker 1: the AD Council. Well, you know, I want to agree
20:49
Speaker 1: with that. I also agreed that, you know, there are
20:51
Speaker 1: other entrepreneurs out there that that give you a platform.
20:56
Speaker 1: You know, I know that when I was building that
20:57
Speaker 1: Steve Harvey's career, I looked at other talents and what
21:01
Speaker 1: they're doing. Denserlve Washington is doing this, or Bernie Max
21:05
Speaker 1: doing this, or Cedric's doing this or deal doing this,
21:08
Speaker 1: which was in his lane, you know, Chris Tucker's doing
21:11
Speaker 1: this or Chris Rocks doing this, just to compare what
21:14
Speaker 1: their social media look like, what their career platform like
21:17
Speaker 1: look like, and find out what is that lane for
21:19
Speaker 1: Steve Harvey to be successful them? And so so I'm
21:23
Speaker 1: sure when you're looking at your platform, and not necessarily
21:26
Speaker 1: you're looking at other doughnut companies, but what other all
21:29
Speaker 1: your favorite entrepreneurs that you look at as examples for
21:33
Speaker 1: a model that you can use in your many don't
21:37
Speaker 1: an empire? Well first and almost for Sean, I gotta
21:40
Speaker 1: say quite truthfully, you're one of my my, my, my,
21:44
Speaker 1: my idols. Man. You're like the black gods father business.
21:48
Speaker 1: The way that you take care of businessman is phenomenal.
21:50
Speaker 1: You're an example of what black businesses look like. You know,
21:57
Speaker 1: another one of my favorites. He's not here any more,
22:00
Speaker 1: but Reginald Lewis, Yes, the black the Black Bird. Ye.
22:03
Speaker 1: Did you know he used to own Crispy Creme. Absolutely,
22:07
Speaker 1: it's conglomerate own chrispy Creme. You know, he's like an
22:10
Speaker 1: idol of mine. Man, it's like the example of how
22:13
Speaker 1: to run business. Yes, you know, and I'm very fortunate
22:17
Speaker 1: to have people like you in my life to to
22:20
Speaker 1: to you know, to show me how to do business correctly. Well,
22:24
Speaker 1: you know the thing about it is that and and
22:26
Speaker 1: thank you for that compliment, because my wife always say
22:28
Speaker 1: when people compliment, you must say thank you. And you'll
22:30
Speaker 1: be so embarrassed when people compliment me that this shows
22:33
Speaker 1: about you. It shows about your brain. And putting the
22:36
Speaker 1: word out and somebody compliments is always catching me your card.
22:39
Speaker 1: But I'm also always appreciated over it. But like when
22:41
Speaker 1: you post a lot of times, I just like your
22:43
Speaker 1: posts or I comment keep winning, uh, looking good, because
22:47
Speaker 1: just saying that's not do that a lot. Sometimes I
22:49
Speaker 1: just sit in my house or in my office, I
22:52
Speaker 1: just go through my timeline and just look at people
22:54
Speaker 1: and I just give him. I'll give him a fire,
22:57
Speaker 1: you know, some hand claps or I'm praying for you.
23:01
Speaker 1: So that's that that that does that level of motivation
23:04
Speaker 1: when you see that does how does that make you feel? Man? Oh?
23:08
Speaker 1: But shutting. The very first time you called me when
23:10
Speaker 1: I was in the land of three years ago and
23:12
Speaker 1: I knew who you were, you know, I followed you
23:15
Speaker 1: and you hit me up on Facebook and you said
23:16
Speaker 1: to me, have you ever been on a Steve Harvey show?
23:20
Speaker 1: Almost fainted? I'm like, watch you know, and that's how
23:24
Speaker 1: relationship started, you know. Um yeah, it does. Man, motivation,
23:30
Speaker 1: it's great, man, people really liking your probably saying great
23:34
Speaker 1: things about you. And that's how I am too, man.
23:36
Speaker 1: I I shout out a lot of people, a lot
23:38
Speaker 1: of other donor shops and a lot of other entrepreneurs.
23:41
Speaker 1: I think that's important because whenever you give out comes
23:44
Speaker 1: back to you. You know, the beauty of your business
23:48
Speaker 1: and the beauty of you and your personality, you know,
23:50
Speaker 1: because you gotta look you know, and it's always about it.
23:53
Speaker 1: That's your brand, you know. When I'm looking at you
23:55
Speaker 1: on TV right now, this is your brand, which means
23:58
Speaker 1: that you have a you you learned from being in
24:02
Speaker 1: the corporate world, working for small entrepreneurs, working for dunking donors,
24:07
Speaker 1: and then stepping out on you. I want to talk
24:10
Speaker 1: about stepping out on Some people used to worry faith,
24:13
Speaker 1: but I always always tell people, you step out on faith,
24:15
Speaker 1: you better have a plan with that. Okay, So talk
24:18
Speaker 1: about making that transition to believing in yourself from leaving
24:21
Speaker 1: a safe but successful corporate environment well, well, first and
24:26
Speaker 1: almost Sean, I got to your idea from cousins, doesn't
24:30
Speaker 1: I always give give h acknowledgement to God? And I
24:35
Speaker 1: say all ideas come from God. And if God gives
24:38
Speaker 1: you an idea, of God's gonna make sure that it happens.
24:41
Speaker 1: You just have to be persistent. You have to believe
24:45
Speaker 1: in yourself, which is very important, and know what's going
24:48
Speaker 1: to happen, you know, and give thanks for it in
24:52
Speaker 1: a in advance like it already happened. It's it's a
24:54
Speaker 1: God idea. Well, you know. The thing about it is
24:57
Speaker 1: that I hear that you know. But a lot of people,
25:00
Speaker 1: I want to say, put too much faith in God,
25:03
Speaker 1: because you gotta work. You gotta get up. And like
25:05
Speaker 1: you said, for him, he was making you're making eighty
25:08
Speaker 1: boxes of donuts, you know, and so God woke you up,
25:11
Speaker 1: but they've gotta be work applied to the work. Because
25:14
Speaker 1: I always tell you a long clock may go off,
25:15
Speaker 1: but it didn't really wake you up. You know, God
25:18
Speaker 1: woke you up. But when you wake up, what did
25:20
Speaker 1: you do with that effort that he put into you?
25:22
Speaker 1: And that that that tells you you need to get up? Well,
25:27
Speaker 1: like they say, faithful that works. Is that Yes, you
25:30
Speaker 1: know you're gonna have as much faith as you want.
25:32
Speaker 1: But if you're not working and and you know a
25:34
Speaker 1: lot of people say, you know, you gotta work hard. No,
25:37
Speaker 1: just consistently work It ain't hard. I'll be on my effortlessness. Right. No,
25:43
Speaker 1: just let's talk about this time. You're not a one
25:46
Speaker 1: man operation. Man, who is who is your team or
25:49
Speaker 1: some of your key members that have supported you all
25:51
Speaker 1: these years, that have supported you now the positions because
25:55
Speaker 1: you're not gonna be down here in Atlanta with your
25:57
Speaker 1: mobile Trump making these doughnuts by yourself. What's going wrong
26:00
Speaker 1: with the what the what the what the Todd Jones Empore?
26:03
Speaker 1: Then that the cousins Dona Empore. Well, well, you know
26:07
Speaker 1: I have a whole team of cool I got to
26:10
Speaker 1: the Donort princesses, my daughter, I got p dough which
26:14
Speaker 1: is uh my friend Johnny Uh I have you know,
26:19
Speaker 1: even though you know when that partners no more. I
26:21
Speaker 1: have my man easy Glaze to fall back water. As
26:23
Speaker 1: far as advice, you know, all my people got donut names, man,
26:28
Speaker 1: you know, and also you know I have one the
26:32
Speaker 1: team now, my coach Stephanie rowe Um phenomenal woman. Man's
26:37
Speaker 1: really you know, uh, directing me on how to build
26:40
Speaker 1: this empire. You know, So it's a it's a team effort. Man.
26:43
Speaker 1: We're all cousins. All cousins were near the beauty of it.
26:46
Speaker 1: If you're in there, if you're in the like, we
26:48
Speaker 1: all know he's because he's franchising. But if you're in
26:50
Speaker 1: the Brooklyn, downtown Brooklyn area, you know, Cousins doesn't been
26:55
Speaker 1: in there, and started to twenty six years ago. I've
26:57
Speaker 1: been there the beauty of When I'm talking into somebody
27:00
Speaker 1: that call him a friend, I support him because first
27:03
Speaker 1: of all, he delivered quality. You know, he sells the
27:05
Speaker 1: fresh hot many donors right in front him, right there
27:09
Speaker 1: you asked for him. He's made on the spot. He
27:11
Speaker 1: has these cool little black boxes that he puts them
27:14
Speaker 1: in that you can walk around and eat him in
27:16
Speaker 1: the streets as you you can put him in your car,
27:18
Speaker 1: or you can take in the work and give them
27:19
Speaker 1: to some friends. He has cool top ins, but it's
27:22
Speaker 1: all fresh. And that's really what we're talking about. Its quality,
27:26
Speaker 1: and that's what your number point selling point is quality service,
27:30
Speaker 1: great personality, great experience. And Cousins doesn't correct, that's correct.
27:36
Speaker 1: Don't forget two of us, Sean, the little donuts stick
27:38
Speaker 1: up put in there, yes, hands absolutely you see. See,
27:44
Speaker 1: I gotta admit you sent me like six of them. Okay,
27:47
Speaker 1: but I'm from the country Houston texts. Okay. See that's
27:51
Speaker 1: for people who you know in the streets, walking around
27:54
Speaker 1: in public. The little sticks. You know, you just put
27:56
Speaker 1: it in the box, you know, daintily put it in
27:58
Speaker 1: your mouth. Your are like I told you a fifteen donors.
28:02
Speaker 1: I would have to tell you this time. I didn't
28:04
Speaker 1: use your stick, brother, okay, even on the little glaze,
28:07
Speaker 1: because the glaze is wet, you know right now, I
28:10
Speaker 1: just put in my ball and licked the little glaze
28:12
Speaker 1: off the tips of the edges of my finger that
28:14
Speaker 1: went over by my business. Okay, it's don't I don't
28:19
Speaker 1: know talk. I don't know if it's don't know that eticutt.
28:21
Speaker 1: All I know is this. I knew I could not
28:23
Speaker 1: eat the wet though nothing before to dry donuts. Okay,
28:26
Speaker 1: so I started with the dry I thought it with
28:28
Speaker 1: the powder. Then I went over to the cinema. Okay,
28:31
Speaker 1: it's in order to my math. People say, do you
28:34
Speaker 1: just no, no, no, no, see when you're dessert nothing
28:37
Speaker 1: like me. And I have to say I'm a dessert.
28:40
Speaker 1: People call her foodie. I'm a dessert foodie. Okay, I'm
28:42
Speaker 1: gonna put the work foodie behind dessert. So when I
28:46
Speaker 1: saw your stuff, because Samantha, she's you know, she's an
28:48
Speaker 1: executive producer. She always see me get delivery. She always
28:51
Speaker 1: little nosy, you know, wanting the oh did you get
28:55
Speaker 1: the doughnuts from cousins? Taught? Yeah, And I just stared
28:59
Speaker 1: at her because you know it ain't gonna be yeah,
29:01
Speaker 1: and I'm and I'm sharing, okay, yeah, in silenced, Okay, Yeah,
29:06
Speaker 1: I got him. Well, I'm gonna send some man with her. No, no, no,
29:10
Speaker 1: no no, don't you do that. Don't you do that.
29:12
Speaker 1: Don't you do that? See what she what you can't
29:14
Speaker 1: do because it does. This is my relationship to what
29:18
Speaker 1: you can't do is you cannot pity back off of
29:21
Speaker 1: my hard work, my heart eating. Okay. So when she
29:26
Speaker 1: when the donuts came down here to Atlanta, George, and
29:29
Speaker 1: where you shipped from Brooklyn, New York, Atlanta, George, ride fresh.
29:33
Speaker 1: I got my two boxes, put them in a refrigerator.
29:36
Speaker 1: She looking around the corner because you know, her office
29:39
Speaker 1: is next to my kitchen, so she peeps a lot. Okay,
29:44
Speaker 1: I put it strategically. Everybody knows you can ask anybody
29:48
Speaker 1: that works for me, do not just go in my refrigerator, Todd.
29:52
Speaker 1: You have to have a purpose because see you're going
29:54
Speaker 1: to refrigerator. I may be standing behind you because you
29:58
Speaker 1: keep me stealing my doughnuts. So we keep the show
30:01
Speaker 1: Rashawn's kitchen. I asked. I asked it for permission, So
30:05
Speaker 1: if it's all right, if I do, Todd, you know,
30:07
Speaker 1: the donuts is my example because I want people what
30:10
Speaker 1: what what I realized is that a lot of people
30:12
Speaker 1: send me food pray leads, and I'm gonna make that
30:15
Speaker 1: a section of the segment of my show, and I
30:17
Speaker 1: introduce you as my premier episode where I invite people
30:21
Speaker 1: who are young small businesses or franchise and type businesses
30:24
Speaker 1: like yourself to introduce you to my audiences like two
30:27
Speaker 1: million homes in the Atlanta, Georgia area extreams internationally. So
30:31
Speaker 1: I definitely want to get the word out about what
30:33
Speaker 1: you're doing, Todd, because you're such an amazing person. That's
30:37
Speaker 1: that's important to me. You have a great product, that's
30:39
Speaker 1: very important to me. And you're consistent, and that's key.
30:43
Speaker 1: And if are those are traits that you're trying to
30:45
Speaker 1: sell and trying to promote the most when you're doing
30:48
Speaker 1: Cousins doesn't talk absolutely um. That's why it's very important
30:53
Speaker 1: when I get franchise zes that they are able to
30:56
Speaker 1: follow instructions because we want them to have that same
30:59
Speaker 1: spaces wherever Cousins doesn't ever's in Japan, I want you
31:04
Speaker 1: to have that same experience. You know, consistency is what
31:08
Speaker 1: people look for. Again, let me just fill everybody out.
31:12
Speaker 1: Todd Jones, he's been there donut making game for over
31:15
Speaker 1: forty five years. Hear me out on that. He started
31:19
Speaker 1: Cousin dozens twenty six years. Tog He is a many
31:22
Speaker 1: donnuts shop and down Tied Brooklyn, New York. They say
31:25
Speaker 1: a hot fresh miny donors made right in front of you.
31:28
Speaker 1: I was accustomable. I was there. I know they have
31:31
Speaker 1: toppings like glades, which I just told y'all that's the
31:33
Speaker 1: weapon right there. Then a sick of cinema and then
31:36
Speaker 1: the funnel. If anybody loves funnel cake, they know what
31:38
Speaker 1: you're talking about. That powder and when you eat the doughnuts.
31:41
Speaker 1: I kid you not, it's just kind of like melting
31:43
Speaker 1: your mouth, That's what I'm talking about. And then if
31:46
Speaker 1: you if you want to be a love you know,
31:48
Speaker 1: naughty as they say, he has donnuts for growing ups.
31:51
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, Hennessey flavor, you know Sharack. Oh,
31:56
Speaker 1: good for that, because so you're gonna make it big
32:00
Speaker 1: of that, make it make it ha a big You
32:02
Speaker 1: want of my favorite entrepreneurs of the interview of my
32:04
Speaker 1: show and Money Making Conversation, Todd, I want to thank
32:07
Speaker 1: you for taking the time. I know you got up
32:09
Speaker 1: did all the doughnuts, but you still took time to
32:11
Speaker 1: promote your product on Money Making Conversations. It's one question
32:16
Speaker 1: I got to actually Sean, Okay, how do you stay
32:18
Speaker 1: so clean after eating powdered doughnuts and cinnamon doughs. Here's
32:22
Speaker 1: the funny quarterbody. I'm gonna tell you something. I'm gonna
32:24
Speaker 1: tell you something talk. I wear all black on my
32:27
Speaker 1: show when I tape I people ask me, I don't
32:31
Speaker 1: want to know, April, Okay. I I know how to
32:35
Speaker 1: lean forward and eat, lean forward and eat, and plus
32:39
Speaker 1: you have an order to you mad and not see
32:41
Speaker 1: if I just went in there grabbing it with my
32:43
Speaker 1: hand like this, I got piled all over my hand.
32:45
Speaker 1: That can get on your clothes. I go in with
32:47
Speaker 1: my little finger. That's why the stick is cool. But
32:51
Speaker 1: it also could like flick. You know, you can flip
32:54
Speaker 1: see that. See see you have to listen, I think now,
32:57
Speaker 1: so I'm not gonna I can't take that risk. So
33:00
Speaker 1: these fingers I can control. Pick up that little little
33:02
Speaker 1: doughnut popping in my mouth, go for around two fifteen
33:06
Speaker 1: straight doughnuts. Nothing on my clothes. You'll see it on
33:08
Speaker 1: the show Rishan's Kitchen. You'll see it when you do
33:12
Speaker 1: any like me on the show. I want to come
33:14
Speaker 1: down there a live. We know what. You know what
33:18
Speaker 1: I'm gonna do, because you know we we we can
33:20
Speaker 1: zoom live. I'm gonna do a zoom from your location
33:23
Speaker 1: in Brooklyn. Can we make that happen to Matha. Yeah,
33:26
Speaker 1: We'll do a live from your kitchen and put it
33:29
Speaker 1: on the show. That's what we should have done this time,
33:31
Speaker 1: But next time we're doing so when you when you
33:34
Speaker 1: were when you were about to come down here to
33:35
Speaker 1: do the mobile pop up in Atlanta. Before that, we're
33:39
Speaker 1: gonna do a live into your location in the Brooklyn store. Okay,
33:43
Speaker 1: sounds great, looking forward, looking forward to always looking forward
33:47
Speaker 1: to talk to you. Thank you for coming on the
33:48
Speaker 1: show Money Making Conversation. I apprechate Todd Jones Cousins doesn't.
33:54
Speaker 1: If you want to hear or see any of my
33:56
Speaker 1: shows of Money Making Conversation, please go to Money Making
33:58
Speaker 1: Conversations dot com. A Rashan McDonald, I am your host.
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