Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Perseverance: Was Laid off, but she Regrouped! Her Cookies are now sold in 4,100 stores nationwide and Canada.

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Perseverance: Was Laid off, but she Regrouped! Her Cookies are now sold in 4,100 stores nationwide and Canada. · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

• 0:05
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  Speaker 1: providing information by people who are a dreamers just like you,
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  Speaker 1: nonprofits and profits and we want to learn their secrets
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: to success. My next guest is a cookie and cookie
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: and cookie dough mixed brand. That's what she built. She's
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: recently went from two hundred stores now two hundred store
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  Speaker 1: to now more than forty one hundred stores. An idea
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: that start I didn't in the kitchen, just like a
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: lot of you guys out there. The products are now
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: available nationwide and all home goods, TJ Max. All these
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: stories she's going to tell you, even in Canada. It's
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: a vegan cookie and looks and everybody wants to according
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: to go from two hundred to forty one hundred. A
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: lot of people wanted please working with the Money Making
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Conversation master class, so she can tell her story how
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: they all started. Doctor Shika. How are you doing, doctor Sheika?
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: I am doing great. Rashaan, how are you doing?
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: A vegan cookie?
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Yes, a vegan cookie.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: How did that idea start?
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Oh? My gosh, okay, So the idea of a vegan
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: cookie we started right at twenty twenty after the pandemic.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: I was an educator. I was in the field of
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: education education management, and I've always been baking on the side,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: baking on the weekends and bacon since I was a
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: teenager in the South to be. But when I lost
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: my job the company closed as a result of COVID,
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: and the marketing director she was like, you know what,
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: you as a little go ahead and start your bakery.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: At this time, so basically you were working a normal job,
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: just like everybody, forty hours a week. They had no
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: aspirations of a cookie business.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: No, I didn't really think I had it in me,
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying. I never really thought that
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: that was something I could do.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: Wow, And so but why vegan? You know, like I said,
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: I've tasted your cookies. They do taste. They taste I
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: have to say fantastic. And with that being said, and
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: I'm not a vegan guy. And so you know, someone
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: tell you when I say I'm not a vegan guy.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: I don't know what that means. All I know is
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: I like things are the good. I like good desserts.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: This dessert hit a home run with me. Now, with
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: that being said, there are a lot of cookies out
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: there you could have made that are non vegan. Why
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: did you choose vegan?
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: Okay? So we wanted to make a cookie that is
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: delicious and flavorful for everybody to enjoy, right, Okay. So
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  Speaker 2: I know that there are people out there with dairyology.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: Some people have latose intolerance, some people don't want the cholesterol,
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: some people are looking for you know, we're in the
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: age of everybody want something different. But what I do,
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: what I do know is that people want something delicious
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: and flavorful, and we wanted to be able to have
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: something that everybody enjoyed. So that's why we came out
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: with the plant based cookies.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Now it's called Doctor Shika's Bakery. That's the name of
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: the Brain correct Now I would like hearing backstory on
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: people because, like I said, and we're going to get
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: to how it all got launched, because I'm sure there's
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: more to this joy story. But where are you originally from?
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: I'm originally from Easily, South Carolina. Many people have not
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: heard about it.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: I'm about to say, I've been all over South Carolina.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: I've never been there. Okay, maybe drove past it real fast,
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: but I've never.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: Yes, you've never been there. So Easily is like in
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: between Greenville and Clemson and so if you've ever heard
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: of the Clinton Tigers and that's yeah, So it's in
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: between in between. It's a small city in between those.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: And then you made your way to Atlanta.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: Yes, I made my way to Atlanta. Lived there in
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Atlanta for about eight years, and then I always had
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: this dream of moving to LA. Always had a dream
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: of moving to LA. Ended up taking a teaching position.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: I taught college and Phoenut Arizona. Did that while I
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: was finishing my doctorate. I was finishing my PhD, and
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: then I had an opportunity to move out to LA
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: and I was like, Okay, this is my time to
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: actually move to LA.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: Now here's the fun part because I do know a
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: little little about her story. Now she's been laid off,
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: no aspirations of starting a cookie business. So basically she's
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: doing a rock and Heart place. What's your extream? You know,
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: entrepreneurship wasn't a plan. And I always like to tell
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: people all dreams, all plans are always plan. Sometimes that
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: happened when when you see it happening, you got to
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: realize that moment. Tell us what happened in Los Angeles?
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: Okay, so in Los Angeles again, I was doing an
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: education job here, got laid off. Marketing director said go
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: for it. I started doing pop ups around LA and
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: so I started having a celebrity clientele. So I had
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: some people, really interesting people that came out, like the
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: creator of the show Entourage, Doug Ellen. He was one
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: of my biggest cheerleaders and still is today and that's
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: one of my favorite shows. For him to come by
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  Speaker 2: one of our pop ups and actually chase our cookies
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: and brownies and give it a check off, you know,
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: that was a big thing to me, right and so
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: from there, you know, he told Terry Weinberg, and she
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: was a producer of the TV shows The Office, which
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: is another favorite show of mine. I've even even got
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: all the way around to making birthday cake for Jessica
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: Simpson and delivering it at her house. These are things
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: I never thought that I would do because my my
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: initial goal was not to have a bakery. I was
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: an educator. I have three degrees in education. I have
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: a bachelor's, a master's, and a PhD. And so that
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: was my career path and God said otherwise.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: But I love the fact that you're gonna say, Look,
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: I'm still gonna keep doctor in my name here. I
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: may not be using it academically, i might not never
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: been losing it a job, but it's gonna be doctor
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  Speaker 1: Sheikha's Bakery.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, yes, yes, I earned it. I went to school
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  Speaker 2: for seventeen years to get that degree, and you know,
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: being able to still educate people on having a better
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: for you option. You know, I'm still educating people, you know,
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  Speaker 2: So I'm bringing that education to the Philli cookies.
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  Speaker 1: Now, let's talk about the different brands, because you know
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: you you out there, pop up and now I see
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: you have a chopper chip or old men raising a
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: lemon and a confetti sugar. Did you have that back
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: when you started with your pop up.
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  Speaker 2: No, I didn't. And this is so funny because again,
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: I always baked in the South, started from when I
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: was with my mother and grand grandmother, and I didn't
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: always have all these recipes like my family's known for
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: making great red belt a cake, you know what I'm saying,
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: and making delicious chocolate cake, pound cakes, things like that.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: But honestly, the time where people would come and ask me, hey,
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: you know, word got around. Can you make me this?
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: Can you make me that? You would never believe some
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: of the things that I made the first time back
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: then I had never made before, I ever made before,
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: and so it was like a learning experience. And one
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: thing that I do know is I pourt my heart
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: and soul into everything that I make, and so you know,
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: if it wasn't perfect, I would make it again. It
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: wasn't if it wasn't to my satisfaction, I would make
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: it again. So my goal was to make sure that
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: one would say, you know what, this is the best
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: cookie I ever had, the best brownie ever had. And
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: I really still stands on that principle today.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: Right now, let's talk about developing a different flavors. So
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: when the person from the office came by. The person
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: from the series Entourage came by. What cookies or what
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: desserts were they eating? That they were, you know, just
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: appraising you for your desserts.
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: Okay, So they love the chocolate chip cookies, they love
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: the oatmeal, they love the lemon cookies, and they love
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: our brownies. And we're gonna come out with them one day,
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: so right now, a little bit later. But they really
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: loved the wholesomeness of everything that I bake because I
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: use premium ingredients. And actually we have a signature flavor.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: We have our own flavor line that's actually built into
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: every product that we made. So if it has a
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: unique taste, then you won't find that anywhere else because
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: it's our our unique flavor.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Now, so you have chocolate chip, oatmeal, raisin, over raisin
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: on the way, separating it because it's what if over
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: raising one of my favorite cookies lemon and li confetti sugar.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: Then you also have cookie dough mixed, so one can
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: buy the cookie as is or you can make the cookie.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: Why was that part of the plan?
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: Okay? So you know how one thing always leads to another.
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: No, I don't, No, I don't doctor Sheifa, I am
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: interviewing you. Okay, please, I'm very naive about this whole development,
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: so please explain it to me and the audience.
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: Okay. So after we were doing the pop up, so
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: we had an opportunity where we can open up a
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: small kiosk get one of the malls here in La
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: So we took that opportunity. We did a small kiosk
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: get the mall for like a year and a half
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: and it was great because it was a great testing ground.
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: People would come by try the product when we get
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: the feedback, and of course I couldn't be there like
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: like all the time, but I wanted to make sure
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: that higher bakers that could make the desserts like I could,
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: So in order to have the consistency, I started making
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: these cookie mixes and putting them in the bag so
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: the person would only have to add the dry the
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: wet ingredients. They would only have to add the butter
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: in the water. And eventually I started thinking, I was like,
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: you know what, I'm really making cookie mix. I should
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: be putting this in the bag to sell this as well.
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: So that's how that came about. Because we would have
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: customers at them all they would come by and say, oh,
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: I love this, but I wish I could ship something
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: to my sister in Brooklyn, or I wish my relative
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: in North Carolina could have some of these cookies. So
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: I started thinking more about it, and I was like,
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: you know what the cookie mix is the answer? You know,
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: we can ship that anywhere. They can just add their
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: own butter and water. It's super easy to make.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: So it's one stick of vegan butter, right, it's one
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: stick of salt vegan butter, and it's two tablespoons of
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: warm water.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: That's it, Yes, exactly, Yeah, that's it. That's it, and
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: it tastes just like we would make it.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: Wow. Now, to my understanding that community giving back to
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: the community, being able to give community options is very
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: part of your brand over Doctor Schik's Bakery. You want
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: to give schools, organization parents opportunities to raise funds using
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: your product. Tell us about that.
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So we are exploring a new fundraising opportunity where
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: you can actually go on our website, which is coming
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: very very soon. If you're interested, just go to our website,
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: hit the fundraiser buttons, fill out of inquiry and we
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: will be getting back with you as soon as we
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: get that going, but that's about two weeks away. But
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: the interesting thing is is that customers can be able
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: to fundraise and be able to buy ready to eat
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: cookies as well as our cookie mixes, and be able
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: to raise some money for the organization.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: So we're talking away because because I guess the flyer
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: say the sales that they get, they get fifty percent
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: of the sales.
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: Yes, they get fifty percent of the sales. And it's
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: a fantastic way to.
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: You do all the delivery, you do all the packaging,
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: so if they do a sell, the product is delivered
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: directly to that person's door, and so all they have
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: to do. Now the site you said be ready in
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: a couple of weeks. All week, it might be ready tomorrow,
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: who knows. But when it's airs, you know, I'm just
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: saying because I don't want people to hear this a
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: week from now and then next week it starts. But
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: I think, but you are allowing people to go to
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: your website and fill out an inquiry form, which means
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: feel out the email address and their name, and then
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: let them know what type of fundraiser they want to do,
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: the amount of people, how much they're trying to raise.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: We don't want any personal security information. This is just
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: typical information to contact you when the site's up and
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: ready the fundraising site, and that site allows that person
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: who participates that organization forever funds they raised, they get
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: fifty percent of those fun dollars and they have to
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: do't have to do any work. All the product is
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: shipped directly to them.
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: Absolutely yestic to do it.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: It's fantastic. I'm glad you're doing that. I'm glad you're
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: offering that to the community because a lot of people
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: are looking for different ways, especially a lot of schools
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: are being undefunded. You know, school teachers don't have supplies
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: they can get in their classroom, and this is a
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: way where parents can support teachers and teachers can get
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: the students to support themselves. And also football uniforms and
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: all those things. So again, doctor Shika, that's an amazing
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: part of what you're doing with your brand. When we
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: get back, we're gonna find out about this lunch. I
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: see the bay on here, I see Canada on here.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: All I'm just trying to do it. Just go around
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: the corner, give me some that's all. I'm just saying
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: we're right back for more money Making Conversations master Class.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: Talking to doctor Sheika. Doctor Sheikha living been here in LA,
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: got laid off because of COVID, then stop her went
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: over to LA. I mean was in Atlanta and COVID
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: got to it in La open pop up stores. Now
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: she's nationwide.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashaan McDonald.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: A person who I talk about all the time on
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: the show. I'll talk about people who have an idea
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: and a lot of people are naysayers. They're telling them
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: that don't make any sense. That never happen. But that
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: didn't stop her. COVID didn't stop her. Being laid off
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: didn't stop her. She was highly she is highly educated,
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: but that didn't mean that she couldn't switch gears because
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: a lot of people stay in that track. Well, this
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: is what I went to school for, this is what
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: I was told to do. This, this is a relationship
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: I'm supposed to be in, but not her. But she
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: saw an opportunity and people motivated you and I think
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: that's the key in this conversation with you, doctor Sheikh,
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: is that people peo unknowingly and their compliments inspired you
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: to get to this point here because you didn't know.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: You just was doing something that you would talented at,
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: but when the moment arised, you didn't hesitate to deliver.
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: Is that correct?
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: Yes, that is correct. That's correct. And honestly, like I
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: told you, I came from a family of bakers. But
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: just to be honest with you, Rishan, even when I
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: lived in Atlanta, I didn't even know where I really
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: had the talent of baking, you know what I mean.
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: I always baked cookies with my daughters, and you know,
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: baked for a family, you know, for family gatherings and
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: things like that. But I didn't know that I had
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: this hidden talent until I was laid off from my
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: job and I had to make a move. At that point,
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: I was like, you know what I gotta make I
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: gotta do something.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: Right right and and doing that and so when I
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: when I see I'm just going down this resume of
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: things because you got to launch these cookies. Now, let's
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: talk about that launch, you know, because you're going to
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: be in over forty one hundred stores. I mentioned some
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: of the brand home Goods, TJ Max, Marshalls throughout the
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: US and Canada. What is a launch? What exactly do
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: you have to do because a lot of people need
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: to realize that just because stores have your product, you
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: still have a lot of work to do. Tell us
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: about the process.
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: Oh oh yes, absolutely, So these cookies of shits about
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: two and a half weeks ago, and right now we're
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: like going into the stores and you know, every day
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: I'm going into a store. Are they here yet? Are
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: they here yet? Are they here yet? And they should
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: be there any day now. But the thing is, as
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: an entrepreneur and having a business like this, you can't
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: wait to start marketing when a product gets on the shelf.
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: Your marketing efforts need to start way before that product
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: gets to the store. And so that's one tidbit that
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: I can give to people. You know, when you have
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: a product that's going on the shelves, you want to
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: make sure that it flies off the shelf.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: And that's important because of the fact that and you
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: don't you know, and that's what you're doing right now,
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: you sin Rashwan as I do this interview right Now
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: my product may not be where somebody's hearing it, but
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: they need to know go in and ask for it,
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: go and say, hey, I heard about the doctor Sheikh's bakery.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: It's coming here. Cookies are coming here. Do you have them?
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: Because that's what you want, right, You want people to
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: want your cookies. You want people to ask for your cookies.
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: And then when it gets there, somehow they get moved
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: to the front a little quicker because people know. Because
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: these stories that she's mentioned are in the business of
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: making money. Ladies and gentlemen, they want whatever they put
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: on that shelf to get sold. Now, if people are
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: coming and asking for the cookie, then guess what. They
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: get excited and they want to make sure next time
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: you come in and ask, you find it. And so
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: that's what this is all about.
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: Correct, correct, yep, absolutely.
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Now let's talk about the road show. Now here, my
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: wife's favorite stores, Costco. We go to Costco all the time. Now, Costco,
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: you're going to be doing a road show in Costco.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: What exactly is that?
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: So the road show in Costco is going to start
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: next month here in LA And basically what a road
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: show is like a demonstration. It's almost like whenever you're
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: walking around and you you're tasting everything new. Yeah, it's
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: the fun part of Costco where you get full. You
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: walk around, you get full, and you're like, hey, I
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: don't even need to eat dinner anymore because I'm full.
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: The road show, Oh yes.
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: She's had to stop me Chevelt. You know you're not
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: gonna buy that? Well the off friends, can I just
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: try it? Okay, so just taste it and so so
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: now this is the thing that really got me excited
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: about you. You was recently selected to be a speaker
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: at the largest snacks and sweet show in the Middle
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: East called is M and that's Dubai.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: Yes that isn't you buy now? I kid you not.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: Earlier this year, I did not even have a pass
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: for it. I did not even have a pass for it.
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: But because I'm a dreamer, like you've introduced me, I'm
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: a dreamer. The first and foremost, I was like, you know,
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: let me go ahead and get this passport because I'm
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: going to prepare myself for the doors that the Lord
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: is about to open up for me. Now. Also, keep
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: in mind, to buy is like a place I've always
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: wanted to go, but when I got that email about
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: a month ago that said, hey, we would like for
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: you to be an expert speaker on our not even
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: a panel. They're giving me the floor to speak for
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: thirty minutes based on green snacking, based on you know,
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: a plant based approach. I'll have the stage for that
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: long of a time to be able to talk about
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: what I've been crafting here, delicious flavorful plant based dessert.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: Right, look at guys, I'm teja. My moth is dropped
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: open because that is like, you can't buy that. That
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: is awesome. You don't know how you would submitted. You
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: don't know how they contacted, but the opportunity is going
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: to be made available for you to present your caddra
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: now internationally.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: Yes, internationally. So they're gonna have thirty thousand buyers from
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: fifty different countries at the show. So that tells you
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: the magnitude of this show.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: Wow. Okay, that's one place, ladies and gentlemen, I'm just
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: telling you about the dreamer here Doctor Chica's Bakery Cookies
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: Canada Minority Program. You were selected to be part of
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: the trade show for the Minority Supplier program in Toronto.
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: Yes, that's in Toronto, Canada. That's the first week of September.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: Again, do what you want to do?
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: To me?
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: Is like, m no, no, this is amazing stuff you
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: just said to buy. Now you're in Canada and you
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: and you just the cookie lady.
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: Okay, yes, I'm the cookie lady. Yes. And there are
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: very few brands that are plant based, but there are
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: a lot of people in Canada that are plant based,
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: and so they have an initiative to bring as many products,
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: even if they have to import them into the country.
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: And we were selected for this program and being a
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: minority female, oh my gosh, that really just floored me
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: to be a part of this program in general to
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: bring more plant based products to Canada.
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: And so when you go there with your product, you
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: told about the number of buyers that are going to
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: be in the buy potentially internationally. What is the Canada
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: Minority program. What are you presenting to them? And who's
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: going to see your product?
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: Okay, So we have appointments, they already have appointments set
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: up with buyers that are already ready for our products.
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: They're already ready. They're going to be closing deals in Canada.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: Congratulations, you know, just an idea. You didn't think you
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: was a cook. I just got to keep rehashing your
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: story got laid off COVID, one of the most one
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: of the darkest moments in the history of this country.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: And then you just start doing pop ups in LA
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: And when somebody asked you to do something, you didn't hesitate.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: If you if you didn't do it right, you learned
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: how to do it. If that cake didn't taste good,
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: you threw it in the trash. You was not going
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: to deliver a cake that didn't taste good. And now
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: some major corporations speaking, let's talk about that.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: Kelloggs Yes, Mars Yes, on.
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: The green snacking. Now, this is a young lady, ladies
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: and gentlemen. Doctor Shika didn't even have a passport in January.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: And I'm not saying that as a putdown. I'm just
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: saying that it could all. It can happen for anyone
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: who's listening to this show if they believe it. If
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: they don't, let Na says step in the way up
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: their opportunities. Don't let negative moments. See this is it.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: I'm going back to whatever I was supposed to do.
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: This is not going to work. And now you are
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: being presented to youself. So what's the what's the endgame
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: for this? When you when I'm when I'm saying all
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: this information to you, you you're having fundraising opportunities presented
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: for your product. You're going to be in Dubai, You're
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: going to be in Canada, Calloggs Mars, You're going to
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: be in forty one hundred stores. What is the ultimate
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: blessing for your future? My frame, because you are definitely
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: being blessed.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: Yes, God is good, all glory to him. My goal
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: really is to be like the Betty Crocker or the
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: Nabisco of plant based cookies. So whenever you walk into
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: your grocery store, whether you're looking for a cookie mix,
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: brownie mix, cake mix, you're looking for cookies ready to eat,
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: whatever you're looking for, we're able to provide that. But
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: to also be able to have my face is the
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: logo on the product, you know, for my kids and
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: grandkids legacy. I mean, that's that's my goal, as well
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: as to be able to give back to the community.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's really important. So the flavors are do
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: you have any like are you gonna do any seasonal stuff?
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: Because time of the year. Some people do, like you know,
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: Little Chick Fi lady, they got the seasonal stuff and
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: a lot of products do that. We are what are
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: your seasonal products you have coming up?
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: Let me tell you a little bit about it. So,
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: for like our holiday flavors. We have a really nice
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: hot chocolate cookie. It kind of reminds you of a
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: cup of hot chocolate. It has chocolate, dark chocolate chips,
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: white chocolate chips. But when you have one or primise,
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: you can't eat just one. We have red building cookies
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: coming down the pipeline. We also have our banana pudding cookies.
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: So we have some really good flavors that are going
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: to be around for the holidays. So yeah, get ready.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: And they've become popular, they become part of the regular.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: If they become that popular, you're just going to stay seasonal.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: Oh well, you know what, if we need to continue
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: to we would like to roll them out as a
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: permanent item. But we have a lot of plans for
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: you know, definitely limited editions as well, so we'll see
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: how it goes.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: Well. My friend, I can tell you how it's going
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: right now. It seems like it's going fantastic and I'm
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: so happy you took the time in your busy schedule
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: because obviously you need a passport. And because you're about
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: to go on your road show. You about forty one
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: hundred and twenty stores, you going to Canada, you going
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: to Dubai. And I've interviewed a lot of people on
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: this show, and you know, everybody has a dream. I
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: have a dream. And this show is about money making
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: conversation master class and people tell their secrets to success.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: And if you have to see your secrets is to success?
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: What would you say it is?
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna say, stay prayed up. That's what that's that's
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: the most important. Like before I start my day, when
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: I sit in my chair, but in front of us computer,
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: I'm like, Jesus, take the whill because like you're you're
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: challenged the day. You're working with fenders, you're working with retailers,
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: you're working with buyers, you're working with so many personalities,
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: so many timelines. So you gotta have fans, you know
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: what I mean. Because it's not easy. It's not an
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: easy thing, and especially for you know Minardi female, it's
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: even harder. It's even harder for us. And so you know,
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: just stay prayed up. That's the best advice I can get.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: And then follow that up with a lot of hard work.
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: Okay, exactly a lot of hard work.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Doctor. Thank you for coming on much your money Making
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: Conversations master life and good luck, and I wish and
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: send me some postcards you know, when you're in Dubai,
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: when you're in Canada, you know, don't forget about a brother.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: posted by me Rashaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: on the show today and thank you listening to audience now.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: If you want to listen to any episode I want
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: to be a guest on the show, Visit Moneymaking Conversations
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: dot com. Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: Join us next week and remember to always leave with
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: your gifts. Keep winning.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: H