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ZAKIYA ELLICK - Stirring Cush, Scaling a Brand · Eating While Broke

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Today I have a very special guest, founder, CEO of
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the cookie dip company, Zakiya Ellick.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Zakiya.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Zakiya Ellick, please, y'all forgive me. I got cookie dip
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: on the brain. We are very excited to have you.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: It took a couple of years to get this going,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: mainly due to me, not Zakiya.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: It's okay. It's alignment.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Yes. All right. While I kind of, I don't know
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: how to do this guys. Cause I have some samples
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: of the cookie dip right here. I got pina colada,
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: banana cream, milk, chocolate, chocolate, horchata, butter, toffee, bourbon, bourbon, bourbon, bourbon.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: We were talking off camera. She also has, you have
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: cannabis infused dips.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: I do also.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: So for all y'all, I don't know. We can't call weed. We,
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: what do we call that? Like cannabis supporters.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: Yes and like that this.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: Is definitely the treat i would imagine yes and then
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: she also has mango chili she did not bring.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Today i'm sorry i'll.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Get you but i want to do before we intro
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: your dish i want to you guys to see all
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: these different oh i should keep the lids on them
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: hold up okay i'm gonna go with i'm gonna try
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: the Banana cream. So this is like the, do you
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: have to mix it like this?
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: You can mix it or you could just dip it
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: straight in to get down to the banana portion.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Where did this idea come about?
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: I've been making this since I was about seven years old.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: And my mom is the snack queen. So, and she's
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: creative with them too. So it kind of comes from her, honestly.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: My God.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: My brother would make ambrosia salad for every holiday. And
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: I just wanted the cream part. And so I would take,
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: I would try to extract everything, but I would dip
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: cookies into the cream. And then, so it was, at
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: first it started as me chasing ambrosia cream and then
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: it kind of evolved to what you see now.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: So sad, cause I'm supposed to get some dip too.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: That's my best seller, the banana cream.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Oh my God. Did you try the banana cream? Okay.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: I love pina colada.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: It's so good.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: You just got the pina colada already? I love pina colada. Wow. Okay. Okay, guys,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: I'm doing, this is terrible because I'm taking up all
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: the time to try these, but.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: I don't have any complaints with that.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Okay, so Jared already beat me. The producer already beat
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: me to pina colada. I just had banana cream, as
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: you can see. I finished a whole cookie. Yeah, I'm sorry.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: That's okay.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: We got more.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: We got more cookies.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: I wish you could see his face. He's like, yeah.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Pina Colada. This tastes like Pina Colada. Yeah. So these
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: have to be refrigerated?
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Yes. They last up to four weeks refrigerated. All organic ingredients.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: So tell me about this concept. You're in your house.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: You're filling up these dips for yourself for fun.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, because I like dipping things. Think how fun is
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: it to like chips and salsa, crackers, or not crackers,
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: but like chips and dip, like bean dip, cheese dip.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: I love those things. So why not dessert?
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Listen, I couldn't, I couldn't hang out with you.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't do simple snacks at all. Charcuterie is
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: a thing in my household.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: Listen, banana cream, pina colada, already winners. I'm not a
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: huge pina colada fan. And I'm not either.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: I'm not either, but I like my dip.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, both are great. Look, I'll eat all of these
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: on a good day. All right. I got to eat
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: more dips. So I got to switch over to talking
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: to you. So what are you going to have us
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: eat today?
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: So basically we call it in our family, kush kush
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: is basically a stripped down corn porridge.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: A stripped down corn porridge. Okay.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: I was a very picky eater as a child. I
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: don't know if That's the reason why it's so basic
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: or if that's just how my grandmother liked it. But
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: it's very simple, very economic at the time for right now.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: Now, have you, because I just had this dip. Have
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: you ever thought about putting some of this dip?
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: I have.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Okay, because I'm definitely going to do that today. I
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: have and I do. Okay. All right. So what are
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: the ingredients for your dish?
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: So basically, I got two cups of water or eight
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: ounces of water. It's not two cups, but cornmeal. I
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: got butter, sugar, and milk. Okay.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: So on this show, we have a saying, the broker
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: the dish, the better the story.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: This is the Hall of Fame of broke. It really is.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: It's a couple bucks.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: When was the last time you ate this?
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: Probably last week.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: Okay. So this is like a homely.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: This is like your comfort meal. Yes. I love when
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: guests say that. Hey, I still enjoy this dish.
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Because it's nostalgia. It makes it. It. transports me
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: back to the 80s with my grandma or even my
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: mom in the kitchen making this for me. I like
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: them lumpy, but my brother likes it smooth.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: I like it smooth, but I haven't had this in
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: a while. The last girl I told you made it,
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: she had all the ingredients and it was delicious and
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: very hard to make.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: And I want to try that, the way she made it.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you, I'll send you the episode.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: It's so simple to me. I don't put much thought
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: into it. I just do it.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: I wonder how lumpy yours is going to be.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: I'm going to try to make it smooth to an extent,
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: but I don't do the whole... water with the mix
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: before I put it in the boiled water. I just
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: add it to the boiled water. Okay.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: So is the water boiling?
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: The water is boiling.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: All right, go ahead. Show us how it's done.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: Okay. And I just eyeball it too. I like, I
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: don't really do measuring in my cooking at all. I
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: had to learn how to do it for cookie dip,
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: but yeah.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: You had to learn. Oh, because you're building a business.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: So now you had to get the measurements right?
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: Exactly. So kind of just....
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: What were you doing prior to, let's go back to
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: this home life.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: What's going on in the grandma's household where you're eating
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: this on a regular?
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: Let's see. Early 80s at the time, parents divorcing, grandfather dies,
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: and soon after, grandmother gets sick.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Are you all living together?
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: My dad lived two doors down from me my whole life.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: Oh, wow.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: After they got divorced.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: He didn't go far at all. Nope.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: Nope, he was not leaving me whatsoever.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: Oh, are you a daddy's girl?
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: I am.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: I am. My dad's name is Robert, so my mom
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: would get mad at me and call me Roberta.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: That's hilarious.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: And I'd be like, yeah.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: Are you an only child?
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: I'm not. I have an older brother who's four years
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: older than me, and then I have a younger brother
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: who's 20 years younger than me.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: So Stella had to get her, I had to turn
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: this down a little bit. Wait.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: 20 years younger.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Stella got her room back.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: She reset the clock? For what? Are they all your dad's?
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: No. Only I and my dad's biological. My dad counted
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: us all as his.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Okay. And are him and your mom close now?
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: Actually, my dad passed away about three years ago.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: Oh.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: But they had a friendly interaction. My dad still looked
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: out for her. Okay. He promised my grandfather that he
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: would always look out for her.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Oh.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: And he did.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I love that. Yeah. Okay. So you're in the
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: house now.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: In the house, so at the time, it's myself, my grandmother,
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: my mom, and my older brother.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: Not the younger brother? No.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: He didn't come until I was 20.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah. How did that happen?
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: My mom got her groove back in her 40s.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: Oh, so you were 20. Yeah. He didn't join the crew. Yeah. Okay,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: got it.
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and my older brother's my best buddy, and we
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: would make fish. I always loved cooking. The first thing
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: I learned how to cook was scrambled eggs, even though
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: I didn't eat them. I would make them for my
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: brother all the time.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: Aw, okay.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: And fish was one of those things. Yep, that's what
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: we call it. That's what we call it. I'm not
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: called it, but we still call it that in our household.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: Is that the name of it or is it just?
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: It's always been a name of it to us. So
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: I don't know where that came from. That's what my
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: grandmother called it. And we never questioned it. I didn't
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: even know that corn porridge was a thing until I
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: became an adult and started looking at Instagram and stuff
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: like that.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: So you start your cooking journey very early. Yes. Inch
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: me closer towards where you get into more or start
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: to decide when you're going to start to pursue cookie dip.
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: Okay. So I come from a family of entrepreneurs. So
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: I always had that spirit in me. Never in a
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: million years thought I would be doing food. Okay. Ever.
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: I thought I was going to go more into fashion
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: or open up a boutique or something like that. Went
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: to the place, was it 2018? My friends and I,
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: we cook. We're very competitive cooks.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: Hilarious. You guys get together and say, okay, we're going
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: to do a, okay. Well, I like that.
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: We have a pending oxtail throwdown. We are waiting for that.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: Do you guys need a judge for that? Yes, we do.
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: Yes, we do. But I'm not in that. I'm going
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: to be a judge. I'm new to eating oxtails. I
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: grew up vegetarian also. I didn't put that. So there's
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: a lot of things that I, I'm more of an
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: eater than a maker.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: And you've never had oxtail?
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: I have. I've actually made it twice.
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: Came out really good. Okay. Pressure cooker?
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: Pressure cooker?
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: No.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: Long form.
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: No, I used my Dutch oven.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I used that for everything almost.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: And we went to the Playboy Jazz Festival. Nobody was
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: bringing dessert. I made some lemon cookie dip and vanilla
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: bean cookie dip and brought some Pepperidge Farm Chessmen. And
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: they started going crazy over it. And then people around me.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: You brought it just to like eat as a group
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: of friends, not to sell or anything? No, just as
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: a group of friends.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: And then we make friends with people at the concert
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: and they ask me, do I want to sell it?
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: And I'm like, I can. And I was like, yeah.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: Who's they?
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: People in the audience that I met.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: That's hilarious.
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: So I started selling it in those Glad Tupperwares at first.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: And I was like, oh, okay. But literally the name
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: of the company came to me in that moment. I
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: was like, oh, the cookie dip company. That's where- People
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: don't have to question me what it is, but they
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: still do.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Now, what were you doing prior to you building this business?
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: I was doing accounting.
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: For a company?
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, for a law firm.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: So was this your first entrepreneur venture? No. What was
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: your first?
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: I used to do personal shopping. I had a background
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: in retail and retail management and visual design. I started
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: doing personal shopping for some of my clients. And then
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: I've also, I used to sell mixtapes in high school.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Oh, okay.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: I'm like an amateur DJ.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: I think this is pretty much it. Oh, you were DJing.
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: That's hilarious. Yeah.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I'm real, I got a strict program about my playlist.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah. And then what else? Oh, I helped my mom
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: with her daycare. My mom had a childcare center. And
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: then my dad had actually insect powder company growing up.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: Did he create the insect powder?
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: Wow. Repel insects?
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: Do you use it?
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: I have. I don't need it at this point, but
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: I can make it.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: Okay. That's cool. So both parents were entrepreneurs. Did you
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: ever see them struggle in entrepreneurship?
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: I remember hot summers with my dad going door to door.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: in selling roach powder. It's like in him trying to
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: speak Spanish and he doesn't speak a lick of Spanish.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: That was hilarious. But he would make the sale because
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: he had a lot of charisma.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: And my mom watching her, that's why I know how
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: to deal with kids so well. My mom is a teacher.
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: My dad also was a teacher. My aunt was a teacher.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: My grandmother was actually one of the first black women
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: to have a preschool in Los Angeles. So it's like
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: education is kind of like in my blood, but I
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: didn't want to go down that route per se in
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: that way.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: What's the pros and the cons of having that many
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: entrepreneurs around you when you're young, do you think?
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: I don't really see any cons. It kind of shaped
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: up who I am. And I like who I am.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: And I like who they were and are in that spirit.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: You didn't see any of the negatives, like dealing with
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: the cash flow problems or dealing with the stressors?
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but I don't really see any of the negatives
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: because I deal with that too. I see it as
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: a challenge to pivot and to pivot my mindset. It's like, okay,
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: I'm hitting this barrier. Okay, this is my challenge to
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: get around this barrier. Not, oh, yeah, I get sick
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: of it, but I'm not going to stop.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: I'm going to push through it because I know I'm strong.
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: It kind of gives you that, I guess, unlimited possibility
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: like mindset, right? Your imagination is the sky's the limit.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: Exactly.
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: Are they also speaking that to you, not just living it? Yes.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: So they're like, you can do anything you want. Don't
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: let nobody tell you different. I could only imagine. That's
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: so much you don't have money. Who cares? That's nothing.
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: They never stopped us because we lived middle class, but
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: we had hard times. I've had syrup sandwiches and cheese before.
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: So it's not like it's Kush.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: Is Kush done yet?
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: Oh, he is done.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: Okay. Let's eat it before it gets cold.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: So basically my brother likes to mix the Oh, did
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: you put the sugar in it already? No, he likes
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: to mix the sugar while it's cooking. I don't care.
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: I just put the sugar on top. I like how
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: the sugar is after the butter is on it. So
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: let me put some butter on it. Okay.
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: I'm going to let you jazz it up. And then
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: I'm going to put some dip on it.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: You can sugar to taste. I like to let that
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: butter just kind of like melt onto it. And I
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: like the taste of the sugar on top of the
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: melted butter.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: So it was just water, milk, and cornmeal?
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: On low heat?
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: On low heat.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: Low, okay.
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: Here's the spoon.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: There we go. I don't know how much sugar you
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: want on yours, but I like it a lot. Okay.
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: I'll start off.
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: No, you can treat me the same. I'm probably going
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: to add some dip to it.
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: Okay. And then if you want, a dollop of milk. Okay.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: But it's optional. Oops, I'm spilling.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: You and this milk don't have a good relationship.
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: I don't.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: She been spilling this milk since she got here. Okay.
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: Let me cut this up.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: There we go.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: All right. So let's. Oh, it's the milk. It's the
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: milk container. Okay.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: So it's not me. But I am clumsy.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: Because I just spilled a whole bunch just through the lid.
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: I am clumsy.
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: Maybe it's the container.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: And see how the butter is fusing into the sugar?
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: That's the part I like. And I just like to
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: take a perfect bite. Just a little bit of milk,
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: a little bit of butter, a little bit of kush.
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: And that's it. Okay.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: Let's try this. A little bit of milk, a little
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: bit of butter.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: Oh, I see it.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: A little bit of sugar. Here we go.
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: That's home right there for me.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: Damn, maybe this is how my mom used to make it. Really? Because, damn,
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: this tastes just like my mama's.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: Really? Awesome.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: Except for yours is a little bit... I'm not trying
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: to hate, but your smoothness needs work.
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: Well, I like it lumpy.
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yours is lumpy for sure.
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: If I wanted it smoother, I would have mixed equal
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: parts of the cornmeal... and water and then poured it
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: into the water.
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: I tell people if I had to do eating while broke,
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: my dish would have been cornmeal porridge.
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: Really?
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: Except for I don't know how to make it.
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: Because my mama used to make it for me. This
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: is delicious. Now, I'm going to hold you. You did
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: a good job. Thank you. Okay. So you're building the
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: cookie dip company. You start selling it with Glad Supper
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: where it at festivals, you're going, you're taking this serious?
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: No, just to those particular individuals.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: Like you took their information down?
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: I did. And I hand delivered it to their home
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: the next day. I went and got every label. The
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: next morning I went and got every labels because that
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: night at the end of the Playboy Jazz Festival, I
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: was up all night making my first logo.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: You were really inspired. You were like, this is my purpose.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: Talk closer into this.
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: Oh, I'm sorry. It was a go.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: It was a go.
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: The moment they said, can you sell it? I'm like,
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: oh yeah, it was a go. Went on LegalZoom and
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: got there.
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: Oh, you move fast. Why did you feel like there
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: was a sense of urgency on it?
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: Because I want to work for my own dream. I've
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: done very well for other people's businesses. I'm a great employee.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: I'm a great employee to myself. I'm a better employee
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: to myself. And I don't want to give my entrepreneurship,
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: my ideas off to someone else who most likely don't
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: care about me.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah. So when you go back to work and you
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: have this now birthing side hustle, right? Are you thinking
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: about your side hustle the whole time? Are you telling
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: people about it around you?
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: I told my coworkers, my little sis, Terry. She knew
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: what I was doing. So we had these break rooms
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: and people would bring food and leave them there. That
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: was my product testing. So I'd bring them into Tupperware
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: in there and have them test certain flavors and she
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: would be listening out. to see what people are saying.
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: She's like, okay, the consistency of this one and that
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: kind of thing. And I fixed it. And I don't know,
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: the reason why I picked the bell jar is because
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: that's what I saw as soon as I thought about
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: it as a business. I'm stuck on using the bell jars.
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: When I think of cookie dip, for some strange reason,
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: I think of cookie dough.
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, a lot of people do.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: And it's like, all I keep thinking about is that.
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: But then when you taste it and you dip, you're like,
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: oh no, this is.
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: She's trying the milk chocolate horchata, y'all.
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: Milk chocolate horchata. Yeah. Oh, my God. I don't know
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: if we're going to be able to sound out my chewing.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: Can we? That's terrible. I'm going to stop eating on
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: the mic. Okay. Guys, this dip is really delicious. I
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: love this porridge, too.
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: Okay. So after you get past the Tupperware phase, what's
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: the next phase of your business to grow it?
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: So then my friend, his niece, his nieces danced at
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: Precision Dance Academy and they had a pop-up event. That
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: was my first time selling. I had my little jars.
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: I had, I think- You had to pay for it, right?
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: Pay for the booth and all that.
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: Did I pay for it? I may have paid for it.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: And I was just so excited for people to try it.
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: And so my mom, my younger brother and my son,
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: we had our, I got my, the iron on logo
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: and And yeah, we sold and sold out. And then
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: someone came and they were like, everyone's talking about your dips.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: I'm like, really?
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: And you sold out. I sold out. On your first event.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: My first event.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: Are you thinking, man, I got to quit my day job?
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: I've always wanted to quit my day job.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: I can't. But did it occur to you in that moment? Like,
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: I got something here.
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I didn't quit my day job.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: How did you figure out your price point?
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: Honestly, it wasn't until years later, I spoke through the
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: Urban League. I talked to a financial coach, Gloria. Hi, Gloria.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: She went through my financials and really helped me just
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: dissect everything. And then we came to my break-even points
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: per month, how many dips I need to sell per
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: month to pay X, Y, Z. Didn't even put my
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: overhead within to the price or paying myself. I said,
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: I'm going to pay myself. But if I were to
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: pay someone, their wages need to be a part of that.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: Everything.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: She just really helped me get to my costumes. Excuse me,
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: my cost analysis.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: How long did it take into the business for you
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: to reach out? What is that called? The person that creates?
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: She's a CFO. Yeah. So you were like, here's my books.
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: This is what I'm spending.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah. We went through everything. Through several months. It was
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: a program that they had with LA Urban League. And
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: we can make appointments with certain coaches. And she just
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: helped me. I'm still in contact with her to this day. Wow.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: And this was years ago.
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: What was a piece of advice that she gave you
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: that changed, was instrumental?
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: Everything. not my customer. She's like, you have to decide
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: where you want to sell. Are you trying to sell
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: to Walmart? Are you trying to sell to a resort
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: or a VIP? And she's like, with your cost, Walmart's
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: not an option. So stop trying to grab those customers.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: They're not your customer.
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: It sucks though, because- It's so good. Yeah. Even if
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: you do a smaller?
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: Even if I do a smaller, it's still not going to.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: And it doesn't sell in the smaller increments. I've tried
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: selling it in half. People don't buy it. I've even done,
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: what do you call it, a multi-pack? Did not sell.
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: I did that for years. Never sold on a website.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: Now, in the age we are in today with influencers
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: and all that, do you target influencers now?
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: I have as of recent, but not really. It's kind
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: of like organic.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. But how do people mainly get the product?
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: They buy either from my website or come to a pop-up.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: Oh, come to a pop-up. Okay. You've been in business
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: for how long?
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: It's my eighth year. Eight years. But really serious about it.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: Out of hobby mode since the pandemic.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: Since the pandemic.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Because that's, I would say, 2021, 2022. That's when
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: I realized, okay, I'm not in it enough. I'm like, oh,
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: I'm doing pop-ups every week, every other weekend. This is cool.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: I got t-shirts. But no, I really got serious about it.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: What made you get serious?
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: Well, not liking the workplace that I worked at was
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: part of it. Always wanting to work for myself and
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: provide opportunities versus provide healthy opportunity versus being in these
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: toxic work environments. Also providing a legacy for my family.
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: I have the need and the want to take care
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: of my family. I have a son. I can't leave
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: him nothing tangible, like real with a job. And then
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: sky is the limit when you're an entrepreneur. When you
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: work for someone, you're waiting for someone else to give
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: you something. And I'd rather just go get it myself.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: When you're choosing the jars versus the bottles, you're doing
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: all the assessments on the back end, like what I
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: can do to... Yeah. Reduce costs.
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: Absolutely. So I'm constantly looking at manufacturers.
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: Because these containers are very nice.
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: They are.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: Do you give a discount if people return them?
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: I haven't implemented that yet just because I need, I
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: don't have the capacity for that, but that will be
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: something that I will implement.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Like if you buy or something.
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: Kind of like an exchange, kind of like how Erewhon's
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: does with the glass jars.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: Kind of something similar to that.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. Do you think it's more difficult to cater
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: to a higher end audience than a No. Really?
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: Why is that? Because financial strain is not an issue.
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: And so I remember the first time someone bought a
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: jar at this price point and just seeing the look
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: on their face with no stress. That said it right there.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: It would have been me. I would have been like, $ 25, 000. Yeah.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: I was like, oh, okay, this is what Gloria was
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: talking about. Yeah. I had to find my audience and
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: I'm still... Finding avenues of my audience. The cannabis community
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: is amazing.
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was going to say the cannabis should be fire.
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: They're amazing to me. But honestly, a lot of heavy
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: smokers don't really do edibles like that. So they buy
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: the regular.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: Wait, what do you mean? Oh, they buy the non-infused.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: That makes sense. Because if I was like a smoker,
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: this would be my number one treat. Yeah. That's hilarious
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: that they choose the non-cannabis.
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: And they're the best tippers too.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: Really?
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: So do you reach out to local dispensaries to get
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: the product placement?
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: I haven't done that just because I'm educating myself on
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: the cannabis industry. I don't want to just jump in
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: and then have to recall or anything like that. I'm
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: still tinkering with dosages.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: But I'm saying just to not have the no. Oh,
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: I never thought they would sell it. You touched a
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: very good point that the cannabis smokers are actually buying
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: this without the cannabis in it. When we interviewed one
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: social equity entrepreneur, I think we're going to do another
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: one this season. But what they were saying is that
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: when you open a cannabis store, they're constantly looking for
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: non-cannabis products to sell.
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: I had no idea.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: See, you didn't put another battery in my bag.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: Yes, because they said, remember we had Tucky Blunt or
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: what have you, and he said, sell the ashtrays, sell
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: the lighters. They're looking for products that aren't cannabis related. Okay.
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: So you definitely have a market there. I do.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: I will reach out.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: I do have a hit list of dispensaries that I
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: want to hit up.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. And then LA is rolling out a
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: huge social equity program. Yeah. So- They're pushing harder for
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: more people to get their permits and stuff.
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: Currently, I sell out of Dose's Social Lounge. Okay. Which
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: is where the event's going to be.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: You came up with the event. Can you tell us
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: about the event?
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah. So, okay. So in addition to cookie dips and stuff,
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: I love wine. I'm hosting a wine and cookie dip pairing.
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: So just like you would at a winery have a
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: flight and a punch card.
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: You're going to have a cookie dip with a paired wine.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: Oh, nice.
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: And cookies, of course. There'll be charcuterie grazing tables. We'll
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: have music. Have a vendor marketplace with eight vendors, very
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: unique products who will be selling as well.
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: And it's just high level networking. And we're just going
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: to have a good time. Good vibes.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: It is November 8th.
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: Tickets are on Eventbrite.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: Sip and dip.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: Tickets are on Eventbrite right now. We do have a
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: silent auction that runs congruent with it. The details are
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: through either GiveButter or... Through Sip and Dip. The link
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: is on the e-mail.
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: So is this your company, your event, or is it
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: a joint?
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: It's my event, and my venue partner, the Dose of
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: Social Lounge, is sponsoring the venue.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: Okay, and that's in L.A.? Yeah. South L.A.
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: Or L.A.? Actually, Gardena. Gardena? Yeah, Gardena on Crenshaw.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: I may have to try and pull up.
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: Yes. Yes. You must.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: I'm a lightweight. I'm down for anything sweet.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: It'll be just a little. I'll have non-alcoholic wine too
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: if that's a thing.
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: It's fine. I'm open. I don't know much about wine.
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: I know a lot about sweet though. So sip and
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: dip works for me fine.
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: Yes. And then our VIP comes with catered hors d'oeuvres
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: from Rose Goat 24 Plates. We got seafood boiled egg rolls. Yeah. Okay.
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: Some really good stuff.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: So now that you've been in business for eight years,
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: where do you see yourself going from here?
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: I see myself getting into airport lounges. I see myself
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: in SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome, resorts, maybe your cruise ship.
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: I like to create communal spaces. My dad always said
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: my art was gathering people. This is part of me
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: flexing my art.
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: Is your demo, I know it's probably more upscale, but
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: is it Does it lean more black, white, Latino?
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: It leans affluent.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: Affluent, okay.
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it leans affluent, yeah.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: So no matter what background they are, if they have
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: the money for it, they'll be there for it. But,
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: you know, I love my people too.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I love the product. I love the product a lot.
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: So what were some of the hardest parts of making
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: this company happen?
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: Wow. I would say maintaining it and staying at it
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: because there could be months where I make zero dollars
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: or I'm burnt out and I just don't have the
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: bandwidth to push. Learning to self-care myself along the way.
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: That's a challenge for me.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: Do you celebrate your wins? Because I feel like that's
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: always a challenge. I do.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: And that's a challenge for me as well. I'm getting
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: better at it. Right now, my focus is automation. Because
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: right now, when I stop, my company stops and I
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: need it to keep going. So right now, that's why
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: I'm doing the fundraising in order to hire, hire people
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: in my community. Okay. provide more resources. I actually started
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: a nonprofit called Dipping Into Change, where we help people
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: with neurodivergence or learning disability get financial literacy and entrepreneurship.
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: So 20% of all of our proceeds are going towards
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: dipping into change. Right now, we're working on building a
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: curriculum for that. And it's basically things that I'm already doing.
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: People already call me for advisement and already call me
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: for help. And being that I homeschool my son, he's
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: neurodivergent and has learning disabilities. That was the catalyst that
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: made me start the nonprofit as well.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was going to say, because I'm curious why
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: it was so important to focus on financial literacy to Nora.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: My son's 14, and right now he's going to be
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: 18 in a minute. Not that I'm kicking him out
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: at 18. However, I'm hypervigilant on teaching him independence right now.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: And going through his IEPs and counseling and the regional
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: center and all these things to help with the way
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: he learns. I'm like, he's not the only one. Yeah.
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: He's not the only one. I want to share that.
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: Wow. So you're all, are you single mom or?
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: Single mom.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: Single mom. Raising.
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: Raising.
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: Child, running business. And then I would imagine when your
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: business is slow, you're working jobs.
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: I have a part-time position. Okay. Yeah.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: Okay. You got to be stretched thin.
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: I am. That's why I'm very intentional with who I
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: spend time with and what I do. Especially since my
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: dad passed because my dad took up half my slack,
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: especially with my son.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: Okay. So you're like a solo parent. Yeah. Solo parent.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: That's different. Yeah. That's a whole. So you're a solo parent.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: You're a solo parent slash mompreneur. Yeah. Wow. Girl, we
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: got to rally behind you.
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: For real.
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: That's hard.
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: It's hard. It's challenging. I know I could do it though.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: Do you ever think about giving up? I have.
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: For a second. That's just not who I am. That's
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: just not who I am. I'm always going to pivot.
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah. What's the thing that keeps you going, no, I'm
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: not going to do it?
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: That kid. Okay.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: Okay. Yeah.
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: And then probably seeing your customers too.
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: Seeing my customers and the life that I want. It's
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: right there. It's right there. And I'm the only one
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: who could give that to me. There's no other excuse.
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: I can't wait for someone else to give me the
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: life I want. I have to create it. Yeah. So
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: I'm creating it.
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: I love that. I love that. Do you have a
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: team of moms that rally around you and support you
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: in that?
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: My family. Okay. They support me in the way that
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: they can, you know.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: They're not here though, are they?
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, family in LA.
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: Okay. My mom's from LA. Okay. Yeah.
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: Everyone has their strengths and my brother helps me.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: Out a lot. They help support in the business or
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: just what you're saying?
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: More so things outside of the business. I have a
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: support team in other business owners that I've met along
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: the way that they hold me down. Okay.
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: Okay. Now we know who your target audience is, which
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: I think is huge. When you were selling at the
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: lower amount, what was it, $ 8? Yeah. When you were
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: selling at that amount, was it hard to believe that
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: you were losing money? Were you losing money?
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: I was losing money, but I didn't even think of
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: it as that. I didn't even realize I was losing money.
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: You were giving away products. Yeah.
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: I was just happy people were eating it. It's like, oh,
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: they bought it. Oh, they bought it. I didn't even
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: realize that.
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: But your cashflow was reflecting the losses, I would imagine.
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: But I wasn't even tracking it at the time. I
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: was just so excited that people were buying it that
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: I was like, okay. And then when I realized, okay,
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: There's something wrong.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: Let me really look.
• 31:12
  Speaker 2: And then also too, I'm coming up with all of
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: these flavors. I'm not really paying attention to my cost analysis.
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: I'm just trying to get the recipes solidified. I wasn't
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: really looking at the cost. I'm looking at branding. I'm
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: looking at all these other things I have to pay
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: attention to. That's another reason why I'm looking to hire too,
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: because I can't grow doing everything by myself. Just because
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: I can't doesn't mean I should. And I'm neglecting certain areas.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, of course.
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: By running myself thin.
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: Now, when it comes to these ingredients, they always have
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: the labels and all that. You have to do all
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: that on your products. And how does that process work?
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: I'm still in process at that because I actually want
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: to hire, what do you call it, a food scientist.
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: Is that what that's called?
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Okay. I would like to hire a food scientist.
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: Some brands don't do it, but the ingredients are available.
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: They are available.
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: Okay. But the food scientist is the one that tells
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: you the breakdown of.
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: They have websites you can get that breakdown, like Recipal.
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: And AI does it too now for you. But it's
• 32:13
  Speaker 2: with the FDA compliance in mind. You can punch in
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: the exact products you use to make your item and
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: they make a nutritional label for you. So I just
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: want to make sure it's perfect.
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: What makes your product also more focused on effluent and
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: people have to understand is these are real ingredients. These
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: aren't preservatives. What's the shelf life on it though?
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: It's four weeks refrigerated. Three weeks for mango chili though. Why?
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: Because the mangoes, they go bad fast.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: Really?
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: But this is the cool thing. It's real ingredients. And
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: I think in today's culture, that's what they're looking for.
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I have to be very, I'm conscious about what
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: I put in my body. I don't even do regular
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: sugar anymore. I grew up vegetarian. My mom was a
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: fitness instructor. And we had no refined sugars in the household.
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: This was like early, this.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: Is like early 80s. There was no Kool-Aid in your house? No.
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: I don't even know. I've never even made Kool-Aid before.
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: There was no fried food.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: But you've had it.
• 33:10
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: It's so good.
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah. My Auntie Dolly. Red Kool-Aid. That's nostalgia.
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: It's a deprived life right there. Let me tell you something.
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: You break out some Kool-Aid right now, everybody turns into
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: a happy kid.
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: We had no meat in the house. We had agave.
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: We had honey.
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: No refined carbohydrates at all.
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: Okay. But this is all natural, man.
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's all natural.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: So when you're looking at your, you're buying real food
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: and fruit that can't go bad, in this particular situation,
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: do you have to make perp to order. Basically, they
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: have to order it and then you make it.
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: Fresh. These particular flavors, with the exception of Pina Colada,
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: I'm making constantly. Those are my three best sellers.
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: Oh, so you make them. You just keep them on deck. Yeah.
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: And every four weeks, if you don't. So do you
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: ever look at a product like, you better get off
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: my shelf?
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: Like the Pursuit of Happiness, remember? Yeah. You got good.
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely. Because I believe in energy and I believe
• 34:08
  Speaker 2: in manifestation. And I'm like, okay, I have, say I
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: didn't sell out at an event. I'm going to figure
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: out a way to push those products out of my refrigerator.
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: Do you ever set goals like, okay, that's it, a
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: thousand products, a thousand bottles a week like that? Yeah. Jeez.
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: But you focus.
• 34:24
  Speaker 2: What happens when that happens, they go all at once.
• 34:27
  Speaker 2: It's like I'll do a one-off and then all of
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: a sudden I'll get it. Someone wants three cases. Twelve
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: jars come in a case.
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: I pay my rent for two months.
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: Wait, 12 jars come in a case.
• 34:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: So it's like out of nowhere, it always happens that way.
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: Always happens that way. I'm like, oh, I just got
• 34:45
  Speaker 2: an order of 20. Oh, I just got a catering
• 34:48
  Speaker 2: gig or I just got, it always happens that way.
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: So if people buy in bulk, does the price go down?
• 34:52
  Speaker 2: They do get a discount.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: Nice.
• 34:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Okay.
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: Okay. What type of corporate events can, if I was
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: a corporate person watching this event, like how would you
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: suggest me like buying this as a gift to people
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: or as it almost something that goes on a table?
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: Right now I'm developing my corporate packaging, three different levels,
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: but they can do it now. I have gift baskets
• 35:14
  Speaker 2: that you can give as corporate gifts, but also there's catering.
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: I did a AEG event where I had, I did
• 35:21
  Speaker 2: a whole setup. I was there serving and, or you
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: could do a grab and go.
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: A grab and go. And they look like this?
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: The grab and go looks more like that.
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: That with the cookie in a box.
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: And the little cookies. Okay. I love those. They're really good.
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: Bless you. Okay.
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah. All right. Is there anything that I haven't covered
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: in regards to the cookie dip?
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: It's made with love.
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: It's made with love? Yeah.
• 35:46
  Speaker 2: I'm in a good mood when I make it or
• 35:48
  Speaker 2: else I don't make it.
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: And I'm always intentional about my happiness. So I'm in
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: a good mood a lot of the time.
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: I feel like you're a very happy, happy person.
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: For the most part, grief kind of creeps in, but
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: then I listen to what my dad told me, and
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: then I go from there.
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: And what was that?
• 36:07
  Speaker 2: Keep going. You know, I got to keep going.
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: And you are.
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: You're going to keep going.
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: You got this, okay? I know, I know. You got this.
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: We're going to be at the Sip and Dip. You
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: guys should be at the Sip and Dip supporting... This
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: is a black woman-owned business. All natural, real products, no preservatives.
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: That tastes really great. I put it on the porridge
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: mainly because all the flavors taste good. I have not
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: tried the butter toffee. I do want to try on
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: this cold porridge. I do want to try a little bit.
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: I shouldn't have put my spoon in this. Dang. Why
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: did I do that?
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: Oh, you're trying the butter toffee?
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: These products are simply amazing.
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: Thank you guys for tuning in. Where can they keep
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: up with anything Cookie Dip?
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: They can go straight to the website, thecookiedipcompany.com. Instagram is
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: underscore thecookiedipcompany. And all other social medias is at thecookiedipcompany.
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: At thecookiedipcompany. Yeah. You heard it here first. Peace out.