I was on my Facebook account the other day and found a friend request from an African-American woman who found me through my NAWBO listing. What a joy! I was able to chat a little bit with Mechelle White, based in Michigan, who focuses on local catering and is opening a sweets shop and cafe in 2009.
If descriptions of lemon chicken, crab cakes, prosciutto-wrapped scallops, and home-made sides like bourbon sweet potato bake and rosemary potato dishes don't start your mouth watering, then you're sure to respond to her cupcakes and cheesecakes. If you're in the Detroit area, stop by, or if you're looking to mail order, Sweets and Brunch will be expanding their operations to ship.
Spotlight on Success: Mechelle White
1) How did you get started in your business?My sister Danyell and I decided to into business in 2007. She has been baking for 9 years and I have been cooking for about the same. So, we decided to combine the business- Sweets Divine & Just Brunch. We were both working at Ford Motor Company and we took the buyout to go into business for ourselves and to spend more time with our children.
2) Tell us about your role model or a mentor for your business.
Our role model is our mother. She has had two business of her own and is the true meaning of an Entrepreneur. She has trained us on the in and out of business and what it takes.
3) What was your biggest challenge, and how did you overcome it?
Our biggest challenge have been the fact that we had to close our actual store front 1 month ago. Location, Location, Location. I can't stress how important location is. We were not in the right location. We were warned but we were excited about the low cost in the rent and went for it. We invested a lot of money into that building also. We decided to close we are opening up another store in downtown Detroit in early 2009. But, we are still in full swing because we still service other resturants and catering companies (accounts). So we rent a licensed kitchen for now. Our new location will be larger and will be both businesses, where our store was just Sweets Divine and we just catered for Just Brunch.
We also rushed into the business without actually planning the whole thing out. But, we have a really tight business plan now, working on our website so people can order from any state and we are considering investors now.
4) Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In ten years, I will have at least two stores here in Michigan and two in Chicago. My sister and I will be shipping our cheesecakes all over the world, co-packing our desserts and some of our food to be sold in grocery stores (working on that now), offering cooking camps for children between the ages of 8-13. I will be done with my doctorate degree by then and teaching adult classes part time at a University on Leadership/ Business/ Entrepreneur.
5) What's your advice to an entrepreneur just starting out?
The best advice I would give is make sure you carefully plan your business. Make sure you have everything mapped out detail for detail. Please, have a business plan especially if you plan on getting a loan, grant or some investors. Make sure you pick a GOOD location. That was our downfall.
Phone: 313.422.5547
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