Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nikia Lightfoot. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nikia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

I want my legacy to be that I was a loving, kind, compassionate, giving and strong woman who cared about myself, my family, my friends and those who I met along the way. I want to be remembered as a woman of integrity who kept her word, a person that others could confide in, seek advice from, and one who always offers a word of encouragement and prayer. I seek to be a woman who would go above and beyond for those I care about. My spirit is one that has always sought out the good in people, even when they couldn’t find it in themselves.

As I look to the future, I wish to be a woman who set goals, worked hard and did everything with a spirit of excellence. It is my dream to build a multi-million-dollar vegan/plant-based eatery, create generational wealth for my family, provide job opportunities for my community and create a vegan/plant-based food initiative within local schools and the homeless community.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I knew I wanted to do something extraordinary from a young age. Little did I know that helping my mother and grandmother in the kitchen would spark my curiosity. I knew at the age of 12, I was destined to own a restaurant. I didn’t know how I would get there or how I would be able to finance it, but it was going to happen. My love for cooking and seeing the need for more vegan and plant-based options, launched me into a whirlwind adventure in the vegan and plant-based food industry.

Vujee Vegan was birthed September 16, 2020, during the pandemic. Vujee Vegan is a comfort food kitchen serving 100% vegan and plant-based food. We are a unique concept in our community; we are a ghost kitchen serving curbside only. Our menu consists of our homemade chili and cornbread, burgers, and fries, chick’n nuggets, chick’n sandwiches, BBQ smoked ribz, mack’n cheeze, sweet & spicy bang bang shrimp and apple and peach dumplings. We also provide meal prep service. There are so many ways to create amazing, delicious vegan food. We love being a part of the vegan food service industry serving delicious food to our community.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

What most people don’t realize is that Vujee Vegan is my second attempt in this industry. In 2019, I partnered with someone to start a vegan and plant-based meal prep business. While we could clearly see the growing need and market for vegan and plant-based options, our model didn’t provide the financial returns we hoped for; therefore, we made the decision to dissolve the business. I vividly remember feeling the impact of this very hard and expensive lesson. The food and restaurant industry is not for the faint of heart. It is quite challenging, especially if you don’t have a mentor to save you the time, aggravation and headaches of starting up.

My personal commitment to the plant-based journey began in August 2012 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. There were a number of studies that connected eating a plant-based diet with rapid recovery, so I decided to shift my lifestyle during my treatment. I committed to following an Alkaline plan for an entire year and when I reverted to eating poultry and seafood, my body began to reject it and prompted me to maintain my plant-based lifestyle.

This is what drives my passion and continued resilience in this space… What could have been a debilitating failure became a wonderful learning experience and birthed our tagline “Lettuce Romaine Calm, It’s Plant Magic”(™).

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Life experience has taught me many things. Particularly as an entrepreneur, the team you build is one of the greatest barometers for future success. By having a solid team in place, my vision and agenda is amplified exponentially. My goal has always been to identify the skills in others that compliment mine, so we can fire on all cylinders.

When given the opportunity to share advice, I have told many up-and-coming entrepreneurs to remember that in most cases, customers will meet and engage with team members far more often than with the owner. As such, we should always keep in mind that our teams are the chief stewards of the cultural values we wish to convey on the community. Also, in this age of social media, your team can either make a positive impression on your customers or end up going viral quickly after one negative interaction. Therefore, it is imperative to hire the right team members, set clear expectations, and hold everyone accountable at the highest level.

Personally, I believe in the Golden Rule and work diligently to treat each person I come in contact with, the way I desire to be treated. Kindness and respect are the guiding principles of my value system. In doing so, our team has formal check-ins to provide feedback on all things Vujee Vegan, ranging from operational matters to enhancing food quality, to strengthening customer engagement, and more. Every idea is respectfully considered and implemented appropriately. In doing so, morale continues to be high, and the work environment remains fun.

And last but certainly not least, let’s not forget financial incentives…when your business is thriving don’t forget how you got there! Identify the important goals for your organization to achieve and provide bonuses to employees when they are reached. While praise, respect and appreciation are very important, cash continues to be unforgettable!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vujeveganllc.com
• Instagram: vujee_vegan
• Facebook: Vujee Vegan

Image Credits
Image Credits: Charles Beason Amber Poole