We were lucky to catch up with Sugar Vermonte recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sugar, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
I had the idea for Maybe Cheese Born With It during the height of the pandemic. For the prior seven years I had been working locally at the Autism Model School. I absolutely loved the work, but after going back after “the long pause,” I very quickly came to the realization that I couldn’t keep working that hard while being that broke.
I took my stimulus check and bought a $400 minicamper, painted her pink, and Maybe Cheese Born With It was born!
I remember after filling up with gas, heading to my first event I had $1.42 left in my bank account. It was make or break it time – I was so relieved that we made it!
That entire first year was running around putting out fires and figuring out how to fix things. I installed a water heater by myself and I still think it’s a miracle that I didn’t explode.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a big ‘ole drag queen based out of Toledo, Ohio. I started Maybe Cheese Born With It, a big and glittery mac n cheese food truck. We offer gourmet made from scratch mac n cheese loaded with gourmet toppings.
I’ve been a drag queen for years here in Ohio, but it wasn’t until I really embraced that side of myself and combined it with my business sense that I’ve found success. No one bought me wearing a suit trying to act straight and lower my voice to not sound like an entire woman on the phone, and quite frankly I don’t think I ever bought it myself. I decided that a sequined muumuu would be my business suit from now on!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Honey my entire history is a story of resilience. My parents passed away when I was in high school, and I moved to Toledo at 18 years old. I’ve been almost entirely on my own since then and I’ve had to claw, scrape, and fight my way to success.
I started Maybe Cheese Born With It with very little capital- when I tell people that I started my business with a stimulus check and a smile, I mean it quite literally. Some days I could barely afford the smile!
After operating as a popup for a few months, I was cast on season 15 of The Great Food Truck Race on Food Network. Talk about learning under pressure!
My team and I arrived in California for filming only to discover that we were cast against teams with decades of experience, advanced culinary degrees, factory and distribution systems, and a team that was local to the area. To say that the deck was stacked against us would be a mammoth understatement.
Despite those challenges, a grueling filming schedule, waking up at 4am daily to do my makeup while the other teams were still sleeping in, and a plethora of other roadblocks, we made it to the finale and wound up taking second place.
I am so so proud of what my team and I accomplished on The Great Food Truck Race. It was definitely a trial by fire on the hottest season ever!
How did you build your audience on social media?
I built my entire business through social media and word of mouth. People really respond to and connect with our story through social media.
One thing that really sets our social media account apart from the pack is the authenticity that I approach it with – if I screw something up and we have to cancel an event or sell out way too early, I’m the first person to point out my own mistake and offer a mea culpa. And believe me, in your first year in business, you’re going to make a lot of mistakes!
Also, bring the funny. People aren’t going to interact with your posts day after day week after week if you’re just sharing the same rehashed ad or flyer. Give people a good cheese pun or a reason to giggle and press share. Social media should be fun! No one’s here to get ads shouted at them.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.maybecheesebornwithit.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/maybecheesebornwithitfoodtruck
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaybeCheeseBornWithIt?mibextid=ZbWKwL