We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeriesha Carter Johnson and Andre Johnson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeriesha and Andre below.

Jeriesha and Andre , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?

When we first started Divinestar Creations, LLC dba Divine Elegance. It was just the two of us but then we gradually added our extended family members. For a very long time, DE was just family. Andre and I have lots of god kids, at that time they really wanted to make extra money. It was hard on all of us at first because we were just learning and finding our way. What would at one time take us 3 hours to do will probably take us and 1hr & a half.

Gradually our extended family grew they brought in family and friends. At one time we had over 18 independent contract staff. Some of them quickly moved up to lead and managerial positions. They also grew up, got married, and started families. We actually had to start over again in recruiting staff.

At first we didn’t have an interview process. During the pandemic we had downtime. We took online training and developed our very first Business Operating System. Created outlines for staff. interview process and orientation that each staff must attend before the first day on the job.

If we were starting today I definitely would have taken the time to develop a procedure and start the Business Operating system.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

We are Andre & Jeriesha Johnson, we’ve been married for 15 Years come October 18th. We’ve been business partners for all 15 years of our marriage. Sometimes being a husband and wife team building a brand can be difficult. One thing we’ve learned is to navigate together and lean on each other’s strengths. Jeriesha is very much the mastermind behind the business and the overall vision for the brand. Andre is very calm and calculating. He is very personal and direct in dealing with clients and making them comfortable.

Our food taste and presentation are unique in their own right. Our recipes are based on old family neo-soul recipes with a gourmet twist. We love themed events because they give us a chance to be creative and out of the box.

We’ve grown this business from the ground up and survived the pandemic without any loans or assistance. When a client hires DE we want them to know they are in good hands. Over the years we’ve developed wonderful relationships with area vendors. Some of the relationships actually turned into true friendships. Many of our clients have also become apart of our extended DE family.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During the pandemic, when events were literally at a standstill. We honestly could have given up and walked away. We didn’t have a building, just our monthly kitchen space rent. Right before the pandemic hit we had just got a business van. Instead of giving up we sat down and thought about how can we still connect with clients and fill a need. We started meal deliveries, which was a big hit. Mother’s Day we collaborated with some vendor friends and delivered Mother’s Day meals that included a neo-soul meal, flowers, and dessert. It was a true success, we then followed up with Father’s Day and monthly meals. It helped us to stay afloat and added another aspect to our business.

In this, it taught us that it’s truly okay to pivot the focus of your business. Surviving the pandemic as business owners truly tested our faith and strength. We also started having virtual meetings with our clients. Our virtual meetings gave our clients comfort and still allowed them to have facial interaction with our team.

There were some events that got canceled or postponed. With this, we learned that our contracts need to be sure to include certain wording. It took us a while to get back ahead from events occurring from credits and postponements. Our team was resilient and supportive when they could work they were there. Many stayed with us during the pandemic and are still with us until this day.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

As the owners of DE, we both have full-time jobs. In building DE we hope to soon retire into DE as our full-time business/career. There are times we lose out on contracts because we aren’t able to fulfill the time slot needed due to our full-time jobs. Also, there have been times when DE didn’t have any money and we had to cover it’s expenses. We both were very grateful to have that income to help sustain the business.

Last year we were able to move into a storefront. That was such a milestone for us. No longer did we have to meet clients at borrowed locations or just do virtual meetings. When you walk into the “Palace” as we call it you truly get the feel of our Brand. In our office/storefront, we are able to showcase our rentals, do classes, and have in-person meetings. Once we got the storefront it upscaled our business and the services we could offer to a client within one place.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.decateringevents.com
• Instagram: de_events
• Facebook: Divine Elegance

Image Credits
Needed Touch Photography