We recently connected with Amanda Kidd and have shared our conversation below.
Amanda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
It was my prayer life for me. In order to go from idea to execution, it took deepening my faith and spending more time in prayer with God. You see I have launched a business before, but this time I did not want to just launch a business, I wanted to build a legacy. When I identified what barriers interrupted my legacy building, I immediately sought God in prayer. Mainly to expose why things had not turned out as I hoped and strategized so many years for.
It took me recognizing that I put people before God in my business. Not realizing that I listened more to what people had to say and to what people thought I should or shouldn’t do in my business.
It was not until a few months right before the Pandemic, fall of 2019, that I was able to fully walk into the season where I invited God completely in my business, literally!
While going through one of the most trying periods of my adult life, since watching my mother battle breast cancer for seven years, then passing away, then losing my father and father’s parents to diabetes, heart and kidney disease. I was able to recognize that God was preparing something very tailor made just for me.
You see, at that point, over the past seven years I had dreamed of working with food and hospitality business owners that were small in size but had big hearts and did big things. So much so that I spent time nurturing relationships. Not aware that this was a major key to success in any business industry. By taking the time to plant seeds then going back to water them, I was able to hear and see what all was needed to grow and maintain the idea/vision I was given.
You see, I had very few mentors that gave me various tools and resources, however none could truly show me how to apply them to what it was set in my heart to do. Strategy without a true vision, is nothing but misappropriated knowledge. Being able to apply knowledge and resources appropriately is very crucial when launching a business. I am very thankful that I was able to lean into God to guide me through my limited access to those who understood how important it is to be diligent, applying faith, having virtue and knowledge. Additionally, having the right temperament and level patience throughout the process, from idea to execution.
So you want to know what the next moment, hour, or year looks like? It looks like you sitting in uncomfortable spaces at times. So many times we want to believe that the idea brings much celebration and instant success. However that is not the case. Even with the best well earned degree holder will not experience instant success. It takes truly getting in the trenches and tending to the soil the seed is planted in and preparing for the harvest you envisioned.
Preparation involves you actually gathering and organizing information and systems that make up your idea/vision. Throughout this process it is important you remain connected through prayer to God to gain insight on the strategy and wisdom on how to apply the appropriate knowledge and systems in order to move beyond the idea phase and be ready to launch.
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.
I grew up in N.W DC. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a very interesting relationship with food. It did not truly hit me until having conversations with my family, hearing the stories about myself as a little girl. The common theme was that I did not rarely liked eating food that I could not see prepared. That explained so much about why I stayed in the kitchen when food was being made. From there my journey with food truly began.
For many years I accompanied my grandparents in the kitchen, then later on my mom. Back then, I did not have an understanding as to how food shaped our lives; it just was not something talked about in my family. Because of this, I never imagined working with food as a career, I went on to learn and do other things. Throughout my journey, it seemed that I was also drawn to career choices that also had a food component.
It was not until my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer that the importance of food in our lives made sense to me. That was in 2005.
Still not having true guidance, I went on to explore ways I could help people get access to the food options that would support a better quality of life. Due to a plethora of barriers, my exploration yielded both success and failures.
Two years after the passing of my mother, in 2014 I launched my first business, Beat The Rush Delivery. While in my online undergrad business class, along with the help of some local business mentor programs, I was able to start my journey of making food more accessible to the community. Our visions of offering personal shopping experiences with a home or corporate delivery hybrid service was something that many needed but did not understand how they could take advantage of. While starting up this company is where I was able to identify the barriers within the community where it pertains to food and accessibility to it. I was able to identify the gaps in communication, technology and accessibility between the food businesses and the community. I was also able to identify the lack of resources for the food businesses.
In the process of identifying this problem, we entered a pandemic. However, that did not stop the creative problem solving from working at large. During this time, we were able to work through breaking more barriers and putting in motion the work towards bringing resources to food businesses within our community and beyond.
This is where our non-profit, Four Eleven Kitchen, Inc. was formed. Through our organization, we provide mentorship and support to food businesses and food enthusiasts in the areas of access to licensed commercial kitchen space and business development hub. In addition, we provide access to culinary and hospitality education and skills training. Programs and activities for our youth and families within our community are available as well. We are dedicated to developing opportunities that will empower, elevate and establish our community on all fronts. Meeting the needs socially and economically are two key ways we intend to make an impact.
I’ve taken the learn/learn approach to every opportunity that I am presented with. What I am most proud of is that through all of the opposition that arose in my personal life did not stop my ability to spark change within the community. Making an impact through actions, not only in words, what brings my heart great joy. My faith in God, my husband and my village of supporters are the true MVP’s of my visions taking shape.
Building and leaving a legacy that will run on its own and out live me is the ultimate dream.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
There are many books that I have read that have shaped and impacted my thinking along this entrepreneurial journey this far. Like, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Balcony People, Is Your Business Worth Saving, Booked, etc. However, the most significant resource that has impacted my journey has been my relationship with God and learning how to unpack all the things I tend to internalize through speaking with wise counsel, which you may know as therapy.
Don’t get me wrong, intellectual content and the application of it, is very much needed along the entrepreneurial journey. However, if you are not healthy internally, it will show up one way or another within your business. There must be a healthy balance personally and professionally in order for you and your business to thrive simultaneously, if you want to be in a sustainable business.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Honestly, just me showing up and being myself helped build my reputation within my market. I never sought out to make a name for myself nor to show off what I knew or was capable of doing. I just showed up when opportunities presented themselves with passion and love for what I do and those who do it alongside me.
The food and hospitality industry, to me, is and always will be about community—-village. Oftentimes we can get caught up on the who’s who, what school they studied at, who they were mentored by, and how great their circle of followers are, as it pertains to food and hospitality professionals. To the point we lose sight of the individual as a person—human and their why and how they will make an impact. This is how I have been able to build a strong reputation. I look beyond the titles, accomplishments and accolades of a person and I make connections with the human-being.
We as humans thrive off of being seen in a way that lets us know that we have made a difference in the lives of those we serve as well as our own.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/buildlegacynow
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/_buildlegacynow
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mrs.AmandaMKidd
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandamkidd
- Twitter: @AmandaMKidd
Image Credits
Reggie Wallace- Total Images Jill Jasuta- Jill Jasuta Photography Beat The Rush Delivery