We recently connected with Carmen Friday and have shared our conversation below.
Carmen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
I hope that my legacy will add something to someone’s life that helped change their perspective and help them find their purpose. I want my story and teachings to continue to be shared to inspire others as I make them laugh, cry, and think. My legacy will not only be about my widespan of creativity and what I’ve accomplished, but also about perseverance, consistency, and faith. How much love I’ve given, how much joy I’ve spread around this world, and how much hope I’ve given those who were once hopeless. I want to leave behind a legacy that will continue to inspire others long after I am gone because that will be proof that I was here!
Leaving my thumbprint on the world!
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?
My name is Carmen Friday I’m a Culinary Artist, and the owner of Cooking With Carmen. I have a passion and love for creating beautiful and delicious meals. I was raised as a young girl to value the qualities of a thoughtful meal. My personal philosophy, “food brings people together,” began to form as I enjoyed watching my family connect, relax, and fellowship over the early efforts of my great-grandmothers and grandmothers.
I believe “Food is Passion.” Passion is Art;” a motto that has been the driving inspiration behind my creative approach to food making. I understand cooking to be both an art and science requiring a lot of love, time, attention, and dedication to improvement. I love seeing people enjoy my food! It makes me feel good when they ask for seconds or thirds… or fourths along with many requests!
My passion has led me through many culinary adventures; from home cooking; to baking classic desserts to creating new ones; catering private events running my own business, and catering events for local businesses and individuals alike. I have worked with clients ranging from corporate executives who just want their employees fed well during the week or weekend warriors who just want something special for their family gatherings or party guests who are looking for an unforgettable experience.
After 17 years in retail management in big box operations, it became clear that I was not only tired of the no work-life balance I was tired, uninspired, and unfulfilled. My dream was sidetracked by the needs of daily life. That is a common and perfectly understandable place that most of us find ourselves in at some point during our lives. The real test comes when you discover the thing that makes you feel alive and joyful; then you must find the courage to jump and take a risk on yourself. I took that risk 2 years ago quitting my job at the height of the pandemic with no safety net to pursue my dream.
I took the lessons of my retail years and used them to fashion a place for myself that I have always belonged to but took some time to find my way into. I have no regrets about walking away from a space that took too much of my time and energy and did not give me what I needed to feel the true sense of accomplishment I craved.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I believe that there are many factors that have helped me build my reputation. The creativity, presentation, and quality of my food has proven to be a winning combination in the culinary industry. It has given me the opportunity to teach others how to cook using simple ingredients and techniques that anyone can follow. This allows people who may not have had much experience cooking before to gain confidence in the kitchen which in turn helps them develop their own style of cooking. I also like helping people out by simplifying recipes by giving alternatives or substituting some ingredients with others.
I’ve built my reputation within the market by being consistent with my business. I started by introducing myself to many people in the community by posting my food on social media and offering samples of my food at festivals or events. I would always make sure that they were satisfied with their experience and any questions they had about the food or me. By doing this, it gave them an opportunity to see how much knowledge I possess about food as well as get a feel for my personality which helped build trust among them because they knew what to expect from me when they came back later on down the road if they wanted more of my food or if they wanted to learn more about it. Me being more personable gave me an advantage over other businesses who were just trying to sell their product without any care for who was buying it or how happy they were when leaving with their purchase.
My business is based on trust and honesty so being welcoming, transparent, giving more than what’s expected, taking responsibility, and learning from those that I admire are all traits that contribute to building a good reputation in any business environment.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
The best source of new clients has been through word of mouth and referrals. I think that’s because I’m not trying to sell anything, but rather provide a service.
When people ask me what all I do this usually leads to more questions, which is great because it gives me an opportunity to explain everything I do and how they can use my services. I also get a lot of inquiries through my website, especially when people want information for an upcoming event, celebration, or intimate experience.
It is so important to have a good online presence, including social media accounts and a website that showcases your work and provides contact information for potential clients.
I’m also a big believer in having a local presence, so I attend as many community events and meetings as possible. It’s always good to meet new people and talk about your business with them. If they’re interested in what you do, they may refer their friends and family members to you!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cookingwithcarmen.online/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cookingwithcarmenf/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cookingwithcarmenf
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmen-friday-12186831/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cooking_Carmen
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfyNvXBqZYQsVG_hexzxXRA
Image Credits
Carmen Friday Whitley Green