We recently connected with Damion Parker and have shared our conversation below.

Damion, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

The biggest risk I have ever taken is going into business for ourselves. I had a stable, steady, and decent income. Had benefits, retirement and health insurance. Then I had the great idea to purchase a shaved ice truck with Kona Ice. We paid a lot of money (to join), had no income, no health insurance, and no retirement, and no idea what was next.

However, we did have the plan that Kona Ice suggested would work. 6 years later we are still running the plan and it is working. We have grown to have 3 mobile units, have a small staff of individuals, and are well respected in out community. We sure hope the short term success continues for years to come.

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 Kona Ice Of West Grand Rapids. We are the “Original” Kona Ice Franchise in West Michigan and began our journey in 2018. I sold the idea of getting into Kona Ice to my wife because of the community aspects and fundraising ability of the business. We have been able to earn more money than we ever have in life and also have given back more money to others than we have ever. It is a great feeling to giveback and we strive to give back more and more every year.

Our shaved ice is nutritious and delicious and not just for kids!! It is so exciting when adults eyes light up after tasting their first Kona Ice. This is what sold me on the brand, not that kids liked it bit that adults loved the product just as much as the kids (if not more). If you expect to taste a super sweet flavor then you need to taste a Kona Ice. It is not as sweet as you expect and that is due to the proprietary flavor mix (Stevia a Pure Cane Sugar mix). It is simply delicious!!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I have always side hustled on the side. This had prepared me for the Kona Ice business as it is a bug time hustle. However when I first pitched the ide to my wife, she suggested I maintain my Full-Time job and ease into Kona Ice.

After the first 2 weeks I could see that I was going to need to go “ALL IN” to make this succeed. Wife and I agreed although it was scary but it was the right decision.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth! Easily the best way to gain new clients. I have found that 5 Star reviews are very helpful as well s strive to get those when you can and savor each

Contact Info:

• Website: kona-ice.com

Image Credits
Kona Ice