We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Damon Ruff a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Damon , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Truly, Throughout this entire process of being a private chef. I had a vision in my early 20s but never pursued it. My mentality now is I’m thankful I manned up in 2018 and learn the craft. I’ve been flown to different cities, said yes to events I didn’t make a lot of money from, and I’ve driven miles in my car. To me that’s the true risk, believing in your WILL POWER. The saying is the Bigger the Risk, The Bigger the Reward. In three years I have been able to accomplish just about every goal I have wanted to get done. Before Chef Dame Cooks I worked in the corporate world and always was top sales, management, and took every position that made me more money. I have now again took a risk in using those skills in my own way to create the success of my business
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
Blessings again, so back story is I’ve always been in the kitchen. Having two grandmothers that cooked for every one, most chefs can relate that’s truly where it started. Throughout the time of my venture, I stayed consistent posting content through social media, locally in phoenix arizona, I took on small scale catering jobs for under 5, I said yes to a few travel trips, through those experiences it showed me more of how to scale my business from scratch. I then continued working through and collaborating with different chefs, joined and created new recipes with some other chefs. Just stayed disciplined in the breakthrough. After about a year, I found that I was being referred and word of mouth became my main stream. The Brand Chef Dame Cooks is based around Private Chefs, Private Catering, Meal Plans and Nutrition, and Chef Consulting Services. The brand in coming years will be innovative on platforms to assist more jobs in the economy and educating the public on the importance of having a chef compared to eating out monthly. Up until present in 2023, my brand has created relationships with celebrities, professional athletes, families, business professionals, Out of Town Peers, Local Ads, Billboards and much more. Follow me at @chefdamecooks IG to stay on the journey with me. 🫶🏽
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
The Best Source of new clients for me is truly IG and Word of Mouth. Continue to work through your phone and all their contacts even. As an entrepreneur you have to stay innovative in your approaches, and making sure you stay social. Business will not come to you, you have to work for free sometimes even depending on where and what you’re trying to have your product around. Just know that God is going to Lead you right where you should be and continue to be a vessel.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Best advice I have as I have spent years looking for reliable people is being PATIENT. Most won’t move and shake like you, so you have to understand the strengths in most. In whatever craft you have, know that it will take multiple times for some to understand it. When managing a team, you are responsible for their schedule, their livelihoods, their energy and daily movement. Be mindful of the energy you keep as well, it’s hard to do things as one, so work hard to find the right people to service your brand and do it expands publicly with respect.
Contact Info:
- Website: Chefdamoncooks.com
- Instagram: Chefdamecooks
Image Credits
IG@thatboytoolit @harrymars @chefdamecooks