Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Devin Hancock. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Devin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?

Learning to get the right support was key for my business growing. I Really wanted to learn about how I could also be the support in which I was seeking. Over the years I’ve been able grow different and focus on who I was and what I offered rather than who didn’t support. Once I did that, right clientele came and that included family and friends.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Devin Hancock or Chef Dev. I am a classically trained chef and entrepreneur. I have been in the hospitality industry for over 15 years; however, I’ve been a chef for a little over 7 now. I wanted to create a brand that not only focused on the food itself, but also focused on love and warmth you get when you come together. I always believed in being kind and treating people the way that you want to be treated. So, I pride myself on providing that service through my food and from the moment that we speak during planning.

In everything that I do or produce, my family has always been a major influence of that. from the spices that i create to the way that I schedule.

I have grown over the years from just a chef to a full businesswoman. I now have my catering business, a line of spices and sauces, a tea line, a consulting line and other products that will be produces in the coming year. I wanted something that would last. By creating this brand, I have been able to train and help others in their entrepreneurial journey, my children have a great foundation of nutrition and how to cook at a young age and we have been fortunate enough to award scholarships for young people in culinary and business.

As a military spouse, I have learned to pivot a lot. I have learned many strengths, that I dint know that I had. I and able to also speak in a more confident and business minded way. I and fortunate enough to have carried all of these attributes into my business.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the hardest lessons that I had to unlearn was that family and friends would be the first to support you. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have some amazing family and true friends who have been there every step of the way. But my biggest support has been people who I didn’t know, people who have become clients through other clients and the continued word of mouth from others. You want to talk about hard first few years, that was it. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around why those who knew me weren’t the first to support. and I remember asking God about that one day. And it came to me that everything had to happen this way so that I wouldn’t get comfortable. Had I got comfortable in just the little bit of support that I was expecting, I would have never grown into the large scale that I am today. I’m still growing and still learning everyday but, I’m a lot further than I would have been had i been comfortable.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Funding my business was entirely out of pocket when I started. I had no loans, no parents to cut me a check. It was literally myself and my husband. I would fold my regular job money into my business. and in all honesty, I was in the red for a while. It wasn’t until I started talking to mentors and people in other industries, that new about structuring a business properly, was when my mind shifted on how to do things. If I wanted this to be long term, I had to structure for the longs term. I went into really taking a look at my business and thought about what was profitable now for me versus what could I hold off on and roll out later. Because I was so excited and wanted to give so much of my gift to the world, that I was exhausting funds to do it. Now a few years later and I am more fruitful that I’ve ever been. Now I am able to pay myself, save and still fund my business. Eventually I want to get investors and grants possibly to go into the next chapter of business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chefdevhcareringco.com
• Instagram: insstagram.com/militarymomandmeals or instagram.com/chefdevh
• Facebook: facebook.com/chefdevh
• Youtube: hancockfamilyvault

Image Credits
Photos by Myself and Laneishia Maxwell of Maxdesignswedding.com