We recently connected with Diaundrea Sherill and have shared our conversation below.
Diaundrea , 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?
First thing, first: Grandma was a Chef. Now, I know most famed Chefs’ or Instructors won’t agree with that statement -but let me explain.
What does it really take to be a Chef? Besides actually knowing how to cook and knowing how flavors pair, -planning and portioning. Now, of course everyone’s grandma cooks differently whether it be Southern Food, Mexican Food, Indian Food or Cuban Food, nevertheless the food was amazing. I come from a fairly large family, there could be expected to be at minimum of 30 family members over for Sunday Dinner -at one time. All of the meals were cooked by grandma and me, sometime. The time that it took to decide what to cook, going to actually buy it and of course portioning it, AND being prepare for extra uninvited guest -yea, my Grandma is to be considered a Chef in my book.
How do you transition from heavily indulging in Southern Cuisine, which involved some part of an animal in just about every meal you consumed, to Vegan/Plant-based meals? Make it vegan.
The Idea:
I love desserts, cupcakes and cakes to be exact. Oh, and don’t forget about Cheesecake!
I made them deliciously non-vegan. So, I switched it up, let’s make it vegan but make sure it tastes good. I can attest to vegan/plant-based food being thought of to be nasty. At one point of time that may have been true. But as with most things, you gotta add flavor, you know seasonings. The idea was to create 100% Vegan/Plant-based Desserts (Cupcakes, Cakes Jars, Cake Pops and Chocolate Coated Apples) and sell them to non-vegans and vegans.
The Execution:
I did some research to decide who specifically I wanted to target, where I would sell my items and at what price. Surely enough my vegan desserts became a hit at Vendor Markets. With one small exception, I soon realized that vegan chocolate doesn’t hold well at outdoor temperatures. Therefore, I am still on my quest to find a good vegan chocolate for melting for my Vegan Cake Pops and Chocolate Coated Apples.
Diaundrea , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Have you ever been to a company gathering and the only item they had for vegetarians or vegans was a salad? Yea, I know that really sucks.
Well, here’s DeDe to the rescue to offer you and your company Vegan/Plant-based Cake Jars, Cupcakes and Cakes. We also offer Cake Pops and Chocolate Coated Apples, they’re 95% vegan. Don’t worry about the calories, we’re here for the flavor!! Our items are baked fresh and made from scratch. From the sifting of the flour to placing the pan in the oven.
As I mentioned, I grew up on Soulfood (Southern Food), I also have 15+ years of experience in the Hospitality/Food & Beverage Industry. I started my career off working for a staffing agency at the Seminole Hardrock (Hollywood, Florida), I’ve also worked for Wendy’s, Starbucks, Walt Disney World, AND the (FIU) South Beach Food & Wine Festival, and the list goes on before I decided to start my own. I have also been a Community Activist, organizing Free Food Distributions and School Supply Giveaways in Miami, FL.
I am most proud of my Leadership skills. The ability to build and train a team is an attribute that only few truly possess. Over the years while leading organizations I’ve had the opportunity to train 25+ individuals in community outreach (Political Teams/Political Campaigns) and most importantly I made sure they were paid for their services.
I want potential clients to know that my business values integrity and implements it throughout our daily operations. The products I sell, I value. Every item and service provided is literally a piece of me.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Omgg, Yes I can.
The year was 2021.
We were finishing setting up our tent with tables and decorations for our first Vendor market at Dania Pointe. With no cloud in sight, it started pouring down rain. Omgosh. Our tent walls were not setup yet, we had to grab something quickly to cover our items, and ourselves. After about 10 minutes the rain stopped. There I was standing, soaked in rain. But nevertheless, our items were safe. We stayed for the remainder of the event to sell our items. We made some pretty good sales that night. We continued selling our products at Markets, for the remainder of the year. :)
How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.
Having a website creates a sense of comfort for customers. It allows them to not only see the items I sell but also to get to know me and understand my “why”. As of now, I sell my items directly from my website. Amazon and Etsy are platforms that I am considering to sell items on.
For a limited time Canvas Rebel readers can use the discount code CRebel for a 25% discount on orders over $20. The code expires on August 29th, 2022.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheDeliciousDeDeCompany.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deliciousdedeco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeliciousDeDeCo/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diaundrea
Image Credits
First Photo: shakestillz