We were lucky to catch up with Felisha Nicholson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Felisha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2024/03/14/fe-nomenal-cooking-experience-owner-in-tallahassee-shares-her-journey/72759952007/?fbclid=IwAR2ymyqI4f69bgFl8MaMNoXuHDEfZ280r9vtplx2u1CFgZ-D91d99_Tihzs_aem_AXRjwDnh3cv1tisTROC7gFAMFfkU1d1SHZ4rrfd7rjf-qBHsptSLkmRWRBVVOb5DwBFUaZzws6UhUBgRnjT2g_8s

I think it takes passion and drive. I believe that God will guide your footsteps throughout your journey, but you have to take the steps toward your journey. My business started out with just an idea. I wanted to provide dining experiences for people in their homes during Covid. Realizing that there was a market and need for this time of experiences for customers. People couldn’t generally go out and dine like they wanted to during the pandemic. Therefore, my idea was to bring the dining experiences to them. They were able to have unique exquisite experiences in the comfort of their own homes. My team and I would come cook, plate, tablescape and do some event photography, if necessary. People loved it! They were able to celebrate special events or just have the experience of a “just because” celebration without having to worry about the details. This was me making the first steps of my journey. Now, my business has grown substantially with cooking classes, catering events, cooking camps for kids, and I am still providing in-home dining experiences. I owe it all to God. He’s been guiding me every since I made that first step.

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.

I was a Teacher and District Elementary Math Specialist here in Leon county for about 15 years. I enjoyed my tenure there, and loved the difference that I was making with children and other educators across our district. However, I always felt like there was something else that I wanted to do. It got to a point where my line of work was providing satisfaction for me anymore. Then Covid came. I had a hunch for an idea, and shared this idea with my husband. The idea was to launch a business called, “The FE-Nomenal Experience” where I would provide in-home dining experiences for individuals, couples and groups. Since then, I built a solid clientele and they referred more clientele, and now I am catering, doing cooking classes for adults and cooking camps for kids, and I am still provide those in-home dining experiences. Our dining experiences were unique, because we weren’t just providing good food. We would come in and prepare and plate the food, do full scale tablescaping and on-site photography. Our clients felt like stars and felt like family. That’s what we wanted. I now try to instill the same concepts in a lot of the other things that I do. (https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2024/03/14/fe-nomenal-cooking-experience-owner-in-tallahassee-shares-her-journey/72759952007/?fbclid=IwAR2ymyqI4f69bgFl8MaMNoXuHDEfZ280r9vtplx2u1CFgZ-D91d99_Tihzs_aem_AXRjwDnh3cv1tisTROC7gFAMFfkU1d1SHZ4rrfd7rjf-qBHsptSLkmRWRBVVOb5DwBFUaZzws6UhUBgRnjT2g_8s )

I have recently become a published cookbook author! I am having book signings this month on Apri 18th, 20th and 22nd. I also have a couple other private signing events coming up in May! This process has been exciting and fulfilling! My publisher, Kimi Johnson of PurposePals Publishing has been very hands-on and resourceful during this process! This cookbook is really special to me. It has some recipes in it that are near and dear to me, and my husband did all of the photography for the book! I feel as though people will get a good glimpse of my cooking style and techniques but will also see the love and hardwork that was put into this book. The book is called “Cooking with Fe”, and it can be purchased on Amazon, as well as, a couple kitchens stores here in Tallahassee and the Midtown Readers Bookstore here. Information about my book and signings can be found here: https://www.purposepalsllc.com/authorevents and https://www.purposepalsllc.com/shop.

What I am most proud of is that from the very beginning, I have had the full support of my family and I have found ways to incorporate them in this business. I have never felt like The FE-Nomenal Experience, LLC is just my doing…It isn’t. We are family oriented. My husband (Emanuel Nicholson) has been very supportive and attentive to helping this business thrive and grow. He does all the photography for it. My mom (Wendy Barber) is my sous chef, and she bakes for the business. My sister is the designer and does all of the tablescaping and cheesecakes for the business (Sylvia Williams; Cheesecakes by Sylvia). My brother (Jonathan Williams) smokes all the meat…He learned his BBQ-ing techniques from my dad (John Williams). See, its’s a family affair. It has been said business and family do not mix, and in a lot of cases this is true, but my family has been very instrumental in my success. I thank God every day for each and every one of them.

Have you ever had to pivot?

2021-2022, my business really started to expand. At this time, I was still managing my full time position with Leon County Schools. It was a lot, but I was managing. I would work really late night and early mornings to fulfill obligations with my business and then still managed to work a full time salaried position. It was difficult, but I was making it work. Then, my father became ill. My husband and I became full-time in-home caregivers. My siblings were a great help, but we had the brunt. Now, I am running a business, working a full-time job and caring for my father. Talk about overload! I was growing exhausted and something had to give. July of 2023, I decided to take an unpaid leave of absence from Leon County Schools, so that I could focus on business and care for my father more. Prior to taking leave, I straddled the fence about whether I should or not. What if I am not able to sustain a decent income with my business? During this leave of absence, I realized that everything that I once worried about was nothing to worry about at all. I had my faith and I had my drive and passion. Faith, drive and passion carried me through and in December of 2023, I was able to resign from LCS and follow my passion.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Running my own business is new territory. I don’t know any and everything. Although I know a lot about cooking, cooking and running a business are two different things. This meant that I put myself into some very uncomfortable situations to grow. I had to pursue the unfamiliar and learn from individuals, other than myself, who had ideas and experiences with getting outside of this comfort zone. I had to start attending networking meetings and events. In 2022, I decided to walk into a couple kitchen stores here (Brown’s Kitchen and The Prepared Table), and see if they would take a chance on me doing cooking classes there…They did, and I am still doing and enjoying them! I’ve had to learn the power of social media and utilizing it to display my craft and communicating with other potential clientele. I am learning that I CANNOT DO IT ALL, and that it’s okay to be vulnerable to allow others to assist you with your finances (i.e. bookkeeping). Before now, I would’ve backed away from some of these new ways of learning, but now I run towards them. God’s guidance in your journey will always begin and end with the effort you put in.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @thefenomenalcookingexperience
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sisterfoodies/
• Other: [email protected] https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2024/03/14/fe-nomenal-cooking-experience-owner-in-tallahassee-shares-her-journey/72759952007/?fbclid=IwAR2ymyqI4f69bgFl8MaMNoXuHDEfZ280r9vtplx2u1CFgZ-D91d99_Tihzs_aem_AXRjwDnh3cv1tisTROC7gFAMFfkU1d1SHZ4rrfd7rjf-qBHsptSLkmRWRBVVOb5DwBFUaZzws6UhUBgRnjT2g_8s https://www.purposepalsllc.com/shop https://www.purposepalsllc.com/authorevents

Image Credits
Photographer: Emanuel Nicholson of PhotosbyEnigmaSept