We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica & Jocelyn Nelums a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jessica & Jocelyn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Day to day the world can seem like a tough place, but there’s also so much kindness in the world and we think talking about that kindness helps spread it and make the world a nicer, kinder place. Can you share a story of a time when someone did something really kind for you?
The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for The Mahogany Kitchen is given us the opportunity to showcase our new business on the WIS News television show Soda City Live. When The Mahogany Kitchen officially opened we created a Facebook page and shared our business with our friends. One of our previous co-workers/Facebook friends, who is now a WIS news anchor, Sierra Artemus saw that we started a cookie cutter business and wanted us to be featured on the new daytime show. Within a matter of days we were interviewed by WIS news anchor Billie Jean Shaw and our new business was introduced to thousands of South Carolinians. In that moment we felt seen, heard and honored to apart of a program that highlighted the many wonderful talents and local businesses right here in South Carolina. As new business owners, we truly appreciated the chance to not only be on tv for the first time, but to show everyone the hard work and dedication we put into our dream.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We created The Mahogany Kitchen after watching a popular daytime cook make cookies for her family while using boot-shaped cookie cutters. Her choice of cutter design was a reflection of her everyday life on the ranch, surrounded by farm animals and cowboys. That episode sparked our imagination and we asked ourselves “How can we create a cookie cutter that reflects our everyday lives?” We put our thinking caps on and came up with the idea of different hairstyles that reflect our culture and upbringing as Black children. From afro puffs to locs, each cookie cutter we sell represents our little Black boys and girls.
What sets us apart from others is that we focus on a community that isn’t represented in the baking industry. Most cookie cutters are of different shapes, animals and objects, rarely do we see cookie cutters of kids and when we do, there is no uniqueness or individuality of the design that brings the cookie to life. Our goal is to fill in the gap, by bring individuals that look like us into the world of creativity and self-expression through baking. We’re proud that Black kids and adults are able to see themselves when they see our products. We truly believe that “baking together brings families together” and our mission is to provide a product that can increase family engagement and creativity for years to come.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson we had to unlearn is the notion that “everything has to be perfect before starting your business.” Our minds tell us that every single component must be perfect in order to begin but in actuality, you have to learn and grow along the way. It takes time and resources to have everything you would like for you business and realistically it’s impossible to have it all when you’re a start up company.
When we came up with the idea of The Mahogany Kitchen and began to collect our materials and products we went back and forth with the question of when do we actually launch our business. We asked ourselves, “do we wait and launch during the holiday season?” when customers are looking to buy gifts for their loved ones or “do we launch now” in the beginning of the year. Many would think the “perfect” time to launch would have been during the holiday season, however if we had done so, we would have missed out on an entire year of opportunities that came our way when we decided to launch in February 2022.
As business owners, we are always evolving and learning new things. With experience and education, over time you can perfect your craft and get you business to where you always dreamed it would be. The great thing about the “journey of entrepreneurship” is as long as you have the basic components you need to start your business, you can start!
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
The best source of new clientele has come from local events and networking. As an online business, it can be difficult to get in front of your target audience, but what we have noticed is that being live and in-person at festivals like “The Jubilee Festival” and the “Kwanzaa in the Midlands” event we were able to meet new customers, increase sales and network with individuals from different walks of life. Another source of new clientele has come from our own personal cookie decorating activity we coined, “Icing it Up!” where we provide cookie decorating kits that include cookies, icing and decorative candies for participants. This fun activity not only allows us to tap into our creativity and interact with potential customers, but it allows others to see how our cookie cutters bring happiness and joy to those that us them. As we continue to grow and expand, our goal is to increase our online visibility/presence and continue to attend local festivals and events throughout the Midlands.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.themahoganykitchen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themahoganykitchenco/?hl=en
- Facebook: facebook.com/themahoganykitchen
Image Credits
Jocelyn Nelums