We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kora Polydore. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kora below.
Kora , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
This is a loaded question because since COVID I think about trading in my apron more for Zoom meetings and telework from home often. .
Running a food business since COVID has been hard and definitely unexpected things have been happening that I have no control over.
Entrepreneurship is already hard, but add COVID, staff shortages, rising food cost, the longer hours worked, and so on and so forth. Working for someone else and letting them have all the weight on their shoulders sounds better and better by the day.
Then I come to my senses and take a deep breath, remember my why, refocus and continue the journey.
Kora , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Well, I’m Kora Polydore. I am a wife, a pet parent, an introvert, and passionate about food and business. I always knew I wanted to own my own business. At age five I received an easy bake oven for Christmas and my love for baking grew from there. I didn’t go to school but I studied for years and still study my craft. I am always learning about being a chef, a business owner, and learning how to be a great leader.
I try to bring all I have learned over the last 17yrs of my entrepreneurial journey to our current brand Kora Lee’s Gourmet Dessert Cafe. We want to be a staple comfort food, from scratch, small batch bakery in our community and around the DMV. I am all about elevating those dishes we grew up on to be familiar but better than we remember. And by doing so it has landed us on the cover of the Baltimore Sun, rated a top hidden gem in Baltimore. Staying consistent, passionate about our product, and grateful to our customers has kept us here.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I think COVID made pivotors (not a word but…) out of most small businesses including mine. We had just moved our location to the current one in October of 2019 with the plan to have a few dine in seats for the customers. Everything was great, our numbers were up, we were catering, open everyday, weddings, and events. And we started to see a drop late February beginning of March. And then that’s when the world shut down. Month one I immediately centered myself in prayer so worry and fear wouldn’t set in. That month became three months closed. During the down time I made a plan on how we would survive the unknown until it was known.
We created a carry out, delivery system, curbside pick up, updated our website to work best for carry out. We catered to customers who wanted to support but were afraid of coming out. In the end it worked out, but not without some glitches in the beginning. It worked out well enough for us to still be here. That pivot has helped us even now when the country is short staffed, the processes put in place during that first year of COVID has helped me stay a float now.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
The short answer is consistency. Showing up with a consistent product, and in authenticity. Making people feel a part of the business or like a friend and not just a customer.
Contact Info:
- Website: KoraLees.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/koraleescafe?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/koralees/
Image Credits
N/a