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

Malore, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

I think it depends on what stage you are in business. I definitely think in the beginning managing your own social media is necessary and budget friendly. As we evolve into the digital age of things, learning Social Media Marketing skills are a must if you plan to go into business for yourself. I minored in Graphic Design in collage so anytime I start a business I create my own content. I will reach out to help build websites and maybe even create a logo from time to time but I create all my own flyers, advertising, I style my own product shoots and take my own pictures. As entrepreneurs in the digital age we have to learn how to grow our communities online because that’s where everybody is….well most people. I’ve been managing my own social media accounts for a while now and at this time it doesn’t make sense for me to pay someone to manage them for me. I push myself most of the time to do everything I can do myself until it makes sense to transfer the responsibility. As a business owner you have to accept the responsibility of several roles. Then as you grow in business you can start delegating little by little.

I think folks should at least give content creation and managing their own social accounts a shot. Everything is content and people want to follow your story..This also gives you creative controlI. I always remember this saying…facts tell stories sell. Then I ask myself two questions. Why do I exist and why should anybody care? In whatever business I start I ask the business this question and I cultivate its own ecosystem. I provide something of value and in return my community rewards me or the business with something they value. Their money that they worked for. As long as the communication and the value is consistent you’ll always have support.

Social media is just a funnel to things you want people to actually experience. Rather it’s a restaurant, a skin care line, a podcast, a book….ect. Its necessary in this day in age and learning the matrix of it all while telling your story is key! So Yea folks should definitely start off managing their own social accounts at least until it makes sense to hire some with the skills to do it.

Malore, 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?

I am a third generation self taught Chef. Cooking and feeding the community has always a part of my life. Its what my family has always done. My grandfather was a Cook in the Army. He was the head Cook at The Meadow Brook Country Club in Dayton Ohio for many years back in the 70’s. I also remember him being in the kitchen at our Church when I was a little one. We had a program called hiskids and every morning before children’s church he was back there serving the kids that got dropped off to eat and hang out. I was kind of a VIP kid because my Papa worked back there so I always got first dibs on all the hot biscuits and gravy, Pancakes and sausage, fruit pies and sweet tea! I’ve always been around good food. My mom had a catering business also and use to help her with wedding cakes which was her main focus! She also make these yummy hoggies people would always come by to pick up when she was making them. Oh and dont get me started on the Holidays! Starting with Thanksgiving My Granny’s kitchen would literally look like a sweet potato pie shop only we were just making hundreds of Pies to give away! It was so fun! I remember mixing the butter and the sweet milk brown sugar and all those lovely ingredients that go into a sweet potato pie like it was yesterday. For me Food is memories and its what I know. Its apart of my being.

Once I got to college and moved off campus and realized it was cheaper to cook at home versus eating out all the time with my friends. I started hosting dinners at my apartment. Let me tell you the first one was a disaster! I burnt the Cornish Hens and the mac n cheese lol but thank goodness that didn’t stop me. My friends came back for another dinner and another dinner and another and they started to really love my food. I would make these copy cat sausage egg and cheese McMuffins like McDonalds and they would go crazy. *Side note they still ask me to make them when I see them*

Anyway fast forward after graduating moving to Atlanta and getting a 9-5 I still cooked for myself versus eating out all the time. When I would have friends over they would love my food. So I started hosting Book Clubs and Kids harvest parties and of course the focus was on food and community. My friends started asking me to cater their kids birthdays, baby showers, their moms retirement parties and more. I became a business I named Imagine Eden Cakes and Cuisine . It was a whole vibe. I was still working my full time job and doing catering on the weekends. Following in my moms footsteps a bit I guess. It was great but as I grew in the industry juggling both a full time job and my passion for cooking was beginning to be too much.

As I became more fluent in the food industry I started to develop a style that was easily recognizable so I started to create my own lane. I had worked with several high profile Chefs in the industry. I started to get into cooking competitions even won some. I was a contestant on Food Networks Christmas Cookie Challenge. I had Ghost Chef gigs, and landed a food styling job on the hit morning show sister circle! I was living my dream! It didn’t take me too long to realize that if I wanted to take this all the way it needed to be my main focus. After 3 years of tryouts for a major cooking show I finally got to the last round of casting and was awaiting final decision. Now I had been through this process several times with cooking shows on air and usually once you sign your life way to the network your own your way to LA. So I thought I had it in the bag. I decided to quit my job in December of 2017 and pursue my dreams. My cousin and her husband in Charlotte NC made me a sweet deal to come and stay with them all I had to do was cook and buy groceries and I could live there and train for Master
Chef and work on my Catering business. Life was happening so fast and it got real unpredictable sometimes but that didn’t stop me. Three days before they started flying the finalist out for the show I got the email that said they decided not to cast me. No remember I had just quit my job and moved to a entirely new state on a hope and a prayer my last paycheck and my 401K I pulled out that wasn’t much. I gave myself 48 hours to feel sorry for myself then I had to get too it. My husband now boyfriend at the time and I were in a long distance relationship but we were collaborating and talking about business ideas we could start together in the future. I had already transitioned to a plant based lifestyle and so did my food. I became a certified herbalist which is the direction I took my first business Imagine Eden in. One day in that 48 hour think session I was having we were on the phone and he said to me You don’t need Master Chef to tell you Your a Chef You are The Master Chef! Then he made me watch “The Last Dragon” but that’s another story! lol Any way I was like you know what your right! I said I can make Vegan Hot dogs and put really yummy crazy innovative and delicious toppings on them and My husband was like Yea you should call it Dawg’On Vegans! I was like OMG I love it! I created a Instagram page made a quick logo and we came up with 5 different dawg names and concepts for the menu.

I was already working at this place called The Barn or “Central Food Hub” in Charlotte NC on the weekends selling my signature Elderberry Syrup and herbal teas while also educating some women in the community on a healing story you can read all about on my website www.imagineedencc.com. It was a cool gig and other vegan vendors would work there to bring the community yummy plant based food options. The Vegan Community was still growing here its booming now but it was on the verge of really taking off back then, Since I had that connect at The Barn already I was able to arrange with the organizer a Launch date for Dawg’On Vegans on March 23th 2019. I promoted it like crazy on Instagram and we had a really big turnout! But Our equipment was not ready for the volume! Lets just say I almost had a Dawg’on Break down! We had this little Fry daddy and had the nerve to make fresh hand cut French fries and vegan coconut shrimp all while cooking the dawgs I mean it was crazy. We made it through that launch day and came back the next weekend with a bigger fryer and eventually a commercial grade fryer that held 4 gallons so we could put out more food. Its been a journey and that’s just some of the highlights but the point is I had a dream and I didn’t quit.

Still to this day my main focus is food and community. For me food is memories and we are living in the biggest transformation in the food industry of all time in my opinion. To be apart of this revolutionary shift is everything to me. Because We have a really supportive community. We know they love the energetic exchange they get to experience with us because they do business with us regularly! We offer high quality foods That not only satisfies your taste buds but takes you on a flavor trip out of this world with our creative and innovative flavors! Its plant based but you wouldn’t even know it! People will know and remember Dawg’On Vegans on of is the top tier plant based foods on the planet. I promise you that!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

We started Dawg’On Vegans in March of 2019 so we had a good solid year before the Pandemic of building a community of supporters. I promoted the business primarily on Instagram and word of mouth has always been a great strategy. We did pop-ups all over Charlotte on the weekends sometimes on Thursdays too. We were consistent and we worked with a lot of event organizers to be apart of Vegan specific festivals in the city. So we were out there and the reviews were coming in and people really loved our food. All of a sudden March 2020 all this news started to break about Covid and the Pandemic hit. We were booked for several events and paid vendor fees many of which were non refundable. Events got cancelled, Stores were shutting down, The media made everybody scared to come out side the last thing some people were trying to do it go eat street food…its like the world just stopped. But guess what we didn’t. Remember my 48 hour rule. Yea well it applies here too! I’m the queen of pivot so I did what any street hustler would do…Find a way! So we switched it up a bit and transitioned to a more exclusive system. We called it Pre-Order and Pickup and we literally moved it to our garage. We had time slots we promoted and we gave out the address when they paid their invoice and guess what it worked! People ordered we were able to still remain consistent. Our community supported us in one of the weirdest times in my human history. I didn’t stop I just found another way.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

The Co-Founder and Owner of Dawg’On Vegans is also my husband Darrell. We were introduced through some mutual friends of ours. He was actually living in Wisconsin at the time and I was in the middle of moving to Charlotte NC. But we had a connection unlike anything I had ever experienced before. He was a huge foodie too and loved to cook. He was still eating meat at the time but after a few documentaries I suggested he watch and my late night ramble’s about ingredients and chemicals in mainstream food he quickly transitioned to a plant based lifestyle. So were are on the same page now about most things.

We knew after a few months we were pretty much destine to do life together so my plans just became his plans and vise versa. He moved to Charlotte about 8 Months after I moved we decided we wanted to be married got a place together and did business together and the rest is a his and her story!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dawgonvegans.com
• Instagram: dawgonvegans
• Facebook: dawgonvegans
• Other: @VIPDAWGS on instagram for exclusive offers

Image Credits
I reserve all the rights to these images.