We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melissa Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Melissa , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
I am dreamer. I literally have fully ideas that come to me in my sleep at night. I often wake up and write them down or I remember them the next day.
In the last 4 years, I have had 4 ideas and acted on 2. Those two were successful in my eyes. Meaning I wrote down the vision, told a trusted person who believed in the power of dreaming and helped me see the vision from beginning to end. Then rewards and accolades started happening. My short film is still being requested for festivals and now I am beginning a new venture in my entrepreneurial journey.
Risk taking has helped build my confidence in what I have to offer as a human being and my purpose as a person of faith – to do the thing and do it in spite of your fear and with all of your passion. You never know who’s watching.
I dreamt of a 70s themed dessert destination & mobile event service based on a sense of nostalgia, family and a feeling of home, a celebration, and a taste of s’mores – “Need Some S’more.” I was going to save it for a future time. But why wait? And without risk there is no reward. And why would God keep giving me dreams to just sit on them? I’ve never launched a business, so I applied for a cohort to help get me started. It was a lottery. I got in, and graduation is on my birthday.
To me, that is successful. God gifts me a dream, I take a risk and step out on faith. I am already seeing the rewards for “Need Some S’more.”
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a creative. Being a writer and visual artist, I like creating a world, curating the experience and seeing the final outcome. This is who I’ve always been – from art projects to family events. I go all out in whatever I do.
I think that creativeness extends to food. My mom always jokes that my Grandmother’s spirit reached down and touched me since I never knew her, but she was a great cook. So, having that natural ability but also having experience in the food and service industry for a total of 5 years, it wasn’t necessarily foreign that I could see a small business in this industry.
I think what sets me apart is how much I am willing to put into detail of the experience for my customers and my willingness to make my customers feel special – just like your own grandmother would. This starts from my personal recipes to my artistic baking design. I want you to feel like you’ve never had such an experience before and that you can’t wait to have it again.
I want to give a feeling of nostalgia and fantasy at the same time!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn and am still unlearning how to not self sabotage by being afraid to ask for help.
Yes, you have to be self enterprising and do research, and find resources to assist you but there are also people who can and are willing to help you.
I use to think you had to present as a bigger than life persona, but by being your own authentic self, you will attract those who are assigned to you. It’s actually bigger than just you.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
I think building that personal connection. I want to create the feeling of relational over transactional. I want my customers to feel at home and to have a good time, like a party amongst family members. So, I think about that when I’m baking and describing my products to them. I am asking them what it makes them think about and how it makes them feel. What is the totality of the experience from their 5 senses.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Melissa Smith