We recently connected with Michael Pickens and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

I currently manage my own social media accounts, I have thought about hiring a company to manage my accounts but declined to move forward,

I love the interactions I have with my followers and I enjoy creating content to post and the learning that comes along with that is valuable to me. The media companies I have spoken to would handle all of that for me and I’m not comfortable with being removed from growing my social media presence.

I have had my struggles with growing my social media friends and network by overthinking my content and knowing what trending hashtags to use but I’m learning with each post and it’s getting better with time.

My advice to others would be to have fun with social media and the content you create and post. Trust that it’s definitely an audience for your brand and your media out there.

Michael, 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?

After attending culinary school and now a home chef, I was diagnosed with type two diabetes. As I struggled with changing my eating habits I found not only what I ate is important but also what I seasoned my food with.

During my research on spices and what’s in our favorite store shelf seasonings I was shocked to find so much unhealthy preservatives and junk that’s not good for you.

After my discovery I wanted to create seasonings that does not contain any MSG, fillers, additives, emulsifiers, or flow agents. With removing all of the nasty chemicals and unhealthy ingredients I knew I could create flavorful and powerful fresh seasonings that are good for us and that started my journey to create BossDaddyFlava Fresh Premium Seasonings!

My spices are extremely strong and fresh! You may even find yourself using less than you normally would with your store purchased seasonings.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

The initial capital came from credit cards and my 401(k). I was terrified to pull funds from my 401(k) but I had to take a chance on my dream and put me first for the first time in my life.

I did start off with looking into grants and other programs but unfortunately I did not meet the requirements due to my business not being in business for a minimum of 1 year.

Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.

One of my biggest regrets (I don’t have many) but I made a decision decision to sell a business of mine to a family member, that family member gave me their word that they would continue to make the business profitable and grow the business.

The business had huge monthly earnings and it grew such a huge customer fan base with 88% of monthly purchases being returning customers.

Unfortunately, the family members allowed the business to become dormant by not re-ordering stock, not creating new products as well as dropping the social media footprint I had created and the business went under.

I should’ve kept the business and found a way to make it fit in my day-to-day as the business started to blast off. This was during the start of COVID and it was so many different obstacles I was facing in my day-to-day life, and this should’ve been one I figured out and kept.

I’m now currently in talks to get that business back and put life back into it. My lesson is find another way to help that family member or friend and definitely prioritize your blessings.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bossdaddyflava.com
• Instagram: BossDaddyFlava
• Facebook: BossDaddyFlava
• Youtube: BossDaddyFlava

Image Credits
Image Credit: BerniesPhotography