Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Alice Bergen Phillips, Founder of Cheesemonster, located in Washington, DC, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Currently, I am a cheese consultant and educator. I work with food and retail businesses in the DC area who want to up their cheese game, and I also conduct virtual cheese classes for people all over the world!

Tell us about yourself

Starting my business was kind of two-fold for me. Firstly, I've always been ambitious and knew in the back of my head that, eventually, I would have to do my own thing career-wise. I was always that kid who took over the group project in school and sorted out who should be doing what. I like creating my own schedule and systems rather than being dictated to - to me, figuring out those practical things for myself feels creative and freeing.

Secondly, after working in the food world for a few years, I saw how difficult it was for women to balance having a family and working in food. Taking time off to have a baby and then having a job to come back to was a rarity, to say the least, let alone any sort of paid maternity leave. And once the baby had been born, I saw how almost impossible it was for colleagues of mine to figure out how to accommodate their family's ever-changing schedule with the whims of a shift job. As I saw it, I could either create an environment where I could bring my baby to work with me and work around my own mom-life schedule, or I could work for someone else and just take my chances on how much time off they would tolerate, how flexible they would be with my constantly shifting schedule, and end up spending nearly all of the money that I would make, if not more, on childcare. Turns out, the reality of running a business while also caring full time for a baby was a truly psychotic thing to do, but I also fully believe that it was the only way that I could have been the working person and the parent that I wanted to be.

Both of those factors are still big motivators for me, but I also just love connecting my customers with the amazing producers who I work with. Seeing someone's eyes light up when they have an amazing cheese for the first time, learn a mind-blowing fact about their favorite cheese, or have an incredible pairing that they'd never thought of before, is just the best feeling.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I'm very proud of how I've kept my business going through multiple iterations and massive obstacles. I had no idea how nimble and malleable you have to be as a business owner - in my experience, your first idea of how your business is going to run is definitely not going to be how it stays forever. In the span of 5 1/2 years, Cheesemonster has been a one-woman mobile cheese catering and education business, a brick-and-mortar catering and class hub with a wine program, cafe hours, business partners, and multiple employees, a two-person retail operation that shipped cheese all over the country, a virtual cheese education business, and a cheese consultancy for other food businesses. I've sustained my business in one form or another through having a baby, enduring a global pandemic, gaining and losing business partners, gang violence that resulted in the closure of my brick-and-mortar, and many other speed bumps along the way. I am exceptionally proud of the fact that through it all, I've always found something to hold on to and keep moving forward.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Be flexible! Things are going to happen that there is no way you can foresee - always keep an open mind and be prepared to be completely unprepared.
  2. Similar to my first answer, but always be looking at how you can diversify your business's revenue streams. You never know when one thing is going to dry up, and you'll need the other to sustain you. For example, when I was doing classes and catering, the catering side of the business would always be bananas through the holidays, but then total die in January and February. However, although no one was throwing parties after New Year, the class side of the business would thrive during those down months because folks still wanted to get out and do things.
  3. Always be kind, and that includes to yourself. When I first started Cheesemonster, I made a promise to myself to try and be kind and of service to others as much as possible, no matter how busy I was. Take time to email someone back, even if your answer is a polite no-thank-you. Pay your people and your vendors. You never know when someone is going to come back around in your life, either personally or professionally, and it's always better to be thought of fondly. But also remember to be kind to yourself. I'm still working on this one, but it is SO important to take care of yourself, create boundaries, and have a life outside of your work. It is so easy to get very wrapped up in your business and have it become your identity. Your work is not your worth.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://cheesemonsterdc.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheesemonsterdc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheesemonsterdc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cheesemonsterdc

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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