Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Heather Cook, owner of DA' Chunk'Ay Monk'Ay, located in Philadelphia, PA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
DA' Chunk'Ay Monk'Ay brings the nostalgia of Grandma's homemade cookies into your home. We pride ourselves in making freshly baked, homemade cookies daily and servicing our community. Our customers are everyone that likes a good soft baked cookie!
Tell us about yourself
I started my business when I was in a nearly fatal hit-and-run accident that left me physically disabled with a traumatic brain injury in 2019. I was always an active, independent, and outgoing woman. I loved my job as a bus driver for SEPTA and taking rides on my motorcycle. My life changed, and now I am permanently disabled, and I have short-term memory loss. Baking became a tool for me to battle my depression and became my therapy on my road to recovery.
Baking brings me a sense of peace, and using my mother's recipes to share with my community and hearing positive feedback brings me so much joy. With the support of my family and the sheer determination to not let my setback become my downfall, I am slowly evolving DA' Chunk'Ay Monk'Ay into a well-known, black-owned business in our city.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Being able to get up every day and bake. It may seem like a small thing to most, but for me, it's my biggest accomplishment. Nearly four years ago, I couldn't walk. I couldn't close my hands to make a fist or to turn the door knob. I couldn't recall an event that happened ten minutes prior or remember how to get to my daughter's home from across the street. I get up every day to bake and to continue to grow my business, recalling my mother's recipes and walking from the stove to the counter. Going to different pop-up events throughout the year and remembering the faces of repeat customers that I may have seen a few months ago. My drive to get back to the woman I was before my accident keeps me focused, and baking has become my passion as well as my therapy.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Doing it on your own and not knowing where or how to get started. It is only my daughter and me. We have no staff, no financial backing, and no advisors or mentors. Every product that we put out has been on us. And there have been a lot of failures, trials, and errors ( some bigger than others). Sometimes those mistakes are costly, and they set us back from our goals, but we are learning from them, and through networking, we have been given invaluable information that has helped us, and we have been seeing tremendous growth in our business.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Do it! Even if you're afraid. Nothing would be worse than to have an idea to turn your passion into a business, but you let your fear take over, and you never do it.
- Always be open to constructive criticism and advice from others. This is the hardest for me but the most valuable. Your business is your baby, and you don't want anyone to tell you what you need to do. But sometimes constructive criticism is what's going to get you to the next steps in your business.
- Don't be afraid to change. Rebranding is important, and what worked five years ago may not work in the present.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.dachunkaymonkay.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaChunkayMonkay/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/da_chunkay_monkay/
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.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.