Behind the Business: Insights from the Everyday Entrepreneur with Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans (SP&BB)
Upon arrival at Marsharelle Tolbert’s home, the co-owner of SP&BB, I was greeted by the smell of homemade muffins, bacon frying and the laughter of her energetic 5-year old son. While I prepared for the interview, double checking my questions and testing out my phone recorder, I got a glimpse of these two entrepreneurs engaging with one another and cooking together and I immediately knew why these two foodies came together to share their love for cooking and entertaining with the world!
THE BEGINNING
After months of posting recipes and cooking tips to their newly founded Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans food blog, owners Marsharelle Tolbert and Rochelle Sheralds began contemplating throwing in the towel. Their love of food combined with a strong penchant for self-efficacy led to a desire to share their passion for food with the world. However, after taking a second look at their existing business model, the dynamic duo took a step back to really evaluate where their passion for food lies. From this second look, The Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans Food Experience came to life.
ABOUT THE BUSINESS/PARTNERSHIP
Sweet Potatoes and Black Beansis a unique, mobile dining experience company with a focus on creating meaningful interaction, such as face-to-face connections and in-person relationship building over a 3 to 4 course meal with a fully customizable menu.
Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans (SPBB) offers 3 arms of service:
- Interactive dinner parties,
- Intimate catering experiences and,
- Pop-up events
THE LOVE OF COOKING & THE JOURNEY OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
For Marsharelle and Rochelle, cooking was more than just a business idea, it was a lifestyle choice. Rochelle began cooking at a young age, inspired by her grandmother’s elaborate family meals. Rochelle reminisces on her initial thoughts of entrepreneurship through cooking in saying, “I always had an itch to prepare food in some way that tied to making a living, it was just about figuring out what that looked like”.
For Marsharelle, entrepreneurship was basically in her blood. Her childhood was filled with water ice stands, side hustles and parents who encouraged her to make her own unique mark on the world. After struggling to find success in entrepreneurship post college, Marsharelle started her own family and began to re-consider the entrepreneurial journey once discovering her love of cooking. “I love entrepreneurship, I love speaking with other entrepreneurs no matter what the business is because it’s a special journey” says Marsharelle.
INSPIRATIONS, MOTIVATIONS AND HARDSHIPS
Like every entrepreneur, Marsharelle and Rochelle also encountered several hurdles throughout their journey to success. Both can recall asking themselves questions like “Is it worth it?” or pondering late night thoughts like “Maybe this isn’t your path.” There were days where they lost confidence when plans were veering off track or the numbers were looking discouraging. However, they were able to overcome these discouraging thought patterns and seemingly insurmountable obstacles by remembering their purpose, trusting in God and reminding themselves of a few simple words of advice: “If it is meant to be, then it will unfold”.
ADVICE TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS
SP&BB describes their business journey as evolving, inspiring, profitable and passionate. A day in the life for these partners can be anywhere from 9 to 10 hours of work filled with responding to clients, updating contracts, posting to social media, holding weekly meetings and the hardest job of all mothering and wifing! They are careful to be considerate and compromising to fortify their business relationship and the beauty of their partnership is they’ve found balance within their different perspectives; they truly fill each other’s gaps!
Marsharelle and Shelly encourage hard work and consistency to yield the profitable results every business owner is looking for. Rochelle shared that “Responsiveness is what sets good and great service providers apart” while Marsharelle encouraged entrepreneurs to remember “You can’t let the discouragement that will inevitably take place stop you from pushing forward”. Above all, the dynamic pair advised budding business owners to trust their gut, be flexible and build genuine relationships with the clients that support you.
PRO TIP
The SPBB team also shared that Thumbtackis a great online platform to market your services and most importantly, GET BOOKED!
MEET SP&BB – UPCOMING EVENTS
Check out SP&BB at their annual BaeRide! Join them for an autumn picnic featuring seasonal fare under the stars. Bring bae or a friend and join them for an evening hayride at Linvilla Orchards, followed by a chic picnic dinner and bonfire. Tickets are selling fast, be sure to pick yours up today! You can visit their Instagram, Facebookor Eventbritepage for more details!
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ABOUT THE SERIES - Behind the Business: Insights from the Everyday Entrepreneur” is a written interview series developed by the Planning 2 Perfection (P2P) team. In each interview, we will explore the entrepreneurial journeys of everyday people turned self-starter and how they have been able to grow their business. Interviews will span across various industries to offer a wide array of advice, learning lessons and personal anecdotes.