September 9, 2025 • 34 mins
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Yahya Muhammad.
Topic: Entrepreneurship, legacy, and community impact through his ice cream business, Shawn Michelle’s Homemade Ice Cream
Yahya Muhammad shares his journey from tasting unforgettable homemade ice cream as a child to founding one of Chicago’s most beloved ice cream brands. His story is one of perseverance, cultural pride, and community service, rooted in faith and inspired by family and fraternity.
🎯 Purpose of the Interview
- Highlight Yahya’s entrepreneurial journey and the founding of Shawn Michelle’s Homemade Ice Cream.
- Inspire small business owners and creatives to pursue their passions despite obstacles.
- Showcase the importance of community engagement and mentorship.
- Celebrate Black excellence and cultural legacy through food and service.
🔑 Key Takeaways 🍨 The Origin Story
- Inspired by a woman selling homemade ice cream in Avalon Park, Chicago.
- Spent six years perfecting his own recipe.
- First flavor: Honey Cinnamon Graham Cracker
“I had no idea it would take about six years to learn how to make it.”
🎓 Education & Influence
- Holds a Master’s in Sociology from Western Illinois University.
- Influenced by teachings of Elijah Muhammad and Minister Louis Farrakhan.
- Member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, which instilled discipline and perseverance.
“I learned principles… immutable principles that I’ve been striving to apply.”
🚗 From Trunk to Storefront
- Started selling ice cream out of the trunk of his car in 1996.
- Grew from renting a room in a beauty salon to multiple storefronts.
- Now operates in Bronzeville, a historic Chicago neighborhood.
“I didn’t even have a business license… I just believed.”
🏆 Signature Flavors
- Known for nostalgic, Southern-inspired flavors:
- Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Vanilla
- Banana Pudding
- Georgia Peach Cobbler
- Bourbon Butter Pecan
- Southern Black Walnut
“Our goal is to take you right back down memory lane.”
💡 Business Philosophy
- Focuses on customer experience over product.
- Staff are trained as helpers, not just workers.
- Emphasizes service, quality, and pricing — but prioritizes service.
“The food is not the number one thing. The number one thing is the service.”
🌍 Community Impact
- Grew up in an underserved area of Chicago.
- Hires from the community and mentors youth.
- Dedicated the business to his late sister, Shawn Michelle, who inspired his culinary journey.
“I want to be a part of that inspiration… to give the baton to the next generation.”
📈 Expansion Plans
- Looking to expand to Atlanta, calling it “the Mecca.”
- Envisions taking the brand nationwide while maintaining its cultural and community roots.
“The future of Shawn Michelle’s is to be national.”
💬 Memorable Quotes
- “Faith over fear — I believed, I committed, I accepted the challenge.”
- “You have to see something different to be something different.”
- “I don’t have workers. I have helpers.”
- “I want to be a part of that that helps give them a new idea.”
#SHMS #STRAW #BEST
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Rashan McDonald hosts weekly Money Making Conversation Masterclass show.
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Speaker 1 (00:20):
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Speaker 2 (00:28):
Now let's get started.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
My guests got the idea for creating unique flavored ice
cream while attending college in the North.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
In the North, Yes, he embarked.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Upon a journey they would take him from experimenting on
his fraternity, brothers and family.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Where else you gonna start to sell an ice.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Cream out of the truck of his car in nineteen
ninety six? But he's in the North, y'all. You can
do that for classic like Grandma's old fashioned vanilla, but
now a pudding Georgia Pete cobbler, bourbon butter pecan and
Southern black wallnut ice cream. WHOA please walk with the
Money Made Conversation Massic class, the one and only y'all.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Y'all Muhammad, how you doing, sir? Absolutely? Bro ice cream
in the North? Now ice cream?
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Okay, what part of the North when you are experimenting
on ice cream?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Shot town? Chicago all day long? Okay?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Absolutely? Are you born and raised in Chicago? My whole life,
whole life. Yes, And we know. Just tell everybody how
cold it can get in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
And the period, the warm period in Chicago. I'll tell
you this. You have to let your ice cream throw out.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Please, your ice cream in the trunk. You got to
let it sit on the table before you can scoop it.
That's how cold it's cold to go to snow, you know,
we got to get a certain temperature right there.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
It's too cold. You can't get no snow. He's not
joking about that. We can laugh about Chicago, but that
cold is real. I was fortunate to be up there
in twenty twelve to twenty sixteen during the Steve Harvey
talk show.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Uh and uh.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
I'd say in May it was fifty degrees and September
fifty degrees, so we had like juge Aly. August was
the only months you could considerable summer months.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Man just looks slight surprise. All you're gonna get houte.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
But it's a beautiful say the great food, great people
come on. So just just talk about you and uh
experimenting fraternity with fraternity?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Is it another one I'm talking about?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
I'm talking about of course magasi fast Okay, okay, only one?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
And and so how did you start? Man? How did
this whole process? So I always tell people, you know
that I.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Your dream can be manifested as a certain parts and
we can walk away from not understanding, of not appreciating
the gift that's been given to us.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
And not growing from that.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Before you was were you at doing ice cream? Did
you do other things before you realized ice cream was
the path for you?
Speaker 3 (03:06):
It happened organically, of course, you know. Just to give
a few bullet points of how this all became about. Well,
I played baseball as a child, and one day after
baseball practice there's a lady sitting on a bench in
Avlon Park in Chicago, and she had a white bucket.
It wasn't even hard, but it was homemade ice cream.
(03:27):
But she was selling cups.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
For one dollar. Wow.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
I had ice cream before, but when I taste that there.
I knew that that was nothing like anything that I
ever experienced from the grocery store. And later on in life,
I wined. I attended Western Illinois University, graduated and settled
down after my bachelor's degree, and stayed for my master's
degree and just started experience. Oh what was your bachelor's degree?
(03:53):
And what was your master's No sociology, No sociology, And
so I started experimenting on the brothers turney brothers and
family members and friends, and oh.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Then, Jael, you missed some steps down there, and you
have to speak spirituals. Be you walk through this now?
Because I like it was an entrepreneur show for small
business owners.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
I understand that journey absolutely ups and downs and how
you have to refuel it because you went from baseball
tasting like an ice cream you never tasted in your life,
to a master's degree in sociology along the way. Will
you experiment on any ice cream? Will you recreate any
ice cream? So you had walked away from ice cream
but remembered that taste.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
I never no one in my family ever made ice cream, okay,
but my mother can burn, okay. I came from a
family like most of us that can throw down.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Okay. So that was no, there's no stranger the good food, okay.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
And so, of course I grew up like everybody else
in the community, went to high school, played ball, and
left the one away to college. Never ever even had
the thought of even making home made ice cream, okay.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
And it was of.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Course, you know, after grad undergraduate, you kind of settled
down a little bit, and while working on a master's degree,
of course, the creator side came out and I said, well,
let me just go ahead and see if I can
recreate that experience and just kind of shared with others.
I had no idea that it would take about six
years to learn how.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
To make it. Wow, it was.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
It wasn't overnight, okay, Okay, recipes didn't cut it in
the recipe.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
But right right, right, right, right right right.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
So so you went on a six year journey to
try to replicate an experience you had as a child,
which we all know can be exaggerated as you grew older.
You know, it's like it's like the fishing, you know,
how big was the fishing.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Was that big?
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Your hands that wide apart, and the fish really is
just that big?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yes, sir, so I find that rather interesting because you
may have perfected a brand that was better than what
you first taste. Let me tell you absolutely what all
due expect you and I stand on those brideshows, and
I always like to give credit always. Of course, Chicago
had a nostalgic ice cream business that my mom took
me to as a child, Black owned named Baldwin's, and
(06:12):
so that's a part of my memory bank.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I was blessed to having a grandmother that was in business,
so I got a chance to actually see us in business.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
As a child.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I would run around her business while she's doing what
it is that she was doing. My uncle in architecture,
I saw him and other architects at his business doing
their things.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
So the seed was planned in my mind.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
I was blessed after I got out out of college
all praise due to a lot I got. I found
and heard the teachings of the most Sonabolized Muhammad and
the programmer do for self through the Honorable Minister Louis
Fara Khan, and that gave me the ideal and the
inspiration to actually do business. And so all of those
things are part of my recipe, along with the trial
(06:55):
and error, the struggle and development of just bringing it
sent my mind into reality. It took so long because
when it comes to ice cream, I would like to say,
that's my art.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I'm a perfectionist with it.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
And if they've made a better cow, right, I'm still
in class, right, right, right. And so the journey continues,
and I'm so glad that I embarked upon it because
it just did not happen. After I graduated from college,
I went into the field and became ah. I got
(07:31):
into the field of social service, eventually became a director
of foster care. Meanwhile selling ice cream out the trunk
of my car.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Okay, well just see you love the jump steps though me,
yah y'all. Okay, I'm talking to yah y'all. Bahama, yes, sir,
he started selling ice cream out of the truck. Were
about to get to that, you know, classic flavors and
based in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Absolutely two locations, yes, sir.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Two locates of Chicago flavors like Grandma's old Vanilla, fashion Vanilla.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
But now the pudding this we're cookies. Oh we got
of course the supreme cookies and cream. I'm talking right that.
Georgia pief Kab come on, come on right that man,
I mean some crust, but become and Southern black Wall
bought ice cream, sir, and so many more.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Yeah, we got more flavors than that. I'm just all
that fits on my car here.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Now.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Talk about the journey of re establishing the dream, because
you're a real good example of that. Because I always
talked about people. I mentioned a lot of my show
between the ages of eighteen and twenty two. That's a
period where you really are living a life you want
to live, generally, and then after twenty two we kind
(08:45):
of get shifted from that dream and start doing things
and get married, join the military, get a job, or
something takes you off track and you may never get
back to that track.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
You said, so you've gotten back on track. How did
you get back on track?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Because you said it was six years you was trying
to get that flavor down pack. Well, you're working on
one flavor, y'all, y'all or multiple flavors that you were experimenting,
And what were you experimenting with in your kitchen?
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Talk to us.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
Literally, I was working on several flavors, and while in
the laboratory, I was still sharing ice cream. I never
stopped even while working a full time job. I literally
kept making ice cream. I literally opened up a business
even while still working in nineteen ninety eight a full
(09:40):
time job. I even re constructed my career so that
I could work midnights that would allow me to be
able to be available to work on my dream during
the daytime. I believed it, I committed to it. I
accepted the challenge. I never, of course, I had difficulty factors,
(10:01):
and I had moments where I just wanted to wanted
to just throw the towel in, but God would always
deliver a sign to tell me just to keep going.
So I've been making ice cream none stops since nineteen
ninety four. Wow, first flavor, now, of course you would
think it's vanilla, right, Yes, yes, believe it or not.
(10:27):
Of course, it's my canvas to draw my culinary yard.
It was honey cinnamon Graham cracker honey, my first flavor
that I ever created, and.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
That's the one that now, okay, which flavor made you
realize this could be a business.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Of Course, it's always vanilla, because if you're talking about
homemade ice cream, you can't go back to Grandma's house.
She's not putting honey in Graham Crackers in that turn
in the shot. We got the old school, big churn
as soon as you walk in with the big old
handle that you would take turns on on the porch,
and you know how the story goes. Absolutely so it's
always vanilla vanilla. I literally that's a part of what
(11:07):
we do. I always remind my staff, I don't care
what you want to order, give them a big old
spoon of vanilla when they walk through that door, because
our goal is to take you right back down memory
lane and hope that you bring your children to Now I.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Be remiss, man, You've been very popular. A lot of
television's coming your way.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Why are they coming to you, ya, yach Why is
the media certainly turning attention on a little low ice
cream shop and two locations in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Well, the question is, well, she gonna go and get
Grandma's ice cream in America?
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Where you gonna go? I'm just saying, you know, we're
gonna go and get that that real.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Tell you, ya ya, you got personality, you got energy
when you walk in the shop, are you there are
people there to see that get the ice cream what
you want?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I'm there and sometimes but even with the.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
Staff, it's like your favorite ministry. You should feel better, right.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
I never heard of a treat that you're going to
have a treat and you leave out feeling worse.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Something went wrong. Right.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
And with my staff, I always remind them that that
the food is not the number one thing. The number
one thing is the service. The number one thing is
how we make the people feel.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Yes, you know what I mean. The food is.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Like the utensil to do something to make a difference
in somebody's life for it. So I don't have workers,
I have helpers and I you know.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
You go and you can look at the size.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
You can turn on the TV and you see animals
just training to do everything. But I'll put these young
folks up against any establishment in the country because they
believe in doing something to really make a difference when
you walk through that door. And then with sharing what
was shared with me that gave me something memorable as
(13:06):
a child, but.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
To all show you establishing good practices in young people,
you know, because that's what we're missing. They're not just
let's be honest, that's why Chick fil A is so good.
You think got good food, but you talk about that service.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Every time wait.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
It might be the line you have to wait because
you know they're gonna get to you, and when it
get to you, it's gonna be service.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Well, you get the food, you're gonna come back for
that service. Service means everything, man, and a lot of
people don't get that. I appreciate on this show. How
did you figure that out? Y'all? Y'all? Well, I tell you.
It's an old saying.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
That reminds me of what it is that I enjoy
about establishments, and it says three things you can just
you can have customer service, pricing, and the other the
one that's quality. Picked two right, that's hard to do,
but the experience is something you never ever forget when
(14:08):
you go to an establisher. I always compliment great service.
I always remark when I see someone that does something special,
and I remind them that you're actually in business for yourself,
because guess what, you're your own brand. I have those
who've worked with Seann Michelle's, who helped the Shawn Michelle's,
(14:30):
and they're in big positions and other places. Because I'm
a retired Chicago police officer and one of my former
sergeants who retire he's over one of the other municipalities,
and he came back and he asked me about an employee,
a help of mine, and he wanted to know that
I think that she would work good in administration in
(14:50):
the city where he's serving. And she's been there ever since.
So you never ever can really put a some type
of qualificle value value on how important it is to
want for others what you want for yourself and doing
to others as you have them doing to you.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
And so that there, Sean Michelle's is.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
In the business of putting smiles on the faces.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Stay with us.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
More money Making Conversation mastic Lass coming up next. Welcome
back to money Making Conversation mastic Lass with me Rashaan McDonald.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
And if you don't know, now now you.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Know, Sean Michelle is the name of the ice cream stores?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Is it right? For restaurant? What is ice cream? What
it's an ice I call it the ice homemade ice
cream Studio. Okay, cool, Now let's go through that. Meet
you now. Now you gotta tell you make banana.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Put that, banana putting ice cream, putting ice cream, banana
putting ice cream. Just just just just tell me how
you make that oh, yes, ice cream, not to put
an ice cream.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Okay, okay, put ice cream. Okay.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
When you enjoy a cup of homemade ice cream, you
get lost in the moment.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Absolutely, absolutely, I can go try and put a banana
on your ice cream.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Right, you might you might have a problem because when
that homemade ice cream store to me, that you start
to experience what makes that that different? You just want
a moment of silence. You know, you might have had
an idea to bring your children, but that will become
your getaway. You know, once you lean your should you
(16:32):
go into is right? But back to the banana putting
ice cream. The banana putting ice cream, it's made to
taste exactly like the cut custard that you make on
your stove. Right when you laid banana putting put it in.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
That's baked, y'all, that's baked. That's what he's talking about.
You don't wus banana? Lord, have mercy banilla, have mercy.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Lidvanilla wave first, come on down?
Speaker 2 (17:04):
You talking about yes, sir, yes, sir.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Now we know when we think about being a community anchor,
you have a uh you know you're a former police officer.
Absolutely and so community means something. Black people in our
community mean something. Tell us exactly where it's Chicago, your
original location is, and where the new location the second
(17:28):
location is.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Absolutely so my original location. That's a big thing. I
grew up in an underserved area seventy ninth right off
of Cottage Grove Quarter Speets in the City.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Of Chicago's Police Department.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
I grew up in an area where the gangs recruited
every day after school and through our school. They closed
one of my schools down because there was so much
gang activity. They had to shut it down, and they
sent us all somewhere else. But guess what. Two blocks
from where I grew up is where my first location was.
And I always like to say that's a part of
my recipe. I had a chance to get out and
(18:08):
to dream.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I dream, you know. I saw where I was at
and we just crossed Cottage.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Grove and it's just a whole nother different area where
we didn't have to worry about the things that we
had to worry about on outside. So my life prepared
me to dream big into vision. And so what the
community means so much to me. I want to be
a part of the inspiration that plans to see and
give the betid to the next generation that's gonna take
(18:35):
it even further. You know, we all know that the
urban areas need a lot and I don't know if
it's anything we need more than to be inspired by
those who we can relate to look like us, and
that plans to see that, Hey, I want to be
just like just like ra Sean McDonald when I go
(18:56):
you know, I can do it too, you know, And
so so that's very inspiring for myself.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
We hire uh from the community.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
We work with programs in the community to mentor the
young guys, you know, to man just give them a
taste of what it feels like to serve.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Wow. That's powerful in the sense that it's also sad.
Speaker 6 (19:18):
Yes, yes, because, like you said, the fact that your
life can not be pointed in the right direction because
other people want to take over it, take over, they
take over your lives.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
But the fact that you had the courage. I'm gonna
tell you something, I've been in these neighborhoods you talking about.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
If you black and you go a neighborhood and you
nervous about being in a black neighborhood, that's.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
A bad neighborhood. You know, I'm talking about y'all. Y'all
you go in the black neighborhood.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
You that's some bad neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
And you know the talk away laughing because you go
go where am I?
Speaker 2 (19:52):
I remember I took an exit over. I was somewhere getting.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Gassed the other day and I took the wrong exits
to where Atlanta went. I was propagain, and I went, Okay.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
You're not in the right part. Left her. Boy, not
with this view. I hurry up and put that gas
against I have there.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
We're gonna be enough, brother, because life can turn bad
for you. But you decided on your own to do
it there. And what was the reaction of the community.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Because that's because that's the problem we have in community.
We become food deserts.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
It becomes locations where you can't get things that everybody
else can get.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
I've always received support. Now, of course, the science of business,
that's a whole nother the feasibility plan, that's a whole
nother objective.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
But I started.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
I never had a business class, I never had a
business mentor all of this was. I like to say,
my faith, My journey is a faith journey because my
faith and belief in being able to do this has
always just been rewarded doing have just been open. But uh,
of course you know that it was. It was in
(21:06):
an area that was very challenging. A lot of people
didn't want to travel into that area to support and
so but it was the beginning and I stayed there
until shortly after my sister Sean was killed in a
car accident. And after my sister Sean was killed in
(21:28):
the car accident untimely death, I took a moment for
about two or three years, and I decided that this
business was going to be dedicated to my sister. She
was also in the culinary arts exactly, and I always
like you for sure she can burn.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Hey, I've been blessed.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
I know what good food tastes like you know, and
and so we like to say the spirit of Sean
Michelle's and Seann Michelle's right, she helped to inspire me
to go into business, right and help you know.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Let's talk about that business, because I always like to
hear like you said, you had no mentors, there wasn't
no SBA or score, or you didn't even know how
to find.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Score, which is a great mixture.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
But you know what I'm saying, which is a great
program to be a be aware of their use.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
You know the score. That's part of the SBA. When
you when you when you like I started my business wrong.
I didn't know. I just had a great idea. Charge
people ten dollars open the doors up by the location.
I'm back.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Then I figured out how to run a business, which
is not how you're supposed.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
To run a business. How did you start your business there, y'all,
y'all the same way. I didn't even have a business license. Again,
I just believed, and.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
I'm glad that it happened so fast. I never I
didn't think about it long enough to even to change
my mind, you know I had. I went from the
trunk of my car cool in the wintertime on the
corners right and to rent our rooms and others establishments.
(23:09):
Now I'm not talking about restaurants. I rented out a
small room in the back of a beauty salon I
was making ice cream going out to sell it.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
I had.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I had a small room and a small location that
another one of the brothers had, and I eventually just
rented out a storefront because I had already accepted the ideal,
accepted the I accepted the challenge, and I opened up
the store.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
And went out and bought used equipment.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Had a brother put up a petition, and after.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Wow, this I just came. I said, you gotta get
a license for this.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
And that was the beginning of legitimately during the risingess
and I haven't stopped since, just a small pause when
my sister was killing a car accident, but have been
doing it every since. Went from seventy ninth Street to
ninety fifth Street, about a two miles down, a little
bit better community from street nineteenth Street and west, the
(24:10):
third location a little bit better than the second location.
After that eighty seventh the nether line and the small
system that came with the location lines through the door
board to line came in the city of Chicago, and
I started, I said, am I serving with the lady
had in the bucket? Because you know it wasn't hard right,
(24:30):
and uh that line. Of course, you know this is
an area that's an upscale area. So it just showed
I wasn't ready at that time, but the blessing still came.
But the door was opened up in the rosen Wall building,
one of the Bruhs, that's in real estate.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
He gave me a call.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
He said, yeah, yeah, they're looking for a business that
the community loves, a nostalgic business someone would experience. And
they referred me to the owners of the Rolsen Wall
building and that area there that's historical Bronzeville. The building
that I member is the one that I'm in now,
is were not Keen Cole. I mean you you talking about.
(25:05):
It's a nostalgic building for the city of Chicago, you know.
And you know when we opened up the doors and
the line just never ever stopped.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Congratu faith just rewarded.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
And it got to the point where we had a
line all the way down to the next corner. Wow
in Chicago during the summer time, right, but still learning,
still learning how to serve, you know, still uh you know, man,
just figuring out ways to to.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
To make it better and better and better.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
And so now we're just ready to take the show
on the road, you know, and go from three months
of summertime, you know, to some place that can that's
a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Uh. But you you open your round, correct, year round,
seven days a week. Okay, cool, So you in November
December January.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
They come then days and week, three hundred sixty five
days a year, of course except.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
For days, right, absolutely, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
But you know the thing about it is that a
line though, Yeah, yeah, just talk about the line, sir, Yes, sir,
come from my idea blue board, white bucket ice cream. Yes, sir,
six years you try to replicate that experience, that experience
that that that culinary, culinary moment you had there your
(26:26):
sister pass away. Yes, Sel Michelle is the name of
the ice cream business. Absolutely lying at the door.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Talk to me.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Again, faith rewarded and those really showing that they appreciate
the values of Sea Michelle's.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
You know, we're still doing it the old.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Fashioned way of course, you know, you know, in the
market that we're in it could be marginally challenged.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
You have to find.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Creative ways to still make it the feasible. But you
know I have customers still to this very day. That's
been around since seventy ninth street. I was out of
school one time and there was a gentleman who was
there picking up his son. Right, We having a good conversation,
like with conversations, right, and I saw his whole in
(27:18):
time mood had changed and I'm wondering.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
I'm asking the brothers everything.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Okay, he said, brother, when I was a child, my
father's not alive anymore, but he used to take me
to your ice cream shop. And this brother hath to
have been about thirty seven years old. And I've been
doing it for that loan and so Sean Michelle's in
Chicago and now have become a part of the community,
of the community, a part of the instance and memories.
(27:47):
You have so many people who come to Sea Michelle's
for the first time and they just it brings into
tears because it reminds them of Grandma, it reminds them
of Auntie, reminds them of certain rememberable moments in their life.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
They're special to them.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
And that's what Sean Michelle's represents because we're striving to
salute the lady who got put on that bench.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
See she was I'm just saying she is, like she
was there just for me.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
You know.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Well, you know I first of all, I just loved
interviewing you. I love you.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
I love the authenticity, the storytelling, You're good at it.
The fact that you understand the value of customer services.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Now you're trying to get expand beyond Chicago. Talk to us.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
Absolutely, Atlanta, it's the mecca. Started in Chicago. Grow from
Atlanta a lot more warm, a lot more.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Mercy.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Right.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Absolutely, can you give us any when I bought the
Houston we wait through you.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Any things you can reveal to us or you just
out in our areas. Uh, these sincere statements you're making
to us on money making conversations. Masterclass about the future
of Sean Michelle's.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Is to be attitude.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Come on now, hey, being it is right, and so
we're gonna receive it and hey and bring it into
reality with the help of God.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Well, you know, I really.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Being all my life allows me to be able to
talk to Chicago like I've been there five years, born
and raised in Houston, Texas. Been many years in New York.
A lot of places in this country I can go,
go there, go to it. I'm disappointed I was in
five years in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
So I'm kind of knowing right now, you know, because
I love we got something. I love ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Everybody knows that when when you talk about your business,
you talk about your family, you talk about your employees,
there's a lot of passions that's beyond your ice cream.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
And I think that's the book on you. Man.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
The book on you is that, Yeah, I'm a great
ice cream parlor, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
But man, when you come to that door, I care
about you and your experience. It is talk to us.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
It is.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
I've been blessed, and I'm thankful, and I get thanks
to God for the business. I get thanks to God
for the help us. I get thanks to God for
those who have supported us. I get thanks to God
for my experience in life. And again, the same ones
that we look at on TV, that we read about,
(30:47):
the same ones in the community that others might not
want to really have around. I want to be a
part of that that helps to give them a new deal,
to give them.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Hope, to inspire them.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Because I also grew up again in an area where
I wasn't. I shouldn't I shouldn't be doing what I'm doing,
but I was blessed to get out and see something different.
Going to play baseball was in another community. It's nice.
I went to a high school in another community. I
went away to college, so I saw something different. I
(31:26):
always tell our staff, in order to be something different,
you have to see something different, and so I've been
blessed and taught to aim high.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Right. But I have to say as well, Okay, when
I went.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Away to college, to Western Illinois University, because I gave
credit earlier, I forgot to mention the effect that joining
Omega Sci Fi Fraternity had on my life as well,
because I learned principles, immutable principles that I've been striving.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
To all life. Come on, cardinals, come on.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
I had a chance to see others who held me accountable.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Man, and we had the number one TV on the college.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
You know.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
Of course he was a students you know, but that scholarship.
So I've been truly, truly blessed in my life. So
this is all a part of again my makeup. The
guy has blessed me.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
To I tell people all the time that I played
in eighteen eighty one. Yes, sir, I would not be
sitting here if I did not plage or makers I
five and I think they brought uh. I was a
struggling college student, Yes, sir, My JP was just high
enough to let you put me online when they put
(32:43):
me online last lit love online and he told me,
you told me six weeks run up in thirteen weeks.
But it changed my life, brother, It changed my life
and uh and for the better and uh and it
allows me to have this interview you and I know
exactly what you're saying when you say it changed your life.
It changed my life, man, and I and I always
(33:06):
would know that I cannot.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
I can stutter because I know the different.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
Paths that I could have gone if I didn't plage,
and they would not be a path. Sitting in Atlanta
talking to you, you know, being in the position to
highlight the success of another fellow fraternity brother who plays
in ninety one, ten years after I played, Sean Michelle.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
He's coming to h He's coming to a.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
In Chicago, y'all, Chicago, Sean Michelle, thank you for coming.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
No Money Making Conversations Master Class, y'all, y'all, Mohammad you said,
thank you, brother.
Speaker 5 (33:41):
This has been another addition of Money Making Conversations Master
Class hosted by me Rashaan McDonald. Thank you to our
guests on the show today, and thank you our listening audience. Now,
if you want to listen to any episode, I want
to register to be a guest on my show, visit
Money Making Conversations Dot com our social media handle is
(34:03):
Money Making Conversations.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Join us next week and remember to always leave with
your gifts. Keep winning
Hi, I'm Rashan McDonald hosts weekly Money Making Conversation Masterclass show.
The interviews and information that this show provides off for
you and everyone. It's time to stop reading other people's
success stories and start living your own. If you want
to be against on my show, please visit our website
Moneymakingconversation dot com and.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Click to be a guest button.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
If you're a small business owner, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, or
influence or nonprofit, I want you on Money Making Conversation
master Class.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Now let's get started.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
My guests got the idea for creating unique flavored ice
cream while attending college in the North.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
In the North, Yes, he embarked.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Upon a journey they would take him from experimenting on
his fraternity, brothers and family.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Where else you gonna start to sell an ice.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Cream out of the truck of his car in nineteen
ninety six? But he's in the North, y'all. You can
do that for classic like Grandma's old fashioned vanilla, but
now a pudding Georgia Pete cobbler, bourbon butter pecan and
Southern black wallnut ice cream. WHOA please walk with the
Money Made Conversation Massic class, the one and only y'all.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Y'all Muhammad, how you doing, sir? Absolutely? Bro ice cream
in the North? Now ice cream?
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Okay, what part of the North when you are experimenting
on ice cream?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Shot town? Chicago all day long? Okay?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Absolutely? Are you born and raised in Chicago? My whole life,
whole life. Yes, And we know. Just tell everybody how
cold it can get in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
And the period, the warm period in Chicago. I'll tell
you this. You have to let your ice cream throw out.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Please, your ice cream in the trunk. You got to
let it sit on the table before you can scoop it.
That's how cold it's cold to go to snow, you know,
we got to get a certain temperature right there.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
It's too cold. You can't get no snow. He's not
joking about that. We can laugh about Chicago, but that
cold is real. I was fortunate to be up there
in twenty twelve to twenty sixteen during the Steve Harvey
talk show.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Uh and uh.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
I'd say in May it was fifty degrees and September
fifty degrees, so we had like juge Aly. August was
the only months you could considerable summer months.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Man just looks slight surprise. All you're gonna get houte.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
But it's a beautiful say the great food, great people
come on. So just just talk about you and uh
experimenting fraternity with fraternity?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Is it another one I'm talking about?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
I'm talking about of course magasi fast Okay, okay, only one?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
And and so how did you start? Man? How did
this whole process? So I always tell people, you know
that I.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Your dream can be manifested as a certain parts and
we can walk away from not understanding, of not appreciating
the gift that's been given to us.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
And not growing from that.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Before you was were you at doing ice cream? Did
you do other things before you realized ice cream was
the path for you?
Speaker 3 (03:06):
It happened organically, of course, you know. Just to give
a few bullet points of how this all became about. Well,
I played baseball as a child, and one day after
baseball practice there's a lady sitting on a bench in
Avlon Park in Chicago, and she had a white bucket.
It wasn't even hard, but it was homemade ice cream.
(03:27):
But she was selling cups.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
For one dollar. Wow.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
I had ice cream before, but when I taste that there.
I knew that that was nothing like anything that I
ever experienced from the grocery store. And later on in life,
I wined. I attended Western Illinois University, graduated and settled
down after my bachelor's degree, and stayed for my master's
degree and just started experience. Oh what was your bachelor's degree?
(03:53):
And what was your master's No sociology, No sociology, And
so I started experimenting on the brothers turney brothers and
family members and friends, and oh.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Then, Jael, you missed some steps down there, and you
have to speak spirituals. Be you walk through this now?
Because I like it was an entrepreneur show for small
business owners.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
I understand that journey absolutely ups and downs and how
you have to refuel it because you went from baseball
tasting like an ice cream you never tasted in your life,
to a master's degree in sociology along the way. Will
you experiment on any ice cream? Will you recreate any
ice cream? So you had walked away from ice cream
but remembered that taste.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
I never no one in my family ever made ice cream, okay,
but my mother can burn, okay. I came from a
family like most of us that can throw down.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Okay. So that was no, there's no stranger the good food, okay.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
And so, of course I grew up like everybody else
in the community, went to high school, played ball, and
left the one away to college. Never ever even had
the thought of even making home made ice cream, okay.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
And it was of.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Course, you know, after grad undergraduate, you kind of settled
down a little bit, and while working on a master's degree,
of course, the creator side came out and I said, well,
let me just go ahead and see if I can
recreate that experience and just kind of shared with others.
I had no idea that it would take about six
years to learn how.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
To make it. Wow, it was.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
It wasn't overnight, okay, Okay, recipes didn't cut it in
the recipe.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
But right right, right, right, right right right.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
So so you went on a six year journey to
try to replicate an experience you had as a child,
which we all know can be exaggerated as you grew older.
You know, it's like it's like the fishing, you know,
how big was the fishing.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Was that big?
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Your hands that wide apart, and the fish really is
just that big?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yes, sir, so I find that rather interesting because you
may have perfected a brand that was better than what
you first taste. Let me tell you absolutely what all
due expect you and I stand on those brideshows, and
I always like to give credit always. Of course, Chicago
had a nostalgic ice cream business that my mom took
me to as a child, Black owned named Baldwin's, and
(06:12):
so that's a part of my memory bank.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I was blessed to having a grandmother that was in business,
so I got a chance to actually see us in business.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
As a child.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I would run around her business while she's doing what
it is that she was doing. My uncle in architecture,
I saw him and other architects at his business doing
their things.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
So the seed was planned in my mind.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
I was blessed after I got out out of college
all praise due to a lot I got. I found
and heard the teachings of the most Sonabolized Muhammad and
the programmer do for self through the Honorable Minister Louis
Fara Khan, and that gave me the ideal and the
inspiration to actually do business. And so all of those
things are part of my recipe, along with the trial
(06:55):
and error, the struggle and development of just bringing it
sent my mind into reality. It took so long because
when it comes to ice cream, I would like to say,
that's my art.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I'm a perfectionist with it.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
And if they've made a better cow, right, I'm still
in class, right, right, right. And so the journey continues,
and I'm so glad that I embarked upon it because
it just did not happen. After I graduated from college,
I went into the field and became ah. I got
(07:31):
into the field of social service, eventually became a director
of foster care. Meanwhile selling ice cream out the trunk
of my car.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Okay, well just see you love the jump steps though me,
yah y'all. Okay, I'm talking to yah y'all. Bahama, yes, sir,
he started selling ice cream out of the truck. Were
about to get to that, you know, classic flavors and
based in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Absolutely two locations, yes, sir.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Two locates of Chicago flavors like Grandma's old Vanilla, fashion Vanilla.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
But now the pudding this we're cookies. Oh we got
of course the supreme cookies and cream. I'm talking right that.
Georgia pief Kab come on, come on right that man,
I mean some crust, but become and Southern black Wall
bought ice cream, sir, and so many more.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Yeah, we got more flavors than that. I'm just all
that fits on my car here.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Now.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Talk about the journey of re establishing the dream, because
you're a real good example of that. Because I always
talked about people. I mentioned a lot of my show
between the ages of eighteen and twenty two. That's a
period where you really are living a life you want
to live, generally, and then after twenty two we kind
(08:45):
of get shifted from that dream and start doing things
and get married, join the military, get a job, or
something takes you off track and you may never get
back to that track.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
You said, so you've gotten back on track. How did
you get back on track?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Because you said it was six years you was trying
to get that flavor down pack. Well, you're working on
one flavor, y'all, y'all or multiple flavors that you were experimenting,
And what were you experimenting with in your kitchen?
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Talk to us.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
Literally, I was working on several flavors, and while in
the laboratory, I was still sharing ice cream. I never
stopped even while working a full time job. I literally
kept making ice cream. I literally opened up a business
even while still working in nineteen ninety eight a full
(09:40):
time job. I even re constructed my career so that
I could work midnights that would allow me to be
able to be available to work on my dream during
the daytime. I believed it, I committed to it. I
accepted the challenge. I never, of course, I had difficulty factors,
(10:01):
and I had moments where I just wanted to wanted
to just throw the towel in, but God would always
deliver a sign to tell me just to keep going.
So I've been making ice cream none stops since nineteen
ninety four. Wow, first flavor, now, of course you would
think it's vanilla, right, Yes, yes, believe it or not.
(10:27):
Of course, it's my canvas to draw my culinary yard.
It was honey cinnamon Graham cracker honey, my first flavor
that I ever created, and.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
That's the one that now, okay, which flavor made you
realize this could be a business.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Of Course, it's always vanilla, because if you're talking about
homemade ice cream, you can't go back to Grandma's house.
She's not putting honey in Graham Crackers in that turn
in the shot. We got the old school, big churn
as soon as you walk in with the big old
handle that you would take turns on on the porch,
and you know how the story goes. Absolutely so it's
always vanilla vanilla. I literally that's a part of what
(11:07):
we do. I always remind my staff, I don't care
what you want to order, give them a big old
spoon of vanilla when they walk through that door, because
our goal is to take you right back down memory
lane and hope that you bring your children to Now I.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Be remiss, man, You've been very popular. A lot of
television's coming your way.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Why are they coming to you, ya, yach Why is
the media certainly turning attention on a little low ice
cream shop and two locations in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Well, the question is, well, she gonna go and get
Grandma's ice cream in America?
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Where you gonna go? I'm just saying, you know, we're
gonna go and get that that real.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Tell you, ya ya, you got personality, you got energy
when you walk in the shop, are you there are
people there to see that get the ice cream what
you want?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I'm there and sometimes but even with the.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
Staff, it's like your favorite ministry. You should feel better, right.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
I never heard of a treat that you're going to
have a treat and you leave out feeling worse.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Something went wrong. Right.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
And with my staff, I always remind them that that
the food is not the number one thing. The number
one thing is the service. The number one thing is
how we make the people feel.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Yes, you know what I mean. The food is.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Like the utensil to do something to make a difference
in somebody's life for it. So I don't have workers,
I have helpers and I you know.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
You go and you can look at the size.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
You can turn on the TV and you see animals
just training to do everything. But I'll put these young
folks up against any establishment in the country because they
believe in doing something to really make a difference when
you walk through that door. And then with sharing what
was shared with me that gave me something memorable as
(13:06):
a child, but.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
To all show you establishing good practices in young people,
you know, because that's what we're missing. They're not just
let's be honest, that's why Chick fil A is so good.
You think got good food, but you talk about that service.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Every time wait.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
It might be the line you have to wait because
you know they're gonna get to you, and when it
get to you, it's gonna be service.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Well, you get the food, you're gonna come back for
that service. Service means everything, man, and a lot of
people don't get that. I appreciate on this show. How
did you figure that out? Y'all? Y'all? Well, I tell you.
It's an old saying.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
That reminds me of what it is that I enjoy
about establishments, and it says three things you can just
you can have customer service, pricing, and the other the
one that's quality. Picked two right, that's hard to do,
but the experience is something you never ever forget when
(14:08):
you go to an establisher. I always compliment great service.
I always remark when I see someone that does something special,
and I remind them that you're actually in business for yourself,
because guess what, you're your own brand. I have those
who've worked with Seann Michelle's, who helped the Shawn Michelle's,
(14:30):
and they're in big positions and other places. Because I'm
a retired Chicago police officer and one of my former
sergeants who retire he's over one of the other municipalities,
and he came back and he asked me about an employee,
a help of mine, and he wanted to know that
I think that she would work good in administration in
(14:50):
the city where he's serving. And she's been there ever since.
So you never ever can really put a some type
of qualificle value value on how important it is to
want for others what you want for yourself and doing
to others as you have them doing to you.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
And so that there, Sean Michelle's is.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
In the business of putting smiles on the faces.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Stay with us.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
More money Making Conversation mastic Lass coming up next. Welcome
back to money Making Conversation mastic Lass with me Rashaan McDonald.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
And if you don't know, now now you.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Know, Sean Michelle is the name of the ice cream stores?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Is it right? For restaurant? What is ice cream? What
it's an ice I call it the ice homemade ice
cream Studio. Okay, cool, Now let's go through that. Meet
you now. Now you gotta tell you make banana.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Put that, banana putting ice cream, putting ice cream, banana
putting ice cream. Just just just just tell me how
you make that oh, yes, ice cream, not to put
an ice cream.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Okay, okay, put ice cream. Okay.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
When you enjoy a cup of homemade ice cream, you
get lost in the moment.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Absolutely, absolutely, I can go try and put a banana
on your ice cream.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Right, you might you might have a problem because when
that homemade ice cream store to me, that you start
to experience what makes that that different? You just want
a moment of silence. You know, you might have had
an idea to bring your children, but that will become
your getaway. You know, once you lean your should you
(16:32):
go into is right? But back to the banana putting
ice cream. The banana putting ice cream, it's made to
taste exactly like the cut custard that you make on
your stove. Right when you laid banana putting put it in.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
That's baked, y'all, that's baked. That's what he's talking about.
You don't wus banana? Lord, have mercy banilla, have mercy.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Lidvanilla wave first, come on down?
Speaker 2 (17:04):
You talking about yes, sir, yes, sir.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Now we know when we think about being a community anchor,
you have a uh you know you're a former police officer.
Absolutely and so community means something. Black people in our
community mean something. Tell us exactly where it's Chicago, your
original location is, and where the new location the second
(17:28):
location is.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Absolutely so my original location. That's a big thing. I
grew up in an underserved area seventy ninth right off
of Cottage Grove Quarter Speets in the City.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Of Chicago's Police Department.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
I grew up in an area where the gangs recruited
every day after school and through our school. They closed
one of my schools down because there was so much
gang activity. They had to shut it down, and they
sent us all somewhere else. But guess what. Two blocks
from where I grew up is where my first location was.
And I always like to say that's a part of
my recipe. I had a chance to get out and
(18:08):
to dream.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I dream, you know. I saw where I was at
and we just crossed Cottage.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Grove and it's just a whole nother different area where
we didn't have to worry about the things that we
had to worry about on outside. So my life prepared
me to dream big into vision. And so what the
community means so much to me. I want to be
a part of the inspiration that plans to see and
give the betid to the next generation that's gonna take
(18:35):
it even further. You know, we all know that the
urban areas need a lot and I don't know if
it's anything we need more than to be inspired by
those who we can relate to look like us, and
that plans to see that, Hey, I want to be
just like just like ra Sean McDonald when I go
(18:56):
you know, I can do it too, you know, And
so so that's very inspiring for myself.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
We hire uh from the community.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
We work with programs in the community to mentor the
young guys, you know, to man just give them a
taste of what it feels like to serve.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Wow. That's powerful in the sense that it's also sad.
Speaker 6 (19:18):
Yes, yes, because, like you said, the fact that your
life can not be pointed in the right direction because
other people want to take over it, take over, they
take over your lives.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
But the fact that you had the courage. I'm gonna
tell you something, I've been in these neighborhoods you talking about.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
If you black and you go a neighborhood and you
nervous about being in a black neighborhood, that's.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
A bad neighborhood. You know, I'm talking about y'all. Y'all
you go in the black neighborhood.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
You that's some bad neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
And you know the talk away laughing because you go
go where am I?
Speaker 2 (19:52):
I remember I took an exit over. I was somewhere getting.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Gassed the other day and I took the wrong exits
to where Atlanta went. I was propagain, and I went, Okay.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
You're not in the right part. Left her. Boy, not
with this view. I hurry up and put that gas
against I have there.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
We're gonna be enough, brother, because life can turn bad
for you. But you decided on your own to do
it there. And what was the reaction of the community.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Because that's because that's the problem we have in community.
We become food deserts.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
It becomes locations where you can't get things that everybody
else can get.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
I've always received support. Now, of course, the science of business,
that's a whole nother the feasibility plan, that's a whole
nother objective.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
But I started.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
I never had a business class, I never had a
business mentor all of this was. I like to say,
my faith, My journey is a faith journey because my
faith and belief in being able to do this has
always just been rewarded doing have just been open. But uh,
of course you know that it was. It was in
(21:06):
an area that was very challenging. A lot of people
didn't want to travel into that area to support and
so but it was the beginning and I stayed there
until shortly after my sister Sean was killed in a
car accident. And after my sister Sean was killed in
(21:28):
the car accident untimely death, I took a moment for
about two or three years, and I decided that this
business was going to be dedicated to my sister. She
was also in the culinary arts exactly, and I always
like you for sure she can burn.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Hey, I've been blessed.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
I know what good food tastes like you know, and
and so we like to say the spirit of Sean
Michelle's and Seann Michelle's right, she helped to inspire me
to go into business, right and help you know.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Let's talk about that business, because I always like to
hear like you said, you had no mentors, there wasn't
no SBA or score, or you didn't even know how
to find.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Score, which is a great mixture.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
But you know what I'm saying, which is a great
program to be a be aware of their use.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
You know the score. That's part of the SBA. When
you when you when you like I started my business wrong.
I didn't know. I just had a great idea. Charge
people ten dollars open the doors up by the location.
I'm back.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Then I figured out how to run a business, which
is not how you're supposed.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
To run a business. How did you start your business there, y'all,
y'all the same way. I didn't even have a business license. Again,
I just believed, and.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
I'm glad that it happened so fast. I never I
didn't think about it long enough to even to change
my mind, you know I had. I went from the
trunk of my car cool in the wintertime on the
corners right and to rent our rooms and others establishments.
(23:09):
Now I'm not talking about restaurants. I rented out a
small room in the back of a beauty salon I
was making ice cream going out to sell it.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
I had.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I had a small room and a small location that
another one of the brothers had, and I eventually just
rented out a storefront because I had already accepted the ideal,
accepted the I accepted the challenge, and I opened up
the store.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
And went out and bought used equipment.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Had a brother put up a petition, and after.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Wow, this I just came. I said, you gotta get
a license for this.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
And that was the beginning of legitimately during the risingess
and I haven't stopped since, just a small pause when
my sister was killing a car accident, but have been
doing it every since. Went from seventy ninth Street to
ninety fifth Street, about a two miles down, a little
bit better community from street nineteenth Street and west, the
(24:10):
third location a little bit better than the second location.
After that eighty seventh the nether line and the small
system that came with the location lines through the door
board to line came in the city of Chicago, and
I started, I said, am I serving with the lady
had in the bucket? Because you know it wasn't hard right,
(24:30):
and uh that line. Of course, you know this is
an area that's an upscale area. So it just showed
I wasn't ready at that time, but the blessing still came.
But the door was opened up in the rosen Wall building,
one of the Bruhs, that's in real estate.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
He gave me a call.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
He said, yeah, yeah, they're looking for a business that
the community loves, a nostalgic business someone would experience. And
they referred me to the owners of the Rolsen Wall
building and that area there that's historical Bronzeville. The building
that I member is the one that I'm in now,
is were not Keen Cole. I mean you you talking about.
(25:05):
It's a nostalgic building for the city of Chicago, you know.
And you know when we opened up the doors and
the line just never ever stopped.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Congratu faith just rewarded.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
And it got to the point where we had a
line all the way down to the next corner. Wow
in Chicago during the summer time, right, but still learning,
still learning how to serve, you know, still uh you know, man,
just figuring out ways to to.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
To make it better and better and better.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
And so now we're just ready to take the show
on the road, you know, and go from three months
of summertime, you know, to some place that can that's
a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Uh. But you you open your round, correct, year round,
seven days a week. Okay, cool, So you in November
December January.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
They come then days and week, three hundred sixty five
days a year, of course except.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
For days, right, absolutely, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
But you know the thing about it is that a
line though, Yeah, yeah, just talk about the line, sir, Yes, sir,
come from my idea blue board, white bucket ice cream. Yes, sir,
six years you try to replicate that experience, that experience
that that that culinary, culinary moment you had there your
(26:26):
sister pass away. Yes, Sel Michelle is the name of
the ice cream business. Absolutely lying at the door.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Talk to me.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Again, faith rewarded and those really showing that they appreciate
the values of Sea Michelle's.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
You know, we're still doing it the old.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Fashioned way of course, you know, you know, in the
market that we're in it could be marginally challenged.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
You have to find.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Creative ways to still make it the feasible. But you
know I have customers still to this very day. That's
been around since seventy ninth street. I was out of
school one time and there was a gentleman who was
there picking up his son. Right, We having a good conversation,
like with conversations, right, and I saw his whole in
(27:18):
time mood had changed and I'm wondering.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
I'm asking the brothers everything.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Okay, he said, brother, when I was a child, my
father's not alive anymore, but he used to take me
to your ice cream shop. And this brother hath to
have been about thirty seven years old. And I've been
doing it for that loan and so Sean Michelle's in
Chicago and now have become a part of the community,
of the community, a part of the instance and memories.
(27:47):
You have so many people who come to Sea Michelle's
for the first time and they just it brings into
tears because it reminds them of Grandma, it reminds them
of Auntie, reminds them of certain rememberable moments in their life.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
They're special to them.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
And that's what Sean Michelle's represents because we're striving to
salute the lady who got put on that bench.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
See she was I'm just saying she is, like she
was there just for me.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
You know.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Well, you know I first of all, I just loved
interviewing you. I love you.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
I love the authenticity, the storytelling, You're good at it.
The fact that you understand the value of customer services.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Now you're trying to get expand beyond Chicago. Talk to us.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
Absolutely, Atlanta, it's the mecca. Started in Chicago. Grow from
Atlanta a lot more warm, a lot more.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Mercy.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Right.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Absolutely, can you give us any when I bought the
Houston we wait through you.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Any things you can reveal to us or you just
out in our areas. Uh, these sincere statements you're making
to us on money making conversations. Masterclass about the future
of Sean Michelle's.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Is to be attitude.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Come on now, hey, being it is right, and so
we're gonna receive it and hey and bring it into
reality with the help of God.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Well, you know, I really.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Being all my life allows me to be able to
talk to Chicago like I've been there five years, born
and raised in Houston, Texas. Been many years in New York.
A lot of places in this country I can go,
go there, go to it. I'm disappointed I was in
five years in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
So I'm kind of knowing right now, you know, because
I love we got something. I love ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Everybody knows that when when you talk about your business,
you talk about your family, you talk about your employees,
there's a lot of passions that's beyond your ice cream.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
And I think that's the book on you. Man.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
The book on you is that, Yeah, I'm a great
ice cream parlor, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
But man, when you come to that door, I care
about you and your experience. It is talk to us.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
It is.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
I've been blessed, and I'm thankful, and I get thanks
to God for the business. I get thanks to God
for the help us. I get thanks to God for
those who have supported us. I get thanks to God
for my experience in life. And again, the same ones
that we look at on TV, that we read about,
(30:47):
the same ones in the community that others might not
want to really have around. I want to be a
part of that that helps to give them a new deal,
to give them.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Hope, to inspire them.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Because I also grew up again in an area where
I wasn't. I shouldn't I shouldn't be doing what I'm doing,
but I was blessed to get out and see something different.
Going to play baseball was in another community. It's nice.
I went to a high school in another community. I
went away to college, so I saw something different. I
(31:26):
always tell our staff, in order to be something different,
you have to see something different, and so I've been
blessed and taught to aim high.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Right. But I have to say as well, Okay, when
I went.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Away to college, to Western Illinois University, because I gave
credit earlier, I forgot to mention the effect that joining
Omega Sci Fi Fraternity had on my life as well,
because I learned principles, immutable principles that I've been striving.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
To all life. Come on, cardinals, come on.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
I had a chance to see others who held me accountable.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Man, and we had the number one TV on the college.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
You know.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
Of course he was a students you know, but that scholarship.
So I've been truly, truly blessed in my life. So
this is all a part of again my makeup. The
guy has blessed me.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
To I tell people all the time that I played
in eighteen eighty one. Yes, sir, I would not be
sitting here if I did not plage or makers I
five and I think they brought uh. I was a
struggling college student, Yes, sir, My JP was just high
enough to let you put me online when they put
(32:43):
me online last lit love online and he told me,
you told me six weeks run up in thirteen weeks.
But it changed my life, brother, It changed my life
and uh and for the better and uh and it
allows me to have this interview you and I know
exactly what you're saying when you say it changed your life.
It changed my life, man, and I and I always
(33:06):
would know that I cannot.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
I can stutter because I know the different.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
Paths that I could have gone if I didn't plage,
and they would not be a path. Sitting in Atlanta
talking to you, you know, being in the position to
highlight the success of another fellow fraternity brother who plays
in ninety one, ten years after I played, Sean Michelle.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
He's coming to h He's coming to a.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
In Chicago, y'all, Chicago, Sean Michelle, thank you for coming.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
No Money Making Conversations Master Class, y'all, y'all, Mohammad you said,
thank you, brother.
Speaker 5 (33:41):
This has been another addition of Money Making Conversations Master
Class hosted by me Rashaan McDonald. Thank you to our
guests on the show today, and thank you our listening audience. Now,
if you want to listen to any episode, I want
to register to be a guest on my show, visit
Money Making Conversations Dot com our social media handle is
(34:03):
Money Making Conversations.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Join us next week and remember to always leave with
your gifts. Keep winning
Host
Rushion McDonald
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