E531: Lecrae, Quad Webb, Andra Hall, Monique & Melvin Rodriquez

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Money Making Conversations. It's the show that she
has the secrets of success experience firsthand by marketing and
Brandon expert Rashan McDonald. I will know he's giving me
advice on many occasions. In incase you didn't notice, I'm
not broke. You know, he'll be interview with celebrity CEOs
and entrepreneurs and industry decision makers. It's what he likes
to do, it's what he likes to share. Now it's
time to hear from my man, Rashan McDonald money Making Conversations.

(00:28):
Here we come. Yes, this is ras Sean McDonald and
you're listening to Money Making Conversation. What is money Making
Conversations is? Your show is to show where entrepreneurs, small
business owners and individuals who are trying to understand or
find themselves, trying to find their voice, trying to find
their calling, their gift, their purpose, listen to this show
and understand that they can be successful too. But there

(00:50):
is a process, a process and being successful. I just
speach this past weekend and I was talking about perception.
Do not let perception determine your destiny and option can
be tied to age, race, gender, racial preference, um, color
of your skin, and a lot of people that that
your neighborhood you grew up in. You should not let

(01:11):
that stop you didn't like I did not allow that
to stop me. Um were their obstacles, Yes, were their
obstacles that I overcame by myself. No people help me.
You cannot be successful in life unless you have surround
yourself by people who believe in you, have like minded thoughts,
and believe that your dreams, even though they may seem impossible,

(01:34):
can be reached. That's the purpose of money making conversations.
I'm a guy who's every day I wake up always
tip you a work up dumb so I can accept information.
As I accept that information then willing to move through
that day on the path to be successful. And I
wake up the next day that same way. So always
gaining information. And you have to always gain information to
be successful because the system changes. And that's what money

(01:57):
making conversations all about. Yes it's syndicated, Ashley, Yes it's
own podcast. Yes you can hear on Spotify. Yes you
can hear the Alexa. That's about your media, the media
that you're trying to broadcast. Your brand has to be
put on blast. I tell everybody you're living in the
Muhammad Ali era. Well you have to say you are
the greatest. In eighteen seventy one, Ringling Brothers, Bottom and

(02:20):
Bailey Circus came out said they're the greatest show on Earth.
Corporations for years have always said they have the best car,
the best Hamburger, the best code. Social media now allows
us to say do the same thing, to say our product,
our talent is the greatest. My next guest is one
of the most popular Christian hip hop artists in the
rap industry. He has won five Grammy Awards, including one

(02:41):
win for Best Gospel Album which is Awesome, fifteen Double warves,
and one Billboard Music Award. Here's a philanthropist, and I
call him a social entrepreneur. We'll get into that in
a minute. Is one of the best in the rap game.
Please welcome to money making conversation. Look crazy? What's going on?
What's going on? Okay? First of all, the craik Houston, Texas.

(03:02):
That's where you're born, young man. Okay, cool, That's where
I'm from. That's why I'm from Fifth War Texas. Brother
just was gonna lockdown of information about each other. Get
our gps together here. Okay. Now I was sir, sir
right there, College Worth right out fifty nine, brother right there,
Russell and Bain Street. That's where I was born right there.

(03:24):
Now he's man, my folks from Live Oak off in
third ward. There you go, there you go. Come on.
Now we're gonna get. We're gonna get. So we're gonna
be and so in tune. You and I we're gonna
be friends from life after this interview. Now here's the
beauty of our relationship. Okay. I was at the Super
Super Bowl Gospel Celebration taping and I was sitting on

(03:47):
the front row. Uh, because when you're big, that's where
they put you on the front row and set you
on the front room. And so and so this young
man came out, you know, uh because I believe the
man to hosting, David tallon Man was hosting that year,
and they introduced this young man called look Crazy. I
didn't even know his name. All I knew is he

(04:09):
came out and he was rapping, and I was turning
next to a person. I was saying, who is that dude?
Because first of all, he looked good and he see
here's the thing about his gifts, because see, gospel is
rooted in you know traditional look, you know singing, you know,

(04:29):
you know you you road, gotta have that choir, gotta
had the conductor. Here he was out there on that
stage by himself, rapping, and he I remember, I remember
something he did. He told her about to raise their
hands and everybody and this this this performance at Lakewood
as Joel Ostein's Church. Now that's that's a former home
or the Houston Rockets. You know you're talking about people

(04:52):
up in that June and all of them raised their hands.
I look around, who is this dude? And then but
better than that, he's what he was saying said something
to me. His beat says something to me. And I
became a fan of your talents from that day. And
you didn't even know that, young man. You didn't even
know that you affected a person like me, Ra Sean

(05:13):
McDonald based on your skill set. I didn't know you
from Houston at the time. All I know is that
when you still on that stage and you walked off
that stage and walked down those aisles, you walk right
down my aisle. I went, I wonder who managing him?
Because brother, you got it. Man tell us about that
journey a little just just just a little bit about

(05:34):
that journey because of the fact that when I was
watching California Dreams Dreaming, it said that it seemed to
say that you grew up in California, but then by bio,
your bio says that you were born in Houston, Texas.
Can you help me out there, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
So my uh, you know, I got a military family,
so of course we spend a lot of time in

(05:56):
different places. I was, I was my family originates and
in Texas, so that's for most of them living. That's
where you know, my mother's firm, that's where I was,
I started out at. But we moved around, so I
spent the time in San Diego in California, and I
spent the time at Denver and in Dallas. So but
but Houston has always been, you know, kind of the

(06:17):
origin the room. Ain't nothing wrong and there's nothing wrong
with having Houston as your origin. My friend, Yeah, what
was what reach records? Your record? Reach Records was actually established,
um right outside of Dallas and then in Texas, and uh,

(06:39):
basically what had happened was a friend of mine and I,
you know, we were at the University of North Texas
UM and and that's kind of where I had a
spiritual transformation and just kind of realized, man, I may
need to use my gifts for you know, bigger purpose
and um and so from there we began to start
putting out the music independently. And uh, and you know,

(07:00):
Texas is almost like its own country, So just touring
the state of Texas and and and traveling through our
Texas had had so many people supporting the music and
it just kind of spilled over from there and and
into the to the rest of the world, and so
you know, year after year, Uh, things just grew. You know,
we started off independently. I remember taking my CD into

(07:21):
Stories and selling them on consignment. And if you don't
know what consignment is, is when you convinced the store
they need to buy some of your music. And I
was sending my friends in the store to go buy
the music that they bought, and they would buy some
more from me. And so, uh, it's literally out the
trunk of my car. And we did that for years
until things just kind of grew beyond having to do
it that way. Well know, look, it's really a blessing

(07:43):
to have this conversation with you because the fact that
you affected me and it's such a positive way, and
that's what I really love about gospel music and in
your case, hip hop music and rap. Because of the
fact that I'm old school, you know, I tupox my man. Okay, Yeah,
I grew up with at the comedy club in Houston,
hip Hop Comedy Stop back in. And so my whole,

(08:07):
my whole flavor is tied to what you're doing. Even
though I'm an R and B guy, you know, I'm
I'm an old Ja's guy, you know, Marvin Gay, I'm
all that. And so when I so when I see you,
I see I see a very gifted young man that
that really is kind of like touching a person that
that's in my age group, but also younger people too.
Tell me to talk to us about the responsibility of

(08:29):
what your delivery with your music. Well, yeah, you know,
I um, you know, I spent a lot of time
with my grandmother who's basically like the spiritual matriarch of
the family, and so there's a little bit of an
old soul in me as well that that helps me
to connect to people, you know, outside of my you know,

(08:49):
typical age range or or or you know, demographic. But
then at the same time, you know, I was raised
in the streets and I ran ran the streets as
a as a kid, and so was influenced by a
lot of that type stuff. And so for me, I
think about how do I take the wisdom that folks
like my grandmother had instilled in me and uh and
how to apply it to folks who grow up like

(09:10):
me who you know, we're looking for godance and looking
for you know, different uh models, because I didn't grow
up having models in row models. By the time I
was a grown man, you know, Marty Luther King was
gone and so you know, all we had was a
lot of confused individuals who were doing the best that
they could, but you know, they didn't know which way
was up. So for me, the responsibility is to use

(09:32):
my music and my gifts as a tool to uh
to help people see their guy given potential and to
understand that you know that they were created for a
bigger purpose than what they may know. You really are
are uniquely as h crafted individual and I and more
so that I when it caused the entrepreneurship, because we're

(09:52):
gonna talk about their your involvement is in there and
some of the projects in Atlanta. I call you a
social entrepreneur because of the fact that you go in
and you're trying to change the community. You're trying to
keep the community intact, but you're also trying to bring
business and trying to upgrade because you know, once you
increase the taxes, then gets to what. Schools get better,
policing gets better, the community gets better. And that's what

(10:16):
social entrepreneurs do. Tell us about the English Avenue project
that you involved in Atlanta. Yeah, so even this avenue
is uh historically being uh you know, over the last
decade or so, it's been a very tough area, you know,
known as the Heroin capital of the Southeast and a

(10:37):
lot of traffickings, a lot of you know, just uh
tough activity going on over there hadn't been a school there,
uh in years since a matter of facts, this nine
so there's more grocery stores. I mean there's not even
there's there's no grocery stores. You know, it's just there's
it's a food desert, it's a school desert, and um,

(10:57):
it's very unfortunate situation. And so a good friend of mine.
Benjamin Wills had a vision to uh to see some
change in that community, and you know, I came alongside
Benjamin Wills and UM and we worked hard to put
a school in that community. And so Peace Preparatory Academy
is in this fourth year now, UM adding a grade

(11:18):
every year. So it's the first school has been in
the neighborhood uh since ninety six. I also took it
upon myself to uh to you know, uh take ownership
over some of the properties down there because it's you know,
as a black man, I wanted to make sure that
the community was owned by somebody who cares about the community.
And so UM, instead of just putting up you know,
random things that are not helpful for the community and

(11:41):
just trying to profit off of them, I'm thinking through,
how can we do something that is profitable uh as
a business, but then also uh you know, sustainable, but
it also helps the community. So things like that are
you know, um, places that can house folks and they
can pay rent at a lower at a lower price
that they can also work in the storefront. And so

(12:03):
you just get different um circumstances and different things along
those lines. So you know, there's uh there's there's stores,
storefronts that provide healthier options for people, but that provide
them at a uh at a cost that they can afford.
You hire people from within the community, absolutely, and that
that becomes a part of the process of getting English

(12:26):
as um. That's what the Neighborhood Award, That's what the
Hoodie Awards was all about when I dated for sixties
straight years, about shining That's that's there's true stars of
the community. There's the stars are built within the community
to bring them outside that they're they're gifted people within
the community. We just got to shine a stronger light
on it. I'll be remiss if I don't talk about it.
Your music as we close out is California Dreaming. Is

(12:49):
that's your new yest single video out? A new single out?
Or it's one that's come out after that? No, yeah,
that's the latest one. We we we put that out
as a summer project. Know, just something playing playing bones,
riding ten speed bias, riding a little little banana bikes. Okay, now, alright,
what you know about dominoes though? Look, Craze, that's what

(13:10):
I was trying to flay. You Are you just are
you just faking like you're playing dominoes or you really
know how to play dominoes. Don't look crazy with me, Okay,
now I would say, so it's the it's the real
deal with my brother. Because I'm I'm I'm on Thursday.
I'm a post collage on the dreaming on my social media. Okay,

(13:31):
you know, and I'm gonna posting on social media. I'm
gonna tell you this. I live in Atlanta. I also
have a home in Houston. So you have two places
you can you can you can knock me out. Okay,
you can knock me out. Mr Bones, don't want none
of me. Okay, don't want none of me. I'm talking
to some me, not you me. Because because you're a
special talent, you're a special talent. Man. I want to

(13:54):
thank you for coming on my show, Lakree and as
you can see, man, I want you to let you
know that I am a fan. I wanted to do
research in the brain. I wanted to tell some of
your story. And it's not enough enough time to tell
you how great and it changes you're making in the community.
Just do me a favorite. They'll change. Stay strong and
keep being you. Okay, We'll be right back with more

(14:21):
from March McDonald. The money making conversations don't touch that down.
Guess why crime breaks spike on Halloween. Yep, thieves and
burglars know you're out in your home is vulnerable. This
Halloween trick or treat with peace of mind knowing that
you can watch your home with Blink Home Security cameras.
Blink cameras are wire free and set up faster than
you can rip off your kids candy, and they run
on two lithium batteries for up to two years. When

(14:42):
your camera to text motion like someone snooping around your home,
you get an alert on your Blink smartphone app. You
see what your Blink cameras see and your Blink x
T two two week talk feature unless you talk to
whoever is out there, snooping around your home or just
coming up to your home. So no matter what you
see or where are you at, it's like your at home.
And now through November three, I got you up to

(15:05):
Blink indoor and outdoor cameras and systems. Yeah off, just
visit blink protect dot com slash sale. That's blink protect
dot com slash sale. Thanks to Blink Home Security and
Halloween just got Easier, also available on Amazon and other
fine retailers. Blink is an Amazon company and it works
with Alexa Hi. Just Rashan McDonald. You're listening to Rashan

(15:28):
McDonald and you're listening to moneymaking conversation because Rashan McDonald
is talking, Oh, moneymaking conversation. Just getting out there so
everybody understand what's going on. Just gets you know. People
they listen and they scanned through, and they might not
they just hear ra Sean McDonald. They don't hear moneymaking
conversation there. What this shows about. This shows about bringing
people that will empower you to be successful based on

(15:50):
their story, based on their their their drive to be
successful as an entrepreneurs, as entertainers. And I always tell
people nowadays, because of social media, all entertainers are are entrepreneurs.
They are all small businesses because of social media allows
them to market themselves, control their brand through the digital formats,
through the social media formats to YouTube formats. So the

(16:11):
game has really changed in the last ten years as
to who you consider to be an entrepreneur and who
you are considering to be a small business person. That's
why I would tell people anybody got a social media account.
Please understand that account. I don't know the word. Some
people I just not keep it private. I don't know
how you do that. Because people can share your they
can share your posts, so so I always know that

(16:32):
if you you're private, somebody to share, it's suddenly not
private anymore. So understand that's the way the system is
designed is to promote your product. And why my guest
here is I wanted to queen of promotion because she
got a lot of things going on. The next guest
is always very busy. I mean when I did a
show Sister Circle, you know she she hugged me a
little bit, and we don't buy her business because she

(16:52):
had a lot of stuffs you are going on. She
stars in the doctor drama Marriathon Mesas on Bravo. She
co host Sister Circle, the daily talk show that empowers
and inspires black women to live their best life. She's
an entrepreneur and also on the show today to talk
about her new cookbook, which I Am in awe because

(17:13):
it's so fantastic, Cooking with Miss Quad, Live, Laugh, Love
and Eat, which is currently a bestseller on Amazon. Please
welcome to Money Making Conversation. I'm gonna say, my good
cooking friend, miss quaud, Well, it's so great to be
a part of your show. And thank you so much
Rashawn for those trying compliments, and thank you for sharing

(17:36):
and sharing your show with me today. I truly do
appreciate it. Thank you so much. And you know, I
hate to give you a little love when it came
down the circle, but I didn't have to get out
of it. Gets what mad at you because I know
it's it's a moving part, so many moving parts going
on there. And the thing about this is that you
know we're gonna talk about it's a little interesting step

(17:57):
back on us. I remember I was with the CIA
and she was with CIA. I don't know if she's
still with c A. And and they told us, told
me about the talent. They said they got this really
dynamic young person. She does the show. Uh married married
to Madicine. I said, we sharing you should sit down
with her because we feel she has start potential. And

(18:19):
h I sat down with her and was an awe
about where she could go with her career. And there
was a way before such a circle, way before this
cook but way before a lot of great things that
he has going on in her life now. Unfortunately for
me at the time I was I was still trying
to find out who Sean McDonald was, and we didn't
get together. But to see to see what I saw

(18:40):
and now, what I heard in that meeting and to
see the growth of her now is amazing and fantastic
and it's only gonna get bigger because she is a
natural positive hustle about her that everybody should understand. It's
a valued part of how you can win on a
regular basis and also have multiple levels of income. I
just had to get that out absolutely absolutely, We'll listen.

(19:04):
It was a pleasure for me to sit down with
you that day, and it's most certainly a pleasure for
me to be speaking with you now, And it was
a pleasure for you for me to have you on
Sister Circle. You know, you have done some amazing things
to yourself and your career, and you have helped to
springboard a lot of people integrating. So I don't want
that to kind of be skirting it over because you

(19:24):
have been definitely influential and a lot of people's lives
and their success. So hats off to you. Thank you
very much. Now, I saw you. I'm flipping through I
saw on this nation, I saw you on they're talking,
So is that a do you make appearances? She's everywhere
now you she want other people, but you know you've
better follow on social media? Keep up with her? Okay, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter,

(19:45):
You've better follow this young lady. Now I saw your
on desination or do you feel em periodically? On this day?
We're talking to quad web. When the stars of Sister Circle,
when the stars of Marrithon Maritors an incredible entrepreneur as
well as a cooking sensation. When I saw in additionations whatever,
yeah you did, you did? And so absolutely you know
I love my Deah Nation family. Uh. I just want

(20:06):
to give a big shout out to Gary with the Tea, Smiley,
Craig uh Porsche Williams listening. They have always been a
huge supporter of me and I and the bread as well.
I have How dare I leave the bread out because
she's amazing? But um you know, we we do work together,
you know when someone is sitting out, you know, I
am fortunately love that that they like me, would like

(20:28):
me enough and like my personality enough that we have
definitely been able to um Bridge the gap and create
a partnership, whereas if anyone is sitting out, you know,
I'm happy to be called upon. And I think all
last week, um portion was now of course, you know
that's another young lady who's really successful. It has multiple
streams of income. She was away working on Real Housewives

(20:50):
of Atlanta as they had taken their their girls trip
or their years annual trip, and uh, you know they
call up and say, hey, you know, we would we
would love to have you here if you if you
would come and stay, we'll love well, well, well had
a lot to have you. And I said, you know what,
it would be my pleasure. So yeah, she saw me additionation.
It's always a great time, you know, just you know
that that that sense of camaraderie and and and found

(21:13):
a monks entertainers and talents, and it's always good for
me to talk about somebody else's business. Absolutely absolutely, But
you know the beauty of it just seeing you looking
you know, you have a brilliant smile and that energy
and your articulation was on point and you felt you
you just felt right in there. This's when I looked
at it, go, well, this is another a lane of

(21:33):
exposure that's gonna give you another great opportunity for your
career too, to grow. And and that's really that's why
I was excited a boy seeing it that you you
never turn away from a positive opportunity, even though you
know your schedules business. You go, Okay, look, this is
something good, something I know some work involved, and it's
gonna squeeze my time, but you see the upside of
that effort. Correct. Oh, absolutely, there is never an opportunity.

(21:58):
Uh if it makes sense what with my brand and
especially where I'm trying to go, um that I'm probably
nine times out of ten not going to turn it down.
We do understand that being in a rim of entertaining,
it's it's it's short lived, and you know, people are
always looking for the next best thing in this world.
You have the dis arena and you have to make

(22:19):
yourself almost impossible to be denied. And you do that
by expanding and kind of being great and a lot
of things. Sometimes people say you adjust the jack of
bond trade, but the man so none. But I say,
you thrust yourself into whatever you're doing and you can
become great at it. And that's how I look at it.
And you're doing a very very great job at doing

(22:39):
what you just spoke of. Now let's talk about why
you know I'm I'm salivating over here cooking with Miss Claude. Live, laugh,
love and eat. Okay, now, let me tell you a
little bit about Rashan McDonald. Rishan mcdonal is a super foodie, okay,
because you know I can bake. Now, I have a
website called baker Spotlight dot Com. On their Rashawn each

(22:59):
type of recipes and all that stuff from from baking recipes,
but also liked. Rashaan eats from various restaurants around the country.
I've eaten saw a Spotlight restaurants. Now what I also
do on my Facebook page which has almost eight hundred
thousand followers. If you go in there, you know chip
chef Jamika overn wins that she posed uh chef wells.
He's post on Saturday every week. I always post foods.

(23:22):
I post myself baker spot like two or three times.
So it's a site that's a Facebook page that's really
people go there because they like to give recipes and
things like that. So just just send you up to
your boy likes to eat and also promote people. So
I will be promoting your book and a platform that
people are used to come in and see food. And

(23:42):
also on Sunday morning, I posted the list tasty video
some type of dessert. Okay, Now, I got the book
Open to Cooking with Miss Quad, Live, Laugh, Love and Eat.
It's a top seller on Amazon on page the shrimp
and Arster dressing. Okay, y'all. Okay, so you know okay

(24:05):
now now okay, now I realized say that because you
know than he's given coming up. Everybody wants a different spin. Okay,
different because I've done the cranberry, I've done the I've
done the with the mushrooms, I've done the arster. Now
I've never done the shrimp and arster dressing. I'm gonna
tell you something. The reason I'm bringing this up hard recipes. Also,

(24:26):
sometimes you get a cookbook and you've gotta be a
mad scientist to understand what's going on with the measurements
and get confused. And you can look at her book
and you're like, Okay, cannot be that easy. It cannot
be that easy. So this is what I do for
a living. I cook and I bait. So when I
look through I go yeah. Yeah, yeah that that that
makes sense. Yeah yeah, yeah that that And here's the

(24:49):
beauty of her because I'm gonna tell you about why
I love her book. Because see, there are people out
there who do cookbooks who get mad if you kind
of skip a step. They want they want you to
like ride down every step. Now in this corn bread book.
In this book, she tells you, look, I'm gonna tell
you how to make the corn bread. But if you
want to go to Krogers Public get that corn bread,

(25:11):
our pre may come on. Save yourself a couple of steps.
Am I right? Absolutely? This is what i want to
do for you. This is what I'm gonna do. You know,
because I told you my website, I'm not my website,
my Facebook page at ru Sean McDonald. You go there,
you see Monday afternoon food, Tuesday food, Wednesday food, Friday food,

(25:34):
Saturday food, Sunday food. Okay, I wanna And what I
do is I want to I want to take three
of your recipes and what I want to do is
post them with the picture and you and I'm going
to put the link in there the driveing to Amazon
so they can buy the book. If you don't mind
this is what I like to do. And I'm doing
it for Chef to Be because she does it every
week and she she can't believe the reaction that she gets,

(25:55):
the engagement that she gets, the like she gets. And
I want to do it for you, Coral, because this
is a great book. I want people. People are buying it,
they should buy more. This book should be a testament
to you as a as a as a chef because
this is amazing and I'm gonna put it in the air.
You will have a cooking show my friend in the future.

(26:15):
Oh my god, Rishan, thank you so very much. And
that's something that my team and I are are really
working towards. Um We're very much so interested in doing that.
And and just to hear those word I didn't tell
you that, I never shared that with you, but to
hear you say those words of confirmation for me and
so I've received that. Thank you so much, and you
will and you'll be back on the show we talked

(26:36):
about those other shows. Guess why crime breaks bike on Halloween? Yep,
thieves and burglars know you're out in your home is vulnerable.
This Halloween trick or treat with peace of mind knowing
that you can watch your home with Bleak home security cameras.
Bleak cameras are wire free and set up faster than

(26:57):
your camera detext motion like someone snooping around your home,
see what your Blink camera see and your Blink x
whoever is out there stooping around your home or just
see or where you at is like your at home.

(27:19):
Blink indoor and outdoor cameras and systems. Yeah off, Just
visit blink protect dot com slash sal that's blink protect
dot com slash sal Thanks to Blink Home Security and
Halloween just got Easier, also available on Amazon and other

(27:41):
with Alexa. Money Making Conversations continues online at www dot
money Making Conversations dot com and follow money Making Conversations
on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. My next two guests are

(28:08):
on the phone. I just said hi to them off air,
So let me bring moreline so we get this bad
ball rolling. My next two guests began their business with
one product, the Advanced Hair Formula, a unique blend of herbs,
amino acids, and minerals to support healthy hair. Course on
ball Headed, I got some hair, but you know I
cut it off and so people onto mac assume on

(28:29):
ball Headed it helps your skin, nails, and your immune system.
Since then, they have expanded to a half dozen half
dozen collections under their direction, including products for skin and children.
Their products have been distributed any more than eighty seven
countries and can be found in more than one hundred
thousand stores across the US and retailers such as Salad Beauty.

(28:51):
I go there, Target, of course. I shot their CVS
and wal Rings went the wall roofs yesterday, Kroger's went
to the yesterday, went the wall Redjusted as well J C.
Pennies in Walmart, to name a few. Please work with
the money making conversations. My guest Monique and Melvin Rodriguez, Well,
thank you. Do you love that energy? Got by got

(29:13):
me a power couple on the phone. Here we hear it.
We hear it. Good. Where are you guys based at?
So we were based on Chicago, um, but we're based
out of Northwest Indiana, which is about forty five minutes
outside of Chicago. Okay, cool. I was in Chicago from
I lived up there because I did to Steve Harvey
talk show up there from twelve to twenties sixteen. So

(29:37):
so I know about that Chicago winter. Yes, okay, it's coming.
It should be there. Now it's October. Now she's not
upon you and you just denied. Yeah, we're we're about
Oh wow, that's that's pretty. That's pretty. That's pretty warm

(29:58):
for that time of the year. So let's let's talk
about your business. Um. First of all, I set up
the top of your power couple, which means that you
have to work as a team. Like It was kind
of funny at the very top when I said what
you guys were from both y'all talked to the same time.
And I know you can't and I know you can't
run a business like that. There has to be a
unity yang and you handle this part of the business.
I handle this part of the business. Sometimes you do

(30:19):
come together because you know you have to discuss the
direction of the business. So how this shows about money
making conversations about small business, about entrepreneurship, it's about relationships.
Your relationship means you communicate, you do you Let me
ask this question right quick? Do you bring okay, you
you've got a business together? Do you bring that business home?
When do you release your business? Time? Go ahead? Nevin, Well,

(30:46):
that's that's always a interesting um topic because Ben an entrepreneur.
You know obviously, as you know, you're working ten times
harder than if you're thinking your corporate it's your job
and you know, but for us it's God, family, then business,

(31:08):
and it's in that order, and that's how we operate.
Monique and I are God fearing people and all that
we do, it's it's His way in our way, and
you know, oftentimes in our and where we are now,
you know we made periodically talk this is or what
have you, but we always remind ourselves, you know what,

(31:29):
this can wait. There's no need to talk about this
right now. You know, our kids, our kids need us,
our home needs us, and we can deal with that
at lytic time. So so we are aligned with that regard.
But being that both Monique and I are so driven
and we're always looking to improve and all fast of

(31:53):
our lives. You know, oftentimes we find ourselves uh periodically
talking bits. But again we we do recognize and we
do understand that, you know, there is a balance and
there is a fine line that we uh tend the
practice to not cross and so it keeps us balanced. Cool.

(32:15):
That's great. Now, let me ask you this question, Monique, Uh,
the name of your company? How did they come about?
Give us the history of your company's name. Yeah, So
when I first, um started brainstorming on names from our company,
obviously I was more so working on the product card
and really educating consumers on social media. So I guess

(32:36):
I was kind of going in the direct in the
direction of creating a business. So once I decided to
come out with the product, I had the product, actually
before I had the name of the company, and you know,
I went back and forth with Okay, what do I
want to name the company? And you know, I wanted
the name to be something that's meaningful to me and
you know, something that motivates me, something that drives me
every day, UM, and something that I obviously love and

(33:00):
my kids are the first thing that comes to mind
because they're the reasons why I do what I do. Obviously,
I'm their mom. I love them like more than I
love myself. And you know, everything that me and Melvin
are sacrificing, all the hard work that we're putting into
this business is for our kids and to create a
legacy for them. So I thought it would only be

(33:21):
right to name the company after them. Um, and also
for the fact that me and my kids we also
share the same birthday. So I have two daughters and
our birthday is on October fifteenth, which which recently was
um just passed. It was last week, and it's like,
what are the odds of that. Not many moms or
I've never heard of any moms sharing a birthday would

(33:44):
not one, but both of their children for the company
to be named after them. So their middle name is
Gabrielle and r L. And they're Mea and Mackenzie. But
they're my il. So that's where my IL was created. Wow,
I'm glad I asked because it's important to understand that,

(34:06):
you know, like people ask me. Many of my business
company's thirty and fifty media some people call the three
win five media, and that's based on the address of
the home that I grew up, when I lived, when
I would lived in the hood. That's where it gives
me my motivation as to my history, and it gives
the story. And I think it's important that you tie
a story to why you're achieving success. And when you
talk about your children, my children is my legacy. It

(34:29):
drives me. It gives me a sense of purpose. So
I understand that as well. And I want to get
back to this whole power couple conversation because because Melvin,
he talked about, you know, being able to turn it
off and being able to you both were driven, and
you know, it's kind of you know, we have two
people that's just just looking forward all the time. They
have them don't have a general tenden to look behind. Okay,

(34:50):
as a team. Explaining your work habits, Monique, and then
I'm gonna ask you, Melvin, explain me your work habits
because they're different. Correct, Yeah, uh yeah, we're absolutely different.
You know, hold on, hold on, hold on, you said
that we're absolutely different. Like that was like a little
slam on Meilver Mail. But don't not to do you
like that. Brother, know, he knows, he knows like we

(35:14):
we So people all the time. Like our personalities are
just so opposite. Uh, you know, we work, we just
work differently. Like, you know, I work well in the
morning times. I'm a morning person. I'm not a night person.
I will cut off and go to sleep at if
I can, if it's a good day eight thirties, because
my brain shuts down. But I work and I throw
better in the morning time. You know, I'm also a

(35:36):
person that writes down everything. I'm a checklist type type
of person. So I keep my calendar, I keep my planner,
and I write down all of my tasks for you know,
the week. I plan out everything, all of my content
on social media, and I like to check things off,
so I'd like to say organized. Um. And you know,

(35:57):
I practice getting up at five talk in the morning.
I'm am, okay you five? What time are you? Melvin?
I'm a five thirties Okay, we got four? Okay, we
got we got four or fifteen? We got five? We

(36:17):
got five thirties. We gotta work on five thirties there, Okay.
You know we went to buy like a few we
went to to buy in April, and you know, just
to see like their culture and how they practice getting
up early in the morning and spending time with God.
Like it was really like I opener for me. And

(36:38):
you know, just researching a lot of other successful people
and seeing how getting up early in the morning before
the sunrise and spending time with God and really spending
time with yourself and being stealing, being quiet, it just
gives you so much clarity for the day. And to
me that just helps me stay so more organized and
being more productive throughout the day. Um, that's just kind

(37:01):
of like how I operate, you know. Obviously, you know
in any business, any young startup or entrepreneurs entreneur business,
you're gonna deal with what we all call and know
growing things. But you know, I'm a farm believe. But
when you know better, you do better. And so through
such trials and trie relations, we learned and we've gotten better.
And as as I mentioned earlier, we're very, very driven,

(37:21):
you know, to the point where failure for us is
not an option. Our motto is execution of excuses is
as simple. And so you know, um, when we talk
about going a scale, well we had to plan for
the scale uh financially, uh, structurally, et cetera. And so
fortunately for us, we were able to surround ourselves around

(37:44):
experienced individuals that have been done that to help and
mentor and aid us. And what we were getting ready
to undertake the relation to scale because when we started
our first major retailer, Sally Duty in we scale the rapidly.
Long story, you know, we entered in February and literally

(38:05):
within six months it could us change why due to
the success and and um demand moren't brand And so
fast forward four and a half five years later, we're
now in every major retailer in America, as you mentioned earlier,
And how did you support that well? Again, surrounding yourself
of like minded individuals, surrounding yourself of experience, surrounding yourself
with people that have your best entest at hand, and

(38:29):
and and also being able to uh educate yourself to scale,
because again it's about it's one thing about getting a
distribution at scale, but it's another about staying that scale
and sustaining yourself. And for us, you know, we're all
about sustainability and consistency and so everything that we do
today we did a minion of years ago in the beginning,

(38:51):
Given that customer that experience that he or she deserves,
every single time, all the time, you know. And so
again for us, we're not need driven, we're not revenue driven.
We're a mission driven. So it's a big difference. And
so in all that we do and everyone that works
for us, they understand that, and we're consistent and we're
accountable at all that we do, and we've we've been

(39:12):
able to support our growth, you know, and show to
the point now, I mean we're shipping products as you
mentioned earlier, and over eighty countries around the world. You know,
how did you do that? Again, you have to have
the support because there is no eye and team and
you can't do this alone, which is one of the
reasons why we're really showing our youth and our communities

(39:34):
that together that you can't you just can't have it all.
And we when we get the mindset of I just
can't have it all that you know what, when two
or three I gathered and he told us this, when
two or three I gathered in the midst it's done.
And so for us, you know, again going back to
surrounding people that understand the mission and we're together, you
can support the scale. I love it. I love it.

(39:56):
You know, it's really important because you know, when you
start growing, you start doing something that is normal because
everybody knows how to go get a job at a bank,
or go get a job and the store. Go get
a job at a regular location where everybody else works,
clocks in that they leaves at five, get that large break,
playing for vacation. When you're an entrepreneur, you can't really
explain to people what your normal day is, and it

(40:17):
confuses people. And that's what the doubt drops in. How
are you gonna make money? How are you gonna pay
for the bill? Girl? You know you've got kids. All
that type of those conversations start popping in, dropping in,
and that's what you're saying, Melvin, You gotta get those
people out of your conversation. Those doubters, those people who
tell you that can't be done, who told you you
can do that? What bank gonna give you money? All

(40:39):
those dollars because they they doughted me in my life,
and I know that they're the first, they're the closest
to you. Really, your dollars, your biggest dollars, are the
people that you really believe in the most. Initially because
you go, wow, you questioned me, So you really have
to go out of that that first circle. You got
to jump out of that first circle to meet people
out who unders said how you approach business as you say, Melvin,

(41:03):
like minded people generate like minded success. They willing to
push you to your opportunity instead of hold you back
from the opportunity through questions, through doubts. I've never done
that before. I don't know. See, if you're constantly answering
questions like that, guess what You're not moving forward. I'm
on the phone with my my power couple. My power

(41:25):
couple here a Monique and Melvin Vegas. So my Yale
Organics a hundred a hundred thousand stores in short five years,
eighty seven countries. So I got I got the conversation down,
wal Green. I'm not even reading anymore, mel I'm just
I'm just rattling from success. I'm just talking about success.
And he's on a mission. I want to just say
that Melvin is on a mission to let everybody know

(41:47):
that he and his wife worked. They come from the hood,
they come from a regular life, improving in power and success,
and they want to continue to keep that message out there.
And I want to thank you too for coming on
money making conversation and no Christmas, comeing up someone, You're
coming back on the show so we can make some
money together. Money making conversations. Okay, we'll be right back
with more from John McDonald and money making conversations. Don't

(42:09):
touch that down. Guess why crime brate spike on Halloween. Yep,
thieves and burglars know you're out in your home is
vulnerable this Halloween trick or treat with peace of mind
knowing that you can watch your home with Blink home
security cameras. Blink cameras are wire free and set up
faster than you can rip off your kids candy, and
they run on two lithium batteries for up to two years.
When your camera detext motion like someone snooping around your home,

(42:30):
see what your Blink cameras see and your Blink x
Blink indoor and outdoor cameras and systems. Yeah, off, just

(42:55):
visit blink protect dot com slash sell. That's blink protect
dot com slash self thanks to Blink home Security and
Halloween just got easier. Also available on Amazon and other
with Alexa. Hi. This ra Sean mcdonaland welcome to Money

(43:17):
Making Conversation. Of course, I'm your host. Every every week
I bring it into amazing guests to talk about their
their careers. There setbacks, there, moments of where they felt
that they were going to accomplish their dreams. That's what
it's all about. It's about steps that you can can
look inside yourself and realize that you can be successful

(43:37):
on the oh obstacles because a lot of people look
at you doing this speech dispasst Weekend It Scores and Houston.
I was just talking about how people are denied the
opportunity because of perception. People can feel that this is
what you're supposed to be based on your race, based
on your age, based on your gender, and you cannot
allow perception to control your destiny. And then going on
and talked about you shouldn't allow your race, your color,

(44:00):
all those things can be put in place as what
people perceive what a business person is and align you
and a level of expectation that is not your dream.
And I created Monimaking Conversation to show people their dreams
are for everyone. Accomplished are tied to everyone, but it's
also tied to what is your business plan? What is
your dedication to that dream? How much time do you

(44:22):
will we are you willing to put into that dream?
That's what Moneymaking Conversation is. It's a very popular podcast now.
It's also syndicated across the country or for entrepreneurship and entertainment.
I provide the consumer and business owner access to celebrities, CEOs, entrepreneurs,
and industry decision maker which all tend to be the
same people. My guests, in turn deliver information about their

(44:43):
career planning, motivation, financial literacy, and how they lead a
balanced life. My next guest four, we go way back,
just because back over back to the Steve Horror Morning
Show days. Her grandmother advice is the best. She followed
her grandmother's advice, it's best to do one thing and
do it really, really well, and equipped with her mama's
knack for bacon, she's the owner and created Force Behind

(45:04):
Camic Cakes LLC. Camic Kicks is a chain of gour
make cupcake booteets which originated in Jacksonville and two thousand
and fourteen, Andrew extended the brand to incorporate ice cream
and form Camic Cakes Creamery. She extended his brand to
incorporate ice cream and and and all kinds of ice
cream like pineapple upside down cake, apple pie. But now

(45:28):
they're pudding. Uh, but it become which is my all
time favorite. By the way. She's also been featured on
The Best Thing You've Ever Ate eight when I saw
that episode with the with the red velvet and then
the butter of a calm in between Sandwich Girl following
you please welcome to believe work with the money to

(45:49):
make conversation my girl. Long time, long time, uh since
the Steve Hard Morning Show days. Ms. Andre, Yes, are
you doing great? Great? Thank you? You know I'm not broke.
I'm not. I have followed on the wayside. The first
people I know I was got dressed up extra people

(46:11):
who saw me back in the day to Shaw still
gotta going going up. Here's the beautiful thing about our relationship.
I got to see you at the early stages. And
at the early stage it was about put getting your
brand out, sample, sharing, samples, u anything you can do
to get on the morning, to show us, the Steve
Harry Morning Show team sample your product. You know. It

(46:34):
was always you know, and Monica was one of your
big fans. She Monica Bars now yeah, one of the
executive producer the current exactive producers of Steve hard Morning
Show introduced us and created the relationship. So tell us
about you know. I mentioned your grandmother, then I mentioned
the natural talent, but she was in the corporate world
prior to all this star state government. Right out of

(46:55):
high school, out of high school, head four jobs, Like no,
I'm not Jamaican, but right out of high school I was.
While in high school, I was a cashier at a
grocery store. Then I wanted to see what was happening
over in the bakery department, so another store hired me
as a cake decorator. So I worried at two grocery stores. Okay, okay,
before I love when people just slide past, just say

(47:18):
anything about baking in college. Didn't say anything about the
corporate job, state job, right and you know, sudden somebody
hired you to be a cake decorate well, yes, but
I always baked so as a little girl starting off yeah, always, always, always,
So that was just something that I did, and you
could just automatically just knew how to decorate, you just know.

(47:41):
I mean, it took practice so over time, just like
I remember. I don't know they still do, but I
remember the little Wilton courses you could take, like at
Joe's Fabric. So I took those courses. It was just
something I always wanted to do. Just whenever I had
some downtime, I would just get in there and just
kind of tinker around. Any kid kate decorating, just being
able to write a name, decreat cakes, do wedding cakes,

(48:02):
do all those different colors and get it right. The
piping and piping that's not your boy, you're walking bake,
you know, you know, but that's well, I mean, that's
not I mean, there are people who are a true artist,
and I realized that that wasn't really my forte. I'm
like you, I'm more of a baker. But I enjoyed

(48:24):
the artistry of us. I wanted to learn it, and
as I learned more about it, I realized that I
don't know if that's really the avenue I want to
go down. But so yeah, so I did that. So
cashier de great my dad had back in the day,
I guess now we call the food trucks, but he
had a business very similar that worked with him and

(48:45):
I worked with the state. Okay, so with the school.
It is the beauty of all those things you're talking about,
you know, the food truck, cashier, all these things really
prepared you for being an entrepreneur, Yes, because you had
to learn that. That's why I would tell people what
you did in your early twenty is really prepared for
what you're gonna do now. I really I always hold
that true because all those skills sets that you mastered,

(49:06):
because you have the master the kit. And even though
your mom said, grandmother said do one thing really well,
really well. But but but I would say, now you're
doing multiple things really well under the guise of an entrepreneur. Yes,
I mean, but you know, it's hard. We're more critical
on ourselves. So from the from you know, I see

(49:26):
it up close, and I often wonder, I'm like, am
I really doing it really really well? But at that
time I only focused on that one thing, and I
didn't let all these other things destright right, So Caemic cakes, yes,
named because of your daughter, my daughter Camillo. I just
chopped off the last three lessons. And so that then
became a business. Okay. Now when you came into my life,

(49:50):
where were you there with your business? I was three
stores in it. Just moved to Atlanta from Jacksonville, Florida.
UM opened the storm Peach Tree, so nine right. I
didn't burrow it across from doctor Donuts. No, we don't
talk about donuts when we're talking about I'm just trying.

(50:10):
And I dropped our petree headed to Linux Mall. Yeah,
and so I dropped by all the time I go.
For those who have been in Atlantic for very long time.
It's where Justice was. Yes, across the street from you
too much. But yeah, So I came here from Jacksonville.
Didn't think I was gonna move. I was so naive,

(50:32):
really off to turn and I thought I was just
gonna open the store and commute maybe twice a month
back to it. I got here and that state with
about three outfits and figured it out. And so so
now when I met your three stores, I just want
to start a business and moved to a state like Atlanta, Georgia.

(50:55):
You have to have a certain amount of courage, a
certain amount of planning. Can you talk about that? That
whole process is the first store, the first store, So
I think courage is I remember my Angela said, if
you don't have courage, you really can't do practice any
of the other things. So UM, I think her is
the main one. But that very first store. If I
don't know how much time I have, but if I

(51:16):
just just talk started um candy cakes. Prior to that,
I was in corporate, So I transitioned from UM state
government to corporate. My daughter was born. About a year
old into it, she got really sick and we had
to rushed to the well, not rushed her to the hospital.

(51:36):
She she went in for what we thought was just
a simple perceived while recovering from ad NOI's being removed
in council's she flat behind. She had to be rushed
to I see you. Things just happened so quickly, like
what's going on. Um. She didn't wake up until two
days later. But after she woke up, it took some
time to get her back on track. So throughout that process,

(51:59):
I realized that I can't maintain this whole time job.
I had to let that go. My husband at the
time ended up taking on a part time job just
to help me end sneak. Still wasn't enough, So daughters
out of the hospital. Now we're doing therapy during the
daytime at nighttime. I ended up taking, uh, basically a
minimum wage job. I was thinking that I was an
hour working at a clerk in a hotel, um, a

(52:22):
night auditor at a hotel and um, so that was
a graveyard shift. I had a lot of time on
my hand. Like men, I just literally had to stay away.
But during that time, as I got closer to her
getting better, I said, will I go back into the
corporate or will I do what I love to do?
So I started working on this business plan, just put
it together. I didn't have a dime in my name,

(52:43):
just but I just started putting this business plan together.
And um, when it was time to open the very
first store, I had this business plan at this idea
had great product based off of what I cheered with
people in the feedback I had gotten back, um, and
no one to help fund it. I went to family
members and like, you stupid you that money, Yeah, you

(53:06):
get real crazy I'm gonna make a living selling cupcake. Okay.
So anyway, when they up happening was we had. The
only thing we had to our name was a lot
of first little started home and so we financed that home.
Took out a little bit of money enough to really
we had to pay off some bills that was part
of guarantee. Um, but it was enough to just buy

(53:27):
some used equipment. I mean we literally painted the walls ourselves,
and just enough to get those doors open. After we
got those doors home, I only had five hundred dollars
to my name. This had to work. The only employee
and my husband at the time at taking off some
time from his job, so we had to so um,

(53:51):
got it. Got it opened on our very first end
because I had to feel every I was the dishwasher,
I was the baker, I was the deck of it.
I was everything. I was the pr person, and I
sent out a prayer at least to every outlet. I
mean I googled how to part But you're three stores
in when I met you. Thank you for coming on
my show. Appreciate your your friend, and it's great just

(54:12):
saying that you not have a home where you can
promote your brain. Put your brain out there and anytime
you have any specials, come to me. I put in
my fan club list strictly for Atlanta area and I
kelp you get the word out because you want them.
Camel cakes Rashan McDonald's featuring her on the Bigger Spotlight.

(54:44):
Guess why crime break spike on Halloween. Yep, thieves and
burglars know you're out in your home is vulnerable this
Halloween trick or treat with peace of mind knowing that
you can watch your home with Blake home security cameras.
Bleak cameras are wild free and set up faster than
your camera detext motion like someone snooping around your home,

(55:05):
see what your Blink camera see and your Blink x
Blink indoor and outdoor cameras and systems. Yeah off, just

(55:30):
visit blink protect dot com. Slash Tale that's blink Protect
dot com. Slash sale thanks to Blink Home Security and
Halloween just got easier. Also available on Amazon and other
with Alexa. Money Making Conversations continues online at www. Dot

(55:53):
money Making Conversations dot com and follow money Making Conversations
on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Two

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Host

Rushion McDonald

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

24/7 News: The Latest

The Joe Rogan Experience

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}E531: Lecrae, Quad Webb, Andra Hall, Monique & Melvin Rodriquez