July 15, 2019 • 41 mins
FYI!!! Carla Marie is no longer the host of a morning show in Seattle but she is still supporting small businesses in every way possible. She’s even started her own small business with her radio cohost and best friend, Anthony. All of the links below will help you stay up to date!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Side Hustlers. My name is Carla Marie. This
is the podcast that highlights people who follow a passion
outside of their day job. Some people start their side
hustle because they need extra money and then they fall
in love with it. Some people started because they need
that creative outlet. And it's been super cool for me
personally to get passion and drive and inspiration from my
(00:27):
guests on this podcast, and then I hear from other
people who feel the same way or people who decided
to start their side hustle, and it's created this this
community and if you want to be a part of it,
you probably already are, but feel free to reach out
to me and I will connect you with anyone who's
been on this podcast. But this week's guest Shanika, She's
the reason I do this podcast. People like Shanika. She
(00:49):
is a small business owner in Raleigh now North Carolina,
who has a full time tech job working from home,
but she also has a dessert company but also a
gore a popcorn company called Cake Kernels, and she's trying
to kind of break the mold for gourmet popcorn, which
sounds a little crazy when you say that because you're think, oh,
(01:10):
there's these big companies that make popcorn, but what Shanika
is doing is different. There's passion, there's art to it.
She's creative and she really cares about her popcorn. And
that may sound crazy, but when you hear her story,
you're gonna fall in love with her and you're going
to buy all of her popcorn. Check her out. It's
Cake colonels dot com. Cake, then it's k e Er
(01:30):
and e l s on Instagram. She's at Cake Kernels
and you can buy her from anywhere. And she's even
got a promo code Carla Marie. It's gonna get you
ten percent off. Go buy it now before she realizes
that she's selling gold for a lot of people. You know,
why are you way? Do you know what you want
to do and this is something you want to do?
Do it. I'm a hustle hut do it. I'm a
(01:53):
hustles do it. I'm a hustless Come on, ask about me,
yo yo. It's the Side Hustless podcast. We call there.
So you Shanika maybe the first person joining from North
Carolina on Side Hustlers. So yea to that? Yeah? Yeah,
(02:13):
with the first Eastern no we definitely had some East
Coasters for sure, but no. Hello, so that's awesome. You
said you've listened to Side Hustles from day one how
in North Carolina? And okay, I know how, But how
did you find the podcast? Well, I work from home,
so and I don't talk to customers, so I'm always
(02:35):
trying to find things to listen to. And I love
podcasts obviously, and so I have I don't know how.
I have no clue what I was like, Okay, that
sounds like something I want to listen to. And I
always judge it if it makes me laugh, if it
doesn't make me laugh, and it can't be serious. It
can be serious, but it has to have humor. Okay,
I can't have too serious. I'm funny because this is
(02:55):
the greatest moment ever. Yeah you're like, you're yeah, you
are funny. Thank you. I just made you say that.
I don't know about anybody else, so yeah, definitely, And
it just and it mocks what I do. Why not?
That's crazy to me because I obviously have a platform
on the radio. I get to tell people about what
(03:18):
I do all the time. So I just assumed that
everyone who listens to this podcast comes from the radio.
But I've been on a show in Seattle, and I've
been on a show that's nationally syndicated, but not in
North Carolina. So that's why when you said North Carolina,
was like, how she's got a so that that, to me,
first of all, is super cool. So thank you for
(03:38):
giving it a chance, and I appreciate it so much.
So let's talk about you. This is not about making.
This is about you and what you do. So you've
got a full time job, which we will talk about,
but you also are the owner, creator, the mastermind behind
Cake Colonels, which is a do you call it a
gourmet popcorn company? Definitely? We call it a gourmet popcorn company.
And we don't call it Artiston because sometimes I can't
(04:00):
pronounce the word correctly. I can't define it. I love
that you you know what, You're going to ditch that
word because I'm all with you on that one. I'm
always missing the words. I'm like, you know, well, you're
in a pitch meet, you might want to how to
pronounce the word. Seriously, I get it. So if anyone
listening right now wants to check out what Shanika does,
(04:21):
it's cake colonels dot com and Colonels for the record,
is spelled K E R and E l S, not
an A l S. It's an E L S. So
people can go there and see what you do. And
the popcorn you make is gorgeous the pictures you have
up there, and I'm looking at it and I'm like,
this is way too affordable. I feel like you need
(04:42):
to like raise your prices asap because I don't know
what profit margins are like on popcorn, but how did
you decide the pricing? Honestly, this is so funny because
right now we're going to we're doing all that process
all over again. Not even a fact, because what we
take in what we do to make this popcorn is
(05:03):
one of the facts. Because we don't have machines. It's
not like we have a crew. It's just me, um,
my kids, my husband, oven my trustee side pots that
I make all my stuff man, And it's just so
that a long and what we go into we make
sure that we're always looking for flavors, so we use
(05:25):
like small businesses in North Carolina, we find strange flavors
to do it to make sure that it's that crafted
type of popcorn. Is actually I made it hard. I
think I made it hard just on purpose so I
can say, oh, it's really no, but it's really crafted.
So um, so definitely we are working on our prices
right now because just looking at him, like, come on,
(05:47):
and know a lot of people say China seriously no,
I mean I just said it, and I don't even
know what goes into any of this yet, and I'm like,
this is like a steal. It's something wrong, am I
you know what? Everyone? Good? Quick, go by popcorn now
before it's before we get big, we get big. I'm sorry.
It's been there from the beginning. Oh my god, I
love that. I love you for that. So let's go
(06:08):
back a little bit too, before you started cake colonels
and still your current day job is you're supervisor at
a tech company, but you get right from home, which
is awesome, which is great. That is so different than
what you're doing in your side hustle. So I guess
how did you get into the tech world? Start there? Honestly,
I am a mom of four and were I was
(06:32):
a young mom's like a four because my oldest child
now it's like, yes, I'm sorry, Dad will go like, really,
you don't know my age. My oldest child is twenty,
and so it was backed in. Um it was child
care the various time, and so what was happening with
me and my husband. We were trying to work two jobs,
and it seems like something always would happen, the car
(06:53):
war break, now, someone would get sick. It was so
annoying impossible, and so still trying to go to school
to try to I'm doing actation quotes, trying you know
what you're supposed to go to school for, and it
was just not working. So I say it has to
be a different way. So I just started working from home. Honestly,
when we started, Adrian was I think like three or four,
(07:13):
and now he's about to be eighteen. That's awesome. I
started working from home and I just landed into this
great job with great benefits. And it works because when
the kids get off school us they really you know,
they were there. They knew that mommy UM headphone set
was on. That means to be quiet. I had to
train them very well. Yes I us train, but you know,
(07:34):
I hadn't made them know, you know, when I was
not it had to be a quiet background. So and
that's how it started and nothing when I went to
school for whatsoever. But it worked for my family, so
I had to do it. But it had to be
great being able to be a mom and be there
for your kids. I know my mom worked a full
time job. Had I mean technically there were seven of
(07:55):
us total, but four and then yeah, I mean listen,
there are a lot of it. And so I know
what my mom went through with having two little kids
and then older ones to kind of look after, which
I'm sure it kind of helped us some of your
kids got older. But I look at what she did,
and I'm like, I don't know how you and my
dad did did this working opposite schedules and then you
obviously having four kids getting to be home, But it
(08:17):
had to be awesome to be there for them. It
had to be awesome because I could see them even
though they weren't like I couldn't talk to them. I
just knew it was great. Then I'm gonna have to
get off, you know, get off the bus and come here,
or even my niece and now you. I definitely helped
myself ster when she had to work, because like holidays
and stuff, I don't think companies put in your parents,
(08:38):
like if someone's always gonna get six, it's always at
the wrong time. You can have an important meeting and
that school number comes up and you're like and then
you're looking at your husband looking at HL like which
job is more important today? You're gonna go? I'm gonna go.
And I just couldn't. It was too much, it was
too stressful. So yeah, I had to figure something out.
(09:00):
So you've been doing this job then for a what
you said about fifteen years and oh yeah about fencing years.
Where in this this job I've been doing for about
six years, but I wasn't another tech for us about
fitting years all together? So where in the process then
did creating a side hustle come along? And why? Because
it wasn't k Colonel's originally? Oh god no, Um, first
(09:24):
it was the Rex sales obviously just always had It's
like something I don't I guess people who are entrepreneurs. No,
it's just something that's missing. You have no clue what
it is. You know that you're on a reason why.
And I love my job and less would have my job.
I always said it at the universe, but it's not it.
So no matter what I was doing, I already knew
something was going on, so I had to go to
(09:44):
path of searching finding myself. And at first it was
the Rex sales and like, why am I selling other
people products? Like what is wrong with me? No fencing
anybody in the Rex sales. No one's gotta do it,
and someone me, But it just wasn't for me, and
so we my daughter, my youngest daughter, to Leah, she
was like, I used to bake all my kids cakes
(10:06):
and stuff because I was frugal obviously with four kids,
so I didn't want to spend all that money, and
so she was like, why don't you open up a bakery?
I was like, girl, sometimes? Right? How old was she?
When she said that? I have no clue? Sometimes it
takes like where we as adults are. We have all
these rules and we're so scared, and you know, you
don't even think about that. But it takes something as
(10:29):
someone who has not a care in the world and
not a fear to just open a bakery. You know,
why not? Why don't you op up a bakery? So
Lily Sweet Shop is actually named after to Leah. Lily
Sweet Shop came about. We especially opened two dollars and
fourteen and you know, doing vendor events and doing shows
and getting orders. And once when this is how we
(10:50):
laid up to k colonels it was a holiday show,
I was like, why don't I just make some care
of my popcorn? Everybody loves a popcorn. I don't love
popcorn crazy enough. Well, you know how many people who
come on this podcast who it's like Emily from Art
of super she doesn't like coin candy and her whole
thing is just making con candy. What is it with
you people? It's crazy crazy? And I have a side
story about her. We actually connected because literally Switech, I
(11:13):
have to literally sweet as at the cotton candy carts
services as well. And so I was like, and when
I followed her before I saw you on the show. Yes, show,
but I was scared to say, hey, how are you?
You're also because I didn't want to mess up the
image of her. But she seems so nice, and I
was like, if you know, because sometimes when you message people,
(11:33):
they're not And so I was like, okay, hey Emily,
and then we connected and I was like she's so
cool and so yeah, so that's what we do, like
the dirt bars caught in candy cool are you still
doing that? Yes, it's ridiculous. Let me literally, Sweet Shop
is a desert bar and birthday cake, Sweet and Fluff
(11:54):
is I caught caught in Candy Carts Services and Kate
Colonels is I grow my popcorn live. I really think
I need to get an LSC and it's put it
all into Everybody said that seems like that makes sense. Yeah,
that's what we're working on now. But you never thought
of opening up or branching out to doing just popcorn
until that event where you happen to make caramel popcorn. Yes,
(12:17):
we happen to make care of my popcorn, and it's
so now. I never make care of my popcorn in
my life. I just looked though my lovely Pinterest and said,
let's make some caraman popcorn and it actually sold really
well my business culture designed. I was like, great, because
I have I have a problem with creating businesses I have,
So I was like this popcorn and it was easy
(12:39):
to make. I didn't have to do. I was on
the cake with Monday and she was like, well, let's
see what we can do, and with all our heads combines.
That's how Kate and Colonels came about because I have
a bakery, and so he was like, you know, and
I was like, I don't like savory popcorn. You know,
I don't understand deal pickle. I don't understand all that
stuff that random flavors. Why don't we make it focus
(13:01):
on flavors, say we do at a bakery. So yeah,
let's let's talk about some of those flavors. You've got
birthday cake, pecan pie, cookies and cream s'mores, rainbow blast.
What does rainbow blast taste like? Rainbow Blast is basically
like pineapple, strawberry, blueberry, all of them, all of it. Honestly,
if you order it depends on my mood that day.
(13:21):
Oh my god, I love kid. So you can get
any flavor, but it's flavors. So yeah, you've got red
velvet cake, classic caramel, and strawberry shortcake. But then you
also have tipsy kernels, which is right now? You have
is it mimosa fun south peach and strawberry waisted. Yeah,
we have so many other flavors. Oh my god, that
(13:43):
is our adult I always say the adult way of
joy and popcorn. Thankfully for my husband, he is he
loves his drinks alcoholic drinker and um. One day we
were playing around and in the banking world you hear
a lot, you hear a lot about your use alcoholic
you stuff. So it's nothing new to us, but shockingly,
it's new to everybody around. And so we tried some kanyac,
(14:06):
which we use Tennessee, and it came out great, and
I was like, okay, well I have to brand it
because I just don't want to say boozy popcorn. And
then I am an R and B lover, I am
a rap lover, and I came up with a song,
everybody get tipsy, and that's what Yes, that's where it
tipsy colonels came from. So we have vanilla whiskey. We
(14:27):
have a flavor that comes out during Christmas. Isis with
um rum. Oh my god, spice rum is so great
with cranberries and stuff. Did you ever think that one
day you would just be making popcorn and selling it
to people all over America? No? God, no, you know
how you always say what would what would you tell
your six two year old self? You know, you're like, girls,
(14:49):
it's okay, it's not that serious. None of these people
are gonna see ever again. All the time. None newspapers
you see yourself in high school. You're actually gonna listen
to yourself and do what you love to do, no
matter what people are telling you, you're gonna do. So yeah,
I definitely like, I don't believe what I'm doing this, No,
and it's awesome and I love that you. You You know,
(15:10):
you had your career and you still have your career
and you have your kids, and then you kind of
did this. There's so many people I feel are like
out of college, like I have to do all of it.
I'm twenty years old. I've got the career, but I
also need to start aside a hustle. No one says
you have to do all of that at two, Like
you can figure things out and figure out what you're
passionate about, what your passions will change at some point exactly.
(15:33):
I think people don't tell what I try to tell
our kids that you're it's gonna be are, it's always
going to be changing you. You're not even gonna be yourself.
You're not gonna be the same person five years from now.
I'm not even gonna be the same person. So just
enjoy and just stop being stop taking it so seriously.
It's not in an other world. You shouldn't have your
life together no matter what people say. So people around here,
(15:53):
and it's fifty five years old, they don't have their
life together. It looks like it, but they don't. So
I just want to always tell on this makes or
you do something that you enjoy, no matter how you
can do it. To make something that you enjoy, we
came out where you have to have a job, no
matter what. You have to have a job money, you know,
so you really only think the first twenty I'm about
(16:14):
to be porty tomorrow, have ever day, thank you, But
you know, the first like twenty or thirty and thirty,
and just trying to focus on that grind, supporting your kids,
making sure they're good, you know, and you don't think
about your dreams until you get around about like you know,
like this was five years ago, where you're like, hold up,
I have a talent here, Why am I not using it?
(16:35):
It might not be conventional, but I have a talent.
So yeah, definitely that's awesome, and I'm it's really cool.
I'm sure for your kids to actually see you doing it.
So many parents give advice and say things, but your
kids are seeing you live out a passion and go
through this and they're helping. They're a part of it.
I'm sure you're definitely they're helping. The Eventually you're gonna
(16:56):
have to hire people. I'm like, nope, no, you got
a whole staff. No, what are you talking abou hirying people?
Wasn't that word I got? Y'all? I trust shall So
that's awesome. That is Oh, they're the ones telling you
to hire people. Yeah, they're the one tell them to
hire people. Like since I created Leally Sweet Shop, Jasmine
has been my always say co owner because she I
(17:18):
can not say one word and she knows what to do. Um.
Now my youngest started whose name of legally. Now she's
getting to where I don't have to talk to her
and she knows what to do. With my husband, it's
like we're well machine and putting somebody in. It's like
it's giving me alive. But I know eventually where I
want to go, I'm gonna have to so but that's
good though. That means that you're growing and things are
(17:41):
obviously doing great. So I mean, you know what, that's
not out the end of the world, but it is
a good thing. How do you say, do you have
your daughter clear her schedule. You still have a full
time job. So if you've got events during the week
or you're obviously have time to make popcorn, Like, how
do you how do you do this? How do you
make the schedule work. It's a lot of late nights
(18:01):
in our commercial kitchen that I go to. There's a
lot of switching schedule. I have an awesome coworker and
we swit schedules a lot. We swap and I use
a lot of vacation time six times. I use a
lot of parent time away time to just make it work.
(18:22):
Because this year or two thousand nine time, I said,
if I don't push my business, I know, definitely Kate
Colonel should be everywhere, I should be on TVC. If
I don't push you, no one else is gonna push
your no's gonna know about us. No one's gonna know.
And I can't. You know how you go on Instagram
and you look at a business and be like, what
did they do differently? Nothing? They're just got their drive.
(18:43):
So I was like, did you have to do what
you have to do in order to make it? And
that's a lot of sleeping nights. Some nights, I mean
I don't go to bed at three o'clock in the
morning because I am so. It does not taste good
if a machine makes it. That's one of the things
that's different from us, is it doesn't taste good if
(19:03):
a machine makes it. We need to make it. We
need to melt that butter. We needed me all that
stuff stirred up air pop that popcorn in order to
get it. How long does it take you to make
a bash from start to finish? Like one batch? One
batch just takes from um, what if my minutes? Okay,
what in my minutes? So there's a ton of flavors.
(19:25):
There's a ton, and those are just the flavors I
have on the website. My daughter Actually it's a family
run business. My daughter made out to throw pictures for me.
My twn year old took a bow of pictures for me.
So that's just because we gotta get together and take
more pictures. That helps our portfolio for college. So you know,
there's like I have all the twenty favors in my
(19:46):
head and they keep telling me I need to write them.
Now you have all the swe flavors, but with new
things are coming up, so it doesn't it's so I'm
so used to it now where it's just like you
can triple the back actually make already know exactly how
much you get out of it. So yeah, that's awesome.
It is cool kind of seeing you at this point
where you're like, yeah, I need to push myself, I
(20:08):
need to get bigger. It's like this will blow up.
It will, And You're right, no one's going If you're
not going to push it, no one else is going to.
And you you're saying all the right stuff to yourself.
You you know, you just need to do it. But
I love that you reached out to me and that
is something so small, but those are the things you
need to do. And I actually was listening to a
(20:28):
podcast myself that was find podcasts that are kind of
in your niche and reach out. Getting on podcasts and
a bunch of little ones or whatever it may be
is huge because the people who listen to that podcast
obviously support and are devoted to the guests that are
on there. I'm sure when you were listening, obviously there
were people that you were connected with, maybe they said something,
(20:51):
maybe someone you followed and supported and whatever, so you
know firsthand the importance doing the little things exactly, because
even though it's a great product, some it's like, just
like I think I wasn't listening to the other day
where they have to know your personality, they have to
know your story, and even on Instagram, it's kind of
hard to tell your story if you're not like I
(21:11):
don't just go on into like, hey, you know, I'm
an introverted entrepreneur. I always say that I'm introverted entrepreneur.
I can yap all day on the phone, but get
me in front of a camera, get all nervous. I
have no clue, but you got this, but you know,
and so I just like, I have to make it work.
And then I just started, I think, like a week ago,
I just said, you know what, I don't care how
(21:33):
many knows I get. I want my product and stores.
We need to have our products and stores. So I
just start, I don't even know the proper channels of
how to do it. I said, you know what, I'm
just gonna email them. If they say no, great, and
they say, well you need to contact this person, like okay, great,
you know it's just it's no, they're not gonna come
to you. No, I'm gonna say, oh, sh Nika has
red velvet popcorn. Let's go see her, Let's talk to her. No, no,
(21:56):
not trust me. I waited, and you're doing exactly And
it could be like fifty knows, but that one yes
could be the yes that's like, oh my god, you're
set for life, and that will never happen if you
don't put in the effort and exactly. You gotta do it, though,
Do you have a plan for like every month or
this are the five things I want to do this year?
(22:18):
Do you do that the beginning of every year? You're
just like, let's wing it. Actually I used I used
to be like, let's win it. I've gotten more focused,
definitely on the Kate Colonel's part of it. Just see
where to go. So like we're planning right now stuff
to do for Christmas and stuff to do for the holidays,
and then it's July and it's July, so it's like
(22:39):
a photo shoot for the holiday's. Packaging and packages is
one of the bigger things that I, um, we're working
on just to see I love my clearer packaging. I
love so I'm just working on trying to figure that out.
So we always hit every single month, we have I
go to hit so ever since I had that target,
and it makes me push myself out more, so i'd
(23:00):
be more pop ups now in my area or you know,
trying to get your name out there, and Raleigh and
it reaching out to you was one of those like
you know what, why not? Why am I not reaching?
It was one of like, let's reach out to people
that you listen to and see what they say. Let's
reach out to you stations and see what they say.
Absolutely for sure, So every mind, I have three places
(23:23):
that I reach out to cool and then we try
to do at least three pop up shops and we're working,
like right now, we're working on a pricing doesn't make
sure because we're gonna do trains of pricing to make
sure that I'm not, you know, cheating myself out of
any absolute amounts. And especially because so many of these
gourmet are artisan or but I'm saying it wround because
(23:45):
it's not artisans. I know, it's like or whatever the
heck you say the word. It's so many of these
companies will take whatever price you would pay, say you
buy popcorn at a movie, They'll like multiply it by
three because it's just it's handcraft did it should be
so much more? And again, it's so cool seeing you
at this point where you're like, oh, I enjoy doing
(24:06):
this and it's fun and people like it. But you're right,
it is a business at the end of the day,
and there's no reason why you should be cheating yourself, right.
So I was like definitely, like it was so funny.
I was like, this is crazy. Sit down and do
the numbers. I'm more a creative person. You're creative person
is horrible, Like you want me to see her and
do numbers. So I literally had to sit there and
(24:27):
then when you see the number, and I think it's
more of a mental thing. You have to value yourself
and value your work because when you see that number
and then you're like, okay, this is the number that
it takes labor everything your whole family is hoping to like,
it's exactly like you have to you have to put
in the prices if you pay someone you know, and
then you say, okay, now I want to make sure
(24:50):
that I'm getting that price. And when you see that price,
you have to mentally make yourself, make yourself competent and say,
you know what my product I am worked. Is if
the people who don't purchase it, it's okay. Yeah, there
they don't there, that's not your market. They might come literally,
it's just last week. It took me last week to
(25:12):
get where I'm worth. We are worked this number that
I'm seeing, and if they don't purchase it, it's okay.
And you know, because I guess you when you're in
our business, you want people to you want people to
purchase from you. Can you feel like you're achieving something.
But I think I would take more pride three purchases
of mine knowing that they paid what we're worth, instead
(25:34):
of like okay and being mad at myself, like here
we go again. So they're absolutely right, and I'm sure
that is something that a lot of business owners do
need to overcome. It's like you want everyone to come
in the door. You want everyone to come in the door,
but sometimes you want to get the quality people in
the door. It's quality not quality kind of and reverse.
But it's definitely it's true. And those are the people
who are going to appreciate your worth, love what you're doing,
(25:56):
and they're gonna come back and they're gonna tell your friends.
It's it's word of mouth is where it's going to be.
And people are definitely willing to spend more than five
dollars for the what you're doing, especially once they try it,
they're like, oh my god, this is so good. What what?
And they're gonna just order it in bulk because they're like,
this is crazy. It shouldn't be this cheape for it.
(26:17):
But you kept mentioning pop up shops, and I know
that that is a thing that everyone loves to visit
and go to. But from your end, how do you
get those started? What do you do? How do you
connect with businesses to do pop ups? Where does that
kind of thing start? Robley, North Carolina is like our
incubator of small businesses. It's been there actually, by the way,
(26:38):
and I love Raleigh it is so it's such a
cool place to visit. Yes, and then you know the
breweries are here, and so what you do is you
it depends on the people you follow. If you follow
light business mine, they're gonna say, hey, we're here, and
you guess what you go to see what it is.
And so it's word of mouth, and it's just following
the right people or following breweries. And you know there's
(26:59):
always a feed. There's always a risk. Um when you're
going into something, you don't know how you're gonna respond
to your product. You don't know. Some people don't want
to buy it. Date you don't know. But when we
do that, I always say, when I'm out there in
front of people, they're getting me as to get in
the last story and it it tastes the product because
once you taste it, I got you. Oh yeah, okay,
(27:21):
you can be in my front of my face like,
oh my god, read vebbit popcorn. That's to so discussing.
I'm like, okay, try it and we there's a pause
and they try it and they look at me. I
s exactly how many exactly I want to be there
for this? I can't. So you actually, uh you had
me pick out two three flavors to cent So I
did Smore's birthday cake and I told you to send
(27:42):
me one of your favorites. What flavor did you send?
Vanella Whiskey say, I knew you were gonna go with
a tipsy courtel. Yes, I'm so excited. So I'm kind
of want to do that. I'm gonna try and I
might film some of my coworkers yeah, and get their
reaction for you, because I think it's like, it's not
like anything we've had before. Like you said, there is
um gourmet popcorn. There are some big companies out there
(28:04):
that we know that mass produce it. And yeah, it
just takes tastes like someone slapped caramel plastic onolpcorn sometimes.
But you can just tell from your pictures alone that
it is a dessert. It really is. It is definitely.
It's something I'm very passionate. It sounds weird. I'm very
passionate about my popcorn when I it's crazy. But when
(28:26):
I realized that I actually can create flavors, it was
just like, Okay, oh my god, I actually did something
and it's taste as good. Even what I had a dessert, dessert,
really sweet shot. It was cake and cupcakes and you know, so,
but just making something that regular air popcorn and making
it tastes like you know, red velvet or birthday cake
(28:48):
or you know, German chocolate is what we have. Chocolate
cake is what we have on the holidays. That's one
of the things where take very you shouldn't and I
make people like and I love the response because people
think it's gonna say it's horrible, and I'm just like,
I'm trying to be respectful, but you're wrong, and and
when you're wrong, and then they look at me like okay,
(29:10):
are you serious, and like, yep, I'm serious. In the
first place, they say, well, where are you at? Like
right now, we're in the we're in the building processes.
Because when you're a small business and you're making it, honestly,
sometimes my job is paying for my business. You can't
make big moves like you can with the bigger guys
that are out there. You know, I am very sensitive.
(29:34):
I am a cancer. So if they start talking crazy
to me, I don't know which person is gonna come out.
That's that's the crazy. That's the only thing I's here
because I'm like, I have different personalities on very person,
but I have personalities for the right occasions. And so
I have Shanika, which is like the go lucky, perky
(29:55):
little you know. But if you start talking crazy about
my product, I might just go to the left. I
mean it might work. So I'm like, who are you?
Who are you to tell me what? Okay, So we
can't do that. Maybe we don't get you, or maybe
we do just for the entertainment. You I could put
not me, but someone else can go in place with me,
because I'm just very sensitive and either I'm gonna cry
(30:19):
or we get mad or maybe quieteth of me. You're
passionate about your popcorn. It's normal. You should be like that.
How dare you? How dare you to suspect my popcorn?
What did you make like clothes? And yeah, I know
you're that show sometimes can be a little crazy. You are,
It really is crazy. How do you come up with
(30:41):
the flavors? Though? Like, how, for example, did you say
I'm gonna make this taste like birthday cake? Honestly, when
I first started a journey UM and our banking community,
there was someone there's several people giving out classes UM popcorn,
and so I got the classes and I was like,
didn't work for where we were going for because my
(31:02):
end game is in wholesale production stores. That's my end game.
So that didn't work, and so me my business CULTU
at the time, we came out with the flavors, and
my family and us we came out with the flavors,
and honestly, I tell you, I just went in the kitchen,
just went and went through and just knew exactly because
I still wanted to keep um, the originality of it
(31:24):
and not have a lot of preservatives and a lot
of flavoring. But so it was so hard because chocolate
popcorn doesn't stay salt doesn't stay hard you get it
gets salfd. So you had to figure out, Okay, well
how I'm gonna make disflavor right here while having chocolate
and you can drizzle it, but you don't. So honestly,
it was just it was over a good six months
(31:46):
of science. It is. It's actually a science. Baking is
a science, people, Baking is a science. And my family,
my family and my friends just taste us some popcorn,
like you got three popcorn when you're around me, like here,
come to my ouse. Here, it takes his player, tell
me what you think, like really cares keepsavor like And
that's how it was until we finally got the approval. Um.
(32:07):
My husband is definitely a sweet spanatic and he would
never I mean, honestly, I feel like he should kind
of curve it for me, but he doesn't. He always
gives me a very direct way of saying stuff. Okay,
what is something that your husband has been like oh
how no, You're never making that one again. It's cross. Um.
He was very honest with me when it came to
because we were trying to figure out how to incorporate
(32:29):
chocolate with our popcorn, and so I thought I had
it right. He was like, no, where's a crunch. Like
there's a crunch. He's like, no, there's no crunch. And
I was hurt. So I want to what what Shanika
came out? Then? And that Shanika comes out because I
had to like it's like five ten second delay, it's
(32:51):
ten second delay. So I was like, Okay, I'm like darn,
he's right, sup. First I had to say he's right,
I don't want to do that, and then what can
we do? So luckily, UM, just trying things out and
it works. We actually when I say the signature cast
of caramel is because it's one it's too ingredients that
(33:12):
I know no one is using. Damn. And I researched
my butt. Also, I'm a popcorn connoisseur. I am girl.
So yeah, So definitely, it was just honestly every day
getting all work, Um, cook dinner, and you make some popcorn,
you pop it up and you make some popcorn. You
you mentioned a business coach. I think you might be
(33:34):
one of the first people on the podcast. It could
be completely wrong, but one of the first people to
mention a business coach. So it keeps like triggering me
to be like, why, how, what does that do for you?
Because I have no idea how that works. So talk
a little bit about that for people. UM my business coach,
she actually is. I consider her as one of my sisters.
(33:56):
Um Sydney. How it came about was in the banking community.
She out bakers and I was like, I needed help.
I just needed help with pricing, documentation, contracts and try
to figure that out. And you know see how it
goes about and trying to figure out a way to
make sure I'm running my business the best way I
needed running. And so that's how she came about. That's
what she does for the people on banking community. She
(34:18):
actually is sitting there from sweet Fests. Call her out here.
She helped me. She was one of I say she
was one of the top four because me, my husband,
her and her boyfriend who came up with help us
come up with these pirls. So it's basically a business coach.
I feel like it's someone who is definitely can take
(34:41):
the emotion out of it, um emotion out of it,
and definitely I still today she's one of the definitely
one of the people who are in my ear making
sure I made the correct decisions because we definitely don't
want to do anything wrong. So that's why I got
a business coach. I just thought what this morning? Because
I'm very creative person, so I sometimes I don't know
(35:02):
what's the right business decision. If our opportunity comes up,
I'm gonna jump on it no matter what. And you know,
it went into handling the finances, taxes or anything like that.
So a lot of people don't use it because I
just jumped into this, like I jumped into letely sweet shop,
but I felt like I wasn't getting ahead that basically
I wasn't making the right move. So yeah, well, yeah,
a lot of people are creative, but like you said,
(35:24):
doing the math side of it, that our brains are
not wired like that. If you're creative, you can't do
that side of it. So smart on your part to
get someone to do it, especially early on. So I
think I think that's definitely great advice for people to
don't try to do all of it. If your brain
doesn't work that way, it's not worth it. Right, There's
(35:44):
organizations out there that will help you as well. Luckily
I have her. Sometimes she tells me to do things
and I have a six month delay. It's okay, she
knows me. I'm a little stubborn now, you know. And
you know she actually was the one who created the
website and did a out site for us. So people
like to do things on their own, and so there's
(36:05):
always organizations out there that can help you. If you
don't know about taxes, there's three day if you only
have to payer, so like there's three things out there
to do, you know, just so so I definitely say
if it's something that you are not understanding, because a
lot of times it comes about money, like oh my god,
you know, I don't want to pay for this, I
don't want to do this. I don't want to do this.
(36:25):
But sometimes paying someone is a whole lot cheaper certain yeah,
cheaper mentally and actually yeah, definitely. So where then do
you want k Colonels to be at the end of
this year? So it's twenty nineteen, by the way, for
anyone listening in the future, because podcasting, who knows when
you're gonna be listening. I could be eighty five and
(36:46):
dead at this point exactly. So what is the end?
What do you want for K Colonels then at the
end of because anyone listening to this podcast can absolutely
help you with it. So I'm going to encourage people
to support K Colonels please is yeah? Please? Part you
know you love my personality? Yes, they do. So where
do you sho want to get K Colonels by the
(37:07):
end of this year? By the end of this year,
I definitely want to have us in at least two stores,
maybe a small little space in a storefront where you
can see us every weekend or so. Um. I definitely know,
like physical wise, we're gonna start like popcorn tins, so
scription boxes and like that right there, popcorn tins and
(37:28):
so scription boxes and little things like that. Definitely, I think,
and definitely retail stores. Oh my god, I'm so excited
for you and and the whole family. I don't even
know them, and I'm excited for to see where this
is gonna go for you, and I can't wait to
taste the popcorn. I'm excited to get it. Actually, I'm
actually sending it out tomorrow. It's crazy. We had I
(37:49):
have because of my emails that I were doing, so
I had several people had to send it testing so
they can try the product. I wanted to be on
the testing list. Yes you are, and so they can
try the product. And then also some out of orders
at chuckling in so tomorrow probably almost in definitely I'm
making it tonight and go into the kitchen. That's cool,
(38:10):
all right. I had some extra whiskey in mind. Then
if you're making it to me, I can't answer whiskey.
I don't think it's okay. You're right, You're It's just
a great addition to the Tipsy. You are hilarious, and
we also have our Quode your listeners as well. I'm
so glad that you are doing my job for me
because I'm clearly not. I'm just so excited about getting
(38:31):
my poper code. Carla Murray gets you ten percent off.
It's Kate colonels dot com k E R N E
L s NA. Thank you so much for reaching out.
I appreciate it because and and finding the podcast and
giving me the freaking time of day. So thank you.
You're welcome, no problem, I hope Shanika doesn't mind that
I am going to share this. But after she and
(38:51):
I chatted, after I stopped recording, we continued face timing
and she kind of broke down a little bit, saying
that there was a time where she was going to
quit because she just it wasn't going anywhere, or she
was getting a lot of nose or whatever may be.
And she had emailed me about the podcast, and I
responded to her and this is not at all a
pat on my back. This is just proof that putting
(39:13):
yourself out there, at some point you're going to get
a return. And I responded to her and she said
that it was one of the greatest moments because she
was like, oh my god, someone cares. This person doesn't
even know me and they care about my story. So
now that you have just listened to Shanika, you at
least know her. You support her in any way you can.
Like I say all the time, you may not have
the money to spend on a product, and that is
(39:35):
completely fine, but you can support her by signing up
for a newsletter on the website at k colonels dot com.
You can spread the love, tell friends and family, hey,
you're having a party, get some popcorn, or when the
holidays come and you don't know what to get your
coworker k Colonels dot com. And then, of course there's
always Instagram. It's at k Colonels. You can follow, like share,
(40:00):
send cool pictures to friends that she posts, whatever it
may be. These small businesses are so unbelievably important to
our country. And I'm not getting political at all, but
it is. These are what our country was founded on.
And yeah, we've got big companies and I told Shanika
that I personally will buy from Amazon every day. But
also at the same time, I love supporting local businesses
(40:22):
here in Seattle or local businesses like her and Raleigh.
But it's these small businesses that really have the passion
and the love and they're part of the community. So
support a small business this week today, whatever you can do,
you can always always reach out to me at the
Carla Marie on Instagram. It's side Hustler's podcast at gmail
dot com if you want to reach out about literally anything.
(40:44):
But I love this episode, and I hope you love
Shanika as much as I do, so support her. It's
Kate Colonels dot com. You can listen to my morning
show on I Heart Radio, because yes, that is not
my thought. As my full time job, I host a
morning show called carl La, Marie and Anthony on Kiss
FM Seattle on I Heart Radio or if you're in Seattle,
it's one oh six point one on your dial until
(41:08):
next Monday. Keep Hustling the weekly podcast that started it all.
They just wanted to have fun as they dreamt of
one day having their own morning show, and now they do.
But the tradition continues. Every Friday. My Day Friday with Carla,
(41:30):
Marie and Anthony available worldwide on the I Heart Radio
and kick off your weekend with Carla, Marie and Anthony
Welcome to Side Hustlers. My name is Carla Marie. This
is the podcast that highlights people who follow a passion
outside of their day job. Some people start their side
hustle because they need extra money and then they fall
in love with it. Some people started because they need
that creative outlet. And it's been super cool for me
personally to get passion and drive and inspiration from my
(00:27):
guests on this podcast, and then I hear from other
people who feel the same way or people who decided
to start their side hustle, and it's created this this
community and if you want to be a part of it,
you probably already are, but feel free to reach out
to me and I will connect you with anyone who's
been on this podcast. But this week's guest Shanika, She's
the reason I do this podcast. People like Shanika. She
(00:49):
is a small business owner in Raleigh now North Carolina,
who has a full time tech job working from home,
but she also has a dessert company but also a
gore a popcorn company called Cake Kernels, and she's trying
to kind of break the mold for gourmet popcorn, which
sounds a little crazy when you say that because you're think, oh,
(01:10):
there's these big companies that make popcorn, but what Shanika
is doing is different. There's passion, there's art to it.
She's creative and she really cares about her popcorn. And
that may sound crazy, but when you hear her story,
you're gonna fall in love with her and you're going
to buy all of her popcorn. Check her out. It's
Cake colonels dot com. Cake, then it's k e Er
(01:30):
and e l s on Instagram. She's at Cake Kernels
and you can buy her from anywhere. And she's even
got a promo code Carla Marie. It's gonna get you
ten percent off. Go buy it now before she realizes
that she's selling gold for a lot of people. You know,
why are you way? Do you know what you want
to do and this is something you want to do?
Do it. I'm a hustle hut do it. I'm a
(01:53):
hustles do it. I'm a hustless Come on, ask about me,
yo yo. It's the Side Hustless podcast. We call there.
So you Shanika maybe the first person joining from North
Carolina on Side Hustlers. So yea to that? Yeah? Yeah,
(02:13):
with the first Eastern no we definitely had some East
Coasters for sure, but no. Hello, so that's awesome. You
said you've listened to Side Hustles from day one how
in North Carolina? And okay, I know how, But how
did you find the podcast? Well, I work from home,
so and I don't talk to customers, so I'm always
(02:35):
trying to find things to listen to. And I love
podcasts obviously, and so I have I don't know how.
I have no clue what I was like, Okay, that
sounds like something I want to listen to. And I
always judge it if it makes me laugh, if it
doesn't make me laugh, and it can't be serious. It
can be serious, but it has to have humor. Okay,
I can't have too serious. I'm funny because this is
(02:55):
the greatest moment ever. Yeah you're like, you're yeah, you
are funny. Thank you. I just made you say that.
I don't know about anybody else, so yeah, definitely, And
it just and it mocks what I do. Why not?
That's crazy to me because I obviously have a platform
on the radio. I get to tell people about what
(03:18):
I do all the time. So I just assumed that
everyone who listens to this podcast comes from the radio.
But I've been on a show in Seattle, and I've
been on a show that's nationally syndicated, but not in
North Carolina. So that's why when you said North Carolina,
was like, how she's got a so that that, to me,
first of all, is super cool. So thank you for
(03:38):
giving it a chance, and I appreciate it so much.
So let's talk about you. This is not about making.
This is about you and what you do. So you've
got a full time job, which we will talk about,
but you also are the owner, creator, the mastermind behind
Cake Colonels, which is a do you call it a
gourmet popcorn company? Definitely? We call it a gourmet popcorn company.
And we don't call it Artiston because sometimes I can't
(04:00):
pronounce the word correctly. I can't define it. I love
that you you know what, You're going to ditch that
word because I'm all with you on that one. I'm
always missing the words. I'm like, you know, well, you're
in a pitch meet, you might want to how to
pronounce the word. Seriously, I get it. So if anyone
listening right now wants to check out what Shanika does,
(04:21):
it's cake colonels dot com and Colonels for the record,
is spelled K E R and E l S, not
an A l S. It's an E L S. So
people can go there and see what you do. And
the popcorn you make is gorgeous the pictures you have
up there, and I'm looking at it and I'm like,
this is way too affordable. I feel like you need
(04:42):
to like raise your prices asap because I don't know
what profit margins are like on popcorn, but how did
you decide the pricing? Honestly, this is so funny because
right now we're going to we're doing all that process
all over again. Not even a fact, because what we
take in what we do to make this popcorn is
(05:03):
one of the facts. Because we don't have machines. It's
not like we have a crew. It's just me, um,
my kids, my husband, oven my trustee side pots that
I make all my stuff man, And it's just so
that a long and what we go into we make
sure that we're always looking for flavors, so we use
(05:25):
like small businesses in North Carolina, we find strange flavors
to do it to make sure that it's that crafted
type of popcorn. Is actually I made it hard. I
think I made it hard just on purpose so I
can say, oh, it's really no, but it's really crafted.
So um, so definitely we are working on our prices
right now because just looking at him, like, come on,
(05:47):
and know a lot of people say China seriously no,
I mean I just said it, and I don't even
know what goes into any of this yet, and I'm like,
this is like a steal. It's something wrong, am I
you know what? Everyone? Good? Quick, go by popcorn now
before it's before we get big, we get big. I'm sorry.
It's been there from the beginning. Oh my god, I
love that. I love you for that. So let's go
(06:08):
back a little bit too, before you started cake colonels
and still your current day job is you're supervisor at
a tech company, but you get right from home, which
is awesome, which is great. That is so different than
what you're doing in your side hustle. So I guess
how did you get into the tech world? Start there? Honestly,
I am a mom of four and were I was
(06:32):
a young mom's like a four because my oldest child
now it's like, yes, I'm sorry, Dad will go like, really,
you don't know my age. My oldest child is twenty,
and so it was backed in. Um it was child
care the various time, and so what was happening with
me and my husband. We were trying to work two jobs,
and it seems like something always would happen, the car
(06:53):
war break, now, someone would get sick. It was so
annoying impossible, and so still trying to go to school
to try to I'm doing actation quotes, trying you know
what you're supposed to go to school for, and it
was just not working. So I say it has to
be a different way. So I just started working from home. Honestly,
when we started, Adrian was I think like three or four,
(07:13):
and now he's about to be eighteen. That's awesome. I
started working from home and I just landed into this
great job with great benefits. And it works because when
the kids get off school us they really you know,
they were there. They knew that mommy UM headphone set
was on. That means to be quiet. I had to
train them very well. Yes I us train, but you know,
(07:34):
I hadn't made them know, you know, when I was
not it had to be a quiet background. So and
that's how it started and nothing when I went to
school for whatsoever. But it worked for my family, so
I had to do it. But it had to be
great being able to be a mom and be there
for your kids. I know my mom worked a full
time job. Had I mean technically there were seven of
(07:55):
us total, but four and then yeah, I mean listen,
there are a lot of it. And so I know
what my mom went through with having two little kids
and then older ones to kind of look after, which
I'm sure it kind of helped us some of your
kids got older. But I look at what she did,
and I'm like, I don't know how you and my
dad did did this working opposite schedules and then you
obviously having four kids getting to be home, But it
(08:17):
had to be awesome to be there for them. It
had to be awesome because I could see them even
though they weren't like I couldn't talk to them. I
just knew it was great. Then I'm gonna have to
get off, you know, get off the bus and come here,
or even my niece and now you. I definitely helped
myself ster when she had to work, because like holidays
and stuff, I don't think companies put in your parents,
(08:38):
like if someone's always gonna get six, it's always at
the wrong time. You can have an important meeting and
that school number comes up and you're like and then
you're looking at your husband looking at HL like which
job is more important today? You're gonna go? I'm gonna go.
And I just couldn't. It was too much, it was
too stressful. So yeah, I had to figure something out.
(09:00):
So you've been doing this job then for a what
you said about fifteen years and oh yeah about fencing years.
Where in this this job I've been doing for about
six years, but I wasn't another tech for us about
fitting years all together? So where in the process then
did creating a side hustle come along? And why? Because
it wasn't k Colonel's originally? Oh god no, Um, first
(09:24):
it was the Rex sales obviously just always had It's
like something I don't I guess people who are entrepreneurs. No,
it's just something that's missing. You have no clue what
it is. You know that you're on a reason why.
And I love my job and less would have my job.
I always said it at the universe, but it's not it.
So no matter what I was doing, I already knew
something was going on, so I had to go to
(09:44):
path of searching finding myself. And at first it was
the Rex sales and like, why am I selling other
people products? Like what is wrong with me? No fencing
anybody in the Rex sales. No one's gotta do it,
and someone me, But it just wasn't for me, and
so we my daughter, my youngest daughter, to Leah, she
was like, I used to bake all my kids cakes
(10:06):
and stuff because I was frugal obviously with four kids,
so I didn't want to spend all that money, and
so she was like, why don't you open up a bakery?
I was like, girl, sometimes? Right? How old was she?
When she said that? I have no clue? Sometimes it
takes like where we as adults are. We have all
these rules and we're so scared, and you know, you
don't even think about that. But it takes something as
(10:29):
someone who has not a care in the world and
not a fear to just open a bakery. You know,
why not? Why don't you op up a bakery? So
Lily Sweet Shop is actually named after to Leah. Lily
Sweet Shop came about. We especially opened two dollars and
fourteen and you know, doing vendor events and doing shows
and getting orders. And once when this is how we
(10:50):
laid up to k colonels it was a holiday show,
I was like, why don't I just make some care
of my popcorn? Everybody loves a popcorn. I don't love
popcorn crazy enough. Well, you know how many people who
come on this podcast who it's like Emily from Art
of super she doesn't like coin candy and her whole
thing is just making con candy. What is it with
you people? It's crazy crazy? And I have a side
story about her. We actually connected because literally Switech, I
(11:13):
have to literally sweet as at the cotton candy carts
services as well. And so I was like, and when
I followed her before I saw you on the show. Yes, show,
but I was scared to say, hey, how are you?
You're also because I didn't want to mess up the
image of her. But she seems so nice, and I
was like, if you know, because sometimes when you message people,
(11:33):
they're not And so I was like, okay, hey Emily,
and then we connected and I was like she's so
cool and so yeah, so that's what we do, like
the dirt bars caught in candy cool are you still
doing that? Yes, it's ridiculous. Let me literally, Sweet Shop
is a desert bar and birthday cake, Sweet and Fluff
(11:54):
is I caught caught in Candy Carts Services and Kate
Colonels is I grow my popcorn live. I really think
I need to get an LSC and it's put it
all into Everybody said that seems like that makes sense. Yeah,
that's what we're working on now. But you never thought
of opening up or branching out to doing just popcorn
until that event where you happen to make caramel popcorn. Yes,
(12:17):
we happen to make care of my popcorn, and it's
so now. I never make care of my popcorn in
my life. I just looked though my lovely Pinterest and said,
let's make some caraman popcorn and it actually sold really
well my business culture designed. I was like, great, because
I have I have a problem with creating businesses I have,
So I was like this popcorn and it was easy
(12:39):
to make. I didn't have to do. I was on
the cake with Monday and she was like, well, let's
see what we can do, and with all our heads combines.
That's how Kate and Colonels came about because I have
a bakery, and so he was like, you know, and
I was like, I don't like savory popcorn. You know,
I don't understand deal pickle. I don't understand all that
stuff that random flavors. Why don't we make it focus
(13:01):
on flavors, say we do at a bakery. So yeah,
let's let's talk about some of those flavors. You've got
birthday cake, pecan pie, cookies and cream s'mores, rainbow blast.
What does rainbow blast taste like? Rainbow Blast is basically
like pineapple, strawberry, blueberry, all of them, all of it. Honestly,
if you order it depends on my mood that day.
(13:21):
Oh my god, I love kid. So you can get
any flavor, but it's flavors. So yeah, you've got red
velvet cake, classic caramel, and strawberry shortcake. But then you
also have tipsy kernels, which is right now? You have
is it mimosa fun south peach and strawberry waisted. Yeah,
we have so many other flavors. Oh my god, that
(13:43):
is our adult I always say the adult way of
joy and popcorn. Thankfully for my husband, he is he
loves his drinks alcoholic drinker and um. One day we
were playing around and in the banking world you hear
a lot, you hear a lot about your use alcoholic
you stuff. So it's nothing new to us, but shockingly,
it's new to everybody around. And so we tried some kanyac,
(14:06):
which we use Tennessee, and it came out great, and
I was like, okay, well I have to brand it
because I just don't want to say boozy popcorn. And
then I am an R and B lover, I am
a rap lover, and I came up with a song,
everybody get tipsy, and that's what Yes, that's where it
tipsy colonels came from. So we have vanilla whiskey. We
(14:27):
have a flavor that comes out during Christmas. Isis with
um rum. Oh my god, spice rum is so great
with cranberries and stuff. Did you ever think that one
day you would just be making popcorn and selling it
to people all over America? No? God, no, you know
how you always say what would what would you tell
your six two year old self? You know, you're like, girls,
(14:49):
it's okay, it's not that serious. None of these people
are gonna see ever again. All the time. None newspapers
you see yourself in high school. You're actually gonna listen
to yourself and do what you love to do, no
matter what people are telling you, you're gonna do. So yeah,
I definitely like, I don't believe what I'm doing this, No,
and it's awesome and I love that you. You You know,
(15:10):
you had your career and you still have your career
and you have your kids, and then you kind of
did this. There's so many people I feel are like
out of college, like I have to do all of it.
I'm twenty years old. I've got the career, but I
also need to start aside a hustle. No one says
you have to do all of that at two, Like
you can figure things out and figure out what you're
passionate about, what your passions will change at some point exactly.
(15:33):
I think people don't tell what I try to tell
our kids that you're it's gonna be are, it's always
going to be changing you. You're not even gonna be yourself.
You're not gonna be the same person five years from now.
I'm not even gonna be the same person. So just
enjoy and just stop being stop taking it so seriously.
It's not in an other world. You shouldn't have your
life together no matter what people say. So people around here,
(15:53):
and it's fifty five years old, they don't have their
life together. It looks like it, but they don't. So
I just want to always tell on this makes or
you do something that you enjoy, no matter how you
can do it. To make something that you enjoy, we
came out where you have to have a job, no
matter what. You have to have a job money, you know,
so you really only think the first twenty I'm about
(16:14):
to be porty tomorrow, have ever day, thank you, But
you know, the first like twenty or thirty and thirty,
and just trying to focus on that grind, supporting your kids,
making sure they're good, you know, and you don't think
about your dreams until you get around about like you know,
like this was five years ago, where you're like, hold up,
I have a talent here, Why am I not using it?
(16:35):
It might not be conventional, but I have a talent.
So yeah, definitely that's awesome, and I'm it's really cool.
I'm sure for your kids to actually see you doing it.
So many parents give advice and say things, but your
kids are seeing you live out a passion and go
through this and they're helping. They're a part of it.
I'm sure you're definitely they're helping. The Eventually you're gonna
(16:56):
have to hire people. I'm like, nope, no, you got
a whole staff. No, what are you talking abou hirying people?
Wasn't that word I got? Y'all? I trust shall So
that's awesome. That is Oh, they're the ones telling you
to hire people. Yeah, they're the one tell them to
hire people. Like since I created Leally Sweet Shop, Jasmine
has been my always say co owner because she I
(17:18):
can not say one word and she knows what to do. Um.
Now my youngest started whose name of legally. Now she's
getting to where I don't have to talk to her
and she knows what to do. With my husband, it's
like we're well machine and putting somebody in. It's like
it's giving me alive. But I know eventually where I
want to go, I'm gonna have to so but that's
good though. That means that you're growing and things are
(17:41):
obviously doing great. So I mean, you know what, that's
not out the end of the world, but it is
a good thing. How do you say, do you have
your daughter clear her schedule. You still have a full
time job. So if you've got events during the week
or you're obviously have time to make popcorn, Like, how
do you how do you do this? How do you
make the schedule work. It's a lot of late nights
(18:01):
in our commercial kitchen that I go to. There's a
lot of switching schedule. I have an awesome coworker and
we swit schedules a lot. We swap and I use
a lot of vacation time six times. I use a
lot of parent time away time to just make it work.
(18:22):
Because this year or two thousand nine time, I said,
if I don't push my business, I know, definitely Kate
Colonel should be everywhere, I should be on TVC. If
I don't push you, no one else is gonna push
your no's gonna know about us. No one's gonna know.
And I can't. You know how you go on Instagram
and you look at a business and be like, what
did they do differently? Nothing? They're just got their drive.
(18:43):
So I was like, did you have to do what
you have to do in order to make it? And
that's a lot of sleeping nights. Some nights, I mean
I don't go to bed at three o'clock in the
morning because I am so. It does not taste good
if a machine makes it. That's one of the things
that's different from us, is it doesn't taste good if
(19:03):
a machine makes it. We need to make it. We
need to melt that butter. We needed me all that
stuff stirred up air pop that popcorn in order to
get it. How long does it take you to make
a bash from start to finish? Like one batch? One
batch just takes from um, what if my minutes? Okay,
what in my minutes? So there's a ton of flavors.
(19:25):
There's a ton, and those are just the flavors I
have on the website. My daughter Actually it's a family
run business. My daughter made out to throw pictures for me.
My twn year old took a bow of pictures for me.
So that's just because we gotta get together and take
more pictures. That helps our portfolio for college. So you know,
there's like I have all the twenty favors in my
(19:46):
head and they keep telling me I need to write them.
Now you have all the swe flavors, but with new
things are coming up, so it doesn't it's so I'm
so used to it now where it's just like you
can triple the back actually make already know exactly how
much you get out of it. So yeah, that's awesome.
It is cool kind of seeing you at this point
where you're like, yeah, I need to push myself, I
(20:08):
need to get bigger. It's like this will blow up.
It will, And You're right, no one's going If you're
not going to push it, no one else is going to.
And you you're saying all the right stuff to yourself.
You you know, you just need to do it. But
I love that you reached out to me and that
is something so small, but those are the things you
need to do. And I actually was listening to a
(20:28):
podcast myself that was find podcasts that are kind of
in your niche and reach out. Getting on podcasts and
a bunch of little ones or whatever it may be
is huge because the people who listen to that podcast
obviously support and are devoted to the guests that are
on there. I'm sure when you were listening, obviously there
were people that you were connected with, maybe they said something,
(20:51):
maybe someone you followed and supported and whatever, so you
know firsthand the importance doing the little things exactly, because
even though it's a great product, some it's like, just
like I think I wasn't listening to the other day
where they have to know your personality, they have to
know your story, and even on Instagram, it's kind of
hard to tell your story if you're not like I
(21:11):
don't just go on into like, hey, you know, I'm
an introverted entrepreneur. I always say that I'm introverted entrepreneur.
I can yap all day on the phone, but get
me in front of a camera, get all nervous. I
have no clue, but you got this, but you know,
and so I just like, I have to make it work.
And then I just started, I think, like a week ago,
I just said, you know what, I don't care how
(21:33):
many knows I get. I want my product and stores.
We need to have our products and stores. So I
just start, I don't even know the proper channels of
how to do it. I said, you know what, I'm
just gonna email them. If they say no, great, and
they say, well you need to contact this person, like okay, great,
you know it's just it's no, they're not gonna come
to you. No, I'm gonna say, oh, sh Nika has
red velvet popcorn. Let's go see her, Let's talk to her. No, no,
(21:56):
not trust me. I waited, and you're doing exactly And
it could be like fifty knows, but that one yes
could be the yes that's like, oh my god, you're
set for life, and that will never happen if you
don't put in the effort and exactly. You gotta do it, though,
Do you have a plan for like every month or
this are the five things I want to do this year?
(22:18):
Do you do that the beginning of every year? You're
just like, let's wing it. Actually I used I used
to be like, let's win it. I've gotten more focused,
definitely on the Kate Colonel's part of it. Just see
where to go. So like we're planning right now stuff
to do for Christmas and stuff to do for the holidays,
and then it's July and it's July, so it's like
(22:39):
a photo shoot for the holiday's. Packaging and packages is
one of the bigger things that I, um, we're working
on just to see I love my clearer packaging. I
love so I'm just working on trying to figure that out.
So we always hit every single month, we have I
go to hit so ever since I had that target,
and it makes me push myself out more, so i'd
(23:00):
be more pop ups now in my area or you know,
trying to get your name out there, and Raleigh and
it reaching out to you was one of those like
you know what, why not? Why am I not reaching?
It was one of like, let's reach out to people
that you listen to and see what they say. Let's
reach out to you stations and see what they say.
Absolutely for sure, So every mind, I have three places
(23:23):
that I reach out to cool and then we try
to do at least three pop up shops and we're working,
like right now, we're working on a pricing doesn't make
sure because we're gonna do trains of pricing to make
sure that I'm not, you know, cheating myself out of
any absolute amounts. And especially because so many of these
gourmet are artisan or but I'm saying it wround because
(23:45):
it's not artisans. I know, it's like or whatever the
heck you say the word. It's so many of these
companies will take whatever price you would pay, say you
buy popcorn at a movie, They'll like multiply it by
three because it's just it's handcraft did it should be
so much more? And again, it's so cool seeing you
at this point where you're like, oh, I enjoy doing
(24:06):
this and it's fun and people like it. But you're right,
it is a business at the end of the day,
and there's no reason why you should be cheating yourself, right.
So I was like definitely, like it was so funny.
I was like, this is crazy. Sit down and do
the numbers. I'm more a creative person. You're creative person
is horrible, Like you want me to see her and
do numbers. So I literally had to sit there and
(24:27):
then when you see the number, and I think it's
more of a mental thing. You have to value yourself
and value your work because when you see that number
and then you're like, okay, this is the number that
it takes labor everything your whole family is hoping to like,
it's exactly like you have to you have to put
in the prices if you pay someone you know, and
then you say, okay, now I want to make sure
(24:50):
that I'm getting that price. And when you see that price,
you have to mentally make yourself, make yourself competent and say,
you know what my product I am worked. Is if
the people who don't purchase it, it's okay. Yeah, there
they don't there, that's not your market. They might come literally,
it's just last week. It took me last week to
(25:12):
get where I'm worth. We are worked this number that
I'm seeing, and if they don't purchase it, it's okay.
And you know, because I guess you when you're in
our business, you want people to you want people to
purchase from you. Can you feel like you're achieving something.
But I think I would take more pride three purchases
of mine knowing that they paid what we're worth, instead
(25:34):
of like okay and being mad at myself, like here
we go again. So they're absolutely right, and I'm sure
that is something that a lot of business owners do
need to overcome. It's like you want everyone to come
in the door. You want everyone to come in the door,
but sometimes you want to get the quality people in
the door. It's quality not quality kind of and reverse.
But it's definitely it's true. And those are the people
who are going to appreciate your worth, love what you're doing,
(25:56):
and they're gonna come back and they're gonna tell your friends.
It's it's word of mouth is where it's going to be.
And people are definitely willing to spend more than five
dollars for the what you're doing, especially once they try it,
they're like, oh my god, this is so good. What what?
And they're gonna just order it in bulk because they're like,
this is crazy. It shouldn't be this cheape for it.
(26:17):
But you kept mentioning pop up shops, and I know
that that is a thing that everyone loves to visit
and go to. But from your end, how do you
get those started? What do you do? How do you
connect with businesses to do pop ups? Where does that
kind of thing start? Robley, North Carolina is like our
incubator of small businesses. It's been there actually, by the way,
(26:38):
and I love Raleigh it is so it's such a
cool place to visit. Yes, and then you know the
breweries are here, and so what you do is you
it depends on the people you follow. If you follow
light business mine, they're gonna say, hey, we're here, and
you guess what you go to see what it is.
And so it's word of mouth, and it's just following
the right people or following breweries. And you know there's
(26:59):
always a feed. There's always a risk. Um when you're
going into something, you don't know how you're gonna respond
to your product. You don't know. Some people don't want
to buy it. Date you don't know. But when we
do that, I always say, when I'm out there in
front of people, they're getting me as to get in
the last story and it it tastes the product because
once you taste it, I got you. Oh yeah, okay,
(27:21):
you can be in my front of my face like,
oh my god, read vebbit popcorn. That's to so discussing.
I'm like, okay, try it and we there's a pause
and they try it and they look at me. I
s exactly how many exactly I want to be there
for this? I can't. So you actually, uh you had
me pick out two three flavors to cent So I
did Smore's birthday cake and I told you to send
(27:42):
me one of your favorites. What flavor did you send?
Vanella Whiskey say, I knew you were gonna go with
a tipsy courtel. Yes, I'm so excited. So I'm kind
of want to do that. I'm gonna try and I
might film some of my coworkers yeah, and get their
reaction for you, because I think it's like, it's not
like anything we've had before. Like you said, there is
um gourmet popcorn. There are some big companies out there
(28:04):
that we know that mass produce it. And yeah, it
just takes tastes like someone slapped caramel plastic onolpcorn sometimes.
But you can just tell from your pictures alone that
it is a dessert. It really is. It is definitely.
It's something I'm very passionate. It sounds weird. I'm very
passionate about my popcorn when I it's crazy. But when
(28:26):
I realized that I actually can create flavors, it was
just like, Okay, oh my god, I actually did something
and it's taste as good. Even what I had a dessert, dessert,
really sweet shot. It was cake and cupcakes and you know, so,
but just making something that regular air popcorn and making
it tastes like you know, red velvet or birthday cake
(28:48):
or you know, German chocolate is what we have. Chocolate
cake is what we have on the holidays. That's one
of the things where take very you shouldn't and I
make people like and I love the response because people
think it's gonna say it's horrible, and I'm just like,
I'm trying to be respectful, but you're wrong, and and
when you're wrong, and then they look at me like okay,
(29:10):
are you serious, and like, yep, I'm serious. In the
first place, they say, well, where are you at? Like
right now, we're in the we're in the building processes.
Because when you're a small business and you're making it, honestly,
sometimes my job is paying for my business. You can't
make big moves like you can with the bigger guys
that are out there. You know, I am very sensitive.
(29:34):
I am a cancer. So if they start talking crazy
to me, I don't know which person is gonna come out.
That's that's the crazy. That's the only thing I's here
because I'm like, I have different personalities on very person,
but I have personalities for the right occasions. And so
I have Shanika, which is like the go lucky, perky
(29:55):
little you know. But if you start talking crazy about
my product, I might just go to the left. I
mean it might work. So I'm like, who are you?
Who are you to tell me what? Okay, So we
can't do that. Maybe we don't get you, or maybe
we do just for the entertainment. You I could put
not me, but someone else can go in place with me,
because I'm just very sensitive and either I'm gonna cry
(30:19):
or we get mad or maybe quieteth of me. You're
passionate about your popcorn. It's normal. You should be like that.
How dare you? How dare you to suspect my popcorn?
What did you make like clothes? And yeah, I know
you're that show sometimes can be a little crazy. You are,
It really is crazy. How do you come up with
(30:41):
the flavors? Though? Like, how, for example, did you say
I'm gonna make this taste like birthday cake? Honestly, when
I first started a journey UM and our banking community,
there was someone there's several people giving out classes UM popcorn,
and so I got the classes and I was like,
didn't work for where we were going for because my
(31:02):
end game is in wholesale production stores. That's my end game.
So that didn't work, and so me my business CULTU
at the time, we came out with the flavors, and
my family and us we came out with the flavors,
and honestly, I tell you, I just went in the kitchen,
just went and went through and just knew exactly because
I still wanted to keep um, the originality of it
(31:24):
and not have a lot of preservatives and a lot
of flavoring. But so it was so hard because chocolate
popcorn doesn't stay salt doesn't stay hard you get it
gets salfd. So you had to figure out, Okay, well
how I'm gonna make disflavor right here while having chocolate
and you can drizzle it, but you don't. So honestly,
it was just it was over a good six months
(31:46):
of science. It is. It's actually a science. Baking is
a science, people, Baking is a science. And my family,
my family and my friends just taste us some popcorn,
like you got three popcorn when you're around me, like here,
come to my ouse. Here, it takes his player, tell
me what you think, like really cares keepsavor like And
that's how it was until we finally got the approval. Um.
(32:07):
My husband is definitely a sweet spanatic and he would
never I mean, honestly, I feel like he should kind
of curve it for me, but he doesn't. He always
gives me a very direct way of saying stuff. Okay,
what is something that your husband has been like oh
how no, You're never making that one again. It's cross. Um.
He was very honest with me when it came to
because we were trying to figure out how to incorporate
(32:29):
chocolate with our popcorn, and so I thought I had
it right. He was like, no, where's a crunch. Like
there's a crunch. He's like, no, there's no crunch. And
I was hurt. So I want to what what Shanika
came out? Then? And that Shanika comes out because I
had to like it's like five ten second delay, it's
(32:51):
ten second delay. So I was like, Okay, I'm like darn,
he's right, sup. First I had to say he's right,
I don't want to do that, and then what can
we do? So luckily, UM, just trying things out and
it works. We actually when I say the signature cast
of caramel is because it's one it's too ingredients that
(33:12):
I know no one is using. Damn. And I researched
my butt. Also, I'm a popcorn connoisseur. I am girl.
So yeah, So definitely, it was just honestly every day
getting all work, Um, cook dinner, and you make some popcorn,
you pop it up and you make some popcorn. You
you mentioned a business coach. I think you might be
(33:34):
one of the first people on the podcast. It could
be completely wrong, but one of the first people to
mention a business coach. So it keeps like triggering me
to be like, why, how, what does that do for you?
Because I have no idea how that works. So talk
a little bit about that for people. UM my business coach,
she actually is. I consider her as one of my sisters.
(33:56):
Um Sydney. How it came about was in the banking community.
She out bakers and I was like, I needed help.
I just needed help with pricing, documentation, contracts and try
to figure that out. And you know see how it
goes about and trying to figure out a way to
make sure I'm running my business the best way I
needed running. And so that's how she came about. That's
what she does for the people on banking community. She
(34:18):
actually is sitting there from sweet Fests. Call her out here.
She helped me. She was one of I say she
was one of the top four because me, my husband,
her and her boyfriend who came up with help us
come up with these pirls. So it's basically a business coach.
I feel like it's someone who is definitely can take
(34:41):
the emotion out of it, um emotion out of it,
and definitely I still today she's one of the definitely
one of the people who are in my ear making
sure I made the correct decisions because we definitely don't
want to do anything wrong. So that's why I got
a business coach. I just thought what this morning? Because
I'm very creative person, so I sometimes I don't know
(35:02):
what's the right business decision. If our opportunity comes up,
I'm gonna jump on it no matter what. And you know,
it went into handling the finances, taxes or anything like that.
So a lot of people don't use it because I
just jumped into this, like I jumped into letely sweet shop,
but I felt like I wasn't getting ahead that basically
I wasn't making the right move. So yeah, well, yeah,
a lot of people are creative, but like you said,
(35:24):
doing the math side of it, that our brains are
not wired like that. If you're creative, you can't do
that side of it. So smart on your part to
get someone to do it, especially early on. So I
think I think that's definitely great advice for people to
don't try to do all of it. If your brain
doesn't work that way, it's not worth it. Right, There's
(35:44):
organizations out there that will help you as well. Luckily
I have her. Sometimes she tells me to do things
and I have a six month delay. It's okay, she
knows me. I'm a little stubborn now, you know. And
you know she actually was the one who created the
website and did a out site for us. So people
like to do things on their own, and so there's
(36:05):
always organizations out there that can help you. If you
don't know about taxes, there's three day if you only
have to payer, so like there's three things out there
to do, you know, just so so I definitely say
if it's something that you are not understanding, because a
lot of times it comes about money, like oh my god,
you know, I don't want to pay for this, I
don't want to do this. I don't want to do this.
(36:25):
But sometimes paying someone is a whole lot cheaper certain yeah,
cheaper mentally and actually yeah, definitely. So where then do
you want k Colonels to be at the end of
this year? So it's twenty nineteen, by the way, for
anyone listening in the future, because podcasting, who knows when
you're gonna be listening. I could be eighty five and
(36:46):
dead at this point exactly. So what is the end?
What do you want for K Colonels then at the
end of because anyone listening to this podcast can absolutely
help you with it. So I'm going to encourage people
to support K Colonels please is yeah? Please? Part you
know you love my personality? Yes, they do. So where
do you sho want to get K Colonels by the
(37:07):
end of this year? By the end of this year,
I definitely want to have us in at least two stores,
maybe a small little space in a storefront where you
can see us every weekend or so. Um. I definitely know,
like physical wise, we're gonna start like popcorn tins, so
scription boxes and like that right there, popcorn tins and
(37:28):
so scription boxes and little things like that. Definitely, I think,
and definitely retail stores. Oh my god, I'm so excited
for you and and the whole family. I don't even
know them, and I'm excited for to see where this
is gonna go for you, and I can't wait to
taste the popcorn. I'm excited to get it. Actually, I'm
actually sending it out tomorrow. It's crazy. We had I
(37:49):
have because of my emails that I were doing, so
I had several people had to send it testing so
they can try the product. I wanted to be on
the testing list. Yes you are, and so they can
try the product. And then also some out of orders
at chuckling in so tomorrow probably almost in definitely I'm
making it tonight and go into the kitchen. That's cool,
(38:10):
all right. I had some extra whiskey in mind. Then
if you're making it to me, I can't answer whiskey.
I don't think it's okay. You're right, You're It's just
a great addition to the Tipsy. You are hilarious, and
we also have our Quode your listeners as well. I'm
so glad that you are doing my job for me
because I'm clearly not. I'm just so excited about getting
(38:31):
my poper code. Carla Murray gets you ten percent off.
It's Kate colonels dot com k E R N E
L s NA. Thank you so much for reaching out.
I appreciate it because and and finding the podcast and
giving me the freaking time of day. So thank you.
You're welcome, no problem, I hope Shanika doesn't mind that
I am going to share this. But after she and
(38:51):
I chatted, after I stopped recording, we continued face timing
and she kind of broke down a little bit, saying
that there was a time where she was going to
quit because she just it wasn't going anywhere, or she
was getting a lot of nose or whatever may be.
And she had emailed me about the podcast, and I
responded to her and this is not at all a
pat on my back. This is just proof that putting
(39:13):
yourself out there, at some point you're going to get
a return. And I responded to her and she said
that it was one of the greatest moments because she
was like, oh my god, someone cares. This person doesn't
even know me and they care about my story. So
now that you have just listened to Shanika, you at
least know her. You support her in any way you can.
Like I say all the time, you may not have
the money to spend on a product, and that is
(39:35):
completely fine, but you can support her by signing up
for a newsletter on the website at k colonels dot com.
You can spread the love, tell friends and family, hey,
you're having a party, get some popcorn, or when the
holidays come and you don't know what to get your
coworker k Colonels dot com. And then, of course there's
always Instagram. It's at k Colonels. You can follow, like share,
(40:00):
send cool pictures to friends that she posts, whatever it
may be. These small businesses are so unbelievably important to
our country. And I'm not getting political at all, but
it is. These are what our country was founded on.
And yeah, we've got big companies and I told Shanika
that I personally will buy from Amazon every day. But
also at the same time, I love supporting local businesses
(40:22):
here in Seattle or local businesses like her and Raleigh.
But it's these small businesses that really have the passion
and the love and they're part of the community. So
support a small business this week today, whatever you can do,
you can always always reach out to me at the
Carla Marie on Instagram. It's side Hustler's podcast at gmail
dot com if you want to reach out about literally anything.
(40:44):
But I love this episode, and I hope you love
Shanika as much as I do, so support her. It's
Kate Colonels dot com. You can listen to my morning
show on I Heart Radio, because yes, that is not
my thought. As my full time job, I host a
morning show called carl La, Marie and Anthony on Kiss
FM Seattle on I Heart Radio or if you're in Seattle,
it's one oh six point one on your dial until
(41:08):
next Monday. Keep Hustling the weekly podcast that started it all.
They just wanted to have fun as they dreamt of
one day having their own morning show, and now they do.
But the tradition continues. Every Friday. My Day Friday with Carla,
(41:30):
Marie and Anthony available worldwide on the I Heart Radio
and kick off your weekend with Carla, Marie and Anthony
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