Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald, interviewed Pinky Cole. If one were to use the words “sexy” and “vegetable” in a sentence, they would probably never be said one after the other. However, the Slutty Vegan’s own Pinky Cole begs to differ as she encourages people to #GetSlutty with her plant-based foods for vegans and meat-lovers alike. Join her as she guests stars on the Money Making Conversations Master Class, and try not to drool as she shares some delicious recipes from her book, “Eat Plants, B****.” In addition to food, Pinky outlines the importance of how betting on yourself, even if the world doesn’t understand the idea that you are trying to create, can lead to significant returns if you have a plan in place that is true to your purpose and what you want to see in your life.
Support the show: https://www.steveharveyfm.com/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you're about to make a change in your life
and you feel uncomfortable, that's the best feeling you can
have because for the first time in your life, you'll making.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
A decision that's going to be best.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
For you and not what somebody told you to do.
And that's when all bets are off. Welcome to Money
Making Conversation Masterclass. I'm your host, Rashaan McDonald. Our theme
is there's no perfect time to start following your dreams.
I recognize that we all have different definitions of success.
For you and maybe the size of your Aham, It's
time to stop reading other people's success stories to start
(00:33):
living your own. Keep winning. My guest is Pinky col
she said Jamaican American entrepreneur and founder of Slutty Vegan,
a plant based burger restaurant chain based in Atlanta, Georgia.
She first became vegan in twenty fourteen and opened her
first Slutdy Vegan food truck specializing in Viggian burgers, in
(00:55):
September of twenty eighteen. I interviewed her in August of
twenty twenty. She was just starting to blow up and
become that national brand. Now she has opened restaurants and
created the Pinky Cold Foundation, which seeks to empower generations
of color to win in life financially in the pursuit
of their entrepreneurial goals. Please welcome the Money Making Conversation Masterclass,
the One and Only Pinky Coal.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Well, you know, I better.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Right, I better be right you. You? You all over
the good place.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Some people could be all over the place, but you
all over the good place. Pinky, tell me what's going on,
young lady.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Oh my goodness, I got so much good stuff going on.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
First of all, it's so good to make your acquaintance again,
and just to be here, so it amaans that I've
been consistent here. I got so much great things going on.
You know, if if you have been living under a rock,
I grace the cover.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Of Essence, Nag stop me.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I should have started with that. Come on, now, rushall,
slap yourself.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
I saw you on the cover. Now see I'm a
little bit older than you. Okay, Now we talked Piky Cole.
She was on cover Essen Jap. Now that is something
you started an interview with now, Because I grew up,
I grew up in the Jet magazine and the Ebony era.
You know when you was on the cover of Ebony Jet,
you know you that was like and see and I'd
like to believe that Essence is that magazine level that
(02:18):
I grew up the Jet magazine and the Ebony magazine
and so so when you got on the cover of
Eboney and Jet, family, friend, enemy a girlfriendhod, everybody wanted
to be next to you. Now tell me what, tell
me how it came about, and tell me the experience
and what did it do to your brand? Piky Cole
being on the cover of Essence magazine, the number one
(02:40):
African American female magazine in the world.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
So John, I manifested it like I always said that
I'm gonna be able to cover, Like, how are you
gonna do that? You ain't no celebrity. I said, I
am going to be on the cover. And I knew
it in my spirit because I kept saying it, and
you know, oftentimes when you say those things, those things
become real. So every opportunity that I got when I
got around the Essence folks, I talked about it.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
I got on their nerves about it. Hey, I'm going
to be on Essence. When is my day?
Speaker 3 (03:09):
So I finally got the opportunity to talk to the
CEO of Ritchie Lu Dennis, and I told him the
idea that I wanted to do. I said, listen, I said,
y'all always have celebrities on the cover. Now is the
time to put entrepreneurs on the cover who are disrupting
the industries that they're in, so you can show a
different light of people who are making it and moving
and shaking love. The idea didn't happen when I wanted
(03:32):
it to happen, but it happened exactly when it was
supposed to. And I'm so excited about that opportunity because
Essence really shifted my brand to a new level, right
like it exposed me to people who have never heard
of Sludy Began before.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
And even if you didn't want to know about Study.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Begon, you learned about Pinky col you learned about some
entrepreneurs in Atlanta that are moving and shaking, that are
the millionaires next door, and it really raised the stock up.
You know what they say, yesterday's prices not todays right,
don't raise the sock. And I'm just so happy at
all of the opportunities and doors that have been opened
because of essence, and you know, that was a life
(04:10):
changing opportunity and I'm just so grateful to be able
to have been a part of that.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Well, first of all, it was life changing, but it
also was a fan because I'm a fan and you
have a lot of fans, and so because you know
you are are like I said, you know, you come
like regular You regular folks, and when regular folks become successful,
as dreamers, we see as being possible. And I think
that that's that has always been your guide, That has
(04:36):
always been the plan to let regular people, every day
people know that through hard work, faith and proper planning,
you can win too.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Talk about that, listen.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
I've always been a dreamer and I've always been a believer.
When people see me, they see hope, and just like
you said, they see the possibility that all things can
happen if you really have confidence in yourself and you
really have that level of drive and that drive you
can't pay for that, right like that's born in you,
within you, like you developed that with experience and with time.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So when people see me, I'm not just doing this
for myself. I'm doing this for my family.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
I'm doing this for the people who want to be
entrepreneurs like me, who want to have restaurants like me.
And I'm showing you that that, yes, nothing is impossible.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
You can literally meet a girl from around the way.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
I'm from East Baltimore, got lots in my head. I
don't look like the typical person that you see on
National TV. But guess what, I'm shifting the atmosphere and
showing you that you can look like, be like, talk
like whatever you want to be like, and you can
still make it as long as you have comfort and knowing.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
That you can do all the things that you put
your mind to. And that's just how I am.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Look, I woke up, I got on a T shirt
and some sweatpants, and I'm doing an interview with you,
And I got big interviews all day, and I'm showing
people that you ain't got.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
To fit the status quo. You can do everything that
you want.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
To do as long as you be yourself, your true
authentic self, and being your true authentic self will get
you a long way.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
This is a great year. Twenty twenty two has been
a great year. Like I said, it's been clearly two years. Okay,
cover essence. You know you did the graduation speech at
Clark Atland University. Talk about the whole process of gifting
those LLCs, so people from an entrepreneur understand exactly what
you did because you know, you just on the outside,
(06:22):
you really don't know. But it's like putting young people
in a position to understand how to be business owners.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Well, you know, first of all, doing Clarktland University's commencement
was a dream come true.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
So many dream coming truths this year. Right.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
I went to Clarktland University. I graduated thirteen years ago.
And when I got the opportunity to be the commencement speaker,
and I'm like, I have to do something that's going
to resident. See.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
I gotta stop you something because you just blow pass,
like like we blue past that essence covering what is
the backstore? See, I gotta get backstory on you because
you got so much going on. Your backstore is as
great as the actually accomplishment. Talk about the backstory of
them calling you and then you really realize it's happening,
because that's the ultimate to graduate from a school and
(07:09):
then come back and do the commitment speed they give
a pahd to give honors and all that good stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
You know. It's interesting because I actually was invited to
do Morse Brown's commencement as well. So I was slated
to do Morris Brown and Clark Atlanta University. Fortunately, but
unfortunately I was only able to do one. So obviously
I'm gonna pick my alma mater. But shout out to
Morris Brown, they just got their accreditation. Shout out to
doctor James. That was just an amazing to be able
(07:37):
to have options, right, Like not many people can say
that they got options.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
They got to choose what.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Commission they want to do for historic institutions.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Historic to be able to have to make hard choices
like that, I'm like, okay, I'm on the right path.
So when I got the opportunity to do SAU, it
was a no brainer. Like, I love my institution. I'm
always putting on for my school. I'm always telling people
about why you need to go CAU and why people
need to support historically black colleges and universities.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And as a thirty four year old woman who has.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
A mass so much success in a short amount of time,
we all believe that I can really speak to the
students in a way that a seventy five eighty five
year old couldn't rhen it comes to commencement speeches and
no shade or disrespect to the people who come and
have the wisdom. But I feel like I could offer
a different level of wisdom for those students. And it
(08:28):
was eight hundred and twenty four of those students, and
I said, you know what, I need to figure.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Out a way to be able to show.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
These children that you can literally take something so small
and walking to this journey and do all the things
that you want to do.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
And that was with LLC. So how I came up
with the idea.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
I'm like, I want to put these people on a
path to entrepreneurship right when you graduate from college. Oftentimes
many of us do not have a plan. I did
not have a plan at all. And because I didn't
have a plan, I had to go through some hiccups
along the way, go through some speed bumps. But I'm
so happy that I had to go through those things
because then I became an expert. And as an expert,
(09:07):
I was talking directly to these students and telling them, listen,
you're going to fail, but failing ain't failing at all.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
It is fine.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
And aspiration and the losses and I'm going to help
you find success and all the things that you want
to do, but I'm gonna set you up on a
path to entrepreneurship. Whether you want to be an entrepreneur
or not, but this is an opportunity for you to
really jump start your legacy, build generational wealth, even if
you want to work a nine to five. And I'm
excited about the response that it got because what it
(09:37):
showed is is no, I'm not paying all of your tuition.
But what I'm going to do is I'm going to
put you in position that if you have something that
you've been thinking about, if you have something that's been
making your belly leap, now is the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
To move on it. Because I literally gave you the
baton to say, hey, here you go, go run.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
I'm paying for it and I'm hoping hopefully they get
to pay it forward too.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
That felt really, really good.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations master Class hosted by Rashaan McDonald.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
You know and that journey of figuring yourself out because
you became a vegan in twenty fourteen. What made that
transition to say I can become an entrepreneur too based
on whatever my lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Well, you know, I grew.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Up in a vegetarian household, So the transition wasn't as
hard as a lot of people think because I grew
up in a world where we eat an eye to food,
rice and peas every day. Like I didn't grow up
eating cheeseburgers and fries. Like I didn't grow up going
to McDonald's.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That was a treatment.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
That's where you got that pretty skin, the pinky stay
away from the fries and all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Yeah, I didn't grow up eating I didn't even grow
up eating candy. But you know, I attributed to my
mother because she's a Rastafarian. So I grew up with
a very natural mom who didn't wear makeup, she she
didn't shave.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
She was very natural eating, like, very holistic.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
So in two thousand and seven, actually I stopped eating
meat all together, so I was just eating fish and
then in twenty fourteen, I decided to go vegan. And
I know the difference because my first restaurant was called
Pinky's Jamaican and American restaurant.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
And I sold your chicken. I sold, I sell and
I said all the foods I did not eat, but
I was lying.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
To the people telling them that it tastes good, like, hey,
you should try this, this is good.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
But I didn't eat that.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
So when I realized with something that I would never
do again, I was not in alignment with my purpose,
I wasn't being honest, and my business didn't succeed because
of that, and I had a grease fire and I
lost everything.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
And when I got it back, I got.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
It back through Sludy Vegan because I was literally walking
in my purpose and walking in my assignment. I am
fully vegan. I like to give my vegan my friends
vegan food. I like to have them try to see
if they could see the difference. And now I get
to capitalize off my lifestyle by having a business and
using my platform and resources to help people.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Fort to reimagine food.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
And that is why my business has been able to
be so successful and work because I'm walking in my path,
I in lying to the people, I'm being.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
My authentic self and it just works.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
And I'm happy that I get to do what I
love and get paid to do what I love.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Now eat Plants b I T H mouth water and
photographs and easy to follow instruction Eat Plants b I
T eight celebrate Cole's belief that it's fun and as
sensible of cooking and your irresistible vegan comfort food from
offer Collar egg rolls, which sounds amazing to her Black
peak coliflower, coliflower pull, boar, pull boar. It says ninety one.
(12:40):
Why ninety one is that they just counting ainty one
that you know, because you always have a method to
your madness. It's ninety one in particular as a particular number.
Why you said ninety one? It was just ninety one recipes.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Ninety one was just a sweet spot. He had kinds
of recipes. But I'm the person that I want the
best of the best, and it was about quality not
so yeah, we had.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Some more recipes. Ninety one was just a number. It
just really just like it was just a really good
sweet spot for like the best recipes. I wanted the best.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
And this cookbook specifically is not just for the vegan.
It's for the person who likes to eat meat. There
you go, this is the person that just liked really
really good food. So I wanted to make sure that
all the recipes that were in the book were good recipes,
whether you were vegan or not. You know, oftentimes we
have a misconception that if it's vegan, it don't taste good,
(13:30):
it's playing the slaver. Ain't good Like, I wanted to
eliminate all of that and just make a really good
cookbook that serves really good food. And as long as
you can read and you can follow directions, you can
really make these really, really good recipes.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
The thing about it is that so many people champion you,
and I think that I just love you as a person.
I love you as an entrepreneur. You're so spirited. Where
is that coming from? You mentioned your mom, But it
also has to be your surrounding people around you who
are also believe in you.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
I think it's partially that I've always had this and
it may sound weird, but.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
I believe in good karma. I believe when you show
up in the world as a good person, the world
is going to.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Come back and be good to you. And I live
my life very honest. I don't lie, I don't still,
I don't cheat. When I lay my head down at night,
my conscience is clear because I'm very fair across the board,
and I do right by people, and I give back
and I pay it forward. And because I do those things, one,
my blessings just keep unfolding for me. And two, I
(14:35):
know that the universe sees me and God is blessing
me because of how I live my life and how
I'm a model that you can be a good person
and you can still get all the things that you
want and you ain't got to be mischievous.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
You don't have to do any of that.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
So I realized at a very young age that I
had a gift, and I didn't quite know what that
gift was, but I.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Knew that I wanted to make an impact in the world.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
As a kid watching Golden Girls with my grandmother and.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
You know what I'm saying, like being really in the.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Trenches with some old folks, and I realized that I
knew that there was something special about me that I
could give to the world. And I just literally lived
my life like that all of the time. Am I perfect?
Absolutely mine? I ain't gonna sit here and say I am.
I'm not the perfect CEO. Sometimes I might not be
the perfect spouse. I might not even be the perfect
mother sometimes, but I do the very best that I can,
(15:22):
and I realize that when you show up as a good,
wholehearted person, the universe will reward you and you will
get all the things that you pray about every single day.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I'm gonna tell you, I'm ask you just quoting Pete
am I looking at the modern day Oprah Winford.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
You know what's so funny?
Speaker 3 (15:39):
A lot of people which is a very big compliment,
almost too big for me.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I'm trying to catch up, but a lot.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Of people say that you know, and I'm like, it's
such an honor to even be associated with somebody of
that caliber. That to me feels great, and that tells
me that one s Okay, Pinky, you got a big
responsibility here because there's a lot the little girls and
little boys looking up to you. So everything that I do,
I have to make sure that not only am I
responsible for myself, I'm also responsible for how I show
(16:09):
up because there's so many people watching me. So I
will take that compliment as often as you want to
give it, I will take it.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
We will take it because I'm just saying, is that
I just see you on television, I just see you
in that medium. And because of the fact the reason
I say that Oprah had something to say, that's why
she was successful, That's why she still is successful. She's articulous,
she was smart. She also graduated over a HBCU, but
also a person who had a background that that that
(16:37):
that was constantly moving forward, constantly moving forward. In fact,
you like to me, you're ahead of Oprah when she
was when she broke out. So you have a resume
of being able to teach. You're teaching people, You're delivering
a message. And I just say that, are you the
modern day version of Oprah because of the fact that
we all have messengers at different levels, and I see
(16:59):
you as a messenger. This is a leap from two thousand,
twenty twenty when we first met, which I knew you
before that, But I see I'm more polished. I see
a much more enlightening lightning you. Usually you feel happier too,
and I saying you weren't happy, then talk to me, girl.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I am in love. I'm happy. I got good people
around me. You know, it's a difference when.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
You have a good team, when you got people that
genuinely love you and don't.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Want nothing from me. But want you to succeed and
want you to win.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
And I'm very intentional about who I am inviting into
my circle these days. And I'm just living freely. You know,
the last time that I interviewed with you, I was
still in the kitchen. I was flipping burgers, shaking friess,
I was being the janitor, I was being hr I
was doing all those things. And while I was doing well,
I was hustling backwards because I wasn't properly delegating my
(17:50):
business in order for it to grow in the way
that we did to grow. And as soon as I
stepped outside of my business and started delegating and finding
the right talent to help the business grow, I see
the shift in my attitude and and my energy and
also in my business.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So I'm at a really really good place right now.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
So before we shift out here, the first book Eat
Plants b I t H. I can't say the word,
but it's right there that the little Astra native went vegan.
Recipes that will blow your meat loving mind. Find This
book is Pinky Coal. It's Simon Schuster, and I'm just
gonna tell y'all fans of hers, that's how you become
number one. I've been fortunate in my life to deliver
(18:27):
three number one New York Times bestseller and the way
you get there if you want are a fan of
Pinky Cold and you want a great book, Like I said,
I like desserts, I like meat, but I'm buying this
book because I like good food and of recipes. We
can't discuss it now, the recipes because you know, give
aay the recipe why you're gonna buy the book. But
what we can do is say, you know a history,
(18:49):
you know honesty. Her book is worth buying because I'm
gonna buy it. But again, Pinky, you know, two years
was too long, but it's been firm, watching the growth
and watching the journey.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Thank you so much again to have me. And I
cannot wait till you come to say week.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
And come hey baby, I'm there. I'm seriously, I really,
I'm committed. In fact, I went to the one I
went to the one over off of I think the.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Loot Oh yeah experience.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Yeah, I see your boyer about that location because he
in bitness. See I'm snuck in behind him. Yeah excellent,
I see. But I said, when I again, I'm like you,
I try to be authentic. I don't try to just
talk to people when I and and just say nice things.
I've experienced your brand. I love what you're doing and
I and you represent positivity. And I kid you not.
(19:42):
You are our Oprah of this era. And don't don't
walk away from that, don't stumble. You will be on TV,
young lady, and you are going to be a bigger
are Okay?
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I received that. Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
Thank you for joining us for this edition of Money
Making Conversations Masterclass. Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rushan MacDonald
is produced by thirty eight to fifteen Media Inc. More
information about thirty eight to fifteen Media Inc. Is available
at thirty eight fifteen media dot com. And always remember
to lead with your gifts
If you're about to make a change in your life
and you feel uncomfortable, that's the best feeling you can
have because for the first time in your life, you'll making.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
A decision that's going to be best.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
For you and not what somebody told you to do.
And that's when all bets are off. Welcome to Money
Making Conversation Masterclass. I'm your host, Rashaan McDonald. Our theme
is there's no perfect time to start following your dreams.
I recognize that we all have different definitions of success.
For you and maybe the size of your Aham, It's
time to stop reading other people's success stories to start
(00:33):
living your own. Keep winning. My guest is Pinky col
she said Jamaican American entrepreneur and founder of Slutty Vegan,
a plant based burger restaurant chain based in Atlanta, Georgia.
She first became vegan in twenty fourteen and opened her
first Slutdy Vegan food truck specializing in Viggian burgers, in
(00:55):
September of twenty eighteen. I interviewed her in August of
twenty twenty. She was just starting to blow up and
become that national brand. Now she has opened restaurants and
created the Pinky Cold Foundation, which seeks to empower generations
of color to win in life financially in the pursuit
of their entrepreneurial goals. Please welcome the Money Making Conversation Masterclass,
the One and Only Pinky Coal.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Well, you know, I better.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Right, I better be right you. You? You all over
the good place.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Some people could be all over the place, but you
all over the good place. Pinky, tell me what's going on,
young lady.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Oh my goodness, I got so much good stuff going on.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
First of all, it's so good to make your acquaintance again,
and just to be here, so it amaans that I've
been consistent here. I got so much great things going on.
You know, if if you have been living under a rock,
I grace the cover.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Of Essence, Nag stop me.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I should have started with that. Come on, now, rushall,
slap yourself.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
I saw you on the cover. Now see I'm a
little bit older than you. Okay, Now we talked Piky Cole.
She was on cover Essen Jap. Now that is something
you started an interview with now, Because I grew up,
I grew up in the Jet magazine and the Ebony era.
You know when you was on the cover of Ebony Jet,
you know you that was like and see and I'd
like to believe that Essence is that magazine level that
(02:18):
I grew up the Jet magazine and the Ebony magazine
and so so when you got on the cover of
Eboney and Jet, family, friend, enemy a girlfriendhod, everybody wanted
to be next to you. Now tell me what, tell
me how it came about, and tell me the experience
and what did it do to your brand? Piky Cole
being on the cover of Essence magazine, the number one
(02:40):
African American female magazine in the world.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
So John, I manifested it like I always said that
I'm gonna be able to cover, Like, how are you
gonna do that? You ain't no celebrity. I said, I
am going to be on the cover. And I knew
it in my spirit because I kept saying it, and
you know, oftentimes when you say those things, those things
become real. So every opportunity that I got when I
got around the Essence folks, I talked about it.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
I got on their nerves about it. Hey, I'm going
to be on Essence. When is my day?
Speaker 3 (03:09):
So I finally got the opportunity to talk to the
CEO of Ritchie Lu Dennis, and I told him the
idea that I wanted to do. I said, listen, I said,
y'all always have celebrities on the cover. Now is the
time to put entrepreneurs on the cover who are disrupting
the industries that they're in, so you can show a
different light of people who are making it and moving
and shaking love. The idea didn't happen when I wanted
(03:32):
it to happen, but it happened exactly when it was
supposed to. And I'm so excited about that opportunity because
Essence really shifted my brand to a new level, right
like it exposed me to people who have never heard
of Sludy Began before.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
And even if you didn't want to know about Study.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Begon, you learned about Pinky col you learned about some
entrepreneurs in Atlanta that are moving and shaking, that are
the millionaires next door, and it really raised the stock up.
You know what they say, yesterday's prices not todays right,
don't raise the sock. And I'm just so happy at
all of the opportunities and doors that have been opened
because of essence, and you know, that was a life
(04:10):
changing opportunity and I'm just so grateful to be able
to have been a part of that.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Well, first of all, it was life changing, but it
also was a fan because I'm a fan and you
have a lot of fans, and so because you know
you are are like I said, you know, you come
like regular You regular folks, and when regular folks become successful,
as dreamers, we see as being possible. And I think
that that's that has always been your guide, That has
(04:36):
always been the plan to let regular people, every day
people know that through hard work, faith and proper planning,
you can win too.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Talk about that, listen.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
I've always been a dreamer and I've always been a believer.
When people see me, they see hope, and just like
you said, they see the possibility that all things can
happen if you really have confidence in yourself and you
really have that level of drive and that drive you
can't pay for that, right like that's born in you,
within you, like you developed that with experience and with time.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So when people see me, I'm not just doing this
for myself. I'm doing this for my family.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
I'm doing this for the people who want to be
entrepreneurs like me, who want to have restaurants like me.
And I'm showing you that that, yes, nothing is impossible.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
You can literally meet a girl from around the way.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
I'm from East Baltimore, got lots in my head. I
don't look like the typical person that you see on
National TV. But guess what, I'm shifting the atmosphere and
showing you that you can look like, be like, talk
like whatever you want to be like, and you can
still make it as long as you have comfort and knowing.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
That you can do all the things that you put
your mind to. And that's just how I am.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Look, I woke up, I got on a T shirt
and some sweatpants, and I'm doing an interview with you,
And I got big interviews all day, and I'm showing
people that you ain't got.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
To fit the status quo. You can do everything that
you want.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
To do as long as you be yourself, your true
authentic self, and being your true authentic self will get
you a long way.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
This is a great year. Twenty twenty two has been
a great year. Like I said, it's been clearly two years. Okay,
cover essence. You know you did the graduation speech at
Clark Atland University. Talk about the whole process of gifting
those LLCs, so people from an entrepreneur understand exactly what
you did because you know, you just on the outside,
(06:22):
you really don't know. But it's like putting young people
in a position to understand how to be business owners.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Well, you know, first of all, doing Clarktland University's commencement
was a dream come true.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
So many dream coming truths this year. Right.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
I went to Clarktland University. I graduated thirteen years ago.
And when I got the opportunity to be the commencement speaker,
and I'm like, I have to do something that's going
to resident. See.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
I gotta stop you something because you just blow pass,
like like we blue past that essence covering what is
the backstore? See, I gotta get backstory on you because
you got so much going on. Your backstore is as
great as the actually accomplishment. Talk about the backstory of
them calling you and then you really realize it's happening,
because that's the ultimate to graduate from a school and
(07:09):
then come back and do the commitment speed they give
a pahd to give honors and all that good stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
You know. It's interesting because I actually was invited to
do Morse Brown's commencement as well. So I was slated
to do Morris Brown and Clark Atlanta University. Fortunately, but
unfortunately I was only able to do one. So obviously
I'm gonna pick my alma mater. But shout out to
Morris Brown, they just got their accreditation. Shout out to
doctor James. That was just an amazing to be able
(07:37):
to have options, right, Like not many people can say
that they got options.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
They got to choose what.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Commission they want to do for historic institutions.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Historic to be able to have to make hard choices
like that, I'm like, okay, I'm on the right path.
So when I got the opportunity to do SAU, it
was a no brainer. Like, I love my institution. I'm
always putting on for my school. I'm always telling people
about why you need to go CAU and why people
need to support historically black colleges and universities.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And as a thirty four year old woman who has.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
A mass so much success in a short amount of time,
we all believe that I can really speak to the
students in a way that a seventy five eighty five
year old couldn't rhen it comes to commencement speeches and
no shade or disrespect to the people who come and
have the wisdom. But I feel like I could offer
a different level of wisdom for those students. And it
(08:28):
was eight hundred and twenty four of those students, and
I said, you know what, I need to figure.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Out a way to be able to show.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
These children that you can literally take something so small
and walking to this journey and do all the things
that you want to do.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
And that was with LLC. So how I came up
with the idea.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
I'm like, I want to put these people on a
path to entrepreneurship right when you graduate from college. Oftentimes
many of us do not have a plan. I did
not have a plan at all. And because I didn't
have a plan, I had to go through some hiccups
along the way, go through some speed bumps. But I'm
so happy that I had to go through those things
because then I became an expert. And as an expert,
(09:07):
I was talking directly to these students and telling them, listen,
you're going to fail, but failing ain't failing at all.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
It is fine.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
And aspiration and the losses and I'm going to help
you find success and all the things that you want
to do, but I'm gonna set you up on a
path to entrepreneurship. Whether you want to be an entrepreneur
or not, but this is an opportunity for you to
really jump start your legacy, build generational wealth, even if
you want to work a nine to five. And I'm
excited about the response that it got because what it
(09:37):
showed is is no, I'm not paying all of your tuition.
But what I'm going to do is I'm going to
put you in position that if you have something that
you've been thinking about, if you have something that's been
making your belly leap, now is the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
To move on it. Because I literally gave you the
baton to say, hey, here you go, go run.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
I'm paying for it and I'm hoping hopefully they get
to pay it forward too.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
That felt really, really good.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations master Class hosted by Rashaan McDonald.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
You know and that journey of figuring yourself out because
you became a vegan in twenty fourteen. What made that
transition to say I can become an entrepreneur too based
on whatever my lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Well, you know, I grew.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Up in a vegetarian household, So the transition wasn't as
hard as a lot of people think because I grew
up in a world where we eat an eye to food,
rice and peas every day. Like I didn't grow up
eating cheeseburgers and fries. Like I didn't grow up going
to McDonald's.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That was a treatment.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
That's where you got that pretty skin, the pinky stay
away from the fries and all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Yeah, I didn't grow up eating I didn't even grow
up eating candy. But you know, I attributed to my
mother because she's a Rastafarian. So I grew up with
a very natural mom who didn't wear makeup, she she
didn't shave.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
She was very natural eating, like, very holistic.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
So in two thousand and seven, actually I stopped eating
meat all together, so I was just eating fish and
then in twenty fourteen, I decided to go vegan. And
I know the difference because my first restaurant was called
Pinky's Jamaican and American restaurant.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
And I sold your chicken. I sold, I sell and
I said all the foods I did not eat, but
I was lying.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
To the people telling them that it tastes good, like, hey,
you should try this, this is good.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
But I didn't eat that.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
So when I realized with something that I would never
do again, I was not in alignment with my purpose,
I wasn't being honest, and my business didn't succeed because
of that, and I had a grease fire and I
lost everything.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
And when I got it back, I got.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
It back through Sludy Vegan because I was literally walking
in my purpose and walking in my assignment. I am
fully vegan. I like to give my vegan my friends
vegan food. I like to have them try to see
if they could see the difference. And now I get
to capitalize off my lifestyle by having a business and
using my platform and resources to help people.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Fort to reimagine food.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
And that is why my business has been able to
be so successful and work because I'm walking in my path,
I in lying to the people, I'm being.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
My authentic self and it just works.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
And I'm happy that I get to do what I
love and get paid to do what I love.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Now eat Plants b I T H mouth water and
photographs and easy to follow instruction Eat Plants b I
T eight celebrate Cole's belief that it's fun and as
sensible of cooking and your irresistible vegan comfort food from
offer Collar egg rolls, which sounds amazing to her Black
peak coliflower, coliflower pull, boar, pull boar. It says ninety one.
(12:40):
Why ninety one is that they just counting ainty one
that you know, because you always have a method to
your madness. It's ninety one in particular as a particular number.
Why you said ninety one? It was just ninety one recipes.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Ninety one was just a sweet spot. He had kinds
of recipes. But I'm the person that I want the
best of the best, and it was about quality not
so yeah, we had.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Some more recipes. Ninety one was just a number. It
just really just like it was just a really good
sweet spot for like the best recipes. I wanted the best.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
And this cookbook specifically is not just for the vegan.
It's for the person who likes to eat meat. There
you go, this is the person that just liked really
really good food. So I wanted to make sure that
all the recipes that were in the book were good recipes,
whether you were vegan or not. You know, oftentimes we
have a misconception that if it's vegan, it don't taste good,
(13:30):
it's playing the slaver. Ain't good Like, I wanted to
eliminate all of that and just make a really good
cookbook that serves really good food. And as long as
you can read and you can follow directions, you can
really make these really, really good recipes.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
The thing about it is that so many people champion you,
and I think that I just love you as a person.
I love you as an entrepreneur. You're so spirited. Where
is that coming from? You mentioned your mom, But it
also has to be your surrounding people around you who
are also believe in you.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
I think it's partially that I've always had this and
it may sound weird, but.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
I believe in good karma. I believe when you show
up in the world as a good person, the world
is going to.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Come back and be good to you. And I live
my life very honest. I don't lie, I don't still,
I don't cheat. When I lay my head down at night,
my conscience is clear because I'm very fair across the board,
and I do right by people, and I give back
and I pay it forward. And because I do those things, one,
my blessings just keep unfolding for me. And two, I
(14:35):
know that the universe sees me and God is blessing
me because of how I live my life and how
I'm a model that you can be a good person
and you can still get all the things that you
want and you ain't got to be mischievous.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
You don't have to do any of that.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
So I realized at a very young age that I
had a gift, and I didn't quite know what that
gift was, but I.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Knew that I wanted to make an impact in the world.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
As a kid watching Golden Girls with my grandmother and.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
You know what I'm saying, like being really in the.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Trenches with some old folks, and I realized that I
knew that there was something special about me that I
could give to the world. And I just literally lived
my life like that all of the time. Am I perfect?
Absolutely mine? I ain't gonna sit here and say I am.
I'm not the perfect CEO. Sometimes I might not be
the perfect spouse. I might not even be the perfect
mother sometimes, but I do the very best that I can,
(15:22):
and I realize that when you show up as a good,
wholehearted person, the universe will reward you and you will
get all the things that you pray about every single day.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I'm gonna tell you, I'm ask you just quoting Pete
am I looking at the modern day Oprah Winford.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
You know what's so funny?
Speaker 3 (15:39):
A lot of people which is a very big compliment,
almost too big for me.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I'm trying to catch up, but a lot.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Of people say that you know, and I'm like, it's
such an honor to even be associated with somebody of
that caliber. That to me feels great, and that tells
me that one s Okay, Pinky, you got a big
responsibility here because there's a lot the little girls and
little boys looking up to you. So everything that I do,
I have to make sure that not only am I
responsible for myself, I'm also responsible for how I show
(16:09):
up because there's so many people watching me. So I
will take that compliment as often as you want to
give it, I will take it.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
We will take it because I'm just saying, is that
I just see you on television, I just see you
in that medium. And because of the fact the reason
I say that Oprah had something to say, that's why
she was successful, That's why she still is successful. She's articulous,
she was smart. She also graduated over a HBCU, but
also a person who had a background that that that
(16:37):
that was constantly moving forward, constantly moving forward. In fact,
you like to me, you're ahead of Oprah when she
was when she broke out. So you have a resume
of being able to teach. You're teaching people, You're delivering
a message. And I just say that, are you the
modern day version of Oprah because of the fact that
we all have messengers at different levels, and I see
(16:59):
you as a messenger. This is a leap from two thousand,
twenty twenty when we first met, which I knew you
before that, But I see I'm more polished. I see
a much more enlightening lightning you. Usually you feel happier too,
and I saying you weren't happy, then talk to me, girl.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I am in love. I'm happy. I got good people
around me. You know, it's a difference when.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
You have a good team, when you got people that
genuinely love you and don't.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Want nothing from me. But want you to succeed and
want you to win.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
And I'm very intentional about who I am inviting into
my circle these days. And I'm just living freely. You know,
the last time that I interviewed with you, I was
still in the kitchen. I was flipping burgers, shaking friess,
I was being the janitor, I was being hr I
was doing all those things. And while I was doing well,
I was hustling backwards because I wasn't properly delegating my
(17:50):
business in order for it to grow in the way
that we did to grow. And as soon as I
stepped outside of my business and started delegating and finding
the right talent to help the business grow, I see
the shift in my attitude and and my energy and
also in my business.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So I'm at a really really good place right now.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
So before we shift out here, the first book Eat
Plants b I t H. I can't say the word,
but it's right there that the little Astra native went vegan.
Recipes that will blow your meat loving mind. Find This
book is Pinky Coal. It's Simon Schuster, and I'm just
gonna tell y'all fans of hers, that's how you become
number one. I've been fortunate in my life to deliver
(18:27):
three number one New York Times bestseller and the way
you get there if you want are a fan of
Pinky Cold and you want a great book, Like I said,
I like desserts, I like meat, but I'm buying this
book because I like good food and of recipes. We
can't discuss it now, the recipes because you know, give
aay the recipe why you're gonna buy the book. But
what we can do is say, you know a history,
(18:49):
you know honesty. Her book is worth buying because I'm
gonna buy it. But again, Pinky, you know, two years
was too long, but it's been firm, watching the growth
and watching the journey.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Thank you so much again to have me. And I
cannot wait till you come to say week.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
And come hey baby, I'm there. I'm seriously, I really,
I'm committed. In fact, I went to the one I
went to the one over off of I think the.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Loot Oh yeah experience.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Yeah, I see your boyer about that location because he
in bitness. See I'm snuck in behind him. Yeah excellent,
I see. But I said, when I again, I'm like you,
I try to be authentic. I don't try to just
talk to people when I and and just say nice things.
I've experienced your brand. I love what you're doing and
I and you represent positivity. And I kid you not.
(19:42):
You are our Oprah of this era. And don't don't
walk away from that, don't stumble. You will be on TV,
young lady, and you are going to be a bigger
are Okay?
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I received that. Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
Thank you for joining us for this edition of Money
Making Conversations Masterclass. Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rushan MacDonald
is produced by thirty eight to fifteen Media Inc. More
information about thirty eight to fifteen Media Inc. Is available
at thirty eight fifteen media dot com. And always remember
to lead with your gifts
The Steve Harvey Morning Show News
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.