Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Derrick "D" Hayes.
The man behind Big Dave's Cheesesteaks. Born and raised in a tough neighborhood in West Philadelphia, Derrick didn't let his circumstances define him. He started small, launching Big Dave's Cheesesteaks out of a tiny gas station, but his vision was anything but small. Now, Big Dave's is an Atlanta institution, serving up some of the best cheesesteaks in the country. Celebrities, athletes, and everyday food lovers flock to his restaurants for a taste of his signature flavors. But Derrick's success isn't just about business it's about community. During the pandemic, he stepped up, giving back by providing meals to those in need. His story is one of resilience, hard work, and a commitment to excellence. Tune in as we break down how he turned a humble start into a thriving empire.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
I am Rashan McDonald, a host the weekly Money Making
Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show
provides are for everyone. It's time to stop reading other
people's success stories and start living your own.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
If you want to be a guest on my.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Show, please visit our website, Moneymakingconversations dot com and click.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
The be a Guest button.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Press submit and information will come directly to me. Now
let's get this show started. Welcome to Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
I am your host, Rashan McDonald. I recognize that we
all have different definitions of success. For you, it may
be the size of your paycheck. Mine is inspiring people
to accomplish their goals and live their very best life.
It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and
(00:42):
really start writing your own. People always talk about your
purpose a gift. If you have a gift, lead with
your gift and don't let your friends, family, or coworker
stop you from planning or living your dreams. My guest
today is Derek D.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Hayes.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
He was recently featured on the cover of Essence magazine.
His vision for his rest trunk, Big Dave's cheesecake beginning
in twenty fourteen, as he aimed to merge his passion
for community, food and business in seven a half roughly
seven hundred fifty square food shell gas station in Dunwoodie, Georgia.
Since twenty sixteen has generated nationally on Big Day's Cheesecake.
(01:16):
If you've not been there, I recommend you go there.
He's right down the street from my business. My staff,
they need, they need to have stock in these business
that's how much they go.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
There.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
A thriving cheesecake empower with store and mobile locations all
across Metro Atlanta. Hayes is also the founder of Dave
and Dereck Hayes Foundation and co owner of vegan cheesecake
concept Dinkies with Sludy Vegan Atlanta CEO and vegan restaurant
phenom Pinky col In twenty twenty one, Hayes' passion for
community and food landing him an illustrious spot as a
(01:47):
Forbes twenty twenty one next one thousand on a rate.
Let's discuss this journey into Big Dave's Cheesecake, being a
community leader, being bigger than food. Please Welcome to Money
Making Conversations Masterclass Derek d Hayes, how you doing.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Sir, I'm good man.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
Thank you so much, mister Rashan McDonald for having me man,
I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Brother, hey man, had I had to lay it out
there for you, Derek, because you know, because.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Now you did man, that was good.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
You know sometimes hearing that you know the stuff that
you did, you know along the way, it feels good.
You know, Ah, your heart wreak. You know somebody else
is honering it. So it's always a blessing.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Well, the thing about it is you should be because
sometimes I have a segment I do a local show
or bust show syndicates, and I do it live every Tuesday.
I love to invite you on it, by the way,
on w CLK every Tuesday, and it's called a bragging segment,
and I encourage people to call in and talk about
what they've done. Because we tend to be too humble
about our business. I always encourage people to remind them that,
(02:43):
you know, McDonald brags for brags, and we need to
brag about what we do. So everything that you have
accomplished is part of your success story. Is not what
we see when we get that sandwich, because that cheesecakes
that which because what happens was there's a journey to
get there. So how did I hit the date? Twenty fourteen?
I hear the small gas station. I hear seven hundred
(03:04):
and fifty square feet, which is the size of my
apartment in college.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
So I know what that feels like.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
So talk to us about it, because obviously there was
a walk kid, that wasn't a sit down diner. Tell
us about the whole concept of what you have turned
into an empire so far and it's growing.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Well, well, first I want to start off with saying
the mission and you know, and the honor was my father.
You know, that was everything. That the reason why I
built big days. He passed away from lung cancer in
two thousand and nine, and my dad dying wish was
for me to you know, stand on my own ten
toes and change my generational patterns and you know, not
(03:44):
to get in trouble.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
And you know, he.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
Worked his whole life and he thought he left a
lot behind and he didn't. So I was able to
see a blue collar working my whole life and now
transpiring to me building my brand and honor and my
father it was it was you know, a lot of
hard work, but it was something that my mission and
my passion, what I really wanted to do, because just
think about it, a lot of people build brands just
(04:07):
for money, you know. I built this for a purpose
of really, you know, believing in my father, you know,
his dreams and what he wanted before he left their
So it actually helped me and trick me into one
and more out of my own self. So when I
built Big Days, I didn't know anything about business. I
didn't know how to you know, pay sales and use text.
I didn't know anything about you know, getting ADP. I
(04:27):
didn't know anything about food costs.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
All I wanted to do.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Was better my life and you know, get out of
situations I was in at the time. But in the
midst of all of this, I was able to start
in a small gas station because nobody want rent me
in space out you know, I'm going all over Atlanta.
I'm saying, you know, I got the money, you know,
I you know I need that, you know, need the space,
and everybody's like, you know, but you don't have the
business experience. It only took me this one shot. I
(04:53):
always learned this in life. One shot can change your
life forever. And that gas station was my shot because
that Indian guy rented me that space. And you know,
I had no business experience, and I was able to
make that nationally known, you know, in seven years of
my hard work. Now along the way, I had a
lot of roller coaster rise. You know, I got taken
advantage of a lot by contractors, even you know, employees,
(05:15):
you know, because I had a you know, soft heart,
you know, you know, I wanted to see everybody grow
at the time, but it built my tough skin along
the way because I had to understand for me to
scale this business, I had to become a real entrepreneur.
So I started really, you know, doing my Google university,
my YouTube university. I'm learning, you know, how to really
you know, do these things. And so I don't get
taken advantage of it because I didn't finish school. You know,
(05:37):
I got a high school diploma, but I don't, you know,
I didn't finish college. So and I got forty some
tattoos on my body, so I don't look like the
average CEO. So when people look at me, you know,
I got to come on my things together so they.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Could take me serious.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
And the way I did that was to build multiple
successful businesses along the way throughout the years.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Driven by passion. It was motivated by your passion, fault.
That's that's that's taught. And a lot of people got
that passion. Yeah, they got that passion, Derek. But then again,
what takes him to that next step? Now when you
saw this gas station, there's a gas station seven hundred
and fifty roughly, they said, you said seven forty nine.
I'm just gonna say, say I give you one more
square for its seven to fifty seven fix square free?
(06:17):
Why at what area of town was they done with it?
But what area of done?
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Witty?
Speaker 2 (06:21):
And why did you think what you did? You have
to bring it because this is a gas station. Now
you're cooking in the gas station. So talk about that
set up and then being able to sell the concept
to the community and to your friends, because the friends
really is a hard sale because they gonna tell you
it's not a smart idea.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
So that's how I actually wounded up in the kitchen
cooking myself because I tried.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
To get a cook the cheese steak and my friends
was like, nah, it's not home.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
And not to mention, I am in this little gas
station with one grill and one frar and it's all electric.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
You know. I don't know if a lot of people know.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Cooking on electricity and cooking on gas is totally different
because the real goals in and out. You know, a
temperature is different. When you pick cold no items on there,
you lose temperature. So I had to actually learn how
to cook on these disadvantage you know, equipment that I had,
and then I was cooking on used equipment. At the
same time. I had no employees at the time. It's
(07:18):
just me being a cash there, the cook, the accounting inventory,
anything that I had to do to make it because
I wanted to be successful in a way I had
to do that was put myself in all these situations to.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Be able to you know, work hard to do that myself.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
Because I didn't have the money at the time to
to you know, give people to help me. Because at
the end of the day, I blew my money, you know,
and and I spent my last you know, building Big Dave.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
So I really had to get it out the mud.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
So I would say that self belief is more than
anything that I had to do along the way.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Is believing in myself.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
If you don't believe in yourself, there's no way that
you can get somebody else to believe in you. So
when I started believing in myself, Moore, I started to
get you know, a little bit of traffic.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
And to be.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Honest, man, I tell everybody, Eve, the rapper Eve Man.
She was a big play, you know, a big part
of my story because in the midst of me, you know,
going through this year and now open, I don't have
no traffic.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Still I'm going under you know.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
Of course, if you can't pay the bills, eventually you're
gonna have to shut them doors. And she posted me
on her social network. Man, I made a chicken cheese
steak for her, man.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Right, And you know, so I went, I did you?
Speaker 4 (08:26):
I did?
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Because rapper Eve famous, you know, great following, so loyal
following first of all.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
And so where were you at for that connection to make?
Did you know her?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Or she found out about your fusualbody recommended your food
told me about that stuff.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
I was a friend. It was a friend. It was
a friend, friend of a friend. And she was shooting barbershop,
you know, she was shooting the movie. And I waited
all day for her to come like a kid on Christmas,
and I'm talking about she ain't come. Man, you know,
you know I ain't get discoveraged that. I said, you know,
I'm gonna keep on fighting. And the next day she
really came. And as I was making this chicken cheese steak,
(09:02):
you know what she told me.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
She said, if.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
This sandwich is good, I'm gonna post it on my
social media networks. Now you gotta think about it. I'm
a kid from Philly, all my res sizes, I exhausted everything,
and now I'm like, shit, my life depends on is
I gotta make the sandwich the best I can make it.
And when I made this sandwich, she bit it. She
went crazy. She said, oh man, you brung me home.
(09:25):
And she put it on every social media outlet she
had at the time. And when I tell you, the
next day, I made five thousand dollars. That was my
biggest day ever at the time. And it was just
up from there. I started to be able to get
the community more involved because they seem traffic. You know,
people eat off of their eyes. You know, they see lines,
they say, well, got to be good. So I was
(09:46):
able to start building lines and then The next part
of my journey that was a very big part of
my mission was in twenty eighteen, I was picked to
go to a sandwich competition in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
And I ranked number seventh in the world.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Okay, Orange Beach, Alabama sandwich competition. Okay, now this ain't
New York. This ain't that like, You're not even Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
You an Orange Beach, Alabama sandwich competition. So see, that's
what I love about you. You know, you tell this story.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
It is so normal to you. But Orange beat Alabama.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
I don't think going to Orange be Alabama gonna do
anything for anybody, but tell us about this competition and
why it was important to go.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
So so it was important to go because, for one,
I wanted to represent that not only had the best
cheese steak, but I wanted to have the best sandwich.
And honestly, it was an opportunity for me. You know,
I was hungry, you know, I had to fire in
my belly for success. I was waiting for my moment,
and when I got picked, I was ready for it.
But to be honest, when I got there, you know,
(10:50):
it was a little discussion because I was I was
cooking on a barbecue grill. Now, mind you, how do
you make a cheese steak on a barbecue grill? Because
they don't have flat tops. So what I had to do.
I went to Walmart and got a skill it and
like a flat top, and I.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Put it over that gas grill and I got.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
That thing hot, and I made them cheese steaks, just
like I was at Big Days. You know, I took
my obscoles and I pivoted, because that's the thing. When
you don't pivot when stuff happened, you're gonna sink.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
You're gonna give up.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
You know, I'm already a disadvantage, you know, to the
to American society. I'm a black man that come from
the ghetto. So I was supposed to be here anyway, sure,
you know. So the way I was looking at it was,
this is my opportunity to make some noise for me
and my people, to show that I deserve to be here.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
And when they show what I'm saying when you say
that in the diversity at this competition was not much.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
When you make a stake, I can't.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
I can't count on my my my fingers how many
black people within this competition, and it probably was maybe
fifteen thousand, you know, could have been could have been
a little less, a little bit more. I'm not sure,
but I know that it was a good amount of people,
know that's trying to qualify for this, for this cooking competition.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
And honestly, I never forget.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
I gave Bo Jackson a Dave's Way and I said,
I know I had a big shot because I knew
I was making this sandwich. But you know, all of
my grind, my blood, sweat and terrace, all these years
of me working, I said, I ain't come here to lose, man,
you know, I came here to show out and show on,
and honestly, and they called Derick Hayes. They said, you know,
(12:24):
top qualifiers, top.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Ten in the world. And when they called me, I
was talking.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
To somebody because we was in this big facility, right
and I was.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Looking at them like, they just call my name.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
And it was mind blowing because at the end of
the day, you want to win, you want to get
to the mountain top, you want to get there. But
when they really call you a name, all your years
of your heart work and everything you've been through start
to pan out. And honestly, it was emotional for me
because again, just like you said, it was at Orange Beach, Alabama,
and me as a black man whinning anything at Orange Beach, Alabama.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Was a win for me.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
A barbecue grill on a barbecue grill to skill it
for Walmart exactly.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
No, And that's how a lot of my a lot
of my journey was built up for blood swam and
tears and getting it out the mud for real, because
I wanted people to see a real, authentic side of
what I was building. I don't want people to, you know,
see that anything that was given, because I wanted them
to see that if the resources were short and they
looking at me, they can do it too.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Well.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
The beauty of this conversation that I'm having with you
is that I know that establishing your brand.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Because setbacks are part of your growth.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Now, in twenty twenty, we all faced the pandemic and
at that point we didn't know what to do, and
so you used to word pivot early in your conversation,
the word pivot, which I think is really important this conversation.
When we talked to young entrepreneurs who have a goal
set in place, this is how I'm going to do it,
and sometimes when something interrupts that gold, they frustration sets
(13:54):
in or they throw their hands up. When when COVID
the country was set down in the month of March,
how did you react to that and did you have
a game plan?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Dave, I'm gonna say this.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
I'm going to say this in the most humblest way.
My life was a pivot. I come from West Philadelphia,
I come from the jungle.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I come from Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Opportunity if you want it, because you got to go
get it. So when this happened in this pandemic, of
course nobody had ever seen this tragedy happened in the
world like this, But I knew the city I came
from taught me how to pivot.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
So I wasn't gonna quit. I was going to find
out a way to help.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
People while I was helping my brand be able to
grow at the same time. In a way I was
able to do that was I was able to give
a thousand plus mills to the community because those same
people that was going through those hard times were the
same people standing in my lines. And then I wanted
to help the healthcare workers, those frontline workers.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Those were the same.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
People that was patting their life on the line every
day for people that had COVID, and we didn't really
know how dangerous COVID was at the time, so those
people I wanted to help. I fed forty plus hospitals
in a month of COVID the first month, you know,
really know, didn't know what was going on. And I
put my life on the line just as well going
to those hospitals because I believe that it was a
bigger purpose that they've seen an entrepreneur, a young black
(15:09):
kid that come from the ghetto standing up, some other
people would stand up, and then we would all stand
up together, and we would reunite and be able to
get our communities back together. In downtown, I was able
to help out. I donated twenty six thousand dollars to
help businesses get back open. So for me, it wasn't
about making the money in the pandemic pandemic, It was
about helping others get their doors back open, so that
(15:31):
people could see what type of person I was, and
what I stand for and what I represent and what
I wanted out of my own self. If you can
look through a vision of me, to look through the
vision of the community, and we can grow together, and
that's what I was trying to do.
Speaker 5 (15:43):
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. Money Making Conversations
Masterclass continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money
(16:08):
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Speaker 2 (16:12):
You were recognized by for twenty twenty one next one
thousand on a red now again you know it goes
back to Alabama.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
You know you got that. You're in a tent. You
know they call your name. Didn't know that was going
to happen. You shock.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Now you're doing all this great work for the for
the community. You know, like you said, now one part
in your conversation where you're talking about selling, you're talking
about uplifting, giving, giving, giving twenty six thousand, ere on
thousand sandwiches. It all about the drive is if I give,
then they show support. It creates loyalty. That's a business
model that corporations do all the time and that comes
(16:46):
from service. Now, service drives your business. Customer service is
a high priority as far as how you communicate with
your with your customer base.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
Correct, yes, yes, but I think I think with me,
with me, sir, I think.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
With me is people see sure that I'm real.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
They see the authentic side of it, like I'm not stripped.
You know. I show my flaws, I show my ups
and down so that you don't make the same mistakes
that I made. I'm not selling you food. I'm selling
you hope and I'm selling you a dream. A kid
like me believing and want to make a change. And
when they see that, they put the food to the
side for a second.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
They know I make good food.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Everybody loves my food, but they also love the passion
and the story that I'm putting out because it's so
many other people out here in the world.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
That need that help. You think about it.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
It could be a young kid that looked just like me,
thirty four years old.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
He might be in the hood trying to get out
of not being no, selling drugs or a bad situation.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
He can go in and punch on Instagram and look
at me and say, listen, I know this kid came
from the same thing I came from. I could do
it too. That's bigger than me than any money. That's
the biggest thing for me. You know, I could be
walking in the market and somebody will walk up to
me and say, hey, man, you don't even understand. You
saved my life. You made me want to change, You
made me want more out of myself. And I used
(18:06):
the food to be able to step and stone and
trigger that. I was told this once upon in my life.
My eye was bad on cancer in two thousand and five.
My name is Teresa Hennigan. She eventually passed away, but
in the middle of this I went to a church
with her and a pastor. He told me in my heir,
he said, you're going to be a pastor.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Now. At the time I'm.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Playing basketball, I had who dreams to make it to
the NBA. I said, I'm not going to be no pastor.
A pastor is not about getting on a poor pit.
It's about spreading the message. It's about giving a message
to other people could receive. And right now, every day
I spread the message. When these people out here seeing
big day build these two locations, young black kid come
from the ghetto, bill multi million dollar companies left and
(18:46):
right right now, they get motivated by that. So for me,
that's the biggest motivation for me. It ain't about the money.
It's about the motivation for my people.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Well, you know an interesting thing about it.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
You know when I saw you on the cover of Essence,
so you know usually you know we're on the cover Essence.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
You know you it just Ailble. You know what I'm saying,
you know, Michael B. Jordan, you know what I'm saying.
That's go, go, go go. That's a nice smiling y'all.
If y'all, y'all, all the y'all.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
I gotta tell you he's straightened up a little bit
when I started talking about being on the cover of Essence,
because Essa is like, you know, because I'm older than you,
that's the you know, that's Ebony back in my day.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
That's Jet magazine back in my day.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
You know you saw that you left that on the
coffee table. You wouldn't happen because you know, that was
an announcement about your brand. But it's even a bigger
announcement for you because it wasn't entertainment driven your parent
on there.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
It was about you as a person, what you do.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
For the community, and you being able to step out.
Like you talk about your background, you come from humble beginnings.
You come from Philadelphia, you come from a neighborhood like
I came from a neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Where people stereo type your success.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
You know, you know you driving that neighborhood. Then people
will question why you come out how exactly it's like
you you you lucky. Use turns like.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
That like young belong here, like like you ain't deserve it,
And I think, see, and that's what I'm trying to
teach too.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
You know, I was asked this question yesterday.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
I was having a conversation and they said, why do
you think our culture, you know, handle things differently? And
the reason what that being is just imagine if you
was a kid on Christmas, right, everybody got this toy,
but this one kid got the best toy that everybody wanted.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
That if that kid never.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Was taught how to share that toy because he never
had the resources to feel good about having anything that
feel good, then how can that kid ever know.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
He's going wrong?
Speaker 4 (20:33):
When you went an environment of everything a certain way,
that's what you're accustomed to. Now, what I'm trying to
show different is, Okay, we step out of these boundaries
of these inner cities, these lower income communities, and.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Now we got social media outlets showing us when it's
right from wrong. But the leaders that.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Got the voice got to help out and say, listen,
now that we got the ball in our hands, let's
stick together and change these communities out and give resources.
Let's build community centers, centers, Let's build financial literacy program
so that when.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Kids get to high school and when they.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
About to get out of high school, they ain't lost
on about a credit card or or how they going
to do their financial literacy, or how they going to
get through college. They know that spending over thirty percent
on their credit card go to mess. They credit up
before the bill cycle hit. They know that they can
now you know, utilize their capital before that bill cycle
hit so that now they're not getting pittillized for interest.
So they rotating this money making money. They know how
(21:26):
to get cash back, cash rewards cards when they spending
money to put it in they savings account when it
earns enough money to now move the money and it's
free money off of spending money. But we can't teach that,
and we don't know that, and all we can know
is what's going on in these communities to survive, Like
I said where I come from that in Philly, I
was born to just survive and my day of living
(21:46):
it was my dad survival. I ain't thinking about tomorrow.
So I'm trying to teach my generation. Now, let's worry
about tomorrow. Because when you've got kids, got to leave
them set up for when you ain't here, you got
to take care of them from the grave.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
You know what I'm saying. That's why we're doing this
a life insurance initiative.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Now, Wow, you know I love as we progress through
this interview, Derek, how your energy, your comfort zone with
me has just picked up and keep transferring to an
even more positive level. But the number one thing when
I talk about and I meet individuals like you, because
you're a self made person. Like I said, you're not
a shame of your journey. Now because at the beginning
(22:22):
I always talk about friends, family, and don't let anybody
stop you from living your dream and stop you from
planning your dream. Okay, when you talk about the community
and the next step, what is Big Dave's future, how
do you how do you conceptualize it?
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Who do you?
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Because you know it ain't you no more than seven
hundred and fifty square foot shell gas station by yourself.
You have to put a team around you. What does
that team look like? So our team, so our listeners
and our viewers can understand. When you grow, grow has
to be surrounded by quality. You have to spend money
to keep that quality around you in order your dream
to grow.
Speaker 4 (22:56):
I like this topic right here because a lot of people,
you know, they might tell me I'm too top heavy
with the locations that I have. But the thing is,
if you ain't, if you ready, you ain't got to
get ready.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
You know when that moment happened.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
So in the midst of in the midst of everything
that I'm done with my brand, I'm about to pay
agros in the market where you're about to be able
to go in your nearest stores and be able to
make your own agros whenever you want big days. And
that's going to be a big thing for me because
that's a dream of mine that's going to market. I'm
coming out with the new Big Dave seasoning. You want
(23:30):
to be able to come in Big Dave stores and
you're gonna be able to pick up the same season
that we make the product with. So when you want
to become your own big Dave at home. You can
do it, you know, I just want for me, Like
philanthropy is a big thing for me, you know, building
this brand. I love it just as much as I love,
you know, the restaurant space. I love talking to people because,
(23:53):
for one, I know that I'm giving them real game
that I've been through on my life to help them
change theirs. No, I don't think I know everything, but
me at thirty four years old, I was blessed in
a lot of ways that you know, a lot of
people may not have got to yet, and I can
now help them when they get to this situation in
their life. They're not making those same mistakes I made.
Let me tell you something, Mistakes costs in the business.
(24:16):
Right when you're in business, mistakes cost. It costs. When
I mean it costs, it's more than money. It hurts
you in the finance side. But scaling the business, you
need it cro to be good. The COO to be good,
your gms to be good, your assistant managers to be good,
your fry.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Cooks, your grill cooks.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
Everybody is a motor that works together to operate this vehicle.
And without that you can't scale. And it took me
years to really be able to get that together because,
like I said, I love Hardt, so I see the
best out of people, sometimes down seeing themselves. But I
was also told this by multiple different billionaires, and this
was my blessing.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Right.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
You know, you're never going to scale if you don't
get fixed and to be able to do it, because
these same people.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Aren't going to be with you.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
The ones that belong what you're gonna be with you
because they want to better.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
Themselves along the journey.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
But the ones who just tagging along and the business
is growing and they're not growing, you know you're gonna
eventually have to leave them or the business is gonna
leave you.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
And if the business leave the CEO, you know.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
What happens after that, It goes it goes down to
dream and and that's what I'm not building. Like I
told you this, Ah this to my father. I know
in the end of this, I'm a building. I'm building
a billion doile of business. I'm have big days everywhere.
After Jonesboro, we am gonna leave the state because I
feel like, uh, it's enough big days right now the
state of Georgia and I and I don't want to
(25:40):
oversaturate the market. I want people to really continue to
love the brand the way they love the brand, and
I want to keep on setting the bar high and
set in the culture and what I got going on
outside of you know, just the Big Daves brand. You know,
me and Pinky, we jumped in real estate heavy. Were
buying up a lot of real estate right now. And
the reason why we're doing that is because we're trying
(26:01):
to build up these communities.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
So when stuff ain't looking right in these.
Speaker 4 (26:04):
Communities, what's better to say it is it's people that
look just like the people that's from these communities building
them up, and they ain't developers tearing them up and
moving them out. You know what I'm saying, right We're
gonna keep them. We're gonna keep them in, We're gonna
give them jobs. And the way we're gonna do that
is how these companies were building.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Like I said, I'm right down the street from your
location over there, brand Mark right now, that's where you're at.
I'm right down the street from that. And so so
my staff supports it. First of all, a jeoge, they
talk to you your passion, your information, your gift man,
your gift and a blessing. You're an entrepreneurial spirit. You
(26:42):
are what America is built on, a land of opportunity.
You know, we should never be denied based on the
color of our skin or the education that people perceive
we don't have. You are the person that I bring
on the show to educate my audience that anything is possible.
And I want to thank you for coming on Money
Making Conversation master Class.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Thank you man, and I thank you for having me.
And I want to release one more thing. Okay, people listening,
So it's not about how you start. It's not about
what's going to happen in the middle of that race.
Shoe get untied, your soul get messed up, you sneak
and fall off.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Just finish the race.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Don't worry about the place you're going to be in
because as long as you finish the race, the job
is done.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
And when the job is done, guess what you can
say at the end of the day.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
I finished the marathon because I wasn't.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Worrying about the race, you know what I'm saying. So
the end of it all, you gave it all.
Speaker 4 (27:35):
You got as long as you give it all you got,
and you finished that line. As long as you cross it,
be proud of yourself and your journey, and stop sousing
yourself up to other people.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
Because God got.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Everybody's journey for themselves to be able to better other people.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
You don't know.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
It may feel like that man or that woman got
that success overnight, but you don't know what they've been
through to get that success.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
So it's not attract me as a marathon. So I
always remember that.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
I love it because I always tell people that, you know,
don't look. That's so it's saying, don't look at somebody
else's y'all. You know, you don't have to explain the
word I finished versus I quit. I quit, you have
to explain it. I finished me and I made maximum
effort to get the job done.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
That's all you're saying. And I love it. Brother. We're
gonna talk in.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Person because I want to sit down and just chat
with you. I appreciate your time, man, because you're a
special Again, I've had Pinky on the show. Both of
you all are special. But congratulations. You know, mister interest
ever a big days cheesecake. You know, mister sexy, mister sexy,
mister good looking, got the teeth all out there. You know,
forty three tattoos straight out of Philly.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
Big day. Jeez dog, keep doing your thing. I see
you be in the kitchen. Woman up your.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
posted by me Rushaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests
on the show today and thank you listening to audience now.
If you want to listen to any episode I want
to be a guest on the show, visit Moneymaking Conversations
dot com.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Our social media handle is money Making Conversation. Join us
next week and remember to always leave with your gifts.
Keep winning mm hmmmm
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
I am Rashan McDonald, a host the weekly Money Making
Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show
provides are for everyone. It's time to stop reading other
people's success stories and start living your own.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
If you want to be a guest on my.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Show, please visit our website, Moneymakingconversations dot com and click.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
The be a Guest button.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Press submit and information will come directly to me. Now
let's get this show started. Welcome to Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
I am your host, Rashan McDonald. I recognize that we
all have different definitions of success. For you, it may
be the size of your paycheck. Mine is inspiring people
to accomplish their goals and live their very best life.
It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and
(00:42):
really start writing your own. People always talk about your
purpose a gift. If you have a gift, lead with
your gift and don't let your friends, family, or coworker
stop you from planning or living your dreams. My guest
today is Derek D.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Hayes.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
He was recently featured on the cover of Essence magazine.
His vision for his rest trunk, Big Dave's cheesecake beginning
in twenty fourteen, as he aimed to merge his passion
for community, food and business in seven a half roughly
seven hundred fifty square food shell gas station in Dunwoodie, Georgia.
Since twenty sixteen has generated nationally on Big Day's Cheesecake.
(01:16):
If you've not been there, I recommend you go there.
He's right down the street from my business. My staff,
they need, they need to have stock in these business
that's how much they go.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
There.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
A thriving cheesecake empower with store and mobile locations all
across Metro Atlanta. Hayes is also the founder of Dave
and Dereck Hayes Foundation and co owner of vegan cheesecake
concept Dinkies with Sludy Vegan Atlanta CEO and vegan restaurant
phenom Pinky col In twenty twenty one, Hayes' passion for
community and food landing him an illustrious spot as a
(01:47):
Forbes twenty twenty one next one thousand on a rate.
Let's discuss this journey into Big Dave's Cheesecake, being a
community leader, being bigger than food. Please Welcome to Money
Making Conversations Masterclass Derek d Hayes, how you doing.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Sir, I'm good man.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
Thank you so much, mister Rashan McDonald for having me man,
I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Brother, hey man, had I had to lay it out
there for you, Derek, because you know, because.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Now you did man, that was good.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
You know sometimes hearing that you know the stuff that
you did, you know along the way, it feels good.
You know, Ah, your heart wreak. You know somebody else
is honering it. So it's always a blessing.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Well, the thing about it is you should be because
sometimes I have a segment I do a local show
or bust show syndicates, and I do it live every Tuesday.
I love to invite you on it, by the way,
on w CLK every Tuesday, and it's called a bragging segment,
and I encourage people to call in and talk about
what they've done. Because we tend to be too humble
about our business. I always encourage people to remind them that,
(02:43):
you know, McDonald brags for brags, and we need to
brag about what we do. So everything that you have
accomplished is part of your success story. Is not what
we see when we get that sandwich, because that cheesecakes
that which because what happens was there's a journey to
get there. So how did I hit the date? Twenty fourteen?
I hear the small gas station. I hear seven hundred
(03:04):
and fifty square feet, which is the size of my
apartment in college.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
So I know what that feels like.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
So talk to us about it, because obviously there was
a walk kid, that wasn't a sit down diner. Tell
us about the whole concept of what you have turned
into an empire so far and it's growing.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Well, well, first I want to start off with saying
the mission and you know, and the honor was my father.
You know, that was everything. That the reason why I
built big days. He passed away from lung cancer in
two thousand and nine, and my dad dying wish was
for me to you know, stand on my own ten
toes and change my generational patterns and you know, not
(03:44):
to get in trouble.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
And you know, he.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
Worked his whole life and he thought he left a
lot behind and he didn't. So I was able to
see a blue collar working my whole life and now
transpiring to me building my brand and honor and my
father it was it was you know, a lot of
hard work, but it was something that my mission and
my passion, what I really wanted to do, because just
think about it, a lot of people build brands just
(04:07):
for money, you know. I built this for a purpose
of really, you know, believing in my father, you know,
his dreams and what he wanted before he left their
So it actually helped me and trick me into one
and more out of my own self. So when I
built Big Days, I didn't know anything about business. I
didn't know how to you know, pay sales and use text.
I didn't know anything about you know, getting ADP. I
(04:27):
didn't know anything about food costs.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
All I wanted to do.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Was better my life and you know, get out of
situations I was in at the time. But in the
midst of all of this, I was able to start
in a small gas station because nobody want rent me
in space out you know, I'm going all over Atlanta.
I'm saying, you know, I got the money, you know,
I you know I need that, you know, need the space,
and everybody's like, you know, but you don't have the
business experience. It only took me this one shot. I
(04:53):
always learned this in life. One shot can change your
life forever. And that gas station was my shot because
that Indian guy rented me that space. And you know,
I had no business experience, and I was able to
make that nationally known, you know, in seven years of
my hard work. Now along the way, I had a
lot of roller coaster rise. You know, I got taken
advantage of a lot by contractors, even you know, employees,
(05:15):
you know, because I had a you know, soft heart,
you know, you know, I wanted to see everybody grow
at the time, but it built my tough skin along
the way because I had to understand for me to
scale this business, I had to become a real entrepreneur.
So I started really, you know, doing my Google university,
my YouTube university. I'm learning, you know, how to really
you know, do these things. And so I don't get
taken advantage of it because I didn't finish school. You know,
(05:37):
I got a high school diploma, but I don't, you know,
I didn't finish college. So and I got forty some
tattoos on my body, so I don't look like the
average CEO. So when people look at me, you know,
I got to come on my things together so they.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Could take me serious.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
And the way I did that was to build multiple
successful businesses along the way throughout the years.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Driven by passion. It was motivated by your passion, fault.
That's that's that's taught. And a lot of people got
that passion. Yeah, they got that passion, Derek. But then again,
what takes him to that next step? Now when you
saw this gas station, there's a gas station seven hundred
and fifty roughly, they said, you said seven forty nine.
I'm just gonna say, say I give you one more
square for its seven to fifty seven fix square free?
(06:17):
Why at what area of town was they done with it?
But what area of done?
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Witty?
Speaker 2 (06:21):
And why did you think what you did? You have
to bring it because this is a gas station. Now
you're cooking in the gas station. So talk about that
set up and then being able to sell the concept
to the community and to your friends, because the friends
really is a hard sale because they gonna tell you
it's not a smart idea.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
So that's how I actually wounded up in the kitchen
cooking myself because I tried.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
To get a cook the cheese steak and my friends
was like, nah, it's not home.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
And not to mention, I am in this little gas
station with one grill and one frar and it's all electric.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
You know. I don't know if a lot of people know.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Cooking on electricity and cooking on gas is totally different
because the real goals in and out. You know, a
temperature is different. When you pick cold no items on there,
you lose temperature. So I had to actually learn how
to cook on these disadvantage you know, equipment that I had,
and then I was cooking on used equipment. At the
same time. I had no employees at the time. It's
(07:18):
just me being a cash there, the cook, the accounting inventory,
anything that I had to do to make it because
I wanted to be successful in a way I had
to do that was put myself in all these situations to.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Be able to you know, work hard to do that myself.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
Because I didn't have the money at the time to
to you know, give people to help me. Because at
the end of the day, I blew my money, you know,
and and I spent my last you know, building Big Dave.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
So I really had to get it out the mud.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
So I would say that self belief is more than
anything that I had to do along the way.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Is believing in myself.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
If you don't believe in yourself, there's no way that
you can get somebody else to believe in you. So
when I started believing in myself, Moore, I started to
get you know, a little bit of traffic.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
And to be.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Honest, man, I tell everybody, Eve, the rapper Eve Man.
She was a big play, you know, a big part
of my story because in the midst of me, you know,
going through this year and now open, I don't have
no traffic.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Still I'm going under you know.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
Of course, if you can't pay the bills, eventually you're
gonna have to shut them doors. And she posted me
on her social network. Man, I made a chicken cheese
steak for her, man.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Right, And you know, so I went, I did you?
Speaker 4 (08:26):
I did?
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Because rapper Eve famous, you know, great following, so loyal
following first of all.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
And so where were you at for that connection to make?
Did you know her?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Or she found out about your fusualbody recommended your food
told me about that stuff.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
I was a friend. It was a friend. It was
a friend, friend of a friend. And she was shooting barbershop,
you know, she was shooting the movie. And I waited
all day for her to come like a kid on Christmas,
and I'm talking about she ain't come. Man, you know,
you know I ain't get discoveraged that. I said, you know,
I'm gonna keep on fighting. And the next day she
really came. And as I was making this chicken cheese steak,
(09:02):
you know what she told me.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
She said, if.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
This sandwich is good, I'm gonna post it on my
social media networks. Now you gotta think about it. I'm
a kid from Philly, all my res sizes, I exhausted everything,
and now I'm like, shit, my life depends on is
I gotta make the sandwich the best I can make it.
And when I made this sandwich, she bit it. She
went crazy. She said, oh man, you brung me home.
(09:25):
And she put it on every social media outlet she
had at the time. And when I tell you, the
next day, I made five thousand dollars. That was my
biggest day ever at the time. And it was just
up from there. I started to be able to get
the community more involved because they seem traffic. You know,
people eat off of their eyes. You know, they see lines,
they say, well, got to be good. So I was
(09:46):
able to start building lines and then The next part
of my journey that was a very big part of
my mission was in twenty eighteen, I was picked to
go to a sandwich competition in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
And I ranked number seventh in the world.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Okay, Orange Beach, Alabama sandwich competition. Okay, now this ain't
New York. This ain't that like, You're not even Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
You an Orange Beach, Alabama sandwich competition. So see, that's
what I love about you. You know, you tell this story.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
It is so normal to you. But Orange beat Alabama.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
I don't think going to Orange be Alabama gonna do
anything for anybody, but tell us about this competition and
why it was important to go.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
So so it was important to go because, for one,
I wanted to represent that not only had the best
cheese steak, but I wanted to have the best sandwich.
And honestly, it was an opportunity for me. You know,
I was hungry, you know, I had to fire in
my belly for success. I was waiting for my moment,
and when I got picked, I was ready for it.
But to be honest, when I got there, you know,
(10:50):
it was a little discussion because I was I was
cooking on a barbecue grill. Now, mind you, how do
you make a cheese steak on a barbecue grill? Because
they don't have flat tops. So what I had to do.
I went to Walmart and got a skill it and
like a flat top, and I.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Put it over that gas grill and I got.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
That thing hot, and I made them cheese steaks, just
like I was at Big Days. You know, I took
my obscoles and I pivoted, because that's the thing. When
you don't pivot when stuff happened, you're gonna sink.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
You're gonna give up.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
You know, I'm already a disadvantage, you know, to the
to American society. I'm a black man that come from
the ghetto. So I was supposed to be here anyway, sure,
you know. So the way I was looking at it was,
this is my opportunity to make some noise for me
and my people, to show that I deserve to be here.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
And when they show what I'm saying when you say
that in the diversity at this competition was not much.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
When you make a stake, I can't.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
I can't count on my my my fingers how many
black people within this competition, and it probably was maybe
fifteen thousand, you know, could have been could have been
a little less, a little bit more. I'm not sure,
but I know that it was a good amount of people,
know that's trying to qualify for this, for this cooking competition.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
And honestly, I never forget.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
I gave Bo Jackson a Dave's Way and I said,
I know I had a big shot because I knew
I was making this sandwich. But you know, all of
my grind, my blood, sweat and terrace, all these years
of me working, I said, I ain't come here to lose, man,
you know, I came here to show out and show on,
and honestly, and they called Derick Hayes. They said, you know,
(12:24):
top qualifiers, top.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Ten in the world. And when they called me, I
was talking.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
To somebody because we was in this big facility, right
and I was.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Looking at them like, they just call my name.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
And it was mind blowing because at the end of
the day, you want to win, you want to get
to the mountain top, you want to get there. But
when they really call you a name, all your years
of your heart work and everything you've been through start
to pan out. And honestly, it was emotional for me
because again, just like you said, it was at Orange Beach, Alabama,
and me as a black man whinning anything at Orange Beach, Alabama.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Was a win for me.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
A barbecue grill on a barbecue grill to skill it
for Walmart exactly.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
No, And that's how a lot of my a lot
of my journey was built up for blood swam and
tears and getting it out the mud for real, because
I wanted people to see a real, authentic side of
what I was building. I don't want people to, you know,
see that anything that was given, because I wanted them
to see that if the resources were short and they
looking at me, they can do it too.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Well.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
The beauty of this conversation that I'm having with you
is that I know that establishing your brand.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Because setbacks are part of your growth.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Now, in twenty twenty, we all faced the pandemic and
at that point we didn't know what to do, and
so you used to word pivot early in your conversation,
the word pivot, which I think is really important this conversation.
When we talked to young entrepreneurs who have a goal
set in place, this is how I'm going to do it,
and sometimes when something interrupts that gold, they frustration sets
(13:54):
in or they throw their hands up. When when COVID
the country was set down in the month of March,
how did you react to that and did you have
a game plan?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Dave, I'm gonna say this.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
I'm going to say this in the most humblest way.
My life was a pivot. I come from West Philadelphia,
I come from the jungle.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I come from Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Opportunity if you want it, because you got to go
get it. So when this happened in this pandemic, of
course nobody had ever seen this tragedy happened in the
world like this, But I knew the city I came
from taught me how to pivot.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
So I wasn't gonna quit. I was going to find
out a way to help.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
People while I was helping my brand be able to
grow at the same time. In a way I was
able to do that was I was able to give
a thousand plus mills to the community because those same
people that was going through those hard times were the
same people standing in my lines. And then I wanted
to help the healthcare workers, those frontline workers.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Those were the same.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
People that was patting their life on the line every
day for people that had COVID, and we didn't really
know how dangerous COVID was at the time, so those
people I wanted to help. I fed forty plus hospitals
in a month of COVID the first month, you know,
really know, didn't know what was going on. And I
put my life on the line just as well going
to those hospitals because I believe that it was a
bigger purpose that they've seen an entrepreneur, a young black
(15:09):
kid that come from the ghetto standing up, some other
people would stand up, and then we would all stand
up together, and we would reunite and be able to
get our communities back together. In downtown, I was able
to help out. I donated twenty six thousand dollars to
help businesses get back open. So for me, it wasn't
about making the money in the pandemic pandemic, It was
about helping others get their doors back open, so that
(15:31):
people could see what type of person I was, and
what I stand for and what I represent and what
I wanted out of my own self. If you can
look through a vision of me, to look through the
vision of the community, and we can grow together, and
that's what I was trying to do.
Speaker 5 (15:43):
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. Money Making Conversations
Masterclass continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money
(16:08):
Making Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
You were recognized by for twenty twenty one next one
thousand on a red now again you know it goes
back to Alabama.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
You know you got that. You're in a tent. You
know they call your name. Didn't know that was going
to happen. You shock.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Now you're doing all this great work for the for
the community. You know, like you said, now one part
in your conversation where you're talking about selling, you're talking
about uplifting, giving, giving, giving twenty six thousand, ere on
thousand sandwiches. It all about the drive is if I give,
then they show support. It creates loyalty. That's a business
model that corporations do all the time and that comes
(16:46):
from service. Now, service drives your business. Customer service is
a high priority as far as how you communicate with
your with your customer base.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
Correct, yes, yes, but I think I think with me,
with me, sir, I think.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
With me is people see sure that I'm real.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
They see the authentic side of it, like I'm not stripped.
You know. I show my flaws, I show my ups
and down so that you don't make the same mistakes
that I made. I'm not selling you food. I'm selling
you hope and I'm selling you a dream. A kid
like me believing and want to make a change. And
when they see that, they put the food to the
side for a second.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
They know I make good food.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Everybody loves my food, but they also love the passion
and the story that I'm putting out because it's so
many other people out here in the world.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
That need that help. You think about it.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
It could be a young kid that looked just like me,
thirty four years old.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
He might be in the hood trying to get out
of not being no, selling drugs or a bad situation.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
He can go in and punch on Instagram and look
at me and say, listen, I know this kid came
from the same thing I came from. I could do
it too. That's bigger than me than any money. That's
the biggest thing for me. You know, I could be
walking in the market and somebody will walk up to
me and say, hey, man, you don't even understand. You
saved my life. You made me want to change, You
made me want more out of myself. And I used
(18:06):
the food to be able to step and stone and
trigger that. I was told this once upon in my life.
My eye was bad on cancer in two thousand and five.
My name is Teresa Hennigan. She eventually passed away, but
in the middle of this I went to a church
with her and a pastor. He told me in my heir,
he said, you're going to be a pastor.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Now. At the time I'm.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Playing basketball, I had who dreams to make it to
the NBA. I said, I'm not going to be no pastor.
A pastor is not about getting on a poor pit.
It's about spreading the message. It's about giving a message
to other people could receive. And right now, every day
I spread the message. When these people out here seeing
big day build these two locations, young black kid come
from the ghetto, bill multi million dollar companies left and
(18:46):
right right now, they get motivated by that. So for me,
that's the biggest motivation for me. It ain't about the money.
It's about the motivation for my people.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Well, you know an interesting thing about it.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
You know when I saw you on the cover of Essence,
so you know usually you know we're on the cover Essence.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
You know you it just Ailble. You know what I'm saying,
you know, Michael B. Jordan, you know what I'm saying.
That's go, go, go go. That's a nice smiling y'all.
If y'all, y'all, all the y'all.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
I gotta tell you he's straightened up a little bit
when I started talking about being on the cover of Essence,
because Essa is like, you know, because I'm older than you,
that's the you know, that's Ebony back in my day.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
That's Jet magazine back in my day.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
You know you saw that you left that on the
coffee table. You wouldn't happen because you know, that was
an announcement about your brand. But it's even a bigger
announcement for you because it wasn't entertainment driven your parent
on there.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
It was about you as a person, what you do.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
For the community, and you being able to step out.
Like you talk about your background, you come from humble beginnings.
You come from Philadelphia, you come from a neighborhood like
I came from a neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Where people stereo type your success.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
You know, you know you driving that neighborhood. Then people
will question why you come out how exactly it's like
you you you lucky. Use turns like.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
That like young belong here, like like you ain't deserve it,
And I think, see, and that's what I'm trying to
teach too.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
You know, I was asked this question yesterday.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
I was having a conversation and they said, why do
you think our culture, you know, handle things differently? And
the reason what that being is just imagine if you
was a kid on Christmas, right, everybody got this toy,
but this one kid got the best toy that everybody wanted.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
That if that kid never.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Was taught how to share that toy because he never
had the resources to feel good about having anything that
feel good, then how can that kid ever know.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
He's going wrong?
Speaker 4 (20:33):
When you went an environment of everything a certain way,
that's what you're accustomed to. Now, what I'm trying to
show different is, Okay, we step out of these boundaries
of these inner cities, these lower income communities, and.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
Now we got social media outlets showing us when it's
right from wrong. But the leaders that.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Got the voice got to help out and say, listen,
now that we got the ball in our hands, let's
stick together and change these communities out and give resources.
Let's build community centers, centers, Let's build financial literacy program
so that when.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Kids get to high school and when they.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
About to get out of high school, they ain't lost
on about a credit card or or how they going
to do their financial literacy, or how they going to
get through college. They know that spending over thirty percent
on their credit card go to mess. They credit up
before the bill cycle hit. They know that they can
now you know, utilize their capital before that bill cycle
hit so that now they're not getting pittillized for interest.
So they rotating this money making money. They know how
(21:26):
to get cash back, cash rewards cards when they spending
money to put it in they savings account when it
earns enough money to now move the money and it's
free money off of spending money. But we can't teach that,
and we don't know that, and all we can know
is what's going on in these communities to survive, Like
I said where I come from that in Philly, I
was born to just survive and my day of living
(21:46):
it was my dad survival. I ain't thinking about tomorrow.
So I'm trying to teach my generation. Now, let's worry
about tomorrow. Because when you've got kids, got to leave
them set up for when you ain't here, you got
to take care of them from the grave.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
You know what I'm saying. That's why we're doing this
a life insurance initiative.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Now, Wow, you know I love as we progress through
this interview, Derek, how your energy, your comfort zone with
me has just picked up and keep transferring to an
even more positive level. But the number one thing when
I talk about and I meet individuals like you, because
you're a self made person. Like I said, you're not
a shame of your journey. Now because at the beginning
(22:22):
I always talk about friends, family, and don't let anybody
stop you from living your dream and stop you from
planning your dream. Okay, when you talk about the community
and the next step, what is Big Dave's future, how
do you how do you conceptualize it?
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Who do you?
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Because you know it ain't you no more than seven
hundred and fifty square foot shell gas station by yourself.
You have to put a team around you. What does
that team look like? So our team, so our listeners
and our viewers can understand. When you grow, grow has
to be surrounded by quality. You have to spend money
to keep that quality around you in order your dream
to grow.
Speaker 4 (22:56):
I like this topic right here because a lot of people,
you know, they might tell me I'm too top heavy
with the locations that I have. But the thing is,
if you ain't, if you ready, you ain't got to
get ready.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
You know when that moment happened.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
So in the midst of in the midst of everything
that I'm done with my brand, I'm about to pay
agros in the market where you're about to be able
to go in your nearest stores and be able to
make your own agros whenever you want big days. And
that's going to be a big thing for me because
that's a dream of mine that's going to market. I'm
coming out with the new Big Dave seasoning. You want
(23:30):
to be able to come in Big Dave stores and
you're gonna be able to pick up the same season
that we make the product with. So when you want
to become your own big Dave at home. You can
do it, you know, I just want for me, Like
philanthropy is a big thing for me, you know, building
this brand. I love it just as much as I love,
you know, the restaurant space. I love talking to people because,
(23:53):
for one, I know that I'm giving them real game
that I've been through on my life to help them
change theirs. No, I don't think I know everything, but
me at thirty four years old, I was blessed in
a lot of ways that you know, a lot of
people may not have got to yet, and I can
now help them when they get to this situation in
their life. They're not making those same mistakes I made.
Let me tell you something, Mistakes costs in the business.
(24:16):
Right when you're in business, mistakes cost. It costs. When
I mean it costs, it's more than money. It hurts
you in the finance side. But scaling the business, you
need it cro to be good. The COO to be good,
your gms to be good, your assistant managers to be good,
your fry.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Cooks, your grill cooks.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
Everybody is a motor that works together to operate this vehicle.
And without that you can't scale. And it took me
years to really be able to get that together because,
like I said, I love Hardt, so I see the
best out of people, sometimes down seeing themselves. But I
was also told this by multiple different billionaires, and this
was my blessing.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Right.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
You know, you're never going to scale if you don't
get fixed and to be able to do it, because
these same people.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Aren't going to be with you.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
The ones that belong what you're gonna be with you
because they want to better.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
Themselves along the journey.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
But the ones who just tagging along and the business
is growing and they're not growing, you know you're gonna
eventually have to leave them or the business is gonna
leave you.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
And if the business leave the CEO, you know.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
What happens after that, It goes it goes down to
dream and and that's what I'm not building. Like I
told you this, Ah this to my father. I know
in the end of this, I'm a building. I'm building
a billion doile of business. I'm have big days everywhere.
After Jonesboro, we am gonna leave the state because I
feel like, uh, it's enough big days right now the
state of Georgia and I and I don't want to
(25:40):
oversaturate the market. I want people to really continue to
love the brand the way they love the brand, and
I want to keep on setting the bar high and
set in the culture and what I got going on
outside of you know, just the Big Daves brand. You know,
me and Pinky, we jumped in real estate heavy. Were
buying up a lot of real estate right now. And
the reason why we're doing that is because we're trying
(26:01):
to build up these communities.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
So when stuff ain't looking right in these.
Speaker 4 (26:04):
Communities, what's better to say it is it's people that
look just like the people that's from these communities building
them up, and they ain't developers tearing them up and
moving them out. You know what I'm saying, right We're
gonna keep them. We're gonna keep them in, We're gonna
give them jobs. And the way we're gonna do that
is how these companies were building.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Like I said, I'm right down the street from your
location over there, brand Mark right now, that's where you're at.
I'm right down the street from that. And so so
my staff supports it. First of all, a jeoge, they
talk to you your passion, your information, your gift man,
your gift and a blessing. You're an entrepreneurial spirit. You
(26:42):
are what America is built on, a land of opportunity.
You know, we should never be denied based on the
color of our skin or the education that people perceive
we don't have. You are the person that I bring
on the show to educate my audience that anything is possible.
And I want to thank you for coming on Money
Making Conversation master Class.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Thank you man, and I thank you for having me.
And I want to release one more thing. Okay, people listening,
So it's not about how you start. It's not about
what's going to happen in the middle of that race.
Shoe get untied, your soul get messed up, you sneak
and fall off.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Just finish the race.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Don't worry about the place you're going to be in
because as long as you finish the race, the job
is done.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
And when the job is done, guess what you can
say at the end of the day.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
I finished the marathon because I wasn't.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Worrying about the race, you know what I'm saying. So
the end of it all, you gave it all.
Speaker 4 (27:35):
You got as long as you give it all you got,
and you finished that line. As long as you cross it,
be proud of yourself and your journey, and stop sousing
yourself up to other people.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
Because God got.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Everybody's journey for themselves to be able to better other people.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
You don't know.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
It may feel like that man or that woman got
that success overnight, but you don't know what they've been
through to get that success.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
So it's not attract me as a marathon. So I
always remember that.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
I love it because I always tell people that, you know,
don't look. That's so it's saying, don't look at somebody
else's y'all. You know, you don't have to explain the
word I finished versus I quit. I quit, you have
to explain it. I finished me and I made maximum
effort to get the job done.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
That's all you're saying. And I love it. Brother. We're
gonna talk in.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Person because I want to sit down and just chat
with you. I appreciate your time, man, because you're a
special Again, I've had Pinky on the show. Both of
you all are special. But congratulations. You know, mister interest
ever a big days cheesecake. You know, mister sexy, mister sexy,
mister good looking, got the teeth all out there. You know,
forty three tattoos straight out of Philly.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
Big day. Jeez dog, keep doing your thing. I see
you be in the kitchen. Woman up your.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
posted by me Rushaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests
on the show today and thank you listening to audience now.
If you want to listen to any episode I want
to be a guest on the show, visit Moneymaking Conversations
dot com.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Our social media handle is money Making Conversation. Join us
next week and remember to always leave with your gifts.
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