# E426: Entrepreneur: Former CPA Charlie Shabazz tells us how she pivoted her career to Nothing Bundt Cake Franchisee.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 21 Jun 2024, 28 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/ac024c17-a2b9-4fec-8dd0-af62015105cb/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-NAACP Image Award-winning television producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Charlie Shabazz. owner of a Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise in Tucker, Georgia. Charlie's entrepreneurial journey is particularly inspiring because she did not come from a baking background. Instead, she built her career as a CPA and tax professional before transitioning into franchise ownership. The conversation explores entrepreneurship, overcoming fear, franchising, financial discipline, mentorship, career pivots, and the importance of pursuing opportunities even when they fall outside your comfort zone. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of the interview was to: • Share Charlie Shabazz's entrepreneurial journey. • Explain the realities of franchise ownership. • Encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to overcome fear. • Demonstrate the value of mentorship and preparation. • Discuss financial discipline and debt management. • Inspire listeners to pursue opportunities outside their original career path. • Highlight successful Black women entrepreneurs. About Charlie Shabazz Before becoming a franchise owner, Charlie: • Grew up in Philadelphia. • Graduated from Temple University. • Earned a degree in Accounting. • Obtained a Master's degree in Taxation. • Became a CPA. • Built a successful career in tax accounting. For years, she expected accounting to be her lifelong profession. As she explained: "I thought I would do taxes for the rest of my life." Life ultimately had different plans. Key Takeaways 1. Fear Should Not Dictate Your Future One of the strongest themes throughout the interview was overcoming fear. Charlie left Philadelphia to pursue an opportunity in Atlanta despite uncertainty. She faced concerns such as: • Leaving family behind • Starting over in a new city • Taking professional risks • Building a new support system Yet she moved forward anyway. Key Point: Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting despite fear. 2. Mentorship Accelerated Her Growth When Charlie wanted to learn business taxation, she realized she lacked experience. Instead of avoiding the challenge, she proactively sought a mentor. Her approach was simple: • Contact an experienced CPA. • Offer to work for free. • Learn as much as possible. The mentor accepted. Charlie credits this experience with helping her gain expertise in business tax preparation. Key Point: Great mentors can dramatically shorten the learning curve. 3. Success Requires Sacrifice During the interview, a caller asked how Charlie managed finances while building her career. Charlie openly discussed financial struggles. At one point: • She carried credit card debt. • Faced financial stress. • Needed a structured repayment plan. She created a spreadsheet tracking: • Every credit card balance • Monthly payments • Payoff goals She followed the plan consistently. Key Point: Financial success often starts with discipline rather than income. 4. Every Dream Needs a Plan Charlie emphasized the importance of having a plan. She explained that dreams alone are not enough. Success requires: • Clear goals • Strategy • Consistent execution • Accountability Her own progress came from deliberate planning rather than luck. 5. Opportunities Often Arrive Unexpectedly One surprising fact from the interview: Charlie was not originally planning to own a Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise. Her original goal was simply: Bring a bakery to Tucker, Georgia. She initially explored…

## Transcript

[0:05] Speaker 1: Welcome to the show. I am Rashawn McDonald, the host
[0:07] Speaker 1: of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to
[0:11] Speaker 1: stop reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
[0:16] Speaker 1: Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from.
[0:18] Speaker 2: Around the country, talk to celebrities and ask them how
[0:22] Speaker 2: they are running their companies and speak with nonprofits who
[0:25] Speaker 2: are making a difference in their local communities. Now sit
[0:28] Speaker 2: back and listen as we unlock the secrets to their success.
[0:31] Speaker 1: On Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Please welcome to Money Making
[0:36] Speaker 1: Conversations Masterclass, the franchise owner of a nothing, bunk, cake location,
[0:41] Speaker 1: Charlie Shabazz. How you doing, Charlie?
[0:42] Speaker 3: I'm wonderful. How are you, Rashawn? I'm happy to be here.
[0:45] Speaker 3: Thank you for having me.
[0:46] Speaker 1: Well, first of all, let's talk about the relationship. You know,
[0:49] Speaker 1: in my business, somebody had... A delivery. Gifted me. Yes,
[0:54] Speaker 1: they did. Your product.
[0:56] Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
[0:57] Speaker 1: I was happy because everybody knows they follow me. They
[1:01] Speaker 1: know I love sweets. And I immediately invited you because
[1:04] Speaker 1: I asked you, I said, because, you know, I'm going
[1:06] Speaker 1: to be honest with you. I stereotyped her. I thought
[1:08] Speaker 1: she was just a delivery person. She said, no, I
[1:10] Speaker 1: am the owner of this location. I went, wow. And
[1:13] Speaker 1: I said, can you come on my show? And we've
[1:15] Speaker 1: been going back and forth because your schedule's been busy.
[1:18] Speaker 1: And finally, you're able to come on my show and
[1:21] Speaker 1: talk about what you do. Let's talk about before you
[1:24] Speaker 1: made this decision, Charlie, to be a franchisee. So, A
[1:27] Speaker 1: little background.
[1:27] Speaker 3: I'm a CPA.
[1:28] Speaker 5: So I've been in accounting my whole life. Always knew
[1:31] Speaker 5: I wanted to be an accountant from Philadelphia. I went
[1:34] Speaker 5: to Temple University for my undergrad in accounting, had a
[1:38] Speaker 5: taxation class. And I was like, I want to do taxes.
[1:43] Speaker 5: So I went and got my master's in taxation.
[1:46] Speaker 3: And yeah. That's what I did. So I was a
[1:49] Speaker 3: tax accountant for most of my life. And I thought
[1:52] Speaker 3: I would do that for the rest of my life.
[1:53] Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you something. I am afraid to
[1:55] Speaker 1: do that. I have a degree in mathematics. You cannot.
[1:58] Speaker 1: Even the easy form, I get nervous. I swear to you,
[2:02] Speaker 1: I will go to H & R, whatever, whatever by
[2:06] Speaker 1: that tax, I would take it easy for you. You know,
[2:09] Speaker 1: just do it.
[2:10] Speaker 2: It's on you.
[2:11] Speaker 1: It's on you. So for you, I am like bowing
[2:14] Speaker 1: down to you because you're confidently saying this. Taxes, that's
[2:17] Speaker 1: what I do. I do taxes, taxes. When you're looking
[2:19] Speaker 1: at a guy, and people tell me I'm pretty smart.
[2:22] Speaker 1: My degree, you know, I make a decent list. I'm
[2:24] Speaker 1: sure you can do your taxes. But I swear to you,
[2:27] Speaker 1: I will not do my taxes. I've never, ever done
[2:29] Speaker 1: my taxes because they intimidate me. The whole process of
[2:33] Speaker 1: making a mistake intimidates me. And so that means that
[2:36] Speaker 1: you have to be a confident person then, right?
[2:38] Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, the law changes often, so you're always
[2:42] Speaker 5: doing your continuing education credits and understanding the new laws.
[2:49] Speaker 5: Don't get me wrong. I started out as a personal
[2:52] Speaker 5: tax return preparer.
[2:53] Speaker 6: Right.
[2:54] Speaker 5: And when I moved to Atlanta, I decided I wanted
[2:56] Speaker 5: to be a business tax return preparer, and I was
[2:59] Speaker 5: totally intimidated by that.
[3:00] Speaker 1: Okay.
[3:02] Speaker 3: But I Googled a CPA.
[3:04] Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
[3:05] Speaker 3: I called her. I told her, listen, I want to
[3:07] Speaker 3: work for free.
[3:08] Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
[3:08] Speaker 5: I don't know business taxes. Can I please come to
[3:11] Speaker 5: your office and you teach me and I learn for free,
[3:14] Speaker 5: just free, free, free, free, free, free. So she said, yeah.
[3:19] Speaker 1: So because she asked for your resume and she saw it.
[3:23] Speaker 1: I'll get this person, this skill set, Temple graduate for free,
[3:26] Speaker 1: knowing what your ultimate goal was.
[3:28] Speaker 3: Exactly.
[3:29] Speaker 5: So she's a huge mentor for me. And so I
[3:33] Speaker 5: learned business taxes and then I'll, Had a corporate job.
[3:36] Speaker 5: That's how I moved to Atlanta from Philly. Large bank
[3:40] Speaker 5: made me an offer.
[3:41] Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.
[3:43] Speaker 3: That I couldn't refuse.
[3:44] Speaker 5: So I packed up, you know, my little Jeep and
[3:47] Speaker 5: I moved to Atlanta. Found an apartment three days later
[3:50] Speaker 5: in Tucker. So Tucker has been where I've moved to first.
[3:56] Speaker 5: Had my first home, had my first job, and now
[3:58] Speaker 5: the bakery's in Tucker.
[3:59] Speaker 3: So I have deep roots with Tucker.
[4:01] Speaker 1: Tucker, Georgia. Yes, Tucker, Georgia.
[4:02] Speaker 3: Just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
[4:04] Speaker 5: Yes, it is.
[4:05] Speaker 1: Now let's talk about that, the differences, you know. Because
[4:09] Speaker 1: we always talk about fear on this show. You know,
[4:12] Speaker 1: you moved. You know, you are all female, you know,
[4:15] Speaker 1: transitioning from another major market to another major market. But
[4:19] Speaker 1: it was northeast and now to south. Were there any,
[4:23] Speaker 1: what were the fears in making that move, that decision
[4:25] Speaker 1: to come to Atlanta? Because there were some.
[4:27] Speaker 3: There were a lot of fears. But I was done
[4:31] Speaker 3: with Philly. You know, I needed a change.
[4:32] Speaker 5: So I kind of left it open to where the
[4:36] Speaker 5: job opportunity took me. So D.C., California, they were all
[4:40] Speaker 5: option sexist. So when the door opened to Atlanta, I
[4:43] Speaker 5: was like, well, this is where I need to be.
[4:45] Speaker 5: So I came confidently with fears of what if I
[4:49] Speaker 5: don't do well at this job? What if, you know,
[4:52] Speaker 5: what if, what if, what if? But I was like,
[4:54] Speaker 5: I can always go.
[4:54] Speaker 8: Back to Philly.
[4:55] Speaker 3: You know, all my family's in Philly.
[4:58] Speaker 5: So, you know, that always was a fallback plan if
[5:03] Speaker 5: it had to be, but never looked back.
[5:05] Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting. If you guys want to talk
[5:06] Speaker 1: and join this conversation. I remember when I left IBM
[5:09] Speaker 1: to pursue a stand-up career. And I left on great terms.
[5:13] Speaker 1: In fact, I tell people on the show, I was
[5:15] Speaker 1: in tears when I made that decision a year in advance.
[5:18] Speaker 1: Because it was such an emotional decision. Even though I
[5:20] Speaker 1: knew working for IBM was not my future. It just
[5:25] Speaker 1: didn't excite me. I saw myself being blocked in creatively.
[5:29] Speaker 1: And I went, okay, this is not me. And so,
[5:31] Speaker 1: because they had a successful model and they wanted people
[5:34] Speaker 1: to grow in that model. And I wanted to do
[5:36] Speaker 1: things outside of that model. And I went, nah, this
[5:38] Speaker 1: is not me. But I know for about a year,
[5:41] Speaker 1: I kept thinking I can always go back. And then finally,
[5:45] Speaker 1: I said, stop. Stop that theory.
[5:48] Speaker 3: Take the security blanket away and own it.
[5:51] Speaker 1: Stop that theory that you can go back. Because that's
[5:54] Speaker 1: not why you left. You left to pursue your dreams.
[5:57] Speaker 1: And that's key right there. You left. Philadelphia to pursue
[6:01] Speaker 1: your dreams. And in doing so, you had to take
[6:04] Speaker 1: away that thought process. When did you take away that
[6:07] Speaker 1: thought process that I had that you could always go back?
[6:11] Speaker 5: Well, to make it even more, you know, I took
[6:13] Speaker 5: a temp position at this bank. I didn't even have
[6:17] Speaker 5: a signed contract. I took a temp job and took
[6:20] Speaker 5: a leap on faith. So once I proved myself, because
[6:23] Speaker 5: I was confident, I was like, I can do the work.
[6:24] Speaker 5: I got a full-time contract. Found my apartment. Started building
[6:29] Speaker 5: my network of friends. And I was like, this is
[6:32] Speaker 5: my home now.
[6:34] Speaker 1: And so you did free work. We're going to come
[6:37] Speaker 1: back after this break because you've got a lot to
[6:39] Speaker 1: talk about. We didn't even talk about nothing but vacation.
[6:41] Speaker 1: Her story is so interesting. But you're the perfect guest
[6:43] Speaker 1: for the show because I want people to hear how
[6:47] Speaker 1: it seems simple. It seems difficult. But fear drives so
[6:50] Speaker 1: many people from reaching their ultimate dream, and that is
[6:54] Speaker 1: walking away. I know that. I've walked away from a
[6:57] Speaker 1: lot of levels. A lot of people have said, Rishon,
[6:59] Speaker 1: you've always seen, and people have called me a renaissance man.
[7:03] Speaker 1: And sometimes I don't know what that means, but when
[7:05] Speaker 1: they look at my resume, they go, you did this,
[7:06] Speaker 1: you did this, you did this, and you've been good
[7:09] Speaker 1: at all these things. And I say because everything I
[7:12] Speaker 1: do or have done in my life, I wanted to
[7:14] Speaker 1: do it. How you doing, Victoria? You're calling in on
[7:16] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversation Masterclass, and you're speaking to me and
[7:19] Speaker 1: Charlie Shabazz. What are you talking about? What question can
[7:22] Speaker 1: we help you with? Good evening.
[7:24] Speaker 9: Good evening.
[7:24] Speaker 2: How are you?
[7:25] Speaker 1: Wonderful. Good, good.
[7:29] Speaker 9: Okay, so I was just listening, and I just want
[7:33] Speaker 9: to commend you for taking the chance from moving from
[7:39] Speaker 9: the Northeast and then coming to Atlanta and all that.
[7:43] Speaker 9: Was there ever a time in your life where you
[7:46] Speaker 9: didn't have it all together like me? You couldn't hold
[7:51] Speaker 9: on to money, and it would just liquidate.
[7:55] Speaker 3: Victoria, I'm a CPA, right? I'm an accountant.
[7:58] Speaker 5: I take care of everybody's money. However, Georgia Power had
[8:04] Speaker 5: me no lights one day when I came home.
[8:07] Speaker 1: Okay?
[8:07] Speaker 5: So, you know, Rashawn was talking about saving and how
[8:12] Speaker 5: you wish you could, you know, save and put things away.
[8:15] Speaker 5: It was so easy for me to tell my clients, yes,
[8:17] Speaker 5: you need to save. You need to put 10% here.
[8:19] Speaker 5: You need to do this.
[8:20] Speaker 3: You know, but just keeping it real, it's hard to.
[8:24] Speaker 5: Implement those things when you financially aren't where you want
[8:28] Speaker 5: to be. So absolutely, the struggle was absolutely real. And
[8:33] Speaker 5: I just think the key to it was just staying
[8:36] Speaker 5: in my lane. You know, a lot of my friends
[8:38] Speaker 5: were like, oh, we're going out, we're going out.
[8:40] Speaker 3: Nope, not me, not tonight.
[8:42] Speaker 5: You know, you have to sacrifice a lot of things
[8:47] Speaker 5: in order to get to where you need to be.
[8:49] Speaker 3: So like Rashawn said, if you don't have a plan.
[8:54] Speaker 5: I had a spreadsheet that I opened up every morning
[8:57] Speaker 5: when I was in corporate America and it was my debt.
[9:00] Speaker 5: I had all my credit cards on the spreadsheet. I
[9:03] Speaker 5: had a payment breakdown on how I was going to
[9:05] Speaker 5: get each balance to zero and I was committed to
[9:08] Speaker 5: the $ 200 here, the $ 250 here, the $ 150 here. The saying, oh,
[9:13] Speaker 5: I got a zero balance on my Discover card.
[9:15] Speaker 7: Hmm.
[9:16] Speaker 5: Let me use that $ 10, 000 from there, pay down my MasterCard,
[9:21] Speaker 5: and then I got zero interest on the balance. You know,
[9:24] Speaker 5: it was just maneuvering and figuring out, but having the
[9:27] Speaker 5: plan and being committed to the plan. And that's how
[9:31] Speaker 5: I was able to get myself out of that credit
[9:34] Speaker 5: card debt that is inevitable when you don't come from
[9:37] Speaker 5: money and you have an undergrad degree, you have a
[9:41] Speaker 5: master's degree. You know, you move and you're by yourself.
[9:44] Speaker 5: You don't really have that family support system. So, no,
[9:47] Speaker 5: it was absolutely real. And I just had to sacrifice.
[9:54] Speaker 1: Victoria, did she help you out with that answer?
[9:56] Speaker 4: Yes.
[9:56] Speaker 1: That was good. My mom would think, uh-huh, answer, answer.
[10:00] Speaker 9: Can I ask, how would I be able to be
[10:05] Speaker 9: a part of the franchise? Are you saying that Nothing
[10:10] Speaker 9: Bunt Cakes is offering franchise opportunities?
[10:14] Speaker 3: Absolutely. I speak to a lot of.
[10:17] Speaker 5: Potential new franchisees and a lot of them are very
[10:20] Speaker 5: intentional I want to open a Nothing Bunch Cakes that
[10:23] Speaker 5: was not my story Victoria Nothing Bunch Cakes was not
[10:27] Speaker 5: necessarily the plan the plan was to open a bakery
[10:31] Speaker 5: in Tucker in this new plaza that needed a bakery
[10:35] Speaker 5: so I was like okay I'm gonna bring a bakery
[10:37] Speaker 5: to Tucker we don't have a bakery I had a
[10:40] Speaker 5: client that had a different bakery franchise so it was
[10:44] Speaker 5: initially going to be something else And when that didn't work,
[10:48] Speaker 5: the landlord is looking at me. He's like, hey, Charlie,
[10:50] Speaker 5: where's that bakery you bring in? I'm scrambling, you know, like, oh, Jesus,
[10:54] Speaker 5: I'm Googling bakery franchise. You know, other things popped up
[10:59] Speaker 5: and then it morphed into nothing bundt cake. So I
[11:02] Speaker 5: would say the plan was to have a side business.
[11:07] Speaker 5: But sometimes you have to have to open it up
[11:09] Speaker 5: just a little bit and be receptive to the pivots
[11:12] Speaker 5: and the changes and say, OK, I thought it was
[11:15] Speaker 5: going to be this, but this is coming full circle
[11:17] Speaker 5: for me. So let me embrace this and make this work.
[11:23] Speaker 9: What's the definition of a franchise? I'm sorry.
[11:25] Speaker 4: No.
[11:25] Speaker 9: What's the definition of a franchise?
[11:28] Speaker 1: That's question number three here, Victoria. That's your last question, Victoria.
[11:31] Speaker 1: I'm just a Victoria. You're the NPR, but you ain't
[11:34] Speaker 1: hijacking my show. You can start your own show online.
[11:37] Speaker 5: I would say a great movie to find on Netflix
[11:40] Speaker 5: is The Founder, I believe it's called, with McDonald's. So
[11:45] Speaker 5: it takes you through the whole franchise-like life. So basically, Victoria,
[11:50] Speaker 5: two women came together 20 plus years ago, they had
[11:55] Speaker 5: a great Bundt cake and great frosting, right? They said, listen,
[11:59] Speaker 5: let's open up a little bakery. Let's have a store.
[12:02] Speaker 5: You have a business. It does well. You create a
[12:07] Speaker 5: cookie cut type of thing. You know, you mastered the
[12:09] Speaker 5: recipes and it's like, can I give somebody this and
[12:12] Speaker 5: can they do.
[12:13] Speaker 3: It without my expertise?
[12:15] Speaker 5: And once you prove the concept.
[12:18] Speaker 3: And if you watch Shark Tank, a couple episodes, you'll
[12:21] Speaker 3: learn all this.
[12:22] Speaker 5: Once you prove that the concept can be done by anyone, anywhere,
[12:27] Speaker 5: that's the birth of franchising, right?
[12:30] Speaker 1: So, okay.
[12:32] Speaker 5: So they said, look, we have the recipe. We have everything. We,
[12:36] Speaker 5: you know, worked out the kinks. We know how many
[12:38] Speaker 5: people you should hire. We know, you know, what locations
[12:42] Speaker 5: are do well with this. And they kind of mapped
[12:44] Speaker 5: it out. They give you the blueprints. So you take
[12:47] Speaker 5: the blueprint. Well, you buy the blueprint. Let's be clear.
[12:50] Speaker 5: You buy the blueprint, Victoria.
[12:53] Speaker 9: Well, let me tell you something. I've been baking since
[12:55] Speaker 9: I was 10 years old.
[12:57] Speaker 1: Yes, Victoria.
[12:57] Speaker 9: I make really good. I'm sorry.
[12:59] Speaker 8: Look, look, look.
[13:01] Speaker 4: I want to do this.
[13:02] Speaker 1: I'm serious. Well, Victoria, I'm not denying that. Victoria, first
[13:05] Speaker 1: of all, that's what this show was designed, Money Making
[13:07] Speaker 1: Conversation Masterclass, was to get the community excited about speaking
[13:11] Speaker 1: to people like Charlie because they do exist. They do
[13:14] Speaker 1: exist and they're, they do have stories and her story
[13:18] Speaker 1: has gravitated you and hopefully motivates you to be a star,
[13:21] Speaker 1: a star. Like she said, bakery, you know, like I said,
[13:24] Speaker 1: I'm an award winning baker and I, and I have
[13:26] Speaker 1: no desire to open a bakery, but you go to
[13:29] Speaker 1: my timeline, you think I would bake and the people say,
[13:32] Speaker 1: why aren't you 400 pounds? Every time I look, you're
[13:34] Speaker 1: eating something. And, but, but it's the passion. I hear
[13:37] Speaker 1: the passion in your voice. I think what she's saying
[13:39] Speaker 1: right now is that what is the plan? You know,
[13:42] Speaker 1: what is the plan? And she speaks to people all
[13:44] Speaker 1: the time. And so, No, your question, I tease you
[13:46] Speaker 1: about asking questions. Your curiosity is incredible. But now it
[13:50] Speaker 1: has to be put on paper. And once you put
[13:52] Speaker 1: it on paper, then the emotional pushback happens. You know,
[13:56] Speaker 1: how do you make that dream happen?
[13:59] Speaker 7: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
[14:02] Speaker 7: Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
[14:11] Speaker 7: Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashawn McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
[14:17] Speaker 7: continues online at MoneyMakingConversations.com and follow Money Making Conversations Masterclass
[14:23] Speaker 7: on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
[14:26] Speaker 1: And that's really where it all starts. You know, whether
[14:29] Speaker 1: you want to be a singer, whether you want to
[14:31] Speaker 1: go to college, there are always dreams, but when you
[14:35] Speaker 1: start creating application to that dream, that's when the struggle happens.
[14:39] Speaker 1: And when that struggle happens, how do you react to it?
[14:42] Speaker 1: What is your plan to push back on it? Because
[14:45] Speaker 1: we all have rainy days. We have rainy days in relationships.
[14:47] Speaker 1: We have rainy days on the job. And that word
[14:49] Speaker 1: rainy day doesn't necessarily mean rain. It just means difficulties.
[14:53] Speaker 1: It means when it's supposed to be sunshiny, it's gloomy.
[14:57] Speaker 1: And how do you react during gloom? And so this show,
[15:00] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations Masterclass, that you're listening to and Charlie's
[15:03] Speaker 1: doing an amazing, you know, me, I should be worried
[15:05] Speaker 1: about her. You know, she's just brilliant sitting over here.
[15:08] Speaker 1: just responding so confidently and casually to these questions. And
[15:12] Speaker 1: to have a guest like this, she's in studio, she
[15:14] Speaker 1: came in here, she brought in some of her samples.
[15:17] Speaker 1: It's to show confidence. And I just want to thank
[15:19] Speaker 1: you for calling in and leave your number and your
[15:23] Speaker 1: email address so we can reach out to you. Okay, Victoria?
[15:25] Speaker 1: Because we really want to continue that conversation. Plus, I
[15:28] Speaker 1: want to send you one of my money-making conversation guides
[15:31] Speaker 1: to success.
[15:32] Speaker 6: All right?
[15:32] Speaker 9: Thank you so much. And I go to sleep with
[15:35] Speaker 9: this station on. Like, it's always on in my room,
[15:38] Speaker 9: and I really find refuge in it. So thank you
[15:40] Speaker 9: so much.
[15:41] Speaker 3: Thank you, Victoria.
[15:42] Speaker 1: Make sure you leave that information for me. Thank you, Ms.
[15:43] Speaker 8: Charlie.
[15:44] Speaker 3: You're welcome.
[15:46] Speaker 4: We'll be right back with more Money-Making Conversations Masterclass with
[15:50] Speaker 4: Rashaun McDonald. Now let's return to Money Making Conversations Masterclass
[15:56] Speaker 4: with Rashawn McDonald.
[15:57] Speaker 6: See, Ms.
[15:58] Speaker 1: Charles, you get the little brand sitting up in here.
[16:00] Speaker 1: We know the thing about it now. You said you
[16:02] Speaker 1: were going in there. I know we're about to wrap
[16:04] Speaker 1: this break up in a few minutes here, but I
[16:06] Speaker 1: want to ask you a couple of questions before we
[16:08] Speaker 1: get there. You were going in there to open a bakery.
[16:11] Speaker 3: As a side business.
[16:12] Speaker 1: As a side business. You should say it like that.
[16:14] Speaker 7: Okay, cool.
[16:14] Speaker 1: Let me get to history here now. Temple, accounting, CPA.
[16:20] Speaker 1: Where did the baking... Skills.
[16:24] Speaker 3: There were none.
[16:25] Speaker 1: There were none?
[16:26] Speaker 6: Mm-mm.
[16:27] Speaker 4: Okay.
[16:27] Speaker 8: Yeah.
[16:28] Speaker 3: I used to just cut the cookie roll, you know.
[16:30] Speaker 7: Right.
[16:30] Speaker 5: Like spray the pan and like just put the little
[16:33] Speaker 5: blop of chocolate chip dough on.
[16:35] Speaker 3: It and stick it in the oven.
[16:37] Speaker 5: Yeah, that was the extent of my biggest skills.
[16:43] Speaker 3: You know, so if someone said seven years ago, you're
[16:46] Speaker 3: going to own a bakery. I would say, wow, interesting.
[16:49] Speaker 3: Cause I don't bake.
[16:50] Speaker 1: Right. Right. So, so, so you in Tucker, Georgia, you, you,
[16:55] Speaker 1: but you're in a visionary because you feel that you
[16:56] Speaker 1: want to feel a need. Okay. So talk, walk us
[17:00] Speaker 1: through that step of going to the, um, the landlord
[17:04] Speaker 1: telling them what you want to do, but you have
[17:05] Speaker 1: to have a plan. And the first plan wasn't a
[17:07] Speaker 1: nothing but case. Talk about that. Okay.
[17:10] Speaker 5: So the plaza was coming great location and Tucker, uh,
[17:13] Speaker 5: I need to be a part of it. I'm driving
[17:15] Speaker 5: by every day going to my corporate job. So one
[17:19] Speaker 5: day I took a right and I found, you know, Sign,
[17:22] Speaker 5: wrote down the number, called him.
[17:24] Speaker 3: Hey, I have an idea for a bakery. Do you
[17:26] Speaker 3: have any space available?
[17:27] Speaker 6: Absolutely.
[17:28] Speaker 3: How much space do you need?
[17:29] Speaker 5: I'm just talking him out, you know, kind of faking
[17:32] Speaker 5: it till I made it. And so I was kind
[17:34] Speaker 5: of on the hook to bring a bakery. So that
[17:38] Speaker 5: is when the wheel started spinning. And I was like, oh,
[17:41] Speaker 5: that fell through. What else can I do? Oh, I
[17:43] Speaker 5: was committed to bringing the bakery.
[17:46] Speaker 1: OK. And you opened in 2017.
[17:48] Speaker 4: Yeah.
[17:49] Speaker 1: When did you start this process?
[17:50] Speaker 6: Yes.
[17:52] Speaker 3: Late 15.
[17:55] Speaker 5: Late 15, we started communicating with the landlord. I'm at
[17:59] Speaker 5: dinner one night, and I had nothing but cakes in
[18:02] Speaker 5: California at a cousin's birthday dinner.
[18:05] Speaker 3: And it was the best cake I ever had. And
[18:08] Speaker 3: I thought, wow, I got to come back to L.A.
[18:10] Speaker 3: to get this cake, you know?
[18:12] Speaker 1: The creamy?
[18:15] Speaker 6: Oh, yeah.
[18:16] Speaker 3: It's moist.
[18:16] Speaker 5: The cream cheese, you know? So I had it, tasted it.
[18:20] Speaker 5: I just didn't know it was a franchise. I didn't
[18:21] Speaker 5: know there was one here in Georgia.
[18:23] Speaker 7: Yeah.
[18:23] Speaker 3: I didn't know any of that until someone mentioned it again.
[18:26] Speaker 5: And I said, oh, let me Google. Google nothing. Bunch
[18:30] Speaker 5: cake franchise. Boom.
[18:32] Speaker 4: Came up.
[18:33] Speaker 5: I'm almost signing a deal with another bakery franchise.
[18:37] Speaker 1: OK.
[18:37] Speaker 4: OK.
[18:38] Speaker 5: So the spirit said, don't just see nothing. Bunch cakes
[18:42] Speaker 5: has to say.
[18:43] Speaker 3: I emailed them.
[18:45] Speaker 5: She replied back. I told her what was happening about
[18:47] Speaker 5: me with this other franchise. She said, wait, don't you
[18:50] Speaker 5: do it, Charlie.
[18:51] Speaker 3: Hear me out. And I heard her out. And the
[18:55] Speaker 3: rest is history.
[18:56] Speaker 5: You know, I canceled the deal with the other bakery
[18:58] Speaker 5: franchise and went with nothing but cakes.
[19:01] Speaker 1: So so why? I was just off air. Why are
[19:05] Speaker 1: black women the fastest growing segment in entrepreneurship? Why are
[19:08] Speaker 1: black women?
[19:10] Speaker 5: From what I see and all the amazing black women
[19:13] Speaker 5: that I know. I think our mothers have a lot
[19:16] Speaker 5: to do with that. I know my mother, you know,
[19:20] Speaker 5: she pushed her girls to be what she was not
[19:23] Speaker 5: able to accomplish, you know, so it was just having
[19:26] Speaker 5: that fierce, you know, that, you know, amazing black role
[19:31] Speaker 5: model of a mother to say, you need to travel.
[19:35] Speaker 5: You need to go to college. You need to be
[19:38] Speaker 5: better than me. You need to do better than me.
[19:40] Speaker 5: You know, the school is your number one priority. That
[19:44] Speaker 5: just pushed me to continue to see myself out of
[19:49] Speaker 5: North Philly. You know, a lot of my friends didn't
[19:53] Speaker 5: never been out of North Philly, so they couldn't see
[19:55] Speaker 5: themselves living outside of North Philly, let alone, you know,
[20:00] Speaker 5: having a business or going to college. So I think
[20:03] Speaker 5: our mothers are the backbones of two while we're so
[20:07] Speaker 5: successful and we're very passionate women.
[20:10] Speaker 1: I grew up with six of them.
[20:11] Speaker 3: Yeah.
[20:12] Speaker 1: So I know about the female passion.
[20:14] Speaker 6: Yes.
[20:14] Speaker 1: When we come back, we're going to find out how
[20:16] Speaker 1: big her bakery is, the pros and cons of franchising,
[20:20] Speaker 1: what to consider before franchising. As she said, you know,
[20:23] Speaker 1: she was about to sign another franchise location, bakery, and
[20:25] Speaker 1: then she sat down with the nothing but cake individuals,
[20:28] Speaker 1: and they said, hey, we're the one. And she's not
[20:31] Speaker 1: looked back. We'll be right back with more of Charlie Shabazz. Charlie,
[20:35] Speaker 1: you got another phone call. Is it Tayron? Is it Tayron? Taryn?
[20:41] Speaker 1: Is it Taryn?
[20:43] Speaker 6: Taron.
[20:43] Speaker 1: Taron.
[20:44] Speaker 6: Like the capital.
[20:45] Speaker 7: Right.
[20:46] Speaker 1: Okay. I appreciate you, my friend. And I apologize because
[20:49] Speaker 1: my name is Rashawn. You'd think I would get everybody's
[20:51] Speaker 1: name right. And I apologize. I apologize. Yeah, yeah.
[20:56] Speaker 6: I say the same thing when I get someone else's
[20:58] Speaker 6: name wrong.
[20:59] Speaker 1: Well, one name I can't get wrong is Charlie. It's Charlie.
[21:02] Speaker 1: Charlie's on the show with me and we talk about franchising.
[21:06] Speaker 1: What's your question today that you might want to ask
[21:07] Speaker 1: me or her?
[21:09] Speaker 6: Well, I just wanted to, you know, give y'all props.
[21:13] Speaker 6: I listen to WCLK often, and I just was listening
[21:19] Speaker 6: in on the conversation and just wanted to say, you know,
[21:24] Speaker 6: thank y'all for just supporting Black-owned businesses as well as,
[21:29] Speaker 6: you know, small businesses on a whole. But Black-owned is definitely...
[21:39] Speaker 6: Thank you, Teron.
[21:45] Speaker 1: I really appreciate Teron because of the fact that, you know,
[21:48] Speaker 1: when you when you try to talk to people, there's fear. And,
[21:52] Speaker 1: you know, especially offering advice is like, what's the what's
[21:54] Speaker 1: the scam? Because black people have a natural, you know,
[21:58] Speaker 1: scam radar. You know, there's another agenda here. The agenda
[22:01] Speaker 1: here is just providing information. That's all. And basically what
[22:05] Speaker 1: we're having is just a conversation. And we as allowing
[22:10] Speaker 1: you to listen in on our conversation that we might
[22:11] Speaker 1: have in a restaurant that we might have, you know,
[22:14] Speaker 1: walking down the street. And these questions like Victoria was
[22:17] Speaker 1: so excited to hear you call in and say, I
[22:20] Speaker 1: really appreciate this conversation is what we want to hear.
[22:22] Speaker 1: That's the conversation you want to create. And the thing
[22:25] Speaker 1: I loved about Charlie's conversation was she was just a
[22:28] Speaker 1: business minded person that got into this. And that's what
[22:31] Speaker 1: stops so many people. You didn't have to be a baker.
[22:34] Speaker 1: You just had to have the passion and the ability
[22:36] Speaker 1: to work hard to achieve your success as a franchisee.
[22:40] Speaker 1: That's what excites me about the conversation. What are your thoughts? Absolutely.
[22:45] Speaker 6: Well, you know, the journey, the journey, sometimes, you know,
[22:50] Speaker 6: in the beginning is the shaky road, you know, and
[22:54] Speaker 6: it takes, you know, it takes that vision. to be, um, ignited.
[23:00] Speaker 6: And like you said, you know, fears is that thing
[23:03] Speaker 6: that stops most people's ideas and visions and goals because
[23:08] Speaker 6: they don't really know what they're stepping into. And, um,
[23:11] Speaker 6: as I was hearing her story and, uh, stories before hers, um,
[23:16] Speaker 6: you know, I definitely related and, uh, you know, again, um, just,
[23:21] Speaker 6: you know, I just appreciated just hearing everyone's, uh, journey, uh,
[23:25] Speaker 6: to where they are now. And, um, and I know that,
[23:28] Speaker 6: you know, in, in the future, I know I'm quite
[23:30] Speaker 6: sure there's, you know, is a long term goals, you know, there's,
[23:36] Speaker 6: you know, other goals that, yeah, but, but as far
[23:38] Speaker 6: as what I've heard, you know, I definitely, um, related to, so.
[23:43] Speaker 1: Thank you, my friend.
[23:43] Speaker 3: I appreciate you for calling.
[23:44] Speaker 1: Because she has a little announcement to tell us. And
[23:46] Speaker 1: thank you for calling on the show.
[23:48] Speaker 4: We'll be right back with more Money Making Conversations Masterclass
[23:51] Speaker 4: with Rashawn McDonald. Now let's return to Money Making Conversations
[23:56] Speaker 4: Masterclass with Rashawn McDonald.
[23:58] Speaker 1: Now, you're telling me off air. He was talking about
[24:00] Speaker 1: long-term gold, short-term gold. Now, short-term gold was just to
[24:04] Speaker 1: get a place open in a bakery with a name
[24:07] Speaker 1: on it that was reputable. Right.
[24:09] Speaker 3: Love it.
[24:09] Speaker 1: Well, you got your third phone call. Awesome. Thomas, how
[24:12] Speaker 1: you doing, Thomas?
[24:13] Speaker 3: Hi, Thomas.
[24:14] Speaker 1: Charlie's here along with Rashad McDonald. What's your question?
[24:18] Speaker 8: I just want to say good evening to both of you.
[24:20] Speaker 8: I'm an avid listener.
[24:21] Speaker 1: Good evening.
[24:22] Speaker 8: I just want to commend Charlie and his sister before CPR.
[24:26] Speaker 8: Just for all that you're doing.
[24:28] Speaker 6: Thank you.
[24:29] Speaker 8: Me being a business owner myself, a fairly new business owner,
[24:34] Speaker 8: the walk that you talked about, Charlie, the pivot, you
[24:39] Speaker 8: have an accounting background, doing something totally unrelated to what
[24:43] Speaker 8: you were doing. And the thing that I find to
[24:45] Speaker 8: be true, and you sound of a similar nature, but God.
[24:49] Speaker 6: Yes.
[24:50] Speaker 8: I commend you, commend you, commend you. I love Rashaun
[24:54] Speaker 8: for this platform, giving others to come on here.
[24:57] Speaker 1: Amen.
[24:57] Speaker 8: Thank you. To learn, inquire, share, continue to build and
[25:01] Speaker 8: uplift each other. And like Rashaun talked about earlier, that fear,
[25:05] Speaker 8: I too know I've wrestled with it for years, but
[25:08] Speaker 8: by the grace of God, last year I pushed through myself.
[25:12] Speaker 8: So I can go on and on, but I won't.
[25:14] Speaker 8: I just keep it short, but I just want to
[25:15] Speaker 8: commend you. I'm going to make, I eat it. Nothing,
[25:18] Speaker 8: nothing but cakes. Um, Every now and again, I was
[25:23] Speaker 8: first introduced to it about three years ago at a
[25:25] Speaker 8: corporate function, and I do make it a point to
[25:28] Speaker 8: go there. Now that I know that you have a
[25:30] Speaker 8: location in Tucker, I'm going to make it a point
[25:33] Speaker 8: specifically to come to see your location.
[25:37] Speaker 3: Thank you, Thomas, and congratulations to you as well.
[25:40] Speaker 8: Thank you. I just wish you well and much success
[25:43] Speaker 8: on your current store as well as your new endeavors
[25:45] Speaker 8: you're about to embark upon.
[25:46] Speaker 3: Thank you. I appreciate you so much. Thank you so much.
[25:49] Speaker 1: Well, you know, this is the Charlie Shabazz Show. She's
[25:53] Speaker 1: my co-host on Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Now, you delivered
[25:57] Speaker 1: to my office.
[25:57] Speaker 3: I did.
[25:58] Speaker 1: Now, how are you going to do that? Because you
[26:00] Speaker 1: like that personal touch. You like to be on the
[26:02] Speaker 1: front line of meeting your customers and things like that.
[26:04] Speaker 3: Well, you know, and I still will. I just won't
[26:06] Speaker 3: be able to do all of them.
[26:07] Speaker 1: Right.
[26:07] Speaker 5: You know, I absolutely need a full team to help
[26:11] Speaker 5: me be completely successful. I think I am best at business.
[26:16] Speaker 5: building relationships, marketing. That's my new job. I'm out the
[26:20] Speaker 5: DeKalb chambers of commerce. I'm a member there. I'm a
[26:22] Speaker 5: member of my Tucker business association. I'm out planning the seeds,
[26:28] Speaker 5: you know, so when they start to grow, the business
[26:31] Speaker 5: can grow. Um, and you just got to know what you,
[26:33] Speaker 5: what you're good at and what you're not good at.
[26:35] Speaker 5: I've met other business owners who are not people, people,
[26:39] Speaker 5: you know, um, So they hire other people to do
[26:42] Speaker 5: that for them.
[26:43] Speaker 1: That's not true.
[26:44] Speaker 3: It's a gift. It's a gift. And I'm thankful for it.
[26:47] Speaker 5: And I'm thankful to be in the position to be
[26:50] Speaker 5: able to build those relationships because a lot of times
[26:53] Speaker 5: businesses come to communities and they take, take, take from
[26:55] Speaker 5: the community and they don't give back to the community.
[26:58] Speaker 5: So it's very important to me to give back to
[27:02] Speaker 5: the community that I live in.
[27:03] Speaker 3: I'm still a resident of Tucker.
[27:04] Speaker 1: Well, the beauty of our conference, first of all, finally
[27:07] Speaker 1: got you in here. You are amazing. Not only amazing,
[27:11] Speaker 1: just your story is just special. Thank you. And it
[27:13] Speaker 1: fits so many things that I talk about every week.
[27:15] Speaker 1: And the fact that you are not a trained baker.
[27:18] Speaker 1: The fact that you just saw an opportunity, did your research.
[27:21] Speaker 1: And that's why I then overcame the fear of people going,
[27:24] Speaker 1: you don't do that. Why are you doing something you
[27:26] Speaker 1: don't do? That's what this show, Money Making Conversation Masterclass,
[27:29] Speaker 1: is all about. I want to thank you for coming
[27:31] Speaker 1: on the show.
[27:31] Speaker 6: You're welcome.
[27:31] Speaker 1: And thank you for these snacks, too. Absolutely. We'll see
[27:34] Speaker 1: you next week. This is Rashawn McDonald. I am the
[27:36] Speaker 1: host of Money Making Conversation Masterclass. And thank you, Charlie.
[27:38] Speaker 3: You're welcome. Thank you.
[27:41] Speaker 1: This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass,
[27:44] Speaker 1: hosted by me, Rashawn McDonald. Thank you to our guests
[27:47] Speaker 1: on the show today. And thank you, our listening audience. Now,
[27:51] Speaker 1: if you want to listen to any episode or want
[27:53] Speaker 1: to be a guest on the show, visit MoneyMakingConversations.com. Our
[27:57] Speaker 1: social media handle is MoneyMakingConversations. Join us next week. And
[28:01] Speaker 1: remember to always lead with your gifts. Keep winning.

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