[Image Via]

 

First things first: I’d like to send a big “thanks, Keeks!” to Kiana for having her blog game proper these past five days that I’ve been MIA.  It’s been too long friends…I for real get PT withdrawal when I’m away for more then 2 days, hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

 

Since last Wednesday I’ve been pulling 12-hour days helping my friend Kamal at his gourmet doughnut shop in Atlanta, Sublime Doughnuts.  Two weeks ago Kamal’s shop had a small loyal following (he’s the king of Yelp reviews), so he was able to both make the scrumptious doughnuts pictured above and sell them to people all by himself. All that changed when the Atlanta Journal-Constitution blew up his spot last week and his customer base increased 300%. So being the semi-employed, helpful friend that I am, I’ve been waking up at 4am to help him feed the masses.

 

And I’ve learned a few valuable things:

 

1. Homer Simpson isn’t the only one who likes doughnuts. Starting at 6 am, folks stream into the shop to buy up as many doughnuts as they can. Last weekend it was like The Wire’s Hamsterdam up in that piece –people were actin like straight up doughnuts fiends.

 

2. Anyone who thinks public relations is a useless profession should kill themselves immediately. Word of mouth can often outlast press coverage, but in many cases there’s nothing like the honest co-sign of a big newspaper or TV station to put a product or business on the map. Any company ever featured on Oprah’s “favorite things” list can attest to that. And reporters don’t always know what’s hot on the streets– sometimes they need someone to tell them what’s good. 

 

3. Manual labor is no effin joke. Many college-educated folks scoff at people who do physical work for a living, but I bet most of them wouldn’t last a week at a job that not only tried their problem-solving and interpersonal skills, but one that literally busted their asses as well. I’m not saying selling doughnuts is rocket science, but making them like Kamal makes em is definitely an art. So ladies, the next time you meet a dude at the club who didn’t go to college, don’t immediately put your stank face on. A man with a legit trade probably has just as much “schooling” as you and just might have more money than you, so don’t sell yourself short only lookin for that BA, MBA and MD.

 

4. Jay-Z may be onto something with his Best Life tips. You really can’t focus solely on money when making career decisions. If you only make moves based on what you think is the most profitable, you’ll likely still be unsatisfied when all is said and done. Kamal had a good job as a production manager for a large bakery in ATL, but his passion was to make signature creations and be his own boss. Entrepreneurism is not nearly as glamorous as sounds– there’s long hours and very little money in the beginning, so I think figuring out what you’re passionate about and sticking with it despite the initial pay cut is really key.

 

That’s all for my pseudo-revelations on business and such for now. I’m supposed to be back at the doughnut shop at 5am tomorrow, so don’t be surprised if my posts read like they were written while I was half-asleep for the next few days. Hey, that just might make them funnier!! lol

Tags: Entrepreneurism, Sublime Doughnuts