Create 7 Streams of Income: Derrick Faulcon’s Blueprint for Hustling, Business & Taking-Over NYC

Summary

Earn Your Leisure Podcast Episode Summary

Title: Create 7 Streams of Income: Derrick Falcon’s Blueprint for Hustling, Business & Taking-Over NYC
Hosts: Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings
Guest: Derrick Falcon
Release Date: March 27, 2025

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Earn Your Leisure, hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings delve deep into the entrepreneurial journey of Derrick Falcon. The conversation offers a comprehensive look into Derrick's transition from operating a restaurant in Baltimore to establishing a successful vegan donut shop in New York City. Central to his success is his "Seven Streams of Income" strategy, which Derrick elaborates on extensively.

From Baltimore to New York: Transitioning Businesses

Derrick Falcon recounts his move from Baltimore to the bustling streets of New York City, highlighting the strategic shift from running a restaurant to founding Cloudy Donuts, a vegan donut shop in SoHo. This transition wasn't merely geographic but also a pivot in business model aimed at scalability and sustainability.

Derrick Falcon [04:55]: "I always tell a person, when you go fast, you grow fast... It remind me of like a trap house. I give you the product, you don't even know who I am. You gone. And I'm able to scale that."

Seven Streams of Income: A Blueprint for Wealth

At the heart of Derrick's business philosophy is the "Seven Streams of Income." This strategy emphasizes diversifying income sources to build substantial and sustainable wealth. Derrick explains how each stream complements the others, ensuring that the business remains resilient against market fluctuations.

Derrick Falcon [23:15]: "The goal is to take one thing and master that one thing and then find services and products that are a byproduct of that one thing."

He breaks down his streams as follows:

1. Primary Business Operations: Running Cloudy Donuts.
2. Brand Collaborations: Partnering with other brands to expand reach.
3. Corporate Services: Offering catering and subscription packages to businesses.
4. Mobile Vending: Utilizing his truck for street vending and private events.
5. Retail Sales: Direct sales from his donut shops.
6. Educational Content: Sharing his entrepreneurial journey through the "Seven Streams" docu-series.
7. Digital Products: Offering online merchandise and content.

The Power of Partnerships

Derrick emphasizes the significance of having a reliable partner in business and life. His relationship with Zoditu has been pivotal in balancing the operational and creative aspects of his ventures. They complement each other, with Derrick focusing on the strategic and operational side while Zoditu manages marketing and customer engagement.

Derrick Falcon [30:39]: "Meeting Zoditu really transitioned my life. She brings contrast to my life and more specifically, to the business that has helped propel me to this space."

Zoditu further elaborates on their synergy, highlighting how their combined efforts have propelled Cloudy Donuts to new heights.

Zoditu [38:35]: "When they come into the space and they think I'm the owner, they've seen that and they feel really good about that."

Marketing Mastery: Organic and Relationship-Driven

Derrick's marketing approach is deeply rooted in authenticity and relationship-building. Eschewing traditional paid advertising, he leverages word-of-mouth, brand collaborations, and personal interactions to grow his customer base.

Derrick Falcon [12:15]: "Our marketing has been very organic. We haven't ever paid for marketing. The people who come into the space really walked in because they knew us and they loved us."

He draws parallels between his past in the street hustle and his current business strategies, emphasizing the importance of personal connections and delivering quality products to foster loyalty.

Building the Brown Collective: Empowering the Community

The Brown Collective stands as Derrick and Zoditu's initiative to empower black and brown entrepreneurs. It serves as an educational space, providing resources and mentorship to those looking to navigate the complex world of entrepreneurship.

Zoditu [59:11]: "The Brown Collective was meant to be a pillar in the community for people who didn't have an opportunity... it's about putting black and brown faces in white communities and spaces through business."

Their mission focuses on "reverse gentrification," aiming to integrate black and brown entrepreneurs into predominantly white spaces, thereby fostering economic diversity and inclusion.

Future Plans and Expansion

Looking ahead, Derrick outlines ambitious plans for scaling Cloudy Donuts. This includes expanding their physical presence with additional shops, enhancing their mobile vending operations, and producing a docu-series titled "Seven Streams" that chronicles his entrepreneurial journey.

Zoditu [64:23]: "It's a docu-series of how I got all the shit from jail to my grandfather house... it's about me giving you a principle, living that principle out in real life."

Additionally, Derrick and Zoditu are actively seeking operators to manage new locations, demonstrating their commitment to sustainable growth without compromising their business philosophy.

Lessons Learned and Personal Growth

Throughout the episode, Derrick reflects on his personal growth, attributing much of his success to consistency, persistence, and the invaluable support of his partner, Zoditu. He underscores the importance of mental resilience and adaptability in overcoming setbacks.

Derrick Falcon [69:22]: "I stuck to it, I stayed sober, I stayed sane... my consistency and my persistence through all of my setbacks and my trials and my tribulations."

Conclusion

This episode of Earn Your Leisure offers listeners a candid and detailed exploration of Derrick Falcon's entrepreneurial journey. From his strategic business pivots and diversified income streams to the power of authentic partnerships and community empowerment, Derrick provides a blueprint for aspiring entrepreneurs aiming to build sustainable and impactful businesses.

Notable Quotes:

• Derrick Falcon [04:55]: "I always tell a person, when you go fast, you grow fast..."
• Zoditu [38:35]: "When they come into the space and they think I'm the owner, they've seen that and they feel really good about that."
• Derrick Falcon [12:15]: "Our marketing has been very organic..."
• Zoditu [59:11]: "The Brown Collective was meant to be a pillar in the community..."

Listeners can gain valuable insights into the blend of hustle, strategy, and community focus that drives Derrick Falcon's success, making this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in entrepreneurship within the black community and beyond.

Transcript

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All right, welcome back.

Welcome back.

This is a special episode. We on set something that we haven't done in a long time. But it's a very nostalgic feel if you've been walking with earn your leisure from the very beginning. You know, episode 11, Game Changer. Yeah, that was when we were still in the dining room. Right, right, right.

[Zoditu]

In the trenches. In the trenches.

[Unknown]

That's a fact.

So if you've been listening, we've always referenced it as probably the most impactful and always our favorite episode.

That's a fact.

[Zoditu]

So appreciate it.

[Unknown]

I'm at Derrick Falcon on Instagram. I don't know if you remember the story. You DM me.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, no, I remember it like it was yesterday, man. First of all, I'm super excited to be here. We back, you know what I'm saying? So I feel great about it. We've been able to maintain a relationship for quite some time and it all started on Instagram. So I remember it was like January 2019, before COVID before everything. And I just saw this page that kept coming on my timeline, and I'm like, yo, who is this guy dropping all this dope ass content, right? Like, yo, it's crazy. And it was like, you know, some people kind of compare it to, like, more of like the financial shade Room. For me, I saw more of, like a transition of black power and us controlling our narrative and taking back our own stories. So it was bigger than just like typical financial reporting. It was impactful. So at the time, I had just came home, I was operating a restaurant, and I was like, yo, I got some shit to say. How can I connect with this person and how can we build? And I reached out to Shaddi, him being a real man that he is. He called me right back, like two days later. We wound up talking on the phone for like 45 minutes an hour. And he straight dropped the addy on me and I came through. He dropped the pen, and, you know, I breezed through and it was what it was. But, yeah, man, I'm excited. Excited to be here. Yeah, yeah.

[Unknown]

I had no idea of that.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Unknown]

So he dropped the addy. I opened the door, I said, who's this guy?

[Zoditu]

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

[Unknown]

That's a fact. Well, here we are six years later. So when we first met. Well, first of all, thank you for everything and the relationship through the years. So you've done a bunch of stuff. You did the live show with us in the D.C. arena in D.C. yep. That was crazy. Just did the big book tour with us.

[Zoditu]

Yeah. Then we did a little Eyl University. Remember? Me and Jamal did it. Yeah, that was cool.

[Unknown]

So this is round two for the show. So. Okay. The last time that we spoke on the episode, you had the restaurant Homemade in Baltimore. The reason why the episode is so legendary. You guys should check it out. Episode 11 is that you kind of. You broke down your business model and you broke down the streams, and it was very detailed as far as numbers and all that, and people wasn't really familiar with. I think it was kind of new.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, it was.

[Unknown]

That wasn't something that people really did before. Right. I think you kind of changed the game where you opened the door as far as transparency. But since then, a lot has changed. You moved from Baltimore to New York.

[Zoditu]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Unknown]

You switched from the restaurant to. We had Cloudy donuts. That's your new operation that you got running. So a lot of. A lot has changed. Right. So let's catch the audience up to speed. How did you transition from Baltimore, the restaurant to Soho, the vegan donut spot.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, you know. You know, my thing is this. I always tell a person, when you go fast, you grow fast. You know what I'm saying? So nothing really educates you more than just living real life and doing it at a fast pace. So when y'all saw me in the restaurant space, it was more about getting settled in and coming home. I had one goal when I came home, and that was to be legit. I had an advantage with that because it was like I saw the world through the lens of a criminal. Somebody who just coming home and like, yo, shit, I can't believe I got a legit spot. I got people on payroll. My mother gotta come see this. You know what I'm saying? Cause I grew up just straight immersed in a criminal lifestyle. So when I had the opportunity to come on the show, I had built out the brunch restaurant, I had the food trucks, and it was really about the supper club and creating verticals within my business that would allow me to grow. Now what I always encourage entrepreneurs to do is to focus on the main thing. Keep the main thing, the main thing. And for me, after I got legit, it was really about making some real money. So in the midst of the restaurant, you deal with a lot of nuances, whether it's dealing with staff coming in front of the house, back of the house, managers, and so on and so forth. So I was like, yo, let me do a little bit more history. Because once you over the excitement of being legal, you gotta deal with the excitement of ambition and wanting to get some money. And I always tell people, once you get over the good look, you get some good money, right? So I got to a place where. Where I was at was enough. And it was like, all right, what's next for me? So. So I began to focus on one singular product. And for me, it was a donut. And the reason why I focused on that is because if you get a donut, right, you don't need ketchup, hot sauce, mayonnaise, mustard. You're not looking for a refill, you're not looking for a waiter to give you your check. It remind me of the game. It's straight product driven. If I got a quality product, it's over the counter service. You come in and out the space. It remind me of like a trap house. I give you the product, you don't even know who I am. You gone. And I'm able to scale that. So it was a scalable model as opposed to a traditional restaurant where you're dealing with so many elements and components. And that's why I chose donuts.

[Unknown]

So you the. The transition, right, because homemade, everybody remembers for that episode, you had the supper club piece, too. We left all that. We came here. What was the transition like from a business standpoint of, all right, this is a new city? I may not be familiar with the ins and outs. The demographics are different. Talk about that piece.

[Zoditu]

It was all, like, hustling all the time. It was all about. It was so crazy because. And I'm so excited for my partner Zoditu to talk, because as you, as any hustler know, when you go out of town, you get through a woman and you get to the community, right? So, like, for example, my superpower was my partner, and it was really about us strategizing, like, all right, here's this life that we gonna build. Here's this brand we gonna build. And how are we going to be able to connect with the people in an unconventional way? So when I came to New York, I knew a few things. I knew that I had to get familiar with the landscape, be respectful of the people, and provide them with a phenomenal product. So when we used to sell dope, we call it dropping tease. I don't know if they've seen on the Wire, but, like, drop My tease is basically like, if you get a couple ounces of dope, you get some grams, you put them together with some quinine bonita, and then you pass out testers. So, like, on the Wire, they would say, drop my tees, because now all the dope things would congregate to that because it's like, oh, all right. They giving out these teas. So my teas was complimentary donuts. It was like, yo, I believe in my product. It's phenomenal. Let's just give it away. And that created word of mouth, along with her being behind me and in most cases, beside me, but also behind me doing additional work of like, yo, I'm gonna make sure that I get your product to everybody who don't know you and turn this into a global phenomenon. So it was really about the work that she put in with. With connecting with community and me just being in the lab, making sure we had the best shit going out.

[Unknown]

So SoHo, how'd you end up in SoHo? Cause most of the time, you start thinking you was in Brooklyn. At first, even that was a different type of area. But, you know, you as a black entrepreneur, they would probably expect you to Be in Harlem or, you know, best or a black neighborhood. Why? Why did you gravitate towards soho?

[Zoditu]

Yeah. Everything that I do relates directly back to who I am as a man. It's no gimmicks. Nothing is fatty over here or trendy, right? So, like, when I was trapping, I had some real money and I was living in good neighborhoods, but I always felt there wasn't a true place for me in the midst of white affluence. I mean, like, think about it. We drive down Rodeo Drive, we got our phone out, we take a bunch of pictures, but black people don't own nothing. Then we go on Madison Avenue, we got our phone out, we buy a bunch of purses and jackets, but black people don't own nothing. And I always lived in these particular. And I felt like, yo, where's the space for us? Where's the space for the black man who's successful? Everything doesn't have to be like a charity case, right? So I was like, yo, I'm gonna put the donut shops in areas that I would specifically live in. And it was the same thing in Baltimore. In Baltimore, we in white neighborhoods. That's a flowing as well too. It's not intentionally trying to lean into white folks, but it's just really just following my own path of where I would live. And I felt like from what I seen with other brands, whether it was Kith or ALD or Supreme, I felt like that. For black people to get seen in a different light and to be global phenomenons, you needed global retail positioning. So it's like, the only way I'm gonna become successful is to position myself next to the other people. So I was never comfortable being like the biggest lion on my block. I wanna get in the den with the other lions and show you what I got. We here now.

[Unknown]

That's a fact. One of the things that throughout the years, we've had these conversations about entrepreneurship in the state of the black entrepreneur. And I remember you talking to us about hoarding our best talent, right? We send our best talent to the worst environments. Right. Or we try to get a discount on the talent. As you've navigated business over the past six years and you've transitioned and we've met a lot of the workers and a lot of people who've been employed by you. What's your mindset now when you see the state of entrepreneurship, especially in our community?

[Zoditu]

I feel like when it comes to black people, you know, we tend to generalize and say we want to create generational wealth. Or we want to unify. But I really think it's about getting the best talent in a room with the best talent. And they might not always be black. I tell people this sometimes. The motherfuckers that you want to do it with are going to be the people that you can't do it with. The people that you want to do it with the most are going to be the people that you probably most likely in our community can't do it with. You'll talk to your brother over and over again, but a stranger would automatically get it. And then now the people who we don't give a shot are the people for. So I just learned to focus on skill set as opposed to just like, oh, we from the same neighborhood. I learned to focus on mindset as opposed to like, oh, well, this is something I should be doing for my community because I'm black. And I also think that the community has to become a little bit more micro. So I think the first thing that allows you to come into the community is you black. The second thing is that you black with the same mindset or else that shit ain't gonna work.

[Unknown]

So, so like to talk business because I know, you know, you're a great business mind. Marketing, right? That's the lifeline on any business. What's your thoughts on what lessons have you learned from marketing and what's your thoughts on, you know, marketing in 2025 as far as your business?

[Zoditu]

For any entrepreneur, my core marketing strategy consisted of basically like a handful of pillars. Whether it was cold call, email, dm, giving product away, showing people who were influential that came into the space, and more specifically, like, word of mouth. So, like, for me, it's just like selling coke, dope and weed. If I got the best product, somebody's gonna tell somebody. If I pass out the teas, they eventually gonna come back. If I put myself in a space where influential people can come into my establishment, then I could position myself as a global phenomenon. So with the marketing, I would have to. The. I would definitely have to credit Zoditri for that because she does a phenomenal job of bringing people who are influential into the space. And then I kind of do a home run of giving them the product. So the marketing has been very organic. We haven't. We've never paid for marketing. The people who come into the space really walked in because they knew us and they loved us and what it is that we stood for. I think on the outside, they see us as two black people with a dream and they buy into that. I think a lot of people just see us as a brand with a high quality product and they buy into that. So what we have to understand when it comes to marketing is you have to find out all of the things that are gonna draw people to your space and pull on all of those strings. Cause nobody ain't gonna give us nothing.

[Unknown]

Yeah, I think what makes you very unique is that when you think about competitors inside of, I guess this specific avenue, right, The Dunkin Donuts, the Krispies Kreme, I don't even feel like you look at them as competitors. Right. There's this quote that you've always said that in the world of people trying to figure out who they are, I know who I'm not. So expound upon that and how that has translated into your business acumen.

[Zoditu]

I got tunnel vision. I'm trying to get on, I'm trying to become successful. I mean, I'm gonna be honest with you, I still got cars I'm looking at, you know what I mean, that I ain't get yet. Or you know, it could be something as small as having things in your cart that you wish to acquire that you just can't get right now. So everything is about a vision board. And what I always tell my community to do is like envision your perfect day and then put a comparable number to that day. So like it could get real specific. Like where am I wake up at, what type of apartment I'm going to have, what type of car I'm going to be driving. And that kind of like for me, that drives the needle for me. So I always swim in my own lane. I don't look to the left or look to the right. And what I specifically tell black men, because it's. The easiest way I can explain it for you, right, is that you never wake up and look at the next man. Dick. You focused on yourself. If you wake up and you six foot tall, you never woke up and wanted to be 8 foot tall or even 5 foot tall. You happy that you 6 foot. So once you become happy with who you are and where you trying to go, things will get much easier. So yeah, in a world where people trying to figure out who they are, the most important thing you can know is who you not. And I know I wasn't a corporate guy so there will be no 500 stores. And I knew I was a hustler. So yeah, I'm gonna get that product out. So it's different pros and cons that I know about myself and that's kind of like how I lean into my personal life and how I built my brand and my business. The people that we invite into the shop are the people who I see online, who I'd hang out with. I even tell Zody all the time, I said, listen, if a person wouldn't get along with you in a real world and you didn't have this business, they probably not gonna get along with you when you have the business. If I wouldn't hang out with you without Cloudy Donuts, I'm not gonna hang out with you with Cloudy Donuts. A lot of times our businesses are mediums that bring people into our world. And then we wonder why we don't necessarily get along with those people. It's because if you ain't had that business or that product or service, they never would have fucked with you in the first place.

[Unknown]

Was there a change, though, right, from a monetary standpoint, at a certain point, did you have a fiscal goal and as you got into business, you realized that, you know what, that ain't really the thing. Right. It's really about the impact. Like, was there a transition?

[Zoditu]

Yeah, I mean, for me, everything was. It was a combination of, like, a fiscal and a social goal. So my first fiscal goal in My number was 10 bands. If I could make $10,000 a week, it would. I would resist the urge to break the law. So I wouldn't be in a space where, like, that was even on my back. Cause I had a monkey on my back coming home like, yo, I can't just work at Walmart. So I had this fiscal goal, and it was really about, like, how can I make enough money to be able to avoid the urge of breaking the law, but more specifically, build my brand? And then I had a social goal of hiring all black. And that has worked for me at times and sometimes has been against me. Because now I got on blindness and I'm focusing on people just merely on the color of their skin, not on the content of their character. But what I learned is that you can still build with your community, but you definitely have to be more socially aligned. And that's how I really was able to build a brand. When I look for people who are more harmonious to me. Because when you start, you start with your friends and family, they the closest to you, and then they might not have the same mindset. So then the next play is, all right, well, I'm gonna bring on all these professionals. And then the professionals don't got the morals that you got. So now I Think it's a combination of finding a person with a mindset and morals. And the bonus will happen to be if they people of color, but if they not. Like I said, sometimes the people you wanna do it with gonna be the people you can't do it with.

[Unknown]

So let me ask you this. As far as in Baltimore, you had the business model of you own the real estate. You was only open two days or like three days? I think a week.

[Zoditu]

Two days?

[Unknown]

Yeah, two days a week. You had seven items on your menu. It was very specific, right? So how has that changed? Obviously now you in Soho. So I'm like your mindset on business, are you still open three days a week? Is it still goals to try to or is like how have you shifted that?

[Zoditu]

Oh, it's a much more vast palette when you go into a big city like New York, right? So always tell people the lessons you refuse to learn. Life will teach you, right? So I came into New York with my big hat on, thinking I had it figured out and she had something for my ass, right? So the retail overhead is much higher, the customers have way more options. And in New York, I mean, it's the greatest city in the world and you can pretty much do whatever you want when you want to do it, right? So it's like now how do you get out of your comfort zone and what you think, work and listen to your customers and figure out what works for them. So yeah, we expanded the palate beyond doughnuts to cinnamon rolls, pound cakes, cookies. We expanded the days from three days a week to five days a week. And I think it's really about entrepreneurship in general, is about being ambitious and being arrogant about your product or your service, but also being humble when it comes to listening to your customers. So that really changed me when I came to New York. And it's been a beautiful thing because it allowed us to get more exposure and more market share and brand awareness. But on the flip side of it, I think it kind of remind me of the streets of like, you gotta do your homework before you go anywhere. You really gotta do your homework and know who you're dealing with. Because the customers are even different from Brooklyn to here. So like take Brooklyn, right? People are more nestled in they homeowners. It's more family, it's a lot of kids, right? So it's really about people walking into the space and buying donuts, not just for themselves, but for their entire family. Cause they gonna have an outing. But then you in Soho and it's much more of A retail haven where a person want one donut because they shopping, they don't want to carry a bunch of donuts around with them the whole time. You see what I'm saying? Some people aren't from America. This is their first time here, so they just want to try a donut because they never had it. So it's a total different mindset depending on where you going and how it's looking. Same thing with la, it's much more of a vegan conscious city. And the people are concerned about like gluten or soy or things like that. So they're much more ingredient based markets. But I think, like I always tell people when you go fast, you grow fast. And those things really help me grow as an entrepreneur and a businessman.

[Unknown]

Yeah, it sounds like there's some fluidity now, right? Like I remember our first conversations. It was like, I'm a hustle, I'm going to figure this thing out. And I'm hearing the fluidity now as you're speaking, when you, when you talk about Brooklyn, the Soho. I know we don't want to get to 500, but what does expansion look like for Cloudy Donuts? Is there a goal to say, hey, we're going to, we have the New York market, there's some other markets we want to tackle?

[Zoditu]

Yeah, I mean, I think the goal for Cloudy Donut is it's a brand built off possibility. Right. So who am I? I'm the black man's possibility. And you know, my partner Zoditu, she says it all the time. You know, our lifestyles in general are just inspiration enough for black people to feel like they can galvanize themselves and get up and do whatever they want to do. I think that sometimes we look at the measuring stick of other people and say, well, this is what they're doing, so we should be doing something similar. But like I said, like coming from the streets, I always knew what I wanted. So I'm basically in a space where I got almost what I wanted. So my goal was seven streams. Right. So that's a docu series that I'm shooting right now about my life and about what is it going to take for a black man to come from nothing and get to seven streams of income. Because as I've said before, the average millionaire has seven streams of income. And you're not going to make a lot off of one thing. You're going to have a bunch of little things that you can make a lot off of and you can accumulate those things and create wealth. So Like, I did it, I came home, I got legit. We got seven assets. The goal is to get all those assets running at the same time, to continue to employ black people and provide them with opportunity, but more or less inspiration and possibility. So when it comes to a scaling model, we're gonna have a lot of vertical scaling. Like we're gonna have events we're gonna go to, we're going overseas next year. You know, we're going to Korea, we going to do Paris Fashion Week. We've already talked about doing that. And those are the things that we most excited about. And I always tell young people, don't look to white folks and what they got thinking that that that's our model. You gotta understand your model. So your motto is who are you and what do you want? And how can you take a skill or ability, whether you're a plumber or electrician or a mechanic or you sell donuts and how can you architect the life from that? So I told you my first number was ten grand. I'm already on. You see what I'm saying? And I think that if we could pump the brakes on scale and focus more on social impact, then our young people will have a different lifestyle and they chase different things. But if I try to get the yacht, get the helicopter now, they in that space. But if I tell you, I'm like, yo, sit your black ass down and just focus on that one thing that you doing right now. Focus on being the best plumber you can be and drive the hell out of that van that you got and then get another van. You gonna get there.

[Unknown]

You, you, you spoke about the seven streams. So I want to talk about that. Your series, your docu series that you're working on. But also, what's your thesis on seven streams of income? Because you broke it down the first time people hear seven streams and it's confusing. Everybody has different ideas of what seven streams of income. But from your personal perspective, how did you get seven streams? And what's your, what's your viewpoint on that whole seven stream strategy?

[Zoditu]

Definitely, I think the goal is to take one thing and master that one thing and then find services and products that are a byproduct of that one thing. So like for example, like, I'm going to talk about my streams. And we started with a donut shop, which was the first stream which we focused on the three S's, saving plus sacrifice equals scaling. That allowed us to now stay down and stay. You see all the S's saving plus sacrifice equals scaling and you stay down in stack until you save sacrifice and you scale, right? So we had the one shop and we just saved. I drove a Mini Cooper. Fact, I drove a Mini Cooper, I lived in a studio apartment, and then I got another shop, and then we just saved, and then we got a truck, and then we just saved, and then I got another truck. I mean, no, then I got another shop, and then I got another shop. So that's five shops, but two of the shops that I got I own, and they have residential units. So that's the seven Streams, right? So it was really this mindset of how can I take this one ability that I have not be distracted with doing other things? Not try to become a DJ or sell hair on the side, not try to sell bundles of body wraps. Just focus on the donuts. Get seven streams. And if those seven things could just make me $1,000 a week, that's $3 million a year. That was it for me. If I made $2 million a year, I know I could easily live in a $2 million house. I know I could easily afford a $4 million house with a mortgage. So I count my life out by saying, if I can just take this and get there. So, like, think about that one lady who got that salon who making 3,000 a week and her goal was 9,000. Just get two more salons. Don't try to be a DJ on the side, or don't start selling dinners or plates. Get two more salons. It might take you longer. We vastly underestimate what we can accomplish in the long run, but we always overestimate what we can accomplish in the short run. My marathon been going on six years. I've been doing it. I started 10 years ago, but I got it, though. See, that's where I'm at with it. I got it. I'm not in a position where I got a bunch of debt, I don't owe a bunch of people, and I could control it. So any given moment, I could activate the seven Streams. And as long as I now maintain it, which is a different mindset, I can always have the option to perpetuate it. But what we gotta understand as black people is that, yo, listen, sit down and focus on maintenance. You got people who want to do a podcast, they want to DJ and they want to do hair. Figure out the DJing first. Whatever's going to make you the most money. Then always tell another person this. Once you get over the good look, you get some good money, right? Stop focusing on everything that you specifically passionate about. Focus on what's going to bring that number in. That's what white folks do. They not passionate about owning 3,000 buildings. Trust me, they know that that portfolio won't get them what they want out of life. So it's about giving it everything you got and it'll give you everything you want.

[Unknown]

And then also. So when you came the first time, you talked about even having multiple streams off of one business.

[Zoditu]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

So it's like as far as a restaurant, you could cater, you can have uber eats, you can have a cooking show.

[Zoditu]

Like so let me break down the substreams that I got. So this is how my, this is how my industry works. Right. Typically when you see a donut shop, you think and they make the most money from a person walking in and buying a donut. Not me. We get our money from brand collaborations. They at the top because we can be our natural selves and the company will give you a bag. Right. And after brand collaboration, we got what we call corporate pickup and drop off where a company can call us and they can establish a weekly catering, not an annual catering, but a weekly catering. So it's like a subscription package. After the catering, we also got the truck. With the truck events, we got, we could do private events or we could also pull up with the truck and do street vending. After the truck events, we got people walking in the store. Then we still got the seven streams where we educate people about all the things that we've done. And then on top of that we got digital product that we can ship that's six streams within one stream. So now it just, it's a domino effect. And I'm telling you, it don't, it don't bring. I don't make a lot of money off of each stream. I make a little off of each stream. I, I might get one cater in a week, but that's $1,000. People might come into the store this weekend, but that's $3,000. I might get a brand that called me and gimme $10,000. And what I do is I combine all of that and I accumulate wealth and I stay in my lane.

[Unknown]

So again, you've done this in a, I mean a real meticulous way, but you haven't done it alone. I wonder at times. Like I said, we've had a relationship for six years and so I've been privy enough to have some of these, these conversations that in the times when it's rough, in the times when it's great, it's still you until you Find somebody that you can share this passion with. So talk about that process. Because the people that you grew up with, your family members, they're not seeing this the same way you're seeing this. In fact, you're accustomed to a certain life coming from the communities that we come up in, but you've kind of decoded the matrix and made it out of there. Talk about going on this journey, not doing it by yourself, but leaving some of the people that you obviously grew up with and family members behind on this path.

[Zoditu]

You all alone. Especially if you great and you black, you definitely all alone. So for me, I was on my journey for a while by myself. And after, you know. Cause I come out of the street, so the people that I came out of the street with, they laughing, fuck you doing? Selling breakfast like, I got a phantom, I got a Cullinan, you know what I'm saying? Like, what you doing? They couldn't really understand the transition. And I was all alone for quite some time. And then my best friend, he got indicted. And I just really felt like it was a singular journey. But my life changed. I was lucky enough to meet somebody who strived for stride with me. And in a lot of instances, a stride in front of me. And meeting Zoditu really transitioned my life. Because if I hadn't met her. Cause I'm gonna tell you like this, everything else, I got broke. I went broke. I was broke because you gotta think about it like this. It was cyclical. I always had a store that I was opening, right? Always had a store that I was working on. Then I had a store I was maintaining. So I was running through this three phase economic plan that at times, if one egg didn't work, the other two eggs are cracked. So just imagine, I got the brunch, I'm buying the donut shop. Now all the money I make from the brunch gotta go into the shop. So I don't got no money. Then as soon as I get the new donut shop open, I'm looking for another shop. So I always had the brunch that I had to maintain the new shop I'm opening, and then I'm looking for one, right? So me and her, it really helped balance my mental more than even my economic. Because now you have another person who's equally invested, who you can give some of the weight to, and who shares the same journey and the same path with you. So you. That really helped me. And I would encourage all couples or any type of relationship. Your best friend, the person who around you to build with those people, because those are the people who know you best, and you can build a journey with them. So that was really an eye opener for me, finally finding somebody who understood that. So she came into the brand in 2019 in the primitive stages of the brand, just helping me while she maintained her job as a teacher. But it was always my goal for us to work together. I mean, it just made perfect sense for us to be able to build one another. And she's brought contrast to my life and more specifically, to the business that has helped propel me to this space.

[Unknown]

Well, speaking of your partner. Let's bring her on.

Let's bring her on.

Yeah.

[Zoditu]

Brings her on. Yeah.

[Unknown]

Let's bring her on, you know.

Thank you for having me.

Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for all this. Where does the journey start for you when you're watching this entrepreneur for Baltimore who's just sliding in dms?

Yeah.

Yeah.

So when I met Derek, I remember our first phone call, and we had literally were in constant communication ever since we met, and then we met actually on March 20, 2019. So that's where I feel like the love story really happens, because I don't remember, like, going home after that. I feel like I went, like, maybe on a Thursday, and I stayed till Sunday. I fell in love with him partially because of homemade brunch. Like, he was feeding me all the food, and that was a really. It was a really beautiful space to not only meet the man himself, but learn about him through. Through design, through food, through the story. So we met March 20, 2019, and we've been together ever since. And it's. It's been quite the journey. Um, it has been quite the journey, but it's been worth it. I mean, I've. I've always wanted to. I'm someone that loves to be challenged. You know, I. I get bored easily. This is not the space where you get bored at all. You're constantly, you know, on your toes. Something's in motion, Something is happening. But more than anything, like, I've grown so much as. As a woman because of the man that I'm with. I think Derek is beyond just, you know, like, my partner in life and in the business. He's also, like, a tremendous mentor, you know, so all the gems that you. You know, people get to hear him drop and stuff. Like, that's literally, like, our home life. Like, he talks to me the same way he talks to y'all, you know, and. And I'm. I'm really empowered by that. And I'm really inspired by him. It's. It's a lot. It's a lovely.

[Zoditu]

A lot. Yeah. Yeah.

[Unknown]

So, yeah. So if you guys didn't obviously catch it, they're not only business partners, but life partners as well. So how. So, yeah, a lot has changed since the last time that we spoke.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

[Unknown]

Single last time we was in the boat again.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, Yeah. Y.

[Unknown]

So a lot of people, you know, they relate to your story. Cause, you know, you're a hustler and, you know, you give inspiration as far as, like, people that's trying to figure it out, Right? So how has being in a relationship changed Help, you know, modified your situation? Because when you hustling you by yourself, you know, it's 24 hours a day, you answer. You don't answer to anybody. But when you're in a relationship, obviously there is changes and compromises. Right? So how. How has that, you know, been for you as far as that hustler mentality?

[Zoditu]

Yeah, real. I mean, like, you gotta realize, like, this, right? So when you. When you. When you focus in on yourself, she could seem so easy. You like, yo, I know if I go, I can get a meal for one person. If I wasn't spending this amount of money, if this didn't happen, right? And then you go through the mindset of, like, all right, am I ready to be in a relationship right now? What do I look like? And then coming from the streets, you know, you see all the dirty shit. So you see, you know, n go to jail, they girl don't take care of them. You see people cheating and all that type of shit. But one thing I knew about me was, like, I'm a real man. You feel me? So I felt like, if I bring any type of plan to a real woman, we gonna build a real thing. And I think, like, that's what really was the difference. And, like, what I mean by that, manhood, is like, is it times where a n. Like, nah, man. I wish I was by myself. Like, yeah, early on. Not now, but early on. Cause you know what you gonna deal with as a man is you gonna be mentally fucked. You gonna be mentally fucked. I mean, when you had your first kid, you might deal with the anxiety. Like, was this a good move? I can't afford a mortgage. You know what I'm saying? So I went through all the ups and downs, bro. I went through all the ups and downs, the long walks. I used to work out a lot, but Zodie was always certain that it would pan out for Us. And I always believed that if we did right, we would get right. It definitely was different for me, but it's the most. It's the best decision. So, like, when I always tell people, you know, let your next move be your best move, that was my best move by far. Being in a relationship with her and deciding to build a brand with her, because I couldn't have done it otherwise. And then I think I always been lucky. Like, whether it was indictments or being in the streets, God always threw me a bone. Like, you know, you gonna be down, but I ain't gonna let you get too down. So, like, I was telling you, like, yo, when I had. By the time I met y'all, it was fully legal. Like, I might do little shit, you know, motherfucker buy food stamp. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? But I ain't. I was fully legal. So being fully legal, I kind of was lucky because I came from the streets and I started this brunch, and it immediately hit. But, like, when we got to New York and we started building the donut shops and that recipe that I had that I thought was so fun, functional, at Baltimore, I hit a curve. And if it wasn't for Zo Ditu, I wouldn't have gotten through that. Not only mentally, but just more or less, like, having somebody that I could vent to. Like, I might be dealing with some issues with construction or with a landlord. And, like, I can't call my man phone as tapped, probably, or he probably in the mix. You know what I'm saying? I can't go to a working man. He's still. He complaining about his boss and shit. I'm like, I just lost 250 bands with this store. It still ain't open yet. But she could understand because she helped me work for that. She saw me spend that. You know what I'm saying? It was real. So, like, I think, like, what I always tell guys when it comes to life in general is that there's a few decisions that men have to make, and it's the work that we decide to do, the place we decide to live, and the woman we decide to choose. And if a man even get two of those three things, he could win. Like, even if you don't got the woman and you in the right place and you getting some money, you feel confident. Like, y'all know I can find the right woman in position. You see what I'm saying? If you ain't got no money, but you got the right Woman and y'all on the right thing. You feel like, I'm gonna get some money. So it was really all about, like, yo, I had gone through so much being an inmate, being in the ghetto, being in the trenches. I knew what the bottom looked like, I knew what the middle felt like, and I knew what the top looked like. So, like, when we go through our shit, I serve as a mentor to her, like she said, because a lot of things I'm experiencing, a lot of things we're experiencing, she never saw. So I be like. I be knowing, like, yo, look, we ready to open up this store. We gonna be broke. We gonna be fucked up. And she might be always happy. Like, what's the new store? They gonna come like, man, listen, check this out. We gonna be broke for a while. You know what I'm saying? I think women naturally have a nurturing quality, and they very optimistic. And I think as men, we focus on more practical approach and what's realistic. So it was really just about doing my numbers on our relationship. I think as men, we calculate things. Like, you calculate it, you going on a date, you saying where they work, how many people they know, who they slept with, do they know your friends. You know what I'm saying? You calculating and you downloading all the data. And every time I downloaded my data, she was 100%.

[Unknown]

That's bar. Never trust nobody you ain't been broken.

[Zoditu]

You know what I'm saying?

[Unknown]

I mean, it speaks to the beauty of relationships and growth. And there's a contrast here, right? Like, I've known you and I've known Zodiac. I had the pleasure of meeting a few times. But there's a contrast that works even from the standpoint. I love that you're using the word brand right? Cause a lot of times we won't support something because it's Derek's, but we might support Homemade because we don't know who it is. In fact, we didn't even know who he was until we got to Homemade and we got to taste the food. So the product spoke for itself now, building Cloudy Donuts. In the beginning stages, it was like, it's the donuts, it's the product. It's the product. I see you now more forward facing as almost like the face of the brand or maybe the spokesperson for the brand. Talk about that journey and understanding. Like, yo, that might not be his strength, so it has to be mine.

You know, I think that even going back to your point, and to answer your question, Derek, when you were like, women can be much More service based and optimistic. I think that also we can be like, it's not necessarily optimistic as much as it's like, I know I have to make a way so a man will have a plan and a woman just has the innate feeling that like, I've got to figure this out, I have to make this work. And, you know, I think that with Cloudy Donut, we, we definitely led with the product. You know, the revamp of the page. When we first started, it was all donuts, right? And then we saw over time, because I did come with that community aspect because it's near and dear to who I am, we started to show more people and then we saw the engagement on the page grow. Now a lot of people wanted to see reflections of themselves. And then over time we would see when people come into the space and I'm working the front of the house. I've always explained our dynamic as Derek builds the world and I bring people into it. So if you come to Cloudy Donut, you will probably see me. Every store that we've opened, I've, I've made, I've managed and maintained the front and I'm typically working the space, you know, so we are literally like in my home right now. Like, this is my little oasis. And we saw that people were they. Regardless of what it says that Derek is, which is true. Derek is the founder and CEO. People romanticize the idea that this is my shop. So it's like, you're the owner, this is it, you know, and we decide like, okay, I'm not going to keep going against the grain. Like, if you see articles, I'm the owner. I'm the operations manager. I'm the, I've made up so many titles within this role because both he and I know what we're here for. So it's not about a title, it's not about how I'm presented, but it's what I represent, which is us, you know, so when they come into the space and they think I'm the owner, they've seen that and they feel really good about that, you know, so for us, it's really just been about how can we sell our product, maintain quality, stand on who we are, and provide the customer with an experience. Over time, I mean, that changes a lot. People are, you know, as you mentioned earlier, like, one of our friends told us we're transitioning more into like a me tail space of like, people just want to see what they want to see, when they want to see it. You know, what's convenient for them. But it's been a beautiful thing to be on this journey with someone who has truly allowed me the space and the grace to be exactly who I am.

[Zoditu]

And a lot of that come from this, right? So I'm going to just give it to. You know, I'm talking to the guys right now. A lot of that come from this. We have mutual and individual goals so that don't get that. We can't get that screwed up. So, like, for example, like, we have a mutual push that's bigger than cloudy donut, and we have individual goals that's bigger than cloudy donut. So people don't understand that what really pushes the shot is the individual and mutual goals that we have, and that is to become financially independent, to get to a space where there's a level of wealth that can support us in our personal lifestyles, and then also to transcend the narrative of what has existed in our families for generation, which is, in my case, drug abuse, neglect, growing up in households where I didn't have access to certain type of resources or capital. So that's what really pushes. So what really brought me and her together was like, listen. I give it to her like this, Listen, if we push this shit and we get on, whether we together or not, we both on. I seen it with HOV and Dane. Regardless of how they feel about each other, they both rich. Now, what you decide to do after that is up to you. You know what I'm saying? And it's the same thing in y'all case. Like, you can't reverse those followers y'all got. You can't reverse those festivals and those episodes. And I think that a lot of our people are living in their head of, well, if I give this person my all, what if it doesn't work out?

[Unknown]

Right?

[Zoditu]

Right? So, like, our whole thing was like, listen, do it make sense for us to work together and can we push the brand in ourselves further, individually and collectively? I'm not in a space as a man like, yo, if she leave or she not in or if I leave, it make perfect sense. She can't take the followers that she got me. I can't take back the donuts that I made. So you have to now focus on an agenda that's really clear, but also more specifically, really purr. You see what I'm saying? So everything that I ever did, and I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm a man. I make mistakes. But everything I ever did with anybody was always purr. Shit might not have worked out Might have went bad. It was pure. So like with our relationship is pure. I think people see you and they wanna be like, well you married and say you gonna be with me 100 years or else I ain't doing the admin. Like, yo, all right, so if you don't do the admin and I keep working at Amazon and you keep working at ups, how that shit look, right? You know what I'm saying? So like snap out of it. So always tell our people these three things. Enough is enough because we don't have enough. And what I mean by that is, yo, enough of the bullshit, enough of the back and forth because we already grew up without enough. So now you get to a place where it's house money, right? What is it for me as a 30 something year old black man and an early 30 something, I mean 30 something year old black woman, for us to get together and try to make this shit shake? I've been trying to make shit shake with n that I knew my whole life. It ain't happen. So a lot of us, we become, especially now in a time where mental health is so, so amplified. We over sensitize things and we like, yo, oh, but if it don't work, if it don't work, bitch, you still broke. You've been broke.

[Unknown]

Yeah, and I think, and I think also like to an emotional part of that because I think you do speak from a space of log, which is why you specifically like, when you're talking, you speak to like the black man, right? But I think that when a woman hears what you're saying, it's also important for her to understand. Like, like you said, like, you have to, like, I had to have, I had to come into my way of like, what am I doing this for outside of. I love this man. Because that's how I came into it. Like, I love you. You're doing this thing that sounds great. And I didn't really think long term about like how I was going to dedicate Basically my early 30s to this, to this band, to this brand. You know, I wasn't really thinking about that. I wasn't about the sleepless nights or, you know what I'm saying, going broke and all of these different transitions that we had. And over time I really had to sit with myself and say, okay, what do you want out of this? Because I can't equate my happiness to how he feels or what we do together. And I think that a lot of times as women, we have this ideology that like, well, we're in this together. We're doing this together. And that's a beautiful thing. But you have to find your way. Like, you have to find yourself within that way or else you will get lost. You will have resentment, you know. And so there were times where, you know, we were like, maybe this doesn't make sense for us, but I damn sure wasn't ever leaving the brand. It's just like, this is it.

[Zoditu]

Yeah. It was times where our personal relationship have been rocky or we. Cause we run into a lot of obstacles, right? So it's not like the business might be fucked up. I might be like, man, shit, I don't know. You know what I'm saying? Like, listen, you just focus on your job, I'm focused on mine, and we can get back to the relationship later because you in that dark place, right? But like, like I said, she not leaving the brand. Cause she thinking like, yo, I help you build this shit.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Zoditu]

And like, we not we not outside of the relationship. Like, I'm not outside dating nobody or thinking of nothing like that. I'm building. And I just feel like that everything that we built have been mutually beneficial for both of us. No matter how it goes, it's a super win. So like, even like the way in which we interact and engage, I don't have a problem taking a backseat on like the founder title and none of that shit. I'm trying to win. Like, I don't, you know, however it gotta look, I'm always like, I equate myself to like Dennis Rodman. Like most people not gonna like me, but I'm gonna give you 19 boards and we gonna get the W. There's.

[Unknown]

A piece there, right? Because you say like, sometimes the business isn't working. I know you're in education. When did it become full time entrepreneurship? Full time as cloudy donuts? Or was it like, hey, I gotta keep this, this job until I can make this a full time thing. Because sometimes you gotta make that sacrifice and look at my superpowers and like, hey, I'm great at this. Here's what I could bring to this business in due time. Was there a plan to strategically step?

Yeah, there was a plan. You could, you could tell the plan.

[Zoditu]

I'm gonna give it to you.

[Unknown]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Zoditu]

It's Kobe, right? Boom. She teaching on my iPad. She teaching. Cause we never. To be honest, I never wanted a dynamic where a woman had to work with me. I kind of thought like I was gonna be up and then there was this soft life where she could support me, you know, What I'm saying. So the first year and a half she worked. I say a year, not even maybe a year. She kind of helped sporadically, just wanting to help for free, like, just. And was doing her thing. So Covid hit, and she a teacher. You know, D.C. teachers don't make much, as y'all know. Right. So she was probably making much. About 60.

[Unknown]

Yeah. And I was a theater teacher, so. So before COVID So basically my entire educational career was teaching creative writing and theater. When I first met Zarek, I was teaching seventh, middle school. So seventh, sixth, seven, eight. Seventh grade was wild. And I was like, these kids are wild.

Wildest age group is middle school wild.

I was like, what's happening? So what I decided to do.

[Zoditu]

Remember, I used to tell. Let me come up there.

[Unknown]

Oh, yeah. He used to always, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yo, they used to.

[Zoditu]

They used to.

[Unknown]

They used to fry me and everything. I come into the school, they'd be like, yo, what you got on the Crazy, crazy, crazy. And so. And then I also look super young. So, like, no one really took me seriously. I'm teaching an elective. You're not getting a grade for it. You know, whatever. And I never was a teacher that raised my voice. And whenever I was wrong, I would apologize or hold myself accountable, which is what they weren't used to seeing from adults. Okay. So I was like, all right, seventh grade is crazy. I want to kind of reverse. So I decided to go into early education because I really wanted to understand the psychology of, like, how do we get here? Like, the formative years. So I was already. Derek and I had been dating for, like, a few months, and that's when I was teaching preschool. And then. I'll never forget, actually the weekend before the world basically shut down. Derek had come to pick me up on, like, a Friday from Baltimore, like, late at night. And he was. I was just like, I'm a call out. I called out Monday, but everything was shut down. We were. So now we fully transitioned to Zoom. So this is where, like, we're on Zoom the whole time.

[Zoditu]

Yeah. No. So she on Zoom. And me, I tell you, I'm a realistic person. So I go over the numbers. Like, all right, so you're making, like, 60. You bring it home, like, 40. That's 800 a week. You catching Ubers to go to meetings. You got. You got to pay for food, all this type of shit. So her net was like $250, $300 a week. So I'm like, hell, no. I can't I could pay you that. So she was on a lunch break, and it was like a small room that the teachers ate in. And I was like, look, I went over the numbers. You shouldn't be working there. And she said, well, why? I said, let me show you what you dealing with. So Basically, you make $15,000 a year. You could come with me, we could double down on what I got going on and we can go to the moon. I showed her the numbers and shit. Took two minutes. She got off the lunch break and put the two weeks in.

[Unknown]

Yeah, immediately.

[Zoditu]

And see a lot of people looking for that play. So you got to understand, at that point, my debt to income ratio was like 10%. So I'm taking home 90% of my income. I own the building that I had. I had the brunch. I had two trucks at the time. And I lived in an apartment where I can afford to pay my bills for the year. So it gave her enough foundation as a woman. And I was serious about myself. 800 credit score, all of that, right? I ain't had no mess. We never had no mess. Women calling, none of that. I don't got no kids. None of that. I don't drink, I don't smoke, none of that. So a lot of times. And the reason why I have to give you that context, because other guys will see it and be like, yo, I don't know how. My girl ain't do it. Yeah, you gotta get your shit together first.

[Unknown]

And also, I guess in that transition period too, I was one year sober, so I had just became like, newly into my sobriety. I'm seven years sober now, and I was already also in a space of transition for myself. So I would. He was in a pivotal space where, you know, he was a very serious and sure man. But I was also a woman who was ready for something new and something different. And I was really stepping into that way. And I didn't really know what that looked like for me, so I was just kind of like, all right, well, let's see. And Derek put me on pre order and social media. And he told me years later, he put me on social media because I was always on my phone, which was very smart.

[Zoditu]

Gotta use your pieces, right?

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Zoditu]

Keep it natural.

[Unknown]

Yeah, yeah, smart man.

[Zoditu]

You know, and that's kinda like how I built this. So I'm like, all right, you always on the phone, you always looking at social media. Boom. Running social. Cause I'm just a numbers guy. If you working for me seven days a week, and I'm Able to give you the same 300. And we doing it together, we can build. So I wasn't. I gave her more than that, obviously, but it was in a situation. It was a situation that was mutually beneficial for both of us. So now from there, she moved with me. So now it's like, all right, well, we can actually. Me. I'm gonna tell you how I look at it. I'm brand guy. So, like, yo, we could work on a brand seven days a week. We can be personal and professional. We were able to take walks. We worked out together, and then our bond just amplified.

[Unknown]

Yeah, we got a dog.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, we got a dog. It was all. It was. It was.

[Unknown]

You love dogs, man.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, I love them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Unknown]

As I'm hearing y'all speak it, I just had read this quote and was talking about submission, and in terms of a marriage, right? A man and a woman. And they were like, if you think about the word submission, somebody has to submit, but somebody has to have a mission. And as I'm hearing y'all speak, it was very clear that you laid out the mission. So it was easy to fall into that.

[Zoditu]

It was easy. And then I think small successes gave her the confidence to believe in me that larger successes could happen. So, like, I promised her, like, yo, I'm gonna get you a llc. I got you. I took her straight to the bank, got her llc, put money in her bank account. Then I had American Express at the time, so I put her on all my accounts as an authorized user. So I built it from no credit to a 750 credit score. So then she had the credit lines, and she had the llc. And she said, like, all right, this shit real. Then everything I said I was gonna do, I did it. Like, if I said I was gonna get another shop, I was constantly on it. I worked out in the morning. I stayed strict. I was on it. So then I think in my case, as a man, I always believe, like, the small wins allow you to build trust and they deposits in a trust bank account. So then over and over time, now you can get withdrawals back, and you can say like, well, now you seen how I did that? So I need you to do this. So a lot of times, people don't see the dedication that we have for one another, but it really come from making a lot of big deposits in that trust bank account.

[Unknown]

So how's the. How are you able to get the corporate accounts?

Yeah, so we learned. One of the things that we learned right when we were working in the Store, because we were actively working in the store was that a lot of the people that come to our space, they have jobs, so they're working for somebody. Right. Or they're working at an establishment or they have their own businesses. And so it was a lot of just like active conversation with our guests.

[Zoditu]

Yeah. And it was. And it was genuinely interested in us.

[Unknown]

They were interested.

[Zoditu]

So, like, for example, like, y'all fuck with us. It's a layup for me to do invest fest. So it really came from, like. So what I did with the brand is I mentor Zody how to attract customers and build sales. And then she knew relationships. So me, I know, like, if I'm selling you grass, and I'm like, I got some pills too. You right here, I got you. You know what I'm saying? Like, nine times out of ten, if a nigga gonna get some brown from the liquor store, he probably gonna buy some weed. So that's the reason why, like, brands like Panera brand existed. Panera started as a cookie shop. And then he saw they would go across the street and buy sandwiches. And that's the Panera story. So it was really about how can we keep the customer fully immersed in the world and how can we build verticals. So it's like, if I'm sitting there, you like, yo, I'm with eyl. Shit, y'all gotta invest fast. Yeah, what's up? Hit my number. So I already had you on the hook. So what they don't understand is it's three things that I taught Zody, which is you got a hot lead, meaning a person already coming, spending some money with you, you got a warm lead. A motherfucker walking by saying they heard about you, then you got a cold lead. A person who don't really know nothing. So like, a warm lead with me would be like, yo, I saw this dude was on an episode. Link me with him. That's a warm lead. I know you gonna put me with him. And now I gotta build a hot lead. Is like, yo, I got the pound cakes for you right now. Pull up and we done done that. You see what I'm saying? So I was able to teach her like, yo, you gotta understand when people come into the store, it's verticals that you can catch. But everybody kinda in La La land. So like, when you go on an average coffee shop, it's a teenager with their head down, not thinking. But in that coffee shop, I'm thinking like, yo, this is a working class environment. You work somewhere. How can I cater there. How can I build a rapport? So 90% of our revenue outside of the shop has come from just building organic relationships. That's how we literally got the corporate account. Somebody coming in, they like us. And then also, I'm not afraid to spend some money first. So I want to teach people that too. Because people get so caught up in what their budget is and what numbers is because they had bad interactions with other customers. So they kind of put up this wall and say, like, well, you could just go to my email, you could just go to my website. Listen, it's nothing like that hand to hand combat. It's nothing like telling a person like, look, I got a box for you. Let me drop something off. Let me follow up, call you. It's the same. The same principles that I had in the street. If I bring you 7 grams of grass and I'm trying to sell you pounds, I'm gonna give you the best grams I could give you. Then I'm gonna follow up like, yo, was you fucking with the grams? Shit? Even if you can't cop right now, let me know if you ever need something. I'm right here. So people not understanding, like, yo, nothing changed. We didn't go to business school. We didn't all of a sudden get an epiphany. Is really a nigga who come from flat foot hustling using those same principles a day.

[Unknown]

Yeah. And those principles also to be applied to the consumer's way of thinking. Like, because a lot of time the consumer will think like, oh, well, if I came in and bought a donut, I'm supporting you. And that's just one level. But it's also like, okay, if. Do you work somewhere? Do you. Do you do events? Do you go to events? Like, how can you spread that, like you said, laterally to really help amplify the brand that you love so much.

[Zoditu]

Yeah. And it's educating the consumers too. Because black people, we only know what we know. Because everything we. Everything that we know had to be self taught or learned. Right. Through negative experiences in most cases. Right? So you gotta realize, like, let's talk about Travis. You put me on with Travis.

[Unknown]

Yeah, shout out to Travis Brown.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, shout out to Travis Brown. Boom. I meet Travis at the event, right? I kick it with him. He like, my energy, yo, give me your real number. I'm not too big. You feel what I'm saying? Sometimes we act too tall to be small sometimes. So it's like with Travis, I'm like, oh, all right. Give me your Number Travis. See, I like your energy. I like what you got going on. I'm with the public school system, so me hustling, I know it's several ways to carve a fish. Oh, you at the pro. Yeah. What's up? I know you got some money for the tea I got y'all. And I'mma over deliver. So I'mma over deliver. Cause you my man. Cause you black. You in the education space. I love all that shit. So it's like, now, guess what? Trav gave me his wife number. My wife teaching las. And people don't even see how we moving because we putting our ego to the side. You know how many times I done walked into a spot and been considered, like, the donut delivery guy? Whole time it's 40 on my wrist. I ain't worried about none of that. Once you get over the good look, you get some good money. That's how we really built this shit out. And people not understand that. Cause they so caught up on, like, well, if you want to order, you know, it's an email, man, what's up? I gotta say, no. I'm a real man, man, what's up? And, like, we as black people have bought into white society's way of building socially that we don't understand. Like, yo, you don't have the privilege to just send somebody to the email. And you got a group of people and investors and resources, and you just gonna get that transaction. You gotta see that transaction through.

[Unknown]

That's a fact. That's a fact. And it's the reason why, and I said this to you the other day, is like, when we go out, there's an opportunity. I'm calling you. Right? So we got a book event. Bring cloudy donuts. Yo, we going to the radio station. Bring the donuts. It's important, right? Because support doesn't just mean, hey, I bought a donut. It means like, yo, are you speaking my name in the rooms that I'm not in and I haven't been in yet? I want to talk about Brown Collective, though, because I know that was one of the focuses about spreading the lifestyle and the decor for entrepreneurs and people in the space who hadn't gotten to a space that you were at yet and trying to become that mentor. Because I know one of the things that people probably don't know, and if they've come to the shop, they probably realize that fashion is a thing for you, but decor is a thing for you.

[Zoditu]

Right? Definitely. Yeah.

[Unknown]

I saw the crown molding. We talked about the limestone walls. I'm looking at the great grout in the subway towel. All of it is done very intentionally, and you wanted to help people in that manner. So where does the Brown Collective stand now and what's its mission?

[Zoditu]

Yeah, it's all about putting black and brown faces in white spaces and creating a level of, I would say, pushback to how we traditionally sing. I think, you know, it's easy for me to come to New York, and it makes sense for me to be in bed style with a fried chicken spot. I think it don't make sense for me to be in Soho with a vegan donut shop. And I've always done things that don't make sense because I've always done things that are true to me. I've never been afraid. For me, if I ever was to have a legacy, obviously that's up to the people, but it would be tied to a level of fearlessness, not tied to, like, a number or an award. It's fearlessness, right? So the Brown Collective was meant to be a force field amongst people who were once afraid. It was meant to be a pillar in the community for people who didn't have an opportunity. Is meant to be education space where people could come and learn about the things that's gonna help you navigate through life beyond school. So it was really about subconsciously. And Zody coined the term reverse gentrification, right? Which obviously means putting black and brown faces in white communities and spaces through business or through any type of residence in general. Right. But I had been doing this shit just subconsciously. Like, I just bought this spot down here. Well, why? Cause it's flying. I would live down there. Then over time, you look up. Cause when you work really hard, you look up and you see, like, damn, I built a village. And I got, like, a small fortune, right? And it was never really for me. Like I told you, I was just trying to get legit. Then I was trying to hit a number. Then I look up and it's like, I got all this shit, what I'm.

[Unknown]

Gonna do with it.

[Zoditu]

And naturally, for me, it's about giving black and brown people an opportunity to participate in it. But we have to see it in order to be it. So that's the key, right? So it's like, how do we get out of our own way? That's the narrative going into the future, right? So with the Brown Collective, we wanna continue to work with black and brown talent, but they have to have the same mentality that we have. And that's a mentality of humility, grit, hustle and the ability to be teachable. I think like we talk about the education system, right? And I think the ability to be teachable and coachable shows you longevity. Like shaadee come from the sports space, right? So like let's talk about like Robert Horry versus a more problematic player, right? Robert Horry able to have that level of sustainability, get multiple championships, understand his role. And then you get people like say DeMarcus Cousins, who might be a little bit problematic for that system, not saying he's a bad guy, but for that system. And then now you can't get the longevity that you're looking for. So specifically when it has come to talent, they think that the Brown collective is solely based on creativity where it's really based on a mindset and an ideology that you gonna work in an ecosystem of black people to accomplish a macro goal, even if sometimes you gotta play number two. So I always tell people who wanna win in life, right? Sometimes being number one is playing like you're number two. Yeah.

[Unknown]

And I think to that point too, I, I think it's really tr. I think it always was an ideation and it's really transcended into just a, an understanding of what is possible, you know. So I always say that, you know, after meeting Derek in particular, you know, that we created a world that was made for us because this world was not made for us. And so initially when we started the brown collective understanding that, you know, Cloudy donut is the first 100% black owned vegan donut shop, like okay, yay. You know, and then you go to Brooklyn Heights and you learn that we're the first black owned food and beverage business. And then you come here and you learn the same thing. You know, on the outside looking in, people are like, oh my God, that's so amazing. It's historical. But we also understand that that means that there's still so much work to do. So our goal initially was to, you know, we're kicking down these doors and it's to use this door as a bridge to bring other people in. And I believe that over time, you know, especially for me, you know, Derek a lot speaks a lot to like, you know, the black man. I speak to, you know, to the black woman and the woman in general, understanding that we have to see what's possible for us because.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, no, and that's why now we got specific opportunities. So I wanted to talk about that. So we're looking for operators, right, for all of our spaces. So like that's the biggest announcement that we're going to make. So it's a level of get back. So like specifically with four shops, two in Baltimore and two in New York and the truck, we're looking to take a step back and we looking for five operators that fit a mindset, you know what I'm saying? And that's what's going to be next for me. So like that's how I plan to automate my business. It's not to bring on like any type of capital. It's not to sell to a large investment group, is definitely to look for some operators. So if people send us an email and they interested in operating a space, send us a resume. But more specifically, send us a video of why you deserve an opportunity to operate those spaces, you know. But we looking for operators right now. Like that's what's gonna be next for us.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

So, okay, talk about the seven streams. The show, the series, however you plan on putting it together. Like, explain the thought process and when will that be out and explain that.

[Zoditu]

What'S next for us. Like I always say, when you go fast, you grow fast. Right? So now here we these four donut shops. We got a truck and we documented the prices.

[Unknown]

Where are the donut shops at?

[Zoditu]

So the donut shops are one. We have one in Brooklyn Heights, we have one in Soho or Nolita for that matter. One at 209 My street, one at 14 Columbia Place and we also have two donut shops in Baltimore, Maryland and Federal Hill at 1049 South Charles street and another one at 4311 Hartford Road. We have a truck that goes between the DMV New York, it's national. So the truck is much more of a nomadic concept. If you in la, hit us up. We're gonna be doing a tour in la, late April, early May, so that's how you can directly reach us. Also, we have an Instagram. I've turned a homemade Instagram into seven streams. So shout out to Troy for giving me that advice, amongst many other pieces of advice he gave me. But it's really about people being able to pull up to the shops and connect with us in that way. So we are thriving, we not surviving. I'm not even going to sit up here and act like I'm a charity case. That's not even my movie. So I would never be a person that even if I was going out of business would start begging or nothing like that. But as you know, it's still 2025. We still got a long way to go. So Me, I really pride myself on being able to grow my business through my community. So I'm looking for people to come into the shop, fuck with me. If you see Zo speak to us, holla at us. We really work. I work every weekend. It's not this facade. I like, I got an assistant and there's 25 people in front of me. Every weekend I go into the shop and I make sure the production is what it is. And every weekend she's at the Soho shop.

[Unknown]

I am looking for an assistant.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, yeah, she's definitely looking for an assistant. Yeah.

[Unknown]

Just so everyone knows.

[Zoditu]

So it's like the best thing for us. Like Shaadee was saying with the seven strings was, it's a docu series of how I got all the shit from jail to my grandfather house, how I was raised.

[Unknown]

Plastic couches. Yeah, yeah.

[Zoditu]

Plastic on the couch. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a. Yo, it's like a dope. Like, it's like vice style or like the. Like, my man said it reminded me of like the last Dance, like, Mike style. So it's a very like, vlog style form of economic, entrepreneurial entertainment. But it's really about me giving you a principle, living that principle out in real life and then kind of covering that with a quote that I have that people can live by. So, like, how Biggie had the 10 crack commandments, which I grew up on. I created the ten black commandments. And the ten black commandments are just things that I personally live by and my laws and my life that can allow any entrepreneur, any space to be able to navigate through a form of grit and tenacity. So we got the 10 black commandments within the seven streams. So people should be excited to look at that because, like, just imagine, like, yo, I'm showing you where I sold crack at. I'm showing you like my first hustles. I'm showing you my first store. I'm showing you my first real estate play. You know what I'm saying? So, like, all of these things are key and intricate for people to show the dark side. So we always talk about entrepreneur from a more celebratory standpoint. And that's cool. Cool. But like, what you get with seven Streams is you get the dark, you get the gritty. I've been broke, my account been overdraft a couple times. When I started this store, I a have no money. I built this store one way because y'all came to the premiere. It wasn't working. We had to build the store again. I was up for two months, I couldn't generate no revenue. My credit cards was maxed out. I done lost credit cards. I done lost bank accounts. My credit score went from a 800 when I met her to, like, down to like a 575. My truck got stolen. My other truck got towed. I drove a U haul here today. Like, that's real shit. Like, with all the things that we accomplished, like, we. I'm still in the midst of it, so I'm still so hands on. But I know who I am and I know what I got. Like, fuck the U haul. I got the seven.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Zoditu]

Seven streams.

[Unknown]

That's a fact, man. And I just want to say thank you.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, thank you, brother.

[Unknown]

Yeah. Because for about. I feel like two years, we talked about this, this, and every time I'll just be like, no, you got to do this, you got to do this. Because I think people hit an entrepreneurial journey, and it sounds like it's the best thing. And there are some great things that come from it, and you learn a lot, but they don't hear that side of it. And I think there's the same way we kind of democratize financial education, right? There's a certain demographic that needs to hear your voice in the world of entrepreneurship. So when I watch the. The. The. The piece that you sent, I was like, yo, he did it. I was proud to see it because we had been talking about it. I wonder, as you watched it and as you were filming it and as it's being put together, what are the things, when you look at it, that you're learning about yourself, Right? Because a lot of times we on this journey, we never look through the rear view mirror because everything has to be straight ahead. But as you looked at the body of work that you're putting together, the stories that you share with your family, going back to the first shop, going back to homemade, and looking in the kitchen like, yo, yo, you got my mixer. Some flashbacks are like, what'd you learn about yourself as you come back and look at the body of work that you put together?

[Zoditu]

It's so many levels. First of all, I be looking like, yo, I've been through a lot of shit. And in the midst of my professional journey, like, I done accumulated a lot of shit. Just really grinding on some day by day type shit. Like, yo, I Remember days making 500, like, in the shop. Like, yeah, that's all we made. I Remember days making 5,000. And when I look at the body of work, it really. Cause when you in the dark and you from the ghetto. It's normalized. Like, I never knew I lived in a project. I lived in a happy home, you know what I'm saying? And I always tell people the three E's education plus experience creates an exposure, creates entrepreneurship, right? So my first interaction coming out of my community was. Was crazy. Like, oh, I live in a fucked up spot. So looking back on my whole journey, I'm like, yo, from my elementary school to my teachers, I'm like, yo, I did it. I came from the. It make me really feel like anybody could do it. Cause I don't really feel like I'm crazy special with it or nothing, you know what I'm saying? So the thing I was most proud of is that I stuck to it, I stayed sober, I stayed sane. And like, I just really just stayed at it. Like I was. Yo, I was at it. Like, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, I just really did. I think that's the biggest thing I would say is my consistency and my persistence through all of my setbacks and my trials and my tribulations. So I think the thing I'm most proud of is my consistency and my persistence. And when I look back on it, I'm proud of it because it's such a. It's such an embodiment of who I am and like, the brick by brick, like I told you, the coke lead, I mean, the weed leads to the coke and the coke leads to the dope. Once you got that bricks of dope, you feel like you on, like, you feel like you made it, bruh. Like, you know what I'm saying? So when I be looking back at it, I'm like, damn, n made it. But to your point, like, another thing I learned on this journey, specifically from my relationship with y'all, with Shaadee, and you giving me so much advice through the hard times, through the dark times. And I always tell y'all, like, you know, if you give me the advice, I'm gonna run with the rest, you know what I'm saying? And everything that you ever told me, I always implemented it. So you said two years, but I really gotta go back six years because when you first saw me, you said, yo, you're a megastar and you need to be on a global stage. And for so many years, we fought about my ability to be more public and more extroverted. And a lot of the things that I've done have been a direct byproduct of the advice that you've given me. So it's so beautiful to be here with all three of y'all, because y'all have had the largest impact on my personal development and growth as a man. And more specifically, my brand. So looking back at all of it, it really is like a fucking whirlwind, bro. Cause I really, I did a lot of fucked up shit. I did shit to stay on, you feel me? Like, you know what I'm saying? I remember just like you say, like riding around all kinds of shit stolen like, you know what I'm saying? Breaking the law. My first store, I was selling weed. You feel what I'm saying? Like, at that first store, I had weed under the counter. I still was hitting plays, driving down like, telling a nigga, like. Cause I don't want nigga know I got the spot. But meeting a nigga two, three blocks down, hitting the sale and putting that in the register with the legit money, you know what I'm saying? When we went to LA last year, we did the truck tour. Like, yo, we ain't even passed the inspection. We still did the tour, like, went out. That bitch drove out there with the truck. We trying to get the truck inspected. They like, nah, you failed the inspection. Shit, they paid us. We out this bitch, we doing this. You know what I'm saying? So, like, it really tell me, like, how wild I am in my pursuit of my goal. You know, I grew up. I grew up hard body. So like, I don't even. I never. It's so many things I did subconsciously that I think the normal person would have been like, no, wait, we can't do this. And I did it, so.

[Unknown]

And is there something attached to the seven streams? Like a digital.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, so definitely people can access the seven streams through subscribing to the Brown Collective. Right. So it's two. It's two things that I'm doing. And I got this from. From Troy. I'm over delivering. So the content that I'm providing people is going to be free. What I want, what I want to show people is the possibility of the brand. And I'm really excited for people to try my product. So how you can get access to the seven strings is you go online, you order. We dropping pound cakes four times a year. So we doing four seasonal boxes and if AB can bring me the box, we can show the box. But we doing four seasonal boxes and we doing content with the boxes. So that can work some sort of way where like, people can know, like, all right, I can get a dessert, but also can learn about these people's. Story in a much more intricate manner. So, like, I think typically when you see entrepreneurs in a dessert space or even in a food and beverage space, you just see an end result. You don't see the backstory or the process. So our goal was to shoot content every three months, release the content online with a box of desserts, and then gift our community with the desserts. But also the content is gonna be free. And I got that from you because you over deliver. And when I met you, you allowed me in your space for free. I remember like y'all niggas even treated me like to the snow allegro concert. You probably don't remember, but y'all done so many things.

[Unknown]

That was classic, huh?

[Zoditu]

Yeah, it was classic. It was crazy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you done so many things for me. So when you brought up over delivering, I was like, yo, I know what I'm gonna do. All of the money that I make specifically developing the content, I'm gonna just put it all back into the community by giving the people my story for free. And hopefully they buy into the desserts as well. So. And then for people who might not necessarily want the dessert, but there for the content, that's a bonus as well. So it's kind of like you can't lose either way.

[Unknown]

So what's the website and all the information?

[Zoditu]

Side website, Baby mom.

[Unknown]

Yeah. So our website to subscribe to get the seven streams in the pound cake drop is the brown collective. Right now when you go to the brown collective, you'll it will tell you it will get your information immediately. So that way, when we have the drop, it's going to be right there for you. So that's how you're going to find the seven streams and the educational pieces that both Derek and myself share. If you're looking for Cloudy Donut, we're CloudyDoughnut.com with the four stores, the truck is going to be moving around. We're about to get ready for the truck tour.

[Zoditu]

Yeah, the truck going to be in la. If you in la, pull up on us. All of the truck information is on Instagram. We doing the first pound cake drop is the first week of April. So the whoever like, you know, and I'm gonna be honest with you. So we only doing a thousand boxes. So we're only doing a thousand boxes to start off. And then we're gonna continue to build from that. But our goal is just focusing on craftsmanship, making sure the customers got the right thing. And so we're doing a thousand boxes and if you subscribe to the content, you can get that as well. If anyone subscribes to the content outside of the thousand boxes, you will get those boxes additionally. But it'll be like a two week time because we want to make sure everybody get the right thing.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen.

And the product has been tested and proven. I'm not talking, I'm talking any donuts not specifically vegan. Yes, because it's vegan. It's incredible. And yes you are, brother. The product is incredible.

[Zoditu]

Thank you, brother.

[Unknown]

I mean the donuts are just phenomenal. And the way that they look. Yeah, it's important, man.

[Zoditu]

Where dreams come true. That's what we tell them. Cloudy donut. You know, donuts stop believing and they.

[Unknown]

Gonna, they're gonna, they told me that they're gonna name a donut after us at some point. Some point. But we appreciate you my brother, man.

[Zoditu]

Thank y man.

[Unknown]

Much success. Continue blessings and keep inspiring the people support.

Tell them we sent you when you come.

[Zoditu]

Cloudy Donut.

[Unknown]

Yeah, that's a fact. And then, and then if you're here, I'm just, I'm g give y'all. This is a tidbit. If they got the sweet potato rolls, get about four of them.

[Zoditu]

Sweet potato cinnamon roll. Some of the flavors that we got brown butter chocolate chip, sweet potato pie, cinnamon rolls. We got brown sugar pineapple upside down cake. And I'm really excited about the basil olive oil cake. That's my thing, you know.

[Unknown]

Oh, that's new.

[Zoditu]

Yeah. Okay.

[Unknown]

All right y'all.

[Zoditu]

Thank y'all.

[Unknown]

Thank you guys.

There it goes.

Yes, sir.

[Derrick Falcon]

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