Multi-Million Dollar Project Executive Turned Passion Into a Bakery Empire

Summary

Living The Red Life Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Multi-Million Dollar Project Executive Turned Passion Into a Bakery Empire
Date: February 16, 2026
Host: Ray Gutierrez (Guest Host)
Guest: Keisha Davis, also known as DJ Mystique, Owner of Denise’s Delicacies, Philadelphia

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Overview

This energetic episode features Keisha Davis, a corporate executive-turned-bakery entrepreneur and DJ. Keisha shares her unique journey from managing multi-million dollar corporate projects to running the beloved Denise’s Delicacies in North Philadelphia. The conversation dives deep into the discipline of baking, entrepreneurial resilience, community roots, how DJing influences her leadership style, and building an 8-figure vision for her family brand—all delivered with warmth and actionable wisdom.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Art and Science of Baking

• Discipline over talent:
  "Baking is a science and an art, but definitely a science is very specific. And you have to have a certain level of discipline to get into baking." — Keisha Davis [03:08]
• Baking is often underestimated. Keisha describes her first (failed) cake at age 12, emphasizing persistence.
• Baking’s emotional resonance: Her bakery delivers not just sweets but memories for life’s most important occasions.

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2. Corporate Lessons Fueling Entrepreneurship

• Resilience through setbacks:
  "You’re going to hear a lot of no’s in your life, no matter what you’re trying to do. But in business, there are going to be a lot of obstacles that you’ll have to overcome." — Keisha Davis [04:04]
• Keisha’s project management at Aramark (a $13B company) gave her a unique “360-degree view” of running a business, even as she acknowledges small businesses operate with far fewer resources.
• She regularly transfers her corporate skills like resource allocation and process discipline into bakery operations.

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3. DJing & Baking: A Symbiotic Relationship

• On making people feel good:
  "It's all about making people feel good. DJing for me, I love when people are nodding and vibing...Same thing with baking. At least for our business, there's a lot of emotion tied to our customer base..." — Keisha Davis [06:16]
• Keisha draws a parallel between reading a crowd as a DJ and reading customers’ needs as a baker.
• Her experience in DJing weddings and events gives her a unique perspective on how music and cake both create memorable, shared experiences.

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4. Operational Excellence & Control

• On management:
  Keisha plays a key role in planning at a granular level, from ingredient ordering to team coordination:
  "It costs a lot of money to run a bakery. Ingredient costs are high and so you really have to plan at a granular level at this point just to make sure there’s not a lot of waste." — Keisha Davis [10:22]
• She takes personal responsibility for delivering cakes, leveraging each delivery as a marketing moment.

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5. Community Engagement and Leadership

• Civic involvement:
  Keisha discusses her role with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and service through nonprofit boards, extending her impact far beyond the bakery.
  "A lot of what I do is civic engagement and community engagement through my sorority..." — Keisha Davis [13:49]
• She values her "tribe" and encourages others to find or build supportive networks.

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6. Organization, Hustle, and Energy

• Process and flow:
  Keisha approaches both DJing and baking with structured creativity—organizing her DJ crates by BPM and vibe, mirroring her systematic bakery workflow.
• Embracing the hustle openly:
  "No, I actually love what I do. I’m out here, I have a T shirt that says I'm doing all the things." [16:57]
• She’s hands-on in every aspect—baking, DJing, marketing, and delivery—finding joy in being visible and setting an example.

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7. Philosophy, Mindset & Self-Care

• On self-care and endurance:
  "Talk to yourself nice...You can do it even when it gets hard. There's a reason why you're doing what you're doing. So focus on that reason and that should help you get through it. And when you're not moving, you're dying, right?" — Keisha Davis [15:02; 15:07]
• Keisha insists on positive self-talk and prioritizing self-care amidst the chaos of entrepreneurship.

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8. Family, Legacy & The Denise’s Brand

• Honoring legacy while scaling up:
  Keisha aims to take the family bakery national, having already trademarked the brand and actively developing new products like a cookbook.
• Future ambitions:
  "Maybe I'll have a $13 billion food company soon myself.” [05:10]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being hands-on:
  "Getting up, pouring into people and being an example and people seeing me doing what I do I think is probably the bigger message in itself." — Keisha Davis [17:06]
• On delivering precious cakes:
  "I have a nice size truck that I deliver and yeah, very careful. I trust me with the cakes." — Keisha Davis [11:20]
• On connecting leadership, DJing, and bakery work:
  "You're the producer of your reality." — Ray Gutierrez [10:12]

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Important Timestamps

• 03:08 — The science and discipline behind baking
• 04:04 — Lessons from the corporate world and resilience
• 06:16 — Emotional parallels between DJing and baking
• 10:22 — The nitty-gritty of bakery operations and planning
• 13:49 — Community service and engagement via Delta Sigma Theta
• 15:07 — The importance of self-care and positive self-talk
• 16:57 — On being “out there” and loving her multifaceted hustle
• 17:38 — Outlets for following Keisha and exciting updates (upcoming cookbook and TV appearance)

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How to Follow and Support

• Instagram: @cakesbydenises
• Website: cakesbydenises.com
• Cookbook: Denise’s Delicacies with Chef Keisha (coming soon)
• TV: Second season on Eat This TV (baking demonstration show; 12 episodes upcoming)

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Final Thoughts

Keisha Davis embodies the transformational power of corporate skills, creative energy, and community engagement to build a thriving, legacy-driven business. Her infectious positivity and hands-on approach are a model for entrepreneurs seeking to blend passion, discipline, and authenticity as they scale their brands.

“I love my life... I’m doing all the things.” — Keisha Davis [17:02]

Transcript

[A]

I feel like everyone can bake. What makes you and your style, your approach, so unique to the craft?

[B]

Baking is a science and an art, but definitely a science is very specific. And you have to have a certain level of discipline, at least for our business. There's a lot of emotion tied to our customer base coming to us and helping them celebrate their most important life's occasions.

[A]

You come from the corporate world. What are you teaching others about what you learned in the corporate world?

[B]

You're going to hear a lot of no's in your life, no matter what you're trying to do. But in business, there are going to be a lot of obstacles that you'll have to overcome.

[A]

You're hustling, but you're also creating the cake you're DJing. Doesn't elite lose a little bit of, like, the aura? I was like, I'm supposed to be behind the door. Like, you're not like that at all. Yeah, you're like front facing in it. Literally in it.

[B]

No, I actually love what I do, so I love my life.

[A]

Right on.

[B]

Getting up, pouring into people, being an example and people seeing me doing what I do, I think is probably the bigger message in itself.

[C]

My name is Rudy Moore, host of Living the Red Life podcast, and I'm here to change the way you see your life in your earpiece every single week. If you're ready to start living the red life, ditch the blue pill.

[B]

Take the red pill.

[C]

Join me in Wonderland and change your life.

[A]

Welcome back to another episode of Living youg Legacy podcast, the Red Life edition for Inside Success. I am Ray Gutierrez. Joining me today is another amazing, powerful woman. But there's a reason why, and I, I, I'm a little biased because we're both DJs, so she's already one of my favorites. Keisha S. Davis, how are you? Welcome.

[B]

I am doing great, Ray. Thank you so much.

[A]

I apologize for calling you Keisha S. Davis. You're, you are not a ship or a. I keep calling you like a boat. You are not a boat, ma'. Am.

[B]

Sometimes I can move like one.

[A]

We literally just wrapped up your episode of Women in Power. Quite, quite a small chaos there, but we got through. How was your experience?

[B]

It was, it was great, actually. Is a testament to how things, things running business, sometimes you just gotta go with the flow and keep it pushing, so.

[A]

Right on.

[B]

It was great, actually.

[A]

Cool, cool, cool. I'm glad to hear it. Boy, am I glad. What are we gonna learn about your episode?

[B]

How I grew up and what was instilled in me early on through my childhood years and why I am running the business now, who Denise is and what she is to me and how I'm the niece of the niece and that I'm running this great bakery in Philadelphia, in North Philadelphia, and how I want to take it to the next level and make it a national brand.

[A]

Right on.

[B]

We're already trademarked, so, you know, I'm just really trying to, to do that. And so that's what you're going to learn about in my episode.

[A]

So bakery baking, is it, is it, is it quite a business to get into? I feel like everyone can bake. What makes you and your style, your approach so unique to the craft?

[B]

Baking is a science and an art, but definitely a science is very specific. And you have to have a certain level of discipline to get into baking. And yeah, some stick to itiveness because the first cake that I baked when I was 12 did not come out right. It was a disaster, sure. But.

[A]

Everyone falls on the first jump.

[B]

But I kept trying and I've actually started baking more more recently. So I'm naturally a cook and I have some other talents and so I do cake decorating and all that. But baking is a science.

[A]

Let's talk about your entrepreneurial journey. You come from the corporate world. What was happening in the corporate world? Did you enjoy it? What did you learn about yourself? What are you teaching others about what you learned in the corporate world?

[B]

So I've been in sales. I've sold a lot of things from large IT systems to. I mentioned being a telemarketer in college. I learned that resilience is key. Right. You're going to hear a lot of no's in your life, no matter what you're trying to do. But in business, there are going to be a lot of obstacles that you'll have to overcome. And so that is easily translatable into running a small business. Because resources do not abound like they do. Working for a $13 billion food company. Like I worked before.

[A]

Holy moly.

[B]

I worked at Aramark before.

[A]

I. I live next to Nessie in Switzerland. Yeah, corporations. It's very scary. That's huge.

[B]

Yeah, huge, right? But the cool thing about working in that company sure, was that I worked with the sea level executives in project management. So I had a 360 degree view of a huge food company. Maybe I'll have a $13 billion food company soon myself.

[A]

Maybe definitely will. 14 billion. I would say. Okay, $15 billion.

[B]

Let's shoot for higher. Let's shoot for higher. But yeah, knowing that it's possible, knowing how that story got started and then bringing some of those things to my business with less, way less resources.

[A]

Right on.

[B]

Yeah, I'm gonna say trans. Translatable. Not super easy, but translator, there's a.

[A]

Lot of moving parts. Cooking, baking, running a kitchen, a business and all the employees and folks that you were managing, there's a lot of moving parts and sops. But that attributes to, I would say, maybe because you're a DJ as well. Like when you're DJing, you're, you're hearing your monitors and it's your versus the house and you're on a BPM and.

[B]

You', like, and you're watching the crowd.

[A]

And you're watching and you're reading the room, feeling the frequencies and you're like, is this going to land right? Or when to know when to clear a dance floor because the bar's got to make money.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Talk about how your love for the craft of DJing flows into your art of baking and cooking. Flows into the flow of, flows into the flow of your corporate life.

[B]

It's all about making people feel good. Right on. Right. So DJing for me, I love when people are nodding and vibing with or I love when I'm helping people reminisce about a time they, you know, their eyes are closed and they're, you know, they're, or they're dancing and they're older people dancing like they danced 50 years ago. That feels good. But it's the emotion that is tied to the music. Same thing with baking. And at least for our business, there's a lot of emotion tied to our customer base coming to us and helping them celebrate their most important life's occasions. So very similar, Very similar.

[A]

What, what is your philosophy when you're crafting? Do you feel like you bake or cook better when you're angry, happy, sad.

[B]

Or when I just gotta get it done?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So when I'm more of a person that works very well under pressure, sometimes it might blow up. But if I just got to focus and get this cake done or if I got a, you know, if I have a short window of time, I got a 20 minute set. Oh, I'm a bang that 20 minute set out. DJing. Yeah, we're talking DJ.

[A]

Unless you're at 6 o' clock in the afternoon DJ and the room is empty, you don't want to be that DJ playing the bangers at six in the afternoon. Don't do that.

[B]

Right, right, right.

[A]

No one likes that dj Right, right.

[B]

But if I've got, you know. You know, a couple weeks ago, I did a wedding that kind of. The band played way too long, and I only had a few minutes to play, so I had to kill it in 20 minutes.

[A]

You're still DJing weddings. And good for you, man. I cannot wait to get back to my CDJs. I miss it. I miss, like, that. That environment, being in that. That world and seeing the room hustle, like, seeing the bartenders, the bar backs, the bouncers, having, you know, the Hostess Corp people to the VIP room, and you're just in the. In the flow and you're just like, man, I cannot believe. Control his energy. I'm just a weird nerd.

[B]

Control the energy. That's right. The DJ controls the energy.

[A]

Talk about what it's like to spin on vinyl, what it's like to have crates, to be a Serato DJ. We're every. Just because we're DJs doesn't mean we're the same. I'm on CDJs and she's on Seratos. To me, this is real DJ, so.

[B]

Well, I'm on Serato right now. Rain one. But I started out with real vinyl. My techniques with crates, I would have, like five crates that I would put into my Honda Accord with my DJ equipment. Being able. Literally, when you're digging through the crates, you know, getting Cutting your cuticles on record covers.

[A]

Not the same when you're scrolling through with them.

[B]

No. Actually, it was a little hard for me to make that transition because I was used to seeing my records visually. Then I had to kind of like, think of what the next thing to play because they're files and I hadn't built my crates out yet in serato.

[A]

So how do you. How do you organize your crate? Is it by. Because I like to mix and key. Like, do you mix and key or are you just whatever flows with you?

[B]

I.

[A]

Because you're more top 40, right?

[B]

Or hip hop. No, I'm hip hop. I'm hip hop R and B. So I actually organize my crates by BPM. So I might be like 70 to 80, 90, and then 90 to 100. 100. So I'll do that.

[A]

And then I call that Energy Pockets. When I want to start this energy pocket, my meds and my highs and then peaks and then launchers.

[B]

Yep. And then sometimes it's just a vibe. So I am vibe vibe crates. You know what I mean?

[A]

Those are my favorite ones.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then you're just. Sometimes I don't even know what the artist Name was. I'm just looking at the, the energy. I'm like, I put this in this pocket. I already trust myself that three days ago when I was that person pre planning this version of myself that I'm in safe mode.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

So talk about some of the, the pre planning that it takes or even production planning, product managing that, connecting all of your worlds into one that is you, the, the, the producer of your reality.

[B]

Yeah. It costs a lot of money to run a bakery. Ingredient costs are high and so really have to plan at a granular level at this point just to make sure there's not a lot of waste. So coordinating teams with the back office and making sure that our baking teams have the right things they need to make at the right time so our decorating teams can get done and the cashiers get it out the door. So it's quite a bit of coordination there to get the customer their cake when they order it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's not like widgets. So I'm like, yeah, your widget is back order. So get your cake for your niece's birthday party next month.

[A]

Oh, gosh.

[B]

Yeah. Everything has to be done.

[A]

How are you delivering such precious cargo? Like how, how does one deliver a seven layer cake? One does not.

[B]

I have a, a nice size truck that I deliver and yeah, very careful. I trust me with the cakes.

[A]

Wow. I love it. Is this, do you think this is because you're an only child? There's a sense of control from one only child to another.

[B]

Anybody right now to deliver.

[A]

So if you're watching or listening to this podcast, if you could.

[B]

Yeah, I need someone to help me deliver. But no, I do. I actually like delivering. I like going to the venues because actually I get to do a little marketing.

[A]

Right on.

[B]

Talk to the manager.

[A]

Yeah, that's awesome.

[B]

That's non business cards, that kind of thing. And I, I can, I can teach somebody how to do that.

[A]

Yeah, right on.

[B]

I like to do that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I like for, I like to see how it turns out in the venue.

[A]

For sure.

[B]

For sure. I'd like to see it.

[A]

I, I know it's kind of like a stereotypical question, but it's like any folks that you've transformed based on your cake. Like, was it that one wedding that. Was it a crisis and then your cake showed up and saved the day?

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

Would you like to make one up?

[B]

Because I want to tell you, I have walked into some venues and I think the cake probably did save the.

[A]

Yeah, I was just Gonna say, there's gotta be.

[B]

I'm like, you guys, oh, this is. This is gonna be a nice day. Then I come in and I smile. Things gonna be our. Today is gonna be a beautiful, beautiful day. Here's your cake. Like, that's the kind of energy that I try on wedding days because they're always so hectic.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't usually see the bride, but if I see the bride, that's. That's not good. I see the bride, but if I see the bride, you know, I see the bride.

[A]

There's a. There's a good province there. It's like there's a confuci. There's a confucious province there. If you see the bride of the wedding day, you're on. You're not having a good day or something. All right, so turn to me a little bit. I know you're hiding from me. You might be. It's okay. I just want to make sure that the things that you didn't say on your. On your interview for. In your interview session, you see on. On the podcast, there's a couple of things that you. You left out that you wanted to bring up and talk about.

[B]

We were talking about leadership, and we were talking about community engagement. And one of the big things that's part of my life. Very appropriate that we're in this red room. Is that I'm a proud member of Delta 7 Theta Sorority Incorporated. Oh, is a public service sorority.

[A]

Right on.

[B]

And so a lot of what I do is civic engagement and community engagement through my sorority. And then I've served on some nonprofit boards for raising scholarship money.

[A]

Right on. Yeah, yeah. Sorority, Tribe club. Cult. Same thing. No, cult. Not the cult. Not the cult part.

[B]

I want to say.

[A]

No, no X on that, but tribe. I really wanted to land on Tribe. Tribe, for sure.

[B]

Tribe Village. A huge. Hundreds of thousands of sisters.

[A]

Right on. That's so cool. For me, that's looking for my tribe of sisters, if you will. It's difficult. Like we spoke about this earlier. Being 40 today is. Is interesting because you're either raising a family or still raising yourself.

[B]

Like, I'm a little older than four.

[A]

All good. But. But how would you educate someone like me that's like, yo, what's up, dj? What up? Love your bakes Bakery. Like, let's talk.

[B]

You could still do whatever.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. 40, 14, it doesn't matter as long.

[B]

As you're taking care of yourself.

[A]

Yep, yep.

[B]

Self care is like a real thing for sure.

[A]

How are you taking care of yourself?

[B]

Talk to Yourself. Nice.

[A]

Yeah. Still working on that good self talk. Still working on that.

[B]

You can do it even when it gets hard. There's a reason why you're doing what you're doing. So focus on that reason and that should help you get through it. And when you're not moving, you're dying, right?

[A]

Very true. That's probably explains why I'm always so jittery. What is your DJ name?

[B]

Oh, my DJ name is DJ Mystique.

[A]

Nice.

[B]

So that's M I s S. Right on.

[A]

It's a lot of mystiques out there. But you're DJ cool.

[B]

That's a different one.

[A]

Oh, no, no.

[B]

Right on colors.

[A]

No, no, no, you're not. Do you sometimes get creative and kind of just like DJ out of your bakery wagon and be like, all right, I'm gonna deliver from 9 to 5, but from 5 to 2 in the morning, I want to be DJing out of this truck? No, no, you've got a whole sorority that's gonna be your fan club chasing after this. Like I already envisioned.

[B]

They order cakes and they ask me to dj.

[A]

Well, there you go. Well, next time you do a big, like, powwow delivery DJ thing, you got to get cameras out and do a big thing.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

We'll be here to support from for sure.

[B]

What I will say I have DJ parties ever since I've been DJing, and I've been DJing for over 25 years.

[A]

Right on.

[B]

I've DJ parties where I've decorated the cake. I look across the room, I'm like, oh, that's our box. Let's see who decorated it. Hey, that's me decorated that cake.

[A]

Me.

[B]

So that's cool.

[A]

Well, what do you tell the folks that are like that? That to us is just like, you're hustling, but you're also creating the cake. You're DJing. Doesn't elite lose a little bit of like, the aura? I was like, no, I'm, I don't know, business owner. I'm not supposed to be in front of the. The customer. I'm supposed to be behind the door. Like, you're not like that at all. Yeah, you're like front facing in it. Literally in it.

[B]

No, I actually love what I do. I'm out here, I have a T shirt that says I'm doing all the things.

[A]

All the things.

[B]

Yeah. So I, I love my life.

[A]

Right on.

[B]

Getting up, pouring into people and being an example, and people seeing me doing what I do I think is probably the bigger message in itself.

[A]

Where should we take this conversation. Anything else you'd like to add? Anything else that we feel like we may have missed in the interview session that you want to make sure you stay in the podcast before we wrap up?

[B]

Yeah. I feel like you covered everything. I think you got a lot of my personality.

[A]

Yeah. How can people find you and follow your journey?

[B]

Find me on Instagram so you can find the [e-mail] have a cookbook coming out soon. So I did not want to forget that.

[A]

Right on. Let's plug your buck, please.

[B]

Denise's delicacies with Chef Keisha. So. And then look for me on Eat this tv. I'm going to be starting my second second season of a baking demonstration show eat this TV. So that's 12 episodes.

[A]

Are we already fighting for ratings between the two apps here? Are we already doing this? I love it. You can find her on Inside Success TV or the what other app?

[B]

Eat this cd.

[A]

Right on. I love this. Closer. This is the best way to end a Friday. Yeah. K. I'm going to just call you K. Thank you so much for your lovely time and energy. It was quite a memorable Friday. With that. Thus concludes another episode of the Living youg Legacy podcast for Red Life and Inside Success. I am Ray Gutierrez.