The past 6 years of my life have been the product of taking action and that action has directly led to the wins I am experiencing now and the next big steps that are in the making in a few months.
Let’s begin with some transparency. Prior to 2019 I was ‘on the verge.’ What do I mean by that? I had recently made the decision to transition from visualizing or over preparing in my head to taking serious action in the progression of my dreams.
At that time, which was late 2019, Musicality Central was growing rapidly and after searching for quite some time for a MC home, we landed on a space located right off of Niagara Falls Boulevard. Was it the right space or the right situation for us? With what has transpired over the past few years, including COVID, I would say no. However, due to the setback of COVID, we had to pour new energy into re-growing our business from the ground up and sharpening our tools as instructors.
At that time I was also on the verge of getting high profile clients for Plated Soul and I was experiencing a momentum of bookings, and private dinner parties. Covid also put all of this on pause.
With that said, here are a few actions that I took in the past 4 years that I did not know would create what I consider wins because I decided to finally get out of my head.
First action: Creating a new marketing lens for Plated Soul
Plated Soul’s clientele was built on word of mouth. I would cook for one client and they would share my information with a friend. That was my unintentional marketing plan, meaning I did nothing, but if I wanted to grow as a private catering business I needed to let the public know I exist. This meant I needed to take action with my plan of launching an public event called Dine & Dance, an event that combines an elegant evening of 3 courses with a ballroom lesson. This provided an opportunity for me to display my culinary skills on multiple levels. I needed to do this to create new opportunities for my business and remind the public that Plated Soul still exists. For each event I would create a standard menu and a VIP menu with options for different dietary classification. It was the perfect way to celebrate both of my business but also showcase my abilities as a chef.
Why am I sharing this? Because I acquired an opportunity that is allowing me to cook for the production crew and the actors of an upcoming horror movie called ‘The Return.’ Now, how did I get this opportunity? Yes, I am blessed that the producer of this movie is one of my best friends. Though that is one of the deciding factors of why I am being hired as a chef for this movie, It is not the sole reason why. The most important factor is that my friend and her husband attended my 1st Dine & Dance event in 2022 and bought tickets for the VIP experience.
They were both impressed by the VIP menu, the creative presentation, the multi-flavor experience, and the showstopper dairy free raspberry sorbet. So when she decided to quit TV Production and start her own production company to produce her first movie under her production company, I was the first person her husband recommended and she thought of bringing memorable food to the set because of that experience. In less than 24hrs I will be cooking on-set in North Carolina.
Second Action: Supporting the Community & Uplifting the Jefferson 10
If you live in the Western New York Area there is no way you do not know about the unfortunate mass shooting that took place on May 14th, 2022 at Tops Friendly Supermarket on the East side of Buffalo. In the midst of planning for my first Dine & Dance this unfortunate event weighed heavily on my heart. I just could not believe that this issue of mass shootings was still plaguing our communities, schools, and churches. I was emotionally exhausted by this process of a mass shooting taking place, discussions being had for 2 weeks, and then things returning to normal on the 3rd week. I needed to do something to create awareness about mass shootings but also create a celebration of life for the Jefferson 10. Therefore, 1 of the 3 things I did was organize a Farm to Table Experience with GroundWork Market Garden and FeedBuffalo to celebrate the loves of the Jefferson 10 and uplift members of the community. This event included 3 incredibly delicious courses. These courses were: a spring salad with my Summer Peach Vanilla signature vinaigrette, a gourmet pistachio pesto and cherry tomato pizza, and smoked chicken served with a fig balsamic glaze Entrée paired with a twice baked potato, and grilled broccolini.
Why am I sharing this? Because from taking this action of creating a farm to table experience to celebrate lives lost by this unfortunate event and intentionally serving the community I created a Pistachio Basil Pesto that is now my number one seller of my new product line. This has transformed my business in just a 1 year time frame. Now I am looking to take the next step in production, trademarking, and in the process of creating a patent for my recipe.
Third Action: An Evening of Balance Experience
At this point it is 2024 and I had already hosted 4 Dine & Dance events. I encountered some major issues with the kitchen at the Niawanda Park Pavilion that kept creating new challenges for my Dine & Dance events. This led me to begin searching for a new space to host future events. However I could not find a space that allowed me to utilize the kitchen without the cost being outside of my budget. Luckily, I met Chef Darian Bryan who happens to be an incredibly generous human being but also an incredible chef who understands the challenges with hosting dining experiences. So I explained my dilemma to him and he offered his space for me to host an event. That is when I created An Evening of Balance. An event designed to celebrate my culinary experience and creativity in efforts to create funding for my future restaurant. A Restaurant that would be called Balance.
Why am I mentioning this? Because I took action even after having issues with the kitchen at the Niawanda Park Pavilion. Which I believe if I continued to host my events at that space it would eventually reduce the momentum I was building.
Therefore during the 2nd Evening of Balance 5 course Experience Susie decided she was going to be an attendee to celebrate her and Tosin’s anniversary. During the event, she sparked a conversation about our journey looking for a space for Musicality Central with an attendee that knew of a developmental group that was looking for entrepreneurs to fill their new building. If you are not picking up what I am putting down, these events that came from searching for a new space became the event that introduced Susie and I to the developmental group that is now building a space that fits our dream for expanding Musicality Central. Yes Musicality Central will have an official address on January 1st 2026.
In addition to that, as if that wasn’t incredibly serendipitous all on its own, It will also be the home of Plated Soul’s private event space. Yes Plated Soul will finally have a headquarters where I can host special events with multiple courses and it will be connected to the dance studio. So I will be able to host Dine & Dance events in the same building and grow that event.
I am incredibly blessed to be able to share this with you and I want to reiterate that all this happened from going from the thoughts and over planning in my head to action. That is why I am writing this blog to give you a birds eye view into the wins of taking action.
Now, I am not going to sugar coat this by telling you the sequences of those actions didn’t come with major challenges and burn-outs from balancing two passion based businesses. However, my purpose here is to let you know that if you have been hesitating for a long while on something that you really want to put in motion, take action now. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Launch the idea and sculpt the parachute while it is in its ascent because while you are up there you can identify new opportunities that will bring you closer to your dreams or create new ones. Either way you will learn what you need to do to thrive or already be in a position where you are thriving.