I began my “career” at 11 years old, sitting around the dining room table with my grandmother. She would ask me to count her money at the end of each long workday after she picked me up from school. She didn’t have a bank account. So, at that young age, I took charge as her “CFO”; looking back, I got my entrepreneurial spirit and reasoning from my Granny. See, she didn’t start her “Collard Sandwich” business until late in life and out of necessity. It’s an amazing story!
Essentially, she was my first client—my innovative grandmother with an incredible work ethic, who sold collard sandwiches for a living. (In case you are wondering, my grandmother’s collard sandwiches were made from homemade cornbread stuffed with collard greens, vinegar and spices, then pan-fried. She sold them at lunchtime to local workmen and eventually at festivals in our hometown of Laurinburg, NC.) I guess you can say running a business with unique ways of operating runs in the family.

