Meet Raven Fleming

We recently connected with Raven Fleming and have shared our conversation below.

Raven, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

Developing confidence as well as healthy self-esteem in my field wasn’t easy. It took so much time and discipline before I was able to allow myself to develop those healthy characteristics business-wise. One of the biggest things I struggled with was celebrating my success and milestones. I was more than capable of taking ownership of my mistakes and coming up with a strategy that would produce better and more consistent results. However, I didn’t know or notice that I was failing to take responsibility for my moments of success.

Another thing that contributed to my ability to develop these characteristics was my ability to lower my expectations. I had to realize that I wouldn’t get the results I desired overnight and set a realistic pace for myself. In doing so I was able to create more free time for myself to study better practices that would allow me to excel. I’ve also been able to contribute my time to helping others who are also on an entrepreneurial journey and share knowledge and insight that would best benefit them and the goals they’re seeking to accomplish.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

At Ravens Cravings, I offer catering, baking, and treat creation services, and also offer private chef services. Expressing myself through the art of food is something I feel I do extremely well. We pride ourselves on having the ability to serve up meals, and sweets that bring a new perspective into play for you. With every bite you consume not only do you feel the love that’s been sown into your meal, but you’re able to create new memories within each plate too. Through this reality, our goal is to help rebirth recollections of loved ones, places, and other joyful memories to help you, and the ones you love relive cherished experiences one bite at a time.

Getting to this point hasn’t been easy, but the process has been worth it and surprisingly enjoyable, to say the least. Lately, I’ve been focused on expanding professionally and taking all the necessary steps to get there. I am extremely excited about all the changes that are coming down the line. We’ve taken the time out to hear the voices of our customers and supporters, and I believe it’s safe to say that they’ll be happy to see all the great things we have in the works for them. Something I am most excited about is the cooking classes that I’ll start hosting this year. I’ve received so many inquiries over the years, and I believe it’s finally time to cater to that desire of my customers. In doing so I plan to not only increase knowledge and awareness of the food we consume amongst those who attend, but also to create an environment where everyone who attends can thrive and take a new piece of knowledge away from each class.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

One of the very first things I learned to adapt to that I feel is important to my journey and growth is risk tolerance. Though it’s still a skill I’m mastering, I feel more confident in that area today than I ever have before. At first I didn’t know what to expect when it came to learning risk tolerance, or how it would allow me to benefit from the upside of things simply through my ability to alleviate the risks at hand. To get through the process I had to become comfortable with being uncertain, as risk tolerance requires you to have a growth mindset that allows you to learn more about your industry and the market you aspire to appeal to. In the long run, the benefit boils down to your being able to see the necessary business goals needed which allows you to properly execute your daily tasks and promptly implement the solutions found along the way.

With this, I also had to learn proper time management and marketing. You would think that these are some of the easiest qualities to obtain and maintain, however, I find that these were repeat lessons I had to learn down the line. They both teach proper planning and by mastering both you gain the ability to develop the foundation of the business trajectory steps you’ll follow. By following these steps, you’ll be able to achieve goals more consistently and milestones as well.

My advice for business owners in the early stages of their journey would be to keep going! The journey isn’t going to be easy, and it won’t always be fun, but remember that you started the race for a reason. When you feel like giving up let the reason you started reignite the fire for you, and keep that passion alive every chance you get. Set a healthy pace for yourself, take advantage of downtime, and thoroughly brainstorm and evaluate your ideas. Never stop advertising, networking or learning, but instead stay curious, ask questions, observe and take in everything you can. Information is steadily changing and there’s always something new available for you to take in and implement in your business and personal life regardless of your industry. Also, don’t be afraid to get a mentor. Not only do I have business mentors, but I also have others who come to me for business guidance as well. No matter what industry you’re a part of, having a mentor who is successful in your chosen market is truly vital. Not only will you get advice from that connection, but you’ll also receive challenge-worthy opinions, growth assignments and deep insight into new perspectives that will help you gain the tools and knowledge you’ll need to continue innovating.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

When it comes to deciding if it’s better to go all in on our strengths or invest effort into building up our areas of weakness, I feel it’s better to go all in on our strengths. When you allow yourself to focus on deficiencies that surround your business or all your areas of opportunity, you decrease your chances of achieving success at the rate you desire. When you concentrate on your strengths, not only does that positively contribute to your overall mood while working but it helps you to progress and trend upwards. You want to capitalize on your strengths and observe the opportunities that you have for personal progress as you go. Building off your strengths builds self-confidence, allows you to feel a better level of dedication toward your work and further sharpens your skills so you aren’t easily overwhelmed or burnt out.

I’m someone who started their business and just jumped in without any of the key knowledge required to successfully execute everything I was working towards in my field. My brand was built around my strengths and today I’m known for the skills I took the time to sharpen over the years. At first, I attempted to round off the areas that needed work. By trying to broaden my knowledge in those areas, I found that I was only slowing myself down. I enrolled in school so I could learn techniques and terms that I felt would contribute to the practices I wanted to execute, however, it was an overly frustrating experience. I chose to step back and focus on what I knew I was capable of. I wrote out my recipes and perfected ways of making them, and from there I began observing my various clients, and the approaches I needed to take with each target audience. Though it might seem backward from the outside looking in, this has consistently worked for me, and the base of the foundation has only gotten stronger with time. I still have a great way to go on this journey, but I plan to build a successful and extraordinary culinary empire and experience worth having once I reach the final steps of my process.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Andraya Johnson
Daniel Ross
Jajuana Ferrell

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