Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Raven Ross. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Raven, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from knowing that my purpose has to be fulfilled no matter what comes my way. God blessed me with the talent and tools to bring my passions to fruition, but he never said that I wouldn’t have problems along the way. Failures, set backs, complications, whatever one may call them, are a part of the journey. Without failure, you’ll never know what needs to be improved. I pride myself on being teachable and that has to come with a will to learn. If there’s something you don’t know, you have to be willing to fail at it in order to learn and become better. Resilience is me taking back my power from failure. People sometimes give failure too much credit. Sure you failed, but you aren’t a failure. Resilience is taking that failure and using it to propel yourself further into your purpose.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My name is Raven Ross. I am the Creator/Owner of D.R.E.A.M: The Brand and the Chef/Owner of D.R.E.A.M Kitchen. D.R.E.AM: The Brand captures the essence of me and all of my business ventures under one umbrella. However, D.R.E.A.M Kitchen, my food service operation, came first.
I have always had a fascination for food. As a child, I would watch Food Network more than I watched cartoons. I would challenge my cousins to cooking competitions and I would always be right under my grandma and aunts while there were cooking for us. Food has always been a love language of mine. However, I never considered a career in it. I did it for fun and experimentation. It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I realized I had a passion for feeding people. I would cook for my roommates daily, not asking for anything in return. The smiles on their faces when they ate my food was all I needed. Eventually our apartment became a hub for college students looking for home cooked meals. People would eventually go on to tell me that I should make a business out of it. So I gave it a shot and D.R.E.A.M Kitchen was born.
I started selling plates from my apartment after all of the frat parties because nothing was open that late in our small college town. Business was booming. Maybe a little too much because I eventually was shut down by campus security. That did nothing but push me harder to become the chef and entrepreneur I am today. I graduated, stepped out on faith, moved to New Orleans, invested in my business, and the rest is history in the making.
You may be wondering how I chose “D.R.E.A.M” as the name of my brands. D.R.E.A.M stands for Driven, Resilient, Educated, Ambitious, and Motivated. These are characteristics that helped me to take what seemed like and unattainable dream and make it my reality.
D.R.E.A.M: The Brand captures the true meaning of those words and works as an outlet for other people like me who are trying to make their dreams a reality. As of right now, it’s just a way to utilize my social media platforms by being a voices for business in the area while also giving myself the space to do what I love. On this Instagram & TikTok page (Youtube soon), you’ll find me exploring my city as well as other and bringing awareness to small businesses of all kinds while doing so. Whether it be food, cosmetics, clothings, etc., if you’re a business owner with a dream, D.R.E.A.M: The Brand is looking to support and uplift you. I hope to soon have a website that will become a business directory for small businesses all over the world.
My goal is to motivate those who are just like me to go after what they want and prove to them that their D.R.E.A.Ms aren’t that far out of reach. I hope to soon be able to do interviews with D.R.E.A.Mers of all kinds and bring awareness to all the hardworking individuals that deserve our support. I aim to be a beacon light and a resource in communities far and wide. I just want people to know that even the largest of companies, brands, careers, ETC. started with a D.R.E.AM.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Being teachable, being patient, and being driven were all qualities that were the most impactful for me on my journey.
A lot of times, it’s easy to feel like you know everything there is to know about something. It comes with confidence. However, to be successful in whatever it is that you may be doing, you need to accept the fact that there is always more to learn. It’s not to say that you aren’t great at what you do, but to be teachable shows that you are passionate about perfecting your craft. A goal of mine is always to be better than the person I was yesterday. Every moment in your journey should be a new opportunity to learn. Find what works for you and allow yourself that space to grow.
Patience may be one of the most important things I’ve had to learn and am still learning. In this era, everything happens so quickly. We want everything to happen right now. Rushing can be detrimental to a person’s journey. I think of life like a road trip. When you’re on the interstate, the speed limit is usually 70+, everything is rushing by within a blink of an eye. There’s no time to see anything. There’s also a strong possibility of traffic or a wreck happening. When you take the scenic route, things are much slower. You can see the beauty in the area you’re traveling. You can see the important landmarks. The possibility of a traffic jam is significantly lower. The scenic route takes longer, but the journey is so beautiful. We often get caught up in trying to do things so quickly that we don’t even stop to see our progress. We miss out on teachable moments, we make more mistakes. In the end, the faster route comes with more setbacks and difficulties. Move at your own pace, not the pace you think society wants you to move.
A lot of people have goal and dreams they want to achieve, but they don’t have the drive to back it up. The minute something goes wrong they want to quit. When you are striving to reach a goal, it’s never “If I get set back” it’s “When I get set back”. There will always be some type of adversity to come against you. A journey is never a straight path. There will be obstacles, holes, cracks in the sidewalk. It’s up to you to let these things make you or break you. When you have drive, the path isn’t what concerns you. It’s making it across the finish line. If you want to achieve something, make it your business to never stop until you reach it. Don’t quit.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I am always looking for people to collaborate or partner. Anyone who has a business/brand, is a creative, has resources, etc. is more than welcome to reach out to me. Chefs, clothing designers, artists, students, community leaders, fraternities/sororities, the list can go on. If you feel that you have something to offer whether that be a recommendation of your own business, a friend’s business, information on ways to help small business owners, grant/ scholarship opportunities, etc. If you consider yourself a D.R.E.A.Mer in any sense of the meaning, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dream-kitchenllc.square.site
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d.r.e.a.mthebrand/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/d.r.e.a.mkitchen225
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHuJrsPUOBED6ZcnzIIP2zw
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@d.r.e.a.mthebrand
