Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Destiny Burns. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Destiny, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I’m the oldest of four kids, born and raised in an inner-ring East Side suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. As I grew up, I lived through my share of fun, celebration, triumphs, and opportunities as well as sacrifices, challenges, and traumas. My paternal grandmother influenced me the most during my formative years, inspiring the resilient woman I am today.
My parents married young, and I was born nine months and one day after their wedding. My father worked the day shift at a bank, and my mother worked the night shift at a hospital. My dad would bundle me up before dawn to drive to the “hospital-bittle” (that’s what I used to call it) to pick up my mom after her shift, and he’d drop her off at home to get some sleep.
My dad then went to work, and he would first drop me off with his mother (my Granny), who was my primary babysitter from the time I was born. My parents met on most workdays at my grandparents’ house for dinner, with my dad just coming home from work and my mom getting ready to head to work. After dinner, we’d drop my mom off at work, and my dad
would take me home to sleep. Then we’d do this all over again the next day.
Granny was the daughter of an immigrant mother from the Isle of Man and a railroad engineer father from Pennsylvania. She was tough as nails. Her house was my sanctuary. I stared for hours at the small, framed photo on Granny’s dresser of my great-grandmother as a young woman. Draped in light blue chiffon around her shoulders like a cloud, she looked like an angel. Her dark hair and steely eyes exuded strength, confidence, and resilience. Granny had those same eyes, and I could always see myself mirrored in them. A copy of that photo of my great-grandmother adorns my office wall, and I draw strength from her watchful gaze and feel her presence, although I never had the joy of knowing her. She passed away before I was born.
What I remember and treasure most about Granny was her ability to unapologetically be herself and hold herself and those she loved to extremely high standards. She ruled the roost. No one ever doubted that. I never ever saw her as a passenger in a car; she was always in the driver’s seat. She was demanding and sometimes even borderline ruthless, but she was also the most loyal cheerleader and protector I ever had. She taught me so much—how to walk, talk, read, sing, kick the habit of biting my fingernails, and set the table properly. She taught me the importance of accountability and always doing what you say you’ll do. The most important principle she taught me by example was that a woman can be strong, love fiercely, and make her own way in the world without apology or permission. Her example still inspires me to this day to live the Manxman’s adage: “Throw me where you will and I will stand.”
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I joined the US Navy right out of high school and served all over the world on active duty for the 20 years. I then went to work in large defense firms as a business development executive for the next 13 years. Through it all, I dreamed of owning a “someday business” in the hospitality industry as I always enjoyed dabbling in food and wine. When I turned fifty in 2014, about three years after my 26-year marriage ended, I decided to create an exit from my stressful life in the corporate world. I chose to move back to my hometown of Cleveland to reconnect with my roots and start my dream business. What an equally terrifying and exciting prospect! My why was calling and I needed to chase the opportunity for connection and fulfillment I saw through opening and operating my own business. I wanted to bring something new and special to my hometown.
I love the brewery culture in Cleveland and figured if the concept worked with beer, it could also work with wine! Over the course of the next year and a half, I created and launched a craft brewery-style urban winery concept in a hundred-year-old former auto repair garage in 2016, bringing the concept of “Good wine made fun that celebrates Cleveland and creates community” to life! I built the tenet “Drink wine and do good” into the business plan and model, ensuring myself a platform for philanthropy and community engagement within my new role as business owner. I knew I would need this element to feed my
soul as I took on the challenging task of running a business. I officially left the corporate world behind three weeks before my business opened its doors for the first time.
Creating an urban winery from the ground up and learning how to run it has been quite a roller-coaster ride, especially with the challenges of COVID-19 thrown into the mix the last few years. Despite all that, I’ve found immense joy and purpose bringing this community asset to my beloved Cleveland. I’ve also discovered that a genuine entrepreneur is less afraid of failure than of having to go back and work for someone else!
CLE Urban Winery brings the unique concept of a working winery and tasting room in an urban setting. We don’t have a vineyard – our wines are hand-crafted and bottled on-site and are made from premium grapes sourced primarily from the US west coast and branded and themed to honor and celebrate the city of Cleveland.
We recently launched a new eCommerce capability that enables us to ship our wines and to offer our quarterly 6-Bottle Cleveland Rocks Wine Club to customers in 39 states! Check out https://cleurbanwinery.com to learn more about us, join our Wine Club, or to order a bottle or two!
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?
The three primary pieces of advice I would give is:
– Know your core values and define your why: Developing a deep understanding of who you are and what drives you are key foundational elements to success in business and happiness in life.
– Fight your fears with facts and make a plan: Don’t let fear derail your dreams. Do your homework, get the facts, put your fears in perspective and then make a plan to achieve your goals. If you fail to plan, then plan to fail.
– Stick with it: Lots of things will attempt to get in the way and derail the achievement of your dreams. Be persistent, ask for help and support as needed, and don’t give up!
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
My all-time favorite business book is “Business For Punks” by James Watt, Co-Founder of Brewdog. This book contains the most practical and impactful advice I have ever run across to build a core values- and culture-based business that is scalable and actually makes money!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cleurbanwinery.com
- Instagram: cleurbanwinery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CLEurbanwinery/
- Linkedin: CLE Urban Winery
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cleurbanwinery1138/about
- Yelp: CLE Urban Winery
Image Credits
Grace McConnell
