We were lucky to catch up with Laetitia Djissenou recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Laetitia, appreciate you sitting with us today. Maybe we can start with a topic that we care deeply about because it’s something we’ve found really sets folks apart and can make all the difference in whether someone reaches their goals. Self discipline seems to have an outsized impact on how someone’s life plays out and so we’d love to hear about how you developed yours?
I look around me and quite frankly I’m not satisfied with my situation. You might say it’s not a big deal as others and that’s true, but I want better for myself and my family. My self-discipline comes from desiring a life of success. A success that nobody in my family got the chance to experience, not my dad with his PHD, or my mom who worked two jobs all her life to not only provide for us in the moment but to carry the family on her shoulders and make sure our future is bright.
This is what I do it for, the sacrifices my parents have made, put their dreams on the back burner so that we may have a shot at a life filled with freedom and less worry. I am striving to become something greater than myself, leave a legacy that not only touches the lives of others, but sets my generation and current family, up for life.
A business women is what I’ve always wanted to become, someone who has the ability to control her own destiny, take action whenever it pleases me. I do not want to be tied down to the systemic oppression of a 9-5 corporate culture forever. My mission is to break out of that cycle and set a foundation that sets us financially free and independent enough to just pack our things and travel the world whenever we please.
I know I can’t get there by accepting my current fate, I have too much ambition and drive to let the moments of life hold me back. I started my chef journey when I started working for catering companies as a professional server then in the HR industry. My love for cooking is beyond measures. It’s a form of art, a form of expression. A way to unite people in ways that money or power can’t do. I want to be the best, travel the world and get a real taste of each culture, share my culture with the rest of the world. After all I am a poor girl who come from an impoverished family that moved to America from one of the smallest country in Africa called Togo.
I dream big, but strong wilt is just as big and my ambition fuels my resilience to never give up. With God on my side, I know I’m going to make it, I know my purpose is to touch the lives of others, probably those who are also in my shoes and have lost sight of hope. I will be that hope they desperately needed to push themselves beyond their wildest dreams as well. As you know, dreams are just a foreseeable future that we have not lived yet, only those are brave enough to chase it will actually live it, and I will. I must.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Hi my name is Laetitia Djissenou and I go by Tisha Djissenou. Currently I was an onboarding specialist in the corporate world of healthcare. I actually went to school for psychology but decided I wanted to focus on I/O Psych. After getting my bachelors, I knew I wasn’t fully chasing my dreams so after graduating, I started a 9-5….that didn’t last and I knew it was time.
Time to stop running around my dream and just go for it and now here I am, certified professional chef, who not only started platters from the comfort of her home but built up a brand as a west African catering company that provides versatile food for different types of people of all ages.
I started off by catering to a non-profit firm that fights against homelessness in rural area to producing breakfast services to the women’s caucus members of Maryland. My catering company is Versatile LLC. and I craft healthy comforting meals with flavors across the world right at the comfort of your home all while blowing you out the waters with a beautiful set up to go with it. They say you eat with your eyes before your mouth.
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?
1. Outspoken and open to new things- always speaking your intentions, forget the idea that nobody is listening or cares because someone is. When you speak with so much passion regarding your dreams, you inspire other to chase there’s or help you chase your dreams. Being open to new things allows many doors of opportunities, for example, I didn’t think I would be going to catering when I started selling platters at home but someone came to me with a proposal of providing meals for a meeting and I agreed to it even though it was a new venture for me.
2. Taking risk- man oh man, as a businesswomen/entrepreneur, taking risk is a huge factor to prove your hunger. Don’t let the fear of the unknown hold you back or failure because the best way to learn is to fail so you know what your weakness and strengths are.
3. Creativity- tap into your creative side, I’m heavily inspired by arts and I turned my love for artistic expression into creating meals that mirrors an artpiece. How colors perfectly capture each piece, from decorations to food on display. It’s all a form of expression. We are our own worst critics, what we think is not good enough for the world to see, the world things it’s way too beautiful to be hidden.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
My biggest area of growth within these past 12months is pushing myself beyond the barriers that were set in front of me. Since I’m still working a 9-5, trying to juggle a full time job and a full time business can become so overwhelming. I internalize all my stress to the point where I feel like giving up but lately, I’ve learned to truly prioritize myself more. Once I get my mental health fully adjusted, I then can figure out how to juggle all my responsibilities at once. I push myself to be completely intentional with everything I do. Meditation and working out is my therapy to eliminate stress and feeling so overwhelmed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.versatilityeats.com
- Instagram: Versatileti_
- Facebook: Afi Djissenou
- Youtube: Chowithtisha
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