Meet Maurice Caradine

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maurice Caradine a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maurice, so great to have you with us and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the community. So, let’s jump into something that stops so many people from going after their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. We’d love to hear about how you dealt with that and persisted on your path.

One thing that I have learned when it comes to the things we are pursuing is that haters, nay-sayers, etc are not real. They are people and circumstances that we have created in our own mind to help push the narrative that people are really that influential in tearing what we believe was meant for us down. The only person that must believe in the dream is you, especially if you believe God gave it to you. No one has to believe in your dream, support you, or blow you up, the only person to do that is yourself. You are the only one who can destroy your business. You must go into knowing that this was meant for you, and you must know without a shadow of a doubt that God has equipped with you with everything you need inside of you and He will provide all the resources and people you need to make sure that this becomes what it needs to become to be a blessing.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am the owner of MoBetta Pies, where we specialize in sweet potato pies out of Lansing, Michigan. I have been in business for about 3 years and this journey has been amazing and unexpected to say the least. It started with me just wanting to try out making a sweet potato pie a few years back because I’m always experimenting with different recipes and things because I do like to cook and bake. Never once did I think that me playing around in the kitchen would turn into an actual business. After I found a recipe that I felt worked, I just wanted others opinion on what they thought and next thing I know I had people wanting to buy it. So from there MoBetta Pies was born. I knew nothing about starting a business or anything about sales but one thing I did know is I had something awesome on my hands so I was not going to let it just sit. I just started putting posts on Facebook letting people know they could place orders. From there I created a logo and a LLC and just started taking the steps I knew moving forward. I now do a monthly farmer’s market and different events as well and next working on getting in to stores and eventually shipping.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think the three most important things looking back that were most impactful in this journey were faith, being uncomfortable, and trusting the process. Faith is the most important because without it the odds of us actually seeing it through is slim to none. If you don’t have anything to believe for then any obstacle, set back, or catastrophe will completely destroy whatever hope you had in this thing because you were never rooted in anything. Being uncomfortable was another huge component for me. It was important because again I knew nothing about starting a business, sales, heck, I never even wanted to make this a business. In life things come our way to make us uncomfortable and to get us to see and experience things in ourselves that we would have never seen if we did not see them through. Lastly, trusting the process. A lot of times we go into things with a timeline or mindset of how things should workout and when they don’t workout the way we envisioned where does that leave us? Trusting the process is exactly that, trusting that which was meant for you is for you. Seeing that thing through because on the other side of it is what you prayed for and believed for.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

The number one obstacle I am currently facing is getting out of my own way. When this business was presented to me, honestly it wasn’t something I wanted to do and if I can be completely honest there are still times I still don’t want to. I truly believe God gave me this business, one to start believing in myself and two to make me uncomfortable and have to trust Him. I struggle with having to be in control and with this business I am not in control of anything, it is literally God’s business. The problem is I am standing in the way of what it is He is trying to do because I am still trying to figure it out and it’s not for me to figure out just trust and do. So I have been working on just letting Him have full reign and access and me stop making excuses and being lazy and just do what I know I’m supposed to and let Him handle the rest

Contact Info:

• Instagram: MoBetta Pies
• Facebook: MoBetta Pies

Image Credits

WILX Studio 10
Alvin Holloway