Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Lewis.
Hi Jasmine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
This popping journey started in the midst of COVID-19. I have always been creative and was originally introduced to entrepreneurship at the age of 11. Prior to COVID, I served the community by providing face painting services for various events, including birthday parties, sporting events, festivals, and more. With the rise of COVID, I wasn’t able to face paint anymore; however, I still longed for creative expression!
Social media is good at continuously showing us certain things, and for whatever reason, popcorn kept showing up on my timeline, in different feeds, and on Etsy, I mean everywhere! Lol. I tried my first batch of popcorn at home in my kitchen and it was horrible! But just like everything else, if at first you don’t succeed, try again! Tons of burned popcorn, late nights and early mornings later…The Popcorn Professor was born serving over 30 flavors of gourmet, savory and liquor-infused popcorn.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The journey through the popcorn business has definitely been a roller coaster! You anticipate the ride and sometimes it’s faster than what you expected or even not as bad as you thought. The biggest challenges were learning how to run a business legally and catering to clients’ wants while maintaining originality. In the beginning, I solely offered candied popcorn; however, I was encouraged to add savory popcorn flavors and additional custom chocolate treats. Adding more offerings expanded my clientele; however it had an impact on my time management.
In addition to learning how to run a small business, I am also a mom, a full-time educator, and I was also completing a doctoral program so it was really tough juggling the demands of it all without minimizing great customer service or product.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As mentioned, I am a full-time educator, and I enjoy finding education in all aspects of life. The Popcorn Professor creates custom flavors of popcorn and sweet treats and provides educational classes through our Sweet Scholars Academy and Sweet Spot professional development classes. The Sweet Scholar Academy is a hands-on treat-making class that exposes youth to the basics of treat-making, entrepreneurship, and college readiness. The Sweet Spot professional development focuses on team building and collaboration through treat making and also helps increase employee retention and decrease workplace stress.
I hope to incorporate scholarships from sales that will benefit youth and parents that desire to complete a college degree or form of postsecondary education.
We are most known for our custom-colored popcorn that can match any color scheme, including gold, rose gold, and silver, and our liquor-infused popcorn flavors always add an extra pop to an event! We also offer wholesale popcorn services and cater for weddings and corporate clients. We have served clients, including Parents as Teachers, Equifax, Washington University, Goldfarb School of Nursing, and fundraising for school districts and community organizations.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
The best advice for networking or finding a mentor is to get out of your comfort zone and always be pitch ready! I’ve learned that by being ready and willing to share who I am, my business, what it offers, and what I hope to do in the future, those listening will with take an interest or share with someone interested. And that’s how networking begins! In addition, I believe being consistent and intentional about the relationships you’re building professionally also helps to guide your networking journey. Don’t be afraid to network with those doing what you are doing. Peer mentorship has been the absolute best guide and support system for me. Through this journey, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with seven other Black-owned popcorn entrepreneurs (known as The Popcorn Collective on Facebook). We have genuinely pushed each other, offered advice, and shared helpful information from which we can all benefit. Overall, if you focus on collaboration and community, your network will grow regardless of your area of expertise.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@popcornprofessor.com
- Website: thepopcornprofessorstl.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepopcornprofessor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePopcornProfessor/
Image Credits
Professional Photography by Mena Darre
