Mignon Francois (Founder of The Cupcake Collection)

The episode you're about to listen to was released back when the Mere Christians podcast was called the Call to Mastery. Now, if you love Mere Christians, you're still going to love these older episodes because the majority of each conversation focuses on how the gospel influences the work of our guests. With that disclaimer out of the way, please enjoy the episode. Hey everybody. Welcome to the Call to Mastery. I'm Jordan Raynor. This is a podcast for Christians who want to do their most exceptional work for the glory of God and the good of others. Every week I'm bringing you a conversation that I host with a Christian who's pursuing world class mastery of their craft and their careers. We're talking about each guest position, path to Mastery. We're talking about their daily habits and routines and how their faith impacts the work that they do today. I am thrilled to share this conversation I recently had with my friend Mignon Francois. She's the founder of the cupcake collection, which Mignon grew from $5, literally the last $5 she had, to more than 10 million million in sales. Mignon has received the Family Business of the Year award from Black Enterprise magazine and perhaps most impressive, the cupcake collection. In Nashville, one of the food capitals in the United States, the cupcake collection is the number one rated restaurant out of more than 2400 restaurants on TripAdvisor. So Mignon was gracious enough with their time to sit down with me. We talked about our shared quest for the best donut on earth. Some great answers for donut lovers out there. We talked about the benefits, both spiritually and practically, of not raising capital for your business. And we talked about how to earn the right to be mentored by the world's most masterful people. I think you're going to love this episode. Please enjoy my conversation with Mignon Francois. Hey Mignon, thank you so much for joining me.

Thanks for having me.

I love that as we got started, I could literally hear the mixer in the background there at the cupcake collection. So quick context for the audience. We met at BAM3 2 3, which you articulate so well. So you were the emcee for this great conference at Lipscomb University, this business and mission conference, and you were also very generous to donate a ton of cupcakes. And I'm backstage, you're about to introduce me to go on to give my keynote. And. And I shoved like three sweet potato cupcakes down before I went. And I think it was one of the best things I've ever tasted. So thank you. But when I Heard of it. I was like a sweet potato cupcake. This doesn't make sense. Can you describe this thing for our audience?

It is everything that. It's a grown up cupcake. That's what it is. It's a grown up cupcake. It's what every cupcake wants to be when it grows up. That's what it really is. It really is.

You got the cream cheese icing.

Yeah. It's not sweet, but it is sweet enough. It has fiber in it, so you don't have to feel bad about it. It's going to give you that sugar fix. And it doesn't put you in the mind of what people would think when they think sweet potatoes. Kind of like we're hiding our vegetables in our cake.

That's exactly. It's what I do with my kids. But you're doing it with adults hiding vegetables in there. And hey, I think, you know, maybe one of the best keynotes of my career. So big endorsement for the sweet potato cupcake. That gave me the energy. So, staying on top of the topic of sugar for a minute, my team read in your bio that you pride yourself on traveling the world to find the best donuts.

Yes.

A passion you and I share. So I have to ask, I have to ask, what's at the top of your list?

Oh, my gosh. So my son thinks that the best donuts actually exist right here in Nashville. All right. Little mom and pop shop that he loves to go to in this little city called Hermitage.

Yeah.

Here in Nashville. And it's called Donut Palace. He swears by them. He thinks that it's the best. However, I have been more places than he has been.

You're more seasoned. You're more seasoned. Yes.

I love Donut Palace. Right. But I actually think my favorite donut right now is in New Orleans. A place called Chris's.

Chris's.

Chris's Donuts. It's in New Orleans. It's actually on the street where I grew up on Bullard Avenue in New Orleans. Now, there are a lot of good cupcake places in New Orleans right now. To me, Chris's is the best. Chris's melt in your mouth. Now I will get in the car and drive to Memphis for donuts. Gibson donuts in Memphis. It's like, right at the, like, Tennessee, Arkansas line. It's open 24, four hours a day.

God bless America. What a country. You can get donuts any time of the day.

Yes. And that's a pretty incredible donut, too. So I'm right now on the Fence between Chris's Donuts in New Orleans and Gibson's Donuts in Memphis.

All right, I'm gonna add those to my list. So, like your son, my favorite. I've traveled a lot. My favorite is still hometown hero. It's this little hole in the wall place called Hole in One Donuts in Tampa, followed closely by Fire Cake in Chicago. Have you been a fire?

I just left Chic Taco yesterday. No. Oh, no. And I didn't have a donut because I was trying to be. I was trying to be good. I was trying. So I had to. It was either a cupcake or a donut. So I went to a cupcake shop.

Good for you. But fire cake, next time you're in Chicago, Fire Cake downtown. The sour cream donut is off the charts.

I am so mad. I have to go back to you.

Got to go. All right. So, Mignon, everybody loves a great founding story of a successful business. Yours is one of my favorites. Can you tell us how you got this business started?

Yeah, I'd much rather talk about donuts.

Me too. I can talk about donuts for 35 more minutes. Yeah.

Yeah. I started this business out of debt, brokenness, and desperation. I was looking for a way to make the ends meet as a way to help. And so that was the beginnings of how. How I started and the reason why I just needed field trip money and to help the lights stay on. Our lights were off more regularly than they were on, and we had. We had less water running through our faucets than running out of gallons that we would buy from the store, because that was. We just. We hadn't figured out how to be good stewards over what it was that we did have. And so I was. God, give me something that I can do that can belong to me so that I can help make the ends meet in my household. And God said, make cupcakes. You know, and for me, at that moment, like people always say, well, I've never heard God. Right. I don't know how to hear God speak. But God speaks us right in our gut and gives us that feeling of, you know what? I think I'm gonna do this. Or sometimes it could be that you flipped on the radio station, and that idea that you heard resonated so much in your soul that it kind of attached to something you were already thinking. And that's how God makes himself tangible so that we can have an experience with him. And that's how.

All right, so you got five bucks.

To your name, to my name.

You invested in making these cupcakes. Tell us the story from there.

My neighbor knocked on the door and said, what are you doing in the dark? I said, I'm meditating. Actually, I didn't have any electricity. We were running our house on a generator because that's what we could do. We would make a little money and buy gas for the generator to run lights when our children got home so that they would feel normalcy. And so she didn't want to keep me from my meditation, but said, hey, I want to give this gift of cupcakes to all of my clients for the season. That was going to be 600 cupcakes, Jordan. And I'm like, God, why would I. I said, okay, like a deer caught in the headlights. I don't know how I'm gonna do this, because I know all I have is $5. And so she said, whenever you get some, just give them to me and I'll pay you as you go. Because I couldn't give them all out at the same time anyway. So I said, okay, close the door behind her, and started having to come to Jesus moment, saying, God, really, you give me this opportunity when I have no money to take it. God said, but I feed birds and you look like me. I heard God say that the lilies of the field and all of their grander will be gone tomorrow. How much more will I give you? Who knows? Who being evil, knows how to give good gifts to their children. And I said, bet. I put on my shoes, I walked to the store, which is about five blocks away, because I didn't even have a car anymore that had been repossessed. Our house was up for foreclosure sale by the time that we actually open the business. On the day we opened it, we knew that we were going to lose our house a month later. I believed that if God was who he said he is, then he better do what he says he can do. And I took the test. He says, try me and see if you don't do what I say, if I won't pour out the windows of heaven with one blessing that there will not be room to receive. And here we are 11 years later, still receiving from that one blessing. That was the initial investment into the business, that $5, five bucks, and a whole.

And a whole lot of trust, A whole lot of trust in God to provide, which is worth a heck of a lot more than five bucks. So one of the things I'm curious when was the moment where you realize, all right, this thing is no longer just about Meeting my needs. Like, I'm really building something here. I'm building wealth for myself. I'm building wealth for others, for the community. What was that moment for you?

I don't know how long it took for me to recognize that, but from the beginning, people were telling me that they had never had anything like it before. And I always knew that it was God, not me. But when I started seeing. I think it was when I began to hire people to work on my team, and they were bringing their dreams and their plans, and they were laying them on the line here to help me get my thing done so that in exchange, they could get theirs done. I started realizing, oh, my gosh, we have work that we're doing. And when we got a scholarship in our name at Tennessee State University, when we placed that scholarship was like, wait a minute. Our company is not just making sure that we eat. We're walking kids across the stage now. You know, it was. And I'm still getting those aha moments just coming back from Chicago. I think it's so important that we travel and get inspiration from wherever we. We can. I'm still getting those little bits of mignon. This is how you can do it better. This is why you have to do it better. Because I had to talk with my team this morning. You know what, Jordan? We can be the best in the world. If nobody knows it, what does that profit anybody? You know, like people say, oh, my grandmother is the best at this. Well, baby, your grandmother is not here. You know what I mean?

Like, that's exactly right.

Not in this room. So why are we talking about grandma right now? You know what I mean? And. And so it's like, we have a responsibility to do our due diligence to make our name great. To put that tack on the end of it that says, I'm a Christian and I do something very well. And it's because that I'm showing up as a Christian and in the secular world. I love your book for this. It gives me such a place to be able to plant that in the secular world, doing this secular thing.

Quote, unquote.

Yeah, quote, unquote. That I can be a Christian because I am working in the purpose that God thought of when he thought of me. And the more I do that, he said, I want you to give this to the world minanity, and I want you to bring them joy. And you don't know that being joyful and having a joyful heart is the necessary thing that I'm giving you. I'm just doing It. Through a cupcake. Through something tangible like a cupcake.

I love it. And you're. And you're serving your community well and loving your neighbors as yourself. Well, by just bringing great products in the world. Yeah. I was thinking about your story. I think a lot of founders buy the lie that they've got to raise capital or they've got to raise debt in order to get a business off the ground. And I'm curious. You didn't do that. You started with five bucks. You've turned it into a $10 million business. What negative effects do you think the capital would have had on your business if, you know, in year one, you decided to raise a couple million bucks?

I wouldn't be here today. If I had had. If I had owed anyone something, I wouldn't be here today because the decisions I was able to make when I didn't have anybody else to answer to require that I depend solely on God. It required that I get on my knees and say, God, I don't have enough. I need you to come through. And for me to be able to listen to God and do those crazy things, those things that look like crazy. What God said, okay, when you get up off your knees and you should go outside and you just stand right here in the middle of the sidewalk, there's a lady that's coming down. Do you see her? Yeah, God, I see her. I need you to walk up to her and start talking to her. And then that turns into somebody knocking back on my door and says, I'll buy 60 of them. Right. Like, those are the kinds of things that we do in co collaboration with God that I wouldn't have been able to do if I were a banker, was saying, mignon, I need for you to sell all of this, you know, these.

This.

This equipment that I've purchased for you or whatever. I've been able to make some bold, audacious moves because of God. I was able to give away cupcakes to everybody that flew into Nashville on December 15th because I wanted to do something that I would not have been able to do if I was depending on someone else to tell me, well, you have my money, and you're going to do what I say. I'm working only on God's money and God's plan and what he says. And I would not be here if I had. If I had had done it any other way. And the thing is, I cried so much because I didn't have money from other people. You know, Like, I cried so much because I didn't have the credit that I needed to be able to walk into certain situations. But the fact is, is that go carrying me all along. He knew the end from the beginning, and he knew that I would be able to go back and say, thank you, God, for being smarter than me and putting me in the predicament and knowing that you could trust me to trust you.

And it's a lot of you. It's put you in a position to where God is the only one who could possibly get the glory for the cupcake collection. You cannot take credit for that. I mean, you talk about this a lot. You started this business with absolute zero experience, not only as a baker, but as an entrepreneur. You've talked about you had no idea what you were doing. So one question I have for you is, how did you learn? Where did you go? How did you learn how to build this venture?

I listened to everything. I was driving down the street the other day, listening to a podcast, and I said, man, this generation has so much available to them. They have radio available to them however they want it, whenever they want it, on demand. Right. I listen to radio a lot. I read every magazine. I read articles in journals. I read books. Books. You know, they say that you can get the equivalent of a college degree in your car, in your commute, in a year, you know, within two years, you can get the equivalent. And it's because I spend my time listening to audiobooks. I read as much as I. As much as I can soak in. And even if that means I can only skim through the first parts of chapters to flip through an entire book to get that information, sometimes it takes me two years to read a book because I'm doing the concepts.

Yeah, yeah, you're actually. You're actually practicing it, right?

Everything. I could go to anything I could afford or anything that was free. Anybody that wanted to take me along, I took them up on it. Like, I got my degree from the school of hard knocks, but then I had a secret sauce that I want to share with you.

Yeah, please.

Yeah, I want to be. My dream for Nashville is that Nashville will be the center for entrepreneurship, where entrepreneurs will come to learn how to be entrepreneurs. I got accepted into this little program that the entrepreneur center was doing here called Catalyst, and you had to have made a certain amount of money by the time that you could be accepted. And I just gave through, making $250,000 in sales. By the time I found this program, I got recommended to be in it, and they began to teach me all the Words that I didn't know, like, what is EBITDA and why? Saying that like it's another language. Like, they taught me about pricing. They taught me everything that I needed to know about business. And they had all kinds of programs. And there were mentors. There were mentors who were willing to volunteer their time and answer whatever questions that I had. And so that would be one key that I want people to do. Go find the Entrepreneur center in your area and if you don't have one, connect yourself to one that's close by, like the Entrepreneur center here in Nashville.

So you hit on something that I talked about, my newest book, Master of One. You talked about all the content that's out there. Books, free content, podcasts. Those are great whenever you want to learn how to master something. But there's something different and more valuable about direct one to one personal mentorship. So I call it. The difference is, you know, indirect apprenticeship is reading a book, reading a magazine, listening to a podcast, but a direct apprenticeship where you are personally getting to know the mentor and more importantly, they are personally getting to know you and your specific weaknesses and can coach you through that. That is so much more valuable. Would you, would you agree with that as somebody who's valued on both?

Oh, yeah. Because so when I would go to the Entrepreneur Center, I would just make an appointment with one of the mentors. Yeah. And these were the best, the best in the industry of whatever it was that I needed to ask. And they would be. So they would be enamored with the fact that I didn't know what I was doing and as far as I had come, and they would want to come back and check on me because, see, work is required of us. And I think that we, we think that we're supposed to just allow this stuff to just fall in our laps because God has given us this idea and it's preached and God is saying, no, you put in some work and then I'll put in something. And the more that people saw me grinding and literally digging my way out of my own situation, I wasn't complaining about it. I wasn't saying, oh, poor me, I wasn't telling anybody about it. I was just saying, this is how I'm going to do it. And they would just be so much more willing to invest time and talent into what I was doing because I was showing up, I already had done the work.

I talk about this in cult to create. Right. It's this tension we as Christians are called to both trust in the Lord to provide and Hustle and work hard. Colossians 3, 23. Work hardly as under the Lord. It's not either or. It is both. And working in marriage together. And I think that's how. How God produced great results. And by the way, you're a great example of this. Hard work is winsome and attractive to others. Hard work is what allows those mentors to say, you know what? I'm gonna pour even more into mignon, because I know she's gonna do something with it.

Yeah, right. Because everybody has an idea. It's just, what are you gonna do when you get the idea? Everybody has a great idea. What are you. The difference between me and the next person is what did you decide to do? Do with it. And, you know, like, as a mentor now. So now I'm a mentor, and I give my time back to that same entrepreneur center as well as the Women's business center as a mentor as well. And then to people who just come up to me and walk up to me, because, you know, I promise God, you make me successful, I'll tell anybody who will listen about what they can do if they just believe. But you can't just believe, because faith without work.

Amen.

It's nothing. Right? And so I. I just can't. It just really boils my blood when people tell me, oh, I have this idea, and they're crying, they're passionate. I really want to open this business. God gave me this business to open. I really want to do it. And then my. My question is, what do you have? What have you done? Oh, I'm just thinking about it. Well, come back and talk to me when you've tested it and you failed. When. When you need another prototype and you need somebody to help you with the second iteration, because you already know that this material and that material won't work. Come back to me when you have served one shower or one birthday party or one dinner party because you want to be a party planner. Come back when you have something to show that I invested in myself before you asked me to also invest. Yeah.

It's almost earning the right to gain access to mentors.

Right.

I mean, mentors by their very nature are busy people. Right. They got a lot going on. You and I have a lot going on in our lives. And so, yeah, I'm happy to help people, especially people who show that they put in the work.

Right.

And are already taking steps in faith. So you mentioned mentorship. I read somewhere that this is. I mean, you're really passionate about this. It's one of Your favorite responsibilities? Mentoring your team.

Yeah.

I'm a big believer that this is an essential skill for any entrepreneur. So I'm curious to learn a little bit about how practically you do this. What practically do you do to mentor your team at the cupcake collection?

Well, one of the things that we're doing is I read books first and then I say, this is what we're going to read. Oh, I like that. And so one of the things that I'm reading through right now is. Happens to be your book.

Yeah.

Called to Create. And so we're delving into the idea of this being a creation week instead of just a work week. The other way, besides just reading books and finding workshops for them, anything that they want to do, if I can invest in it and afford it for them, I'm willing to do it. If it's going to grow us as a team. We spend personal time one on one together. But more than that, also, I hop online when I get. When I get an idea and I'll share it to the world by just turning an iPhone to my face and saying, let me tell you something about God. Let me tell you something about an egg, or let me tell you something about a pencil. You know, anything that I can do to encourage someone to start where they are. Because a lot of people think, oh, I gotta have this, I gotta have a degree. I have to have enough money, I have to have knowledge, I have to have equipment. You don't have to have any of that stuff to start. Yeah, all you have to do is start and then God will show up for you. And those are ways in which that I mentor my team.

I love it. So you mentioned one on one meetings. I think there's an art to doing these really well with your direct reports. So I'm really curious what your one on one meetings with your team look like.

Well, what we're trying to do right now is get outside and walk because I love that. I really want to walk with mignon time and so we can walk and talk about what it is that you're going through. But they just come into my office. It belongs to us. The time belongs. The time belongs to just me and that one person and we spend time together. Now we're going to get interrupted a hundred different ways, a hundred different times, but knowing that that time belongs to you. But we're working on a walk with mignon time that is important to me. Like, I can get my exercise and you can get what you need. And we both are healthy at the end of it.

And there's nobody, there's nobody interrupting you. When I was running threshold 360 as CEO, did today I would ask my team members, my direct reports to put walk and talks on my calendar. Yeah. So I forgot that I did this. This is a really effective way to do it. And for those of you listening who know, I'm a huge West Wing fan. Yes, I get that from the West Wing, the famous walk and talk in the TV show. And do you, do you regularly meet with your whole team and yonder if.

So, what does that look like? Yeah, so we meet together. I have a one on one meeting with each one of my direct reports every week. And then we meet as a team across cities over the phone. Whoever's in the same city together is in the same room. And then we meet together over a conference call.

Okay, what's the agenda for that team meeting?

Oh, we're talking. So I'm following my team. I'm not leading them. They're leading me. So they're telling me what they've come up with. They're telling me what my calendar looks like. They're telling me all of the interviews that I have. They're also telling me what flavors they've come up with, what holidays are new, what they've learned about our customers. They are telling me about sales strategies. They're asking me for new product lines and introductions. We're also talking about new locations and that sort of thing. The stuff that comes from me are the things that they cannot do. So I tell them we're expanding and they're going to tell me how. Yeah, we're going to do that.

Trust the time.

Yeah, that's the way that we work.

How many employees are you guys at now?

I guess we have. This is so hard because there's so many people who just work for us who don't get money to where they just love us. So they want to. They want to be around and they help. We have about 20 members on our team total. When you think about our contractors as well. So about 13 of us that are like on staff. I never want my team to get really, really large because I've always felt like this, Jesus, change the world with 13 people himself and 12 other disciples. And then he had to go out and make other disciples of them. And so that's our philosophy here, making cupcake disciples.

What's the biggest lesson you've learned about hiring and how to hire?

Well, oh, my gosh. The best thing that I know about hiring is that to include my team in the process, that it shouldn't just be a one person decision, that panel interviews are better for us when we allow the person who we're considering to come and spend time with the team because you spend more time with these people than you spend with your own families, that you should actually like them. And so that if you find that you like them as a group, you'll like to work together. And when you like where you work, you're more productive.

So I will 100 co sign that advice. That's terrific. Yeah. So in the past I, I have often done interviews myself and then brought a finalist, candidate or two to the whole team and just get used to what it would be like to work together. Like really try to talk through a particular problem and see whether or not they're a culture fit. Because if you're not going to enjoy this person, that's. That's a recipe for disaster, right?

Yeah.

So, Mignon, you're an incredibly productive person. What does your day look like from the minute you wake up to the moment you go to bed? Kya. Organized, slightly organized chaos.

Yeah. Like I may look like I'm flying by the seat of my pants, but I know exactly what I'm doing. So in the morning, my mornings start at like 5 o' clock in the morning with prayers. Right now I'm joining a prayer call that this gospel group called virtue does. It's three sisters and they get up at 5:15 on the East Coast. I mean on 6:15 on East Coast. So I join it at 5:15 and listen to it or watch it on Instagram for 15 minutes every morning. God has called me into this year to tithe my time, not just my money. And so that's 2 hours and 40 minutes a day that belong to the Lord. And so I'll be reading a book that has something some God center around it to teach me. I'll also have a Bible study time where I'm actually reading the word of God because we want to go and do a grocery list at the store and we forgot what we wrote down 15 minutes ago. But we expect to remember God's word and we don't spend any time with it for six months. So I'm spending a little bit of time in the Word of God every day. And then I'm also spending a little bit of time every day watching some other sermon or pastor whose leadership that I believe in. It could be, you know, a televised fast and get some sort of sermon in the day. I visit the cupcake Collection. And I still work in production whenever I want to. So, like today, I worked in production today with the team, and so I made cake with the team today. And then I went around mentoring them. So I'm. I've spent time in every office today or in every department of the store mentoring the team and walking back and seeing things that I like or don't like and say, come on, let's talk about it. We have this sort of sandwich method that we do where we tell you how great you are, sandwich that in between how great you are in the end with something really that I don't like about what you're doing. And we sort of sandwich that between two really good things. And so spend a lot of time doing that today. And then the rest of the time that I have, if I catch any, we have decided not to, like, just let this be my free time, but to actually schedule this time out that I'm working on my book. So I'm working on how you do what I did with no money, no knowledge, no experience. This the story of the type of cake collection.

Aminon. Are there any habits that you've been doing since you started this business that you swear by that really make you super productive?

Yeah. So I don't know how I can really explain it, but I follow my first mind. So my daughter has this thing. She says the Holy Spirit's first name is something. Because people always say something told me. And she said the Holy Spirit's first name is something. There's this feeling that you get on the inside of you. It happens right up under your breastbone. It's an irking feeling that says, man, it really beats you up when you knew that it told you to do something. And it also really tries to nag at you in order to get you towards doing something. And what I've learned is that that's where the Holy Spirit lives. That's how you hear God. So in everything that I do, I consult my first mind. Because you never ever say, man, I shouldn't have followed my first mind. You always say, I should have followed my first mind. And I've learned that that's where my first mind exists. So even if it means driving down the street, we're gonna go this way, we're gonna turn left. But, God, that's not the way we're supposed to turn. I'm going to turn left anyway. And the more I've exercised that habit, the stronger it has become. Where it says, you know what? Grab that book. I don't Even need that book today. Just grab the book and take it with you. I have been very, very intentional, Jordan, about listening to my first mind on everything.

So I just got done. We just published my new book, Master of One. And in the book, I talk about when we achieve mastery of a craft, whatever that craft is, the Lord often grants us power, right? And not to be hoarded for ourselves, but really to pour out sacrificially in service of others. And, you know, when you started this business, your lights were off by the world standards. You had very little power. I mean, literally electricity. But also social life is so many, so many layers of that. And today you have tons of power and influence. How have you thought about stewarding that power?

Well, yeah, man, that is such a good question. And it's something that I do think about a lot, that people want to hear what I have to say now that I am responsible for the like. So, Jordan, I don't believe there's not anything that I cannot do. I now spend my time telling other broken people. That's where I do it, Jordan. I do it in telling others. You don't have to be sad. You don't have to wallow in this brokenness. This brokenness is where God is strong. The weaker you are. God says, I am stronger. I love to use the example of an egg. An egg will rot in all of its wholeness, in all of its beauty. Perfectly shaped like an egg, it will rot if it's never, ever broken. You have to break an egg and release its potential in order for it to become whatever it was intended to be. The egg can rot if it never gets broken. And so I go around showing other people what they have in their hand. It's like, what do you want to be when you actually grow up? It's all. Since there's a lesson in this limbo that you're in. There is a lesson in what you're going through. Don't. Don't spend so much time worrying about the fact that you're in it. What is the lesson that God is sending you to learn in the fact that you're in it? It that you can then pour out on someone else because it's from the overflow that we feed others. We're serving from our saucer. God has never said that our cup would not be full when we pour out. It just, you know, gets full back again from his grace, his favor, and his mercy. He said, my mercies are new every morning. He gives it to us brand new every single morning. And we're busy being selfish and holding on to what it is that we have. But it's from the over flow that we serve other people.

Amen.

That's what I want to do. I want to just be going and picking other people up and saying, don't you know who you are? Don't you know what you have? Don't you know who's that you are? Don't you know what God calls you is what matters.

So we talked a lot about how your faith influences your leadership of the venture. Personally, I'm curious what would be different about a cupcake shop? Like the cupcake collection itself, the products, how your employees treat people. If you weren't a follower of Christ.

Oh, man. Again, I just don't think that we'd still be here. We came into an industry that was popping up on every single corner.

Yeah.

Where everybody who thought, well, you know, I do this for my kids at home. I. I'm the one who brings them for the room. Why? I mean, how hard could it be, right? Yeah. And we've seen a lot of those places closed. Yeah. And we're still standing. It's only by God's grace that we do it because we. We are in tune to what our customers names are. We pray for them before they even come in. We. We have a team huddle in the morning. Our team huddle is all prayer. It has nothing to do or very little to do with what we're facing as a team or as a company for work today. As much as it has to do with where we are individually. Like, how are you doing? Are you okay? You get to cry at the cupcake collection. And when you get to cry at the cupcake collection, we believe it's just like a baby crying out to their mother. Then your needs can be met. And when you come to a place and your needs are met from that place, you serve other people. That's the kind of stuff that's making us win. That's what people taste when they come into the door. They taste a bunch of people whose needs are being met by the one who can meet their needs that they are presenting. God says, hope in me. Place your hope in me. And we so busy putting our hope in others. I hope he calls me back. I hope that job interview calls today. I hope I get a chance to see. You know what I mean? God said, put your hope in me, and then your plans will be successful. And I love it.

You know, it's one of my favorite things about your story. So, I mean, I think a non Christian would look at your story as a very inspiring pull yourself up by the bootstrap story. And no doubt there's some element of that to your story.

Right.

Your hustle contributed to your success. But I love your humility and recognizing that all of this is grace. All of this is exactly gift of God. And I, I, I just love you for that, my sister. I love it so much. Hey, so Mignon, three questions I ask every guest to wrap up the interview first. So you read a lot. Very interested to hear your response to this. Which books do you recommend or give the most to other people?

The book I give the most to other people is the Success. The Success principles. How to get from where you are to where you want to be. That's by Jack Canfield. He is the like creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul. And he has this, this party that he talks about in the book and act as if party where everybody came to the party as who they would be in five years. I love that everybody who came to the party was exactly who they said they would be in five years. And he came as a New York Times best selling author.

That's funny.

That's so funny that I love to give the absolute most to anybody. It took me three years to finish it of active reading, of doing the work that was on the inside of it and applying the principles to my life. And that's to me, it's hands down the book that I give the most.

Man, that's a good answer. What one person would you most like to hear talk about how their faith influences the work that they do in the world?

This is probably so unconventional in the way that I'm gonna say this, but they're nameless, they're cheir children. I would love to see what a child would say about how their faith influences the world. So I have this philosophy that if a little child shall lead them, that we're not giving enough credit to little children and what it is that they actually know. I think that we lose some of that ability as we become more versed in the world and we become more knowledgeable of good and evil. Right. That we, that we lose some of that, you know, that connection or that purity of what it is to be childlike. And so some of my favorite people in the world are my grandchildren and watching what they create and the things that they say and their understanding of what they're saying to adult problems that they're trying to solve when no one asks them for that. I would love to See, to hear it from the view of a child.

I love that answer.

I love that answer.

So my. And I think, I think kids, we're so condescending to children sometimes. I think, I think kids understand always more than we think they do. So, Ellison, my five year old, I've just been trying to instill this relatively simple concept in her for years, which is, hey, Ellison, God created and he created you to create new things in the world to show people what he's like. And she gets that. She can re articulate that on her own to other people. It's like, oh, Ellison, why are you paying opinion? I'm painting a painting because God painted the world, right? And she, she gets that. So I love not suggesting I have my 5 year old on the show, but that's a, that's a great answer. All right, last question.

I think your 5 year old should come on the show. And the thing about it is, because people are receptive to children. Like a child will come in and people will speak to a child when they won't even speak to an adult. And they'll give, they'll give attention and allow a child to be themselves when they won't allow that to an adult. And I just think that there would be an amazing grace that we would learn if we could hear from Ellison. I love that.

No, I love that. Maybe. Maybe I will. You're changing my mind. I mean, you've given so much great advice, but leave us with one single piece of advice that you'd give to somebody who is pursuing mastery of their vocation, really any vocation, but in particular, people out there who are pursuing mastery of entrepreneurship.

I feel like I've given it already. And that is speak what you seek till you see what you've said. That's so important to me that you don't have to have everything you need to get started to begin, but you do have to be intentional. Intentional about the words that are coming out of your mouth concerning that thing that God placed on your heart. The biggest thing that I want people to know in getting started with their idea or mastering this thing called entrepreneurship is to know that the idea doesn't belong to you anyway. It is not yours. We are arrogant to believe that we could even think of these things on our own. But it is, is a big God that drops it to you and says, this is what I'm calling you to do. This is what I want for you to do in the world. I could ask anybody, but I'm choosing to ask you. I love to give it to people. An example like this. If we all received an invitation to an all white party where everyone has to wear all white to the party. But the planner of the party calls you, Jordan, on the phone and says, jordan, the all white party says, you will not be admitted into my party unless you're wearing white. But you, I want you to wear hot pink. You would probably burst into laughter and say, why do you want me to wear hot pink to the party? Why am I special? What do you have me doing? You would be coming with anticipation that something special was going to happen to you because he told you to wear hot pink or that you were going to be special as part of the party. And when you got to the party, everyone would be saying, oh, no, Jordan, you must go home and change your clothes. You won't get in unless you have a on white. And you're like, oh, no, no, no, no. I am to wear hot pink. And wait till you see how hot pink my hot pink is gonna be. Right? I love it. You would go into that party in all the knowingness that you belonged, that you were being led in, and that something special was going to happen to you because you showed up and you came. You didn't know what was going to happen. But the fact that you showed up and came in hot pink, you would be expectant. And that's what we should know, that these ideas belong to God. We don't have to know how to do them. We don't have to have every piece of the puzzle written out. We just have to show up in all of our hot pinkness and be everything that we can be to the idea or to the situation that God has called us and asks us to do. You could ask anybody. He chose us. Weight and expectation of what he's getting ready to do in your life through this idea.

I love it. Mignon, I just want to commend you for being so bold and sharing your inspiring story, for building such a tremendous business that loves your employees well, that loves your community and your customers well. And thank you for your testimony of humility that this is not yours. This wasn't your idea. All of this was a gift of grace. I'm such a huge fan of yours. Hey, the next time you're in Nashville, be sure to visit the cupcake club collection. Say hi to Mignon and her team. Mignon, thanks for hanging out with me on the call to mastery.

Thank you, Jordan.

But seriously, if you have never had this sweet potato cupcake that we mentioned at the top of the episode. Book a trip to Nashville, maybe just for that. I don't know. It really is that terrific. Hey, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode of the called Mastery. If you're loving the podcast, please take 30 seconds and go review it on Apple Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. Talk to you guys next week.