In this post, we cover our interview for our "Together Talks" campaign, with Derrick Di Vetta Founder of Slices to Go. The exclusive distributor of branded equipment featuring The Cheesecake Factory Bakery® and The Cheesecake Factory At Home™. The equipment line is the perfect compliment to market our brand along yours and drive your sales with the iconic dessert line.
"Together Talks" feature # 149: Slices To Go presented by KLS - Dedicated Logistic Services for Excellence -Driven Businesses In The USA
What have you learned from being an entrepreneur?
What is the next thing you need to develop as a leader?
What is one area you are focused on for the growth of the company?
Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
What is your why?
Piece of Advice
In Closing
Story of how it was created?
In 2019 at the San Francisco Winter Fancy Food Show. The business was erected from the thought that we need something to scale out the brand, and support from a marketing perspective. As the importers and master distributor of the product across Canada at that time, there's a mandate and responsibility to the brand. The expectation is to do a great job as a so-called brand ambassador. Their trust in us to grow the business, not just for ourselves, but for The Cheesecake Factory bakery as well.
We devised a plan, came up with a strategy, and then started to execute. For us. that execution meant design and then meetings with The Cheesecake Factory. It meant communicating constantly on ideas and then eventually getting to a point where things are solidified to move forward. From the onset, we had to deal with certain things, mainly COVID and supply chain concerns that we had to go through.
Today, we're a much larger business. We don't just import into Canada, we also export into Europe. We have branded equipment under the Slices to Go banner, which I am the president of. I take it very seriously to grow the brand and market it from a standpoint of not just what we believe is a driver for the North American market, but also for the European market. We have partnerships of both sides of the Atlantic to facilitate that growth.
What have been the biggest challenges?
Any company or entrepreneur that's lived in this period, it's definitely going to be COVID. You can look at it in many different ways, but we try to look at it from a standpoint of what did we learn from it. Our immediate challenge, is our exposure from a standpoint of purchases of the U.S. dollar, and we also are exposed on three different currencies, which is the Canadian dollar, U.S. dollar and the Euro. We always have those challenges, and every once in a while you face tailwinds or headwinds. That's probably our biggest challenge, managing the cost from a standpoint of currency.
How have you dealt with being the face of the company?
As a leader, there's things that happen that it's almost like a light bulb goes off and then all of a sudden you take a moment to reflect and question what did I learn at that given point of time? For me there is also the personal growth of who you become, where you want to be and what you're managing in the present. As a young man, I was always more on the shy side, I really didn't talk publicly nor did I want to. At that point, asking me to embrace anything that social media brings to the forefront, which is more of that personal side, would have been difficult. Letting people know your vulnerabilities, let them understand who you are, your trials, tribulations and business, was a huge step for me. It took me making posts more relevant asking what can I offer the general public from us, not just from a standpoint of what I'd like to sell, but what they can learn from me.
My past career in finance did a great job of teaching me the importance of focusing on relationships. With that mindset engrained in me, I spent a lot of time focusing on that component. Leaning into this approach with social media made me a better leader. It forced me out of my comfort zone and I became more confident in my abilities. As I grew, so did our company as I was able to manage the business in a larger capacity as we scaled and increased the volume of companies we work with. I believe you have to be a big believer in yourself. We all have to understand that we are human beings and every day is an education that provides us an opportunity to learn from our experiences and try not to make the same mistake twice.
What have you learned from being an entrepreneur?
Every day is different.
Consistency sometimes it's not as easy as one thinks.
Regardless of who you may be, we all have a vision, we have an idea, we have a business plan, we have a strategy, and despite all of that sometimes you might have to adjust. Situations arise in business where a pivot might be necessary or approaching from a different angle or perspective. When we understand something in a different way, it enables us to discover the insight into what you're ultimately trying to accomplish.
Generally, I find that when you bring something to market, the market will be the indication. I feel that milestone is usually between three to six months that the feedback or test perspective is providing the data we need to determine if there is enough sustainable demand to continue.
What is the next thing you need to develop as a leader?
Even though we discussed my growth in foray into social media, I need to expose myself even more being in the forefront. I do spend a lot of time on social media, making certain that our audience understand who we are and what we're doing. My role as a leader is to find where I operate best and then understanding how to deliver and convey our message.
When we're pitching or bringing opportunity to business, I'm generally dealing with the decision makers. Going back to the relationship focus, you have to ensure that you respect their time, keep your pitch concise, and providing an answer to why they should work with you. Why do they want to deal with us? Why would I like to have The Cheesecake Factory bakery program at my workplace or in my quick service restaurant.
What is one area you are focused on for the growth of the company?
Social media is definitely an advantage. I've kind of gone through different generations and I've adapted to social media because when I started it was more here's your phone book and make some calls or shake some hands at a holiday party. As compared to now, my LinkedIn profile is global and I get opportunities globally because of it. I would not have thought that, but that is the truth.
When it comes to your social media presence, if you're going to do anything, stay consistent. Make certain that you're using all of those media outlets or social media applications to the best of your advantage. Try to do it every day or few days or whatever it may be. But most importantly, don't divert. Sometimes you wonder to yourself, is this working or not? But I found that over time, if you stay consistent in conversation and approach in business philosophy, it will serve you well. When we divert that is when we fail. Or when we're not confident in our abilities then we can fail. You have to wake up and say, this week is not going to plan. or this day is not going to plan, but tomorrow will be a better day or next week's going to be a better day, but just remain consistent and eventually it starts to pay dividends.
Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
I don't want to isolate a moment. I would like to say moments, but really, at the end of the day, what brings me the most joy is when I get together with my business partners. We just work really, really well together. We're like-minded. We understand that we're all trying to do something for the greater good. And we're true brand ambassadors. We really, really love working with the product. We love the team that we deal with out of California. And we love the opportunity that's been presented to ourselves out of the hard work and effort that we put in. We are blessed.
What is your why?
We all have our reasons. First and foremost, I'm driven by my two daughters. If we have to isolate a singular thing, that is my driver. I want to obviously provide for them, ensure that things are taken care of for them and they are supported. Those two are what fulfills me and motivates me because as a parent it is what is most important.
But then there's also the personal, there's also something that I have to learn, sometimes isolate yourself and say, what is it that you want? If you want to run a business and you want to do something more on a global level, like we are from a standpoint of exporting and having product on both sides of the Atlantic and all the other things that we're trying to accomplish, you have to ask what you want. What is it that I want to do and make sure that every day you're waking up doing the best possible job and being content with it, you have to be content with yourself to execute first and foremost.
Stay true to certain things like discipline, consistency, your mantra, and then you also understand that you're a human being and you will make mistakes. Remember you have to be able to pick yourself up and learn from those mistakes and move forward but be honest about it. If you make mistake, there's nothing wrong with whoever you're dealing with, just telling them that it was an honest mistake and this is how we're going to remedy and rectify it.
That's what I've learned. I've learned to stay consistent on the component or the perspective of honesty and transparency. And at the end of the day, I think the most effective leaders communicate well and that's what I try to do. Don't get me wrong, it's not easy all the time because we're managing so many different hats as entrepreneurs and you know there's only so much time in any given day, but communication is key.
Piece of Advice
As an entrepreneur, understand you're going to make mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes. You always hear these theories like don't take yourself too seriously or careful what you wish for but I think if you're doing what's right, and you are consistent of what your message is, the results will follow. You're trying to always make certain that you're putting the client first and be respectable and how you approach conversation in business, I think it's going to serve you well.
Continue to build your network and don't necessarily think you always have to be around individuals that might be of the same generation. I have great conversations with business leaders that I know under 30 versus some within their 60s. All of these perspectives can be incredibly insightful. Also remove gender bias. A lot of people believe that there's only certain way to run a business, but I think at the end of the day if you stay true to yourself and you're honest and you approach it with the right morals and ethics, I think you'll be successful. Just don't lose sight of the goal because it will demand you to be patient and consistent
In Closing
KLS wants to thank Derrick Di Vetta Founder of Slices to Go, for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!
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