06/03/2026
PART 2: People Laughed When I Said I Was Starting a Hot Dog Business đźŚ
After graduate school, I knew I wanted to build something of my own.
At first, I thought it would be a group home. Then I started planning a young women’s retreat and needed a way to raise money. So I started selling food platters.
What surprised me wasn’t just that I raised the money.
It was realizing how much money I could make by selling food.
That experience sparked a thought:
“What if I started a food truck?”
There was only one problem.
When I started researching food trucks, I learned they cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000. At the time, that wasn’t realistic for me.
Then, while walking the boardwalk in Virginia Beach, I saw a man selling hot dogs from a cart.
That moment changed everything.
I went home, researched hot dog carts, and realized I could actually afford one.
When I started telling people my plan, a lot of folks laughed. They didn’t understand the vision.
But I did.
In 2017, I purchased my first hot dog cart.
In July 2018, The Stand DE officially opened for business.
And during my first season, I made over $10,000 in less than 90 days.
The lesson?
Everybody won’t understand your vision. Some people won’t see it until after it works.
Keep going anyway.
Part 3 coming soon...
