Meet Monique Wilsondebriano

She has been called “A Woman of Distinction” and “The Epitome of the American Dream.” She is co-founder of the Charleston Burger Company, and her company has been featured in Better Homes and Garden magazine and several podcasts. Her new coaching program called Recipe for Retail teaches others how to take their food product from idea to shelf.

Growing Up with Entrepreneurial Grandparents

Growing up in Neptune, New Jersey, Monique spent a large amount of her childhood around her grandparents. Her grandmother ran one of the few black-owned businesses in town, and her grandfather was also an entrepreneur. With her grandfather as a chef, her family often celebrated with food. Growing up around food, Monique was fascinated by how food was prepared and shared with family and clients.

Creating the First Charleston Burger

When she and her new husband, Chivalo, moved to South Carolina after they were married, they decided to throw a housewarming party and invite neighbors and friends. With over 100 invited, people started coming down into her backyard for the party. 

Monique and her new husband had created a burger for the party with the spices mixed in with the burger meat, so every bite would be flavorful. Monique didn’t realize until her mother drew her attention, but they had a long line of guests waiting in line with their plates to get their hands on their delicious burger.

Joking her husband, she told him they should sell their burgers because their guests raved about them. In addition, people asked them to purchase their burgers to take home at future parties, so she and her husband started acquiring materials to package their new burgers. 

Discover how Monique created her food business, how her retail background helped her create their first marinade, and how she expanded into her two other companies working with entrepreneurs.

Here’s your highlight guide to the episode:

[03:08] How Monique’s family background pushed her journey toward entrepreneurship.

[09:35] Creating their first hamburger for their new housewarming party.

[13:38] Starting to test their business model at the farmer’s markets locally.

[16:47] Making their first marinade to market to consumers.

[21:35] How she branched off to create two additional businesses that help entrepreneurs.

Quotes

“We needed to bottle the ingredients and create a marinade because people want the flavor of the hamburger.”

“We had never seen our new bottle, so we decided to make this a live event on Facebook.”

“At night, when I’m at peace, I listen, and I know exactly where to go.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Podcast Resources

Visit Charleston Gourmet Burger on the web

Connect with Monique Wilsondebriano on LinkedIn

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