Meet April Mitchell | Say Cheese Birmingham, Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with April Mitchell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi April, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

Funny story. I used to make small charcuterie boards for friends all the time. My husband and I love to entertain (I’m the friend that loves to cook), so I would make a board for friends to snack on when they arrived, because the food was never done on time! They began to ask “are you making a board?” before they arrived.

Sometimes you don’t realize the gift you possess.

One day, a high school classmate of mine reached out to me (shoutout to Angelique Cunningham) and asked me if I could make a board for her and she would pay me. Of course, I said yes! But then, I immediately started to think, even if she pays me, I will have so much stuff left over. So I started to brainstorm with a few friends. Within an hour, I thought of a name, Instagram handle, and a short business plan. It all happened so fast but sometimes you need an unexpected push. Oh, and we were planning a wedding in the middle of all of this. Crazy, huh?

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I do several events for a local museum, and one time, one of the employees asked me “are you an artist?”. I quickly answered “no”, but then I corrected myself. Charcuterie is definitely an art. You are constantly blending colors, flavors, and textures. I have several books that I’ve read to help me better understand the art of charcuterie. A lot of it comes natural, but like any other talent, you have to constantly educate yourself on perfecting it. Because of this, a lot of the hard work happens before the setup even takes place: Meetings with clients, writing notes, sketches of layouts, walkthroughs of venues, etc.

It wasn’t easy, and most of it is trial and error. I look back on pictures I took just 2 years ago and I see so much growth. The main lesson I’ve learned is to always show yourself grace. We can be our worst critics, and we have to celebrate ourselves more. Don’t always ponder on the next step, celebrate the “right now” every now and then, because you are doing a good job.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

This is a good one! We LOVE to enjoy the gems in Birmingham, so this may be a lengthy list. If you come to Birmingham, you definitely need a week to experience everything. My favorite places to eat are East West (shoutout to the spicy garlic shrimp), Le Fresca if you love Italian, Luna if you love Latin American, and Hot & Hot or Blueprint on 3rd for a nice date night. If you want to grab drinks, anywhere in Lakeview will be great. The Refinery is my favorite for drinks after work. A few other great spots are Adios, Paper Doll, and Queens Park.

Birmingham is a city filled with a lot of history, so it’s a must that you visit the Civil Rights Institute before you leave. Another great option is the Museum of Art. These are both favs of mine.

You will definitely meet amazing people at all of these places!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

My ultimate shoutout is always going to be my husband. He reminds me daily how talented I am in his eyes, and that keeps me pushing. If I say a job is too big for me, he follows up with “well what do you need to make it work?”. That alone is enough for me to stay confident in the business I’m building.

Secondly, but equally important, my other shoutout is to every customer I had in 2021. I started my business with a dream and lot of scattered thoughts and ideas. I have a full time career as well, so I don’t have a lot of time to focus on marketing. I didn’t promote my business the first year like I should have, but somehow, someway, every weekend was booked with events. That somehow and someway was word of mouth. Every customer referred me to someone else, and my business and customer base grew exponentially in under 12 months. For that, I am so thankful.

Website: www.saycheesebham.com

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