Meet Philip Harrell | Ice cream chef

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

Hi Philip, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I can do anything. When opening a business you have to be “dumb, like a baby”. A baby is completely unaware of everything. There is no way to convince a baby that they can’t, crawl, walk, or talk. Baby’s persevere, they learn new skills, hone those skills, and keep it pushing.

My thought process consisted of keeping my mind in a good place, staying singularly focused on the task, and finding out my limits.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
This to shall pass. Good or bad, right or wrong, easy or difficult, everything is finite. Weather the storms, learn from them, and find success where you can. Enjoy that success but understand that at some point you’ll have to prove yourself again.

I’m the son of a single mom, Army Veteran, father, and husband. I was the first male in my family to graduate from college, let alone earn a Master’s. Life is tough, there are challenges, but nothing is forever. My success is a product of effort.

In highschool I played football. The first two years I didn’t win a single game. Our team was horrible and didn’t even have enough players (18 my sophomore year) however I didn’t miss a practice, played both ways and kept grinding. My junior year my mom PCS’d to San Diego where I attended Bonita Vista HS. First I earned my spot as a starter. My senior year we went 9-1 and became champions for the first time in decades for that school. With me as a captain, someone who didn’t know victory for his first 2 years.

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.
No.1 taco Dave’s BBQ
Desmond’s Island Soul Grill
17 Hands Coffee/ Robin Simmons Bakery
Onions Roof
Judy’s Sichuan
Mango Mangeaux

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Thanks has to go to my wife and kids. They shared the risk in opening Sundae Scoop. There’s a HELOC on our house that was used to fund our equipment. We had to cut all of our expenses to the bare bones and sacrifice every luxury we thought we had.

I listened to alot of music, JCole, Cyhi, Symba, JayZ, Big Krit, and every other rapper who was spitting game about hustling.

Books: The 4 Agreements should be on everyone’s shelf. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, 48 Laws of Power, The Go Giver, The Peter Principle, The Way of the Warrior amd quite a few more.

I volunteered at the DAV, joined Black Brand after opening, attended BNI meetings, and learned from as many business owners as I could.

Businesses like J&K Grill, 17 Hands, Desmond Island Soul Food, and more. I’m always all ears to business owners.

Website: sundaescoopva.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sundaescoopva?igsh=enFqbjI0Y2tweHln

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sundaescoopva?mibextid=2JQ9oc

Yelp: https://yelp.to/ffsq8AH7gY

Image Credits
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Our team at Sundae Scoop @dragonphotostudio