Pivoting to Government Contracts

The Purpose and The Pivot is a podcast for women navigating transitions in career, leadership, faith, and personal growth. It’s for those moments when you’re re-evaluating what’s next and choosing to realign with purpose—intentionally and confidently.

Through honest conversations, meaningful stories, and practical insight, we’ll explore how to embrace change, lead through transition, and move forward with clarity after the pivot.

McLain Career & Life Coaching dba McLain Enterprises, LLC

https://www.mclainenterprisesllc.com

https://calendly.com/mclainenterprises/30min 

Special Guest
Michelle “Chef Shell” Roberts, Founder & Executive Chef | Government Contractor 

Company / Business Name:
Dr. Shell’s Soul Food Kitchen, Inc. 

Website:
www.drshellssoulfood.com 

Email - chefshellfood@gmail.com 

LinkedIn Profile:
www.linkedin.com/in/drshellssoulfood 

Other Social Media:
Instagram: @drshellssoulfood 

Produced & Edited by: Tyrone K. Sullivan (Media Director)
linkedin.com/in/tyroneksullivan 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the Purpose and the Pivot, the podcast for women who know it's time for more. With your host, C-Rene McLean, career and life coach and champion for women navigating change with confidence and clarity. Each week we'll have real conversations about career moves, life transitions, mindset shifts, and the power of redefining your purpose at every stage of life. Whether you're pivoting professionally, personally, or both, this is your space for guidance, growth, and grounded support. Let's dive in.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

Welcome to the purpose and the pivot. Yes, today we are talking to our special guest, our first guest of the podcast, The Purpose and the Pivot. And we are talking to none other than Michelle, aka Chef Shelle Roberts. Yes, yes, yes. And Michelle is going to be talking to us about pivoting to government contracts. That is her thing. She is very knowledgeable. She is the founder and executive chef of Dr. Shell's Soul Food Kitchen Incorporated. And she is also what? A government contractor. Uh-huh. Yeah. You can reach her at her website at www.drshell's soulfood.com. And that is D-R-S-H-E-L-L-S. It's in frankood.com. Dr. Shells Soul Food.com. And she has a LinkedIn profile, which is LinkedIn.com, forward slash I-N, forward slash Dr. Shell's Soul Food. And she's also on Instagram at Dr. Shell'S Soul Food. So yes, let's go ahead and get into this. Thank you, thank you, thank you for joining us today. Dr. Shell, welcome to the purpose and the pivot.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

I am so excited. Thank you so much for having me. Oh, I am just so thrilled.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And this is the Michelle. I reached, I actually mentioned her in one of my podcasts when I said that my friend Michelle, when you asked her how she's doing, and she says, What? Awesome, fabulous, and amazing. This is her. This is exactly who I was talking about, guys, when I mentioned that in one of the other episodes. So this is Dr. Shell of Dr. Shell's Soul Food Kitchen. So, um, Dr. Shell, um, how would you briefly describe what you do today?

SPEAKER_01 3:06

What I do today, I am a private chef and caterer, and I have pivoted to government contracting, also using my passion for cooking.

SPEAKER_02 3:18

Awesome. That is so awesome. And I will tell you guys, her food is very good. It is absolutely delicious. I have had it before, I must tell you, she can cook, okay? She can definitely cook. So, uh, Dr. Shell, tell us what types of clients or organizations do you typically work with?

SPEAKER_01 3:39

Generally, I do business contracts with uh several businesses around the city and some schools and um also private uh occasions. I'm listed on Airbnb now. So a lot of times when people come in from this, you know, from whatever, just to visit to Atlanta, they'll call me and I'm about on their system, they can just book me for services. But I wanted something bigger. Now, as you um continue to ask me, I'll tell you how I got into something bigger than that.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

Okay, that sounds great. The Airbnb thing is great too, because FIFA is coming.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

I I was I was trying to get ready for uh for FIFA. I think I hope I'm pronouncing it right, but the big thing is coming, and so that's why I got on uh Airbnb.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

Okay, that sounds great. Yeah, I'm not sure if they say FIFA or FIFA, I'm not really sure. It could it may be FIFA, yeah, yeah. Okay, well, that is awesome, awesome, awesome. So tell us uh what types of services and solutions do you provide through your uh government contracting services?

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Awesome. Thank you for asking. What I do is I provide lunch for the military, and so this is for the Army, National Guard, the Marines, and Coast Guard. And um, who am I missing? Navy. I think I think that's all of them. But anyway, they have an entry point where they're bringing in all the young people from 18 to whatever the age is to their listing, and we provide lunch for them. So they're filling out the application. Some of them go and, you know, have a doctor's appointment or whatever that may be, right before they're getting sworn in. They go in and give them a meal. So we provide lunch, just sandwiches, turkey, ham, uh, roast beef, cookie, what else? Chips, and a cold drink or water.

SPEAKER_02 5:25

Okay, that sounds good. That sounds like a really good contract, too. I have a three-year award. That is awesome. That is yes, yes. God is very good. Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. Yes, yes, yes. So um tell us what industry or career were you in before pivoting into uh government contracting?

SPEAKER_01 5:47

Um, I've always been doing contracting of some sort um in the IT field. So I've been an IT business analyst for the past over 30 years now. I used to say 26, but my kids are over 30 now. So I have to say 30 plus years, I have been doing IT contracting as a business analyst. And um, so I've worked for my last contract was with the CDC and um for over what, nine or 10 years?

SPEAKER_02 6:15

Wow, that is awesome. That is absolutely awesome. So tell me what skills or experiences um from that phase of your career has helped you with this transition?

SPEAKER_01 6:28

Well, one of the things I have to do as had to do as a business analyst is to do a lot of analysis of what the situation is and what kind of solution can I bring to that particular uh area. And so I think uh having that background has helped also meeting the need. That's with anything. If you've seen the need, how what can you do to fulfill that need? So, one of the things, and I'll just tell you because um, you know, I'm a believer and I know that you are, I have been saying that I am going to get me a government contract. I didn't know how, I did not know when, but I knew that God was going to open up that door. And when I saw that all they wanted was sandwiches, and I do I do soul food, I said, baby, I'm a sandwich maker. Yes, I am. And I began to go through the steps um and put everything in. And people kept saying, you need this and you need that, but I just kept telling them I got God. That's that's I got God. So um, but I had everything on paper that I did not know. I've been, you know, I have my state of Georgia license, I have my local city business license. I've been in business since 2020, so over five years I've been in business. On paper, I was looking real good, you know, and didn't even realize, you know. So then they asked me, um, do I have any clients, anybody that I've supported? Well, I've been cooking for different schools, they were lobbying. So I was able to um I also cook for MARTA, um, the Martha Mechanics. So all of those people were faithful enough um to give me favorable reviews and say, well, yes, she's been working on these things um for us. Um we don't hate the loser, but you know, it's gonna happen. So all those things, all those steps led up to me being able to win the contract. But then even after that, it was several steps after that. Just once they said yes, I thought that was it. But they had to come to the kitchen because you have to have a commercial kitchen. Um you know, I it was several things. I had to make sure I had a defense mechanism. If, say, for instance, they a food recall. What am I gonna do if the food's been recalled? Because I have to immediately let the government know that okay, you know, something has happened. Uh whether it's lettuce or tomatoes, you know, any of those type things. So I have a plan, and I think my writing skills from being an analyst and a published author help me in those areas.

SPEAKER_02 8:51

Okay, so you are like an entrepreneur extraordinaire.

SPEAKER_01 8:57

And I'm like, Go ahead. I yeah, I've been I've been quite quite some time.

SPEAKER_02 9:03

Yeah, yeah. And I like the way you said, you know, you were preparing even beforehand, you know, and it's sometimes that's the way things work. We don't even realize what we're preparing ourselves for, right? And then, and and you know, you've heard people say you you can't, uh, what is it? You have to stay ready for life to me. You know, right. Okay, so you can't get ready, you have to already be ready when the time comes. And so you were preparing all that time before, and then when the opportunity came, you were ready to go, and then you just had to add those things that they wanted, but you had everything that you needed to get the contract, and then you just needed to go further with uh what their stipulations were to complete that process. So that is absolutely awesome, awesome. And what you know, you you were doing government contracting already, um, and you were cooking before. And tell me, what um let us know what made you decide to pursue this cooking thing uh seriously?

SPEAKER_01 10:07

Well, I have been cooking for quite some time, and people would ask me all the time, you know, can you make this? Can you make that? But during the pandemic, um I was uh making lunch for uh my boyfriend, actually. He works for Marta. And his people were like, Well, if she makes, you know, they were essential workers, and they were like, Well, if she makes uh food for you, we'll buy it. So I said, Well, wait a minute now, let me get my stuff in line. You know, I believe in getting covered. So I got me my insurance, I got some food liability insurance and uh something else I needed um as a caterer to be able to do mobile catering. Right. So I got all those things in line and I said, okay, we're ready. I started doing a menu. And they were my first uh real clients on a corporate level. Okay. We started off with just I think 10 to 13. Then they started telling other people. So when they would have large events, they would ask me to come and cater those, do breakfasts and just lunches, and it just expanded from there. And I began to, you know, um just offer it to the world and have soul pool Friday on the south side. Now I knew that um I couldn't do it all over because I was just driving my riding, driving myself, but um sorry, just limbed to the south side because I knew that was a perimeter that I could cover.

SPEAKER_02 11:25

Okay, right. No, that's awesome, and that's part of it, you know, when you when you launch and when you are launching your business to know um what you can do, right? Um because you don't want to overextend yourself, right? Come on, right, you want to be sure that you can do what you say you're gonna do. And so um, I mean, that is great. So that sounds like that may have been a defining moment to get you going with these government contracts uh for cooking, is that right?

SPEAKER_01 11:57

I think you're you're absolutely right. And then I began to have strategy sessions with my daughter. Um, and she was like, Well, mom, what do you want to take every year? Um, Renee, we were she was saying, you know, first got on my nerves. I'm just like, okay, I'm just doing my thing. But then as I began to to really think about what do I want for the future? And I want to leave a legacy for my children's children. And I've been calling in finances and believing God for quite some time, for for, you know, thousands, billions, and trillions. I know that's right. I said, you know, what can I do? You know, and I went to several seminars about government contracting and this, that, and the other. And, you know, I just been preparing myself. They were saying you need to be a WOSB and get this certificate, and sometimes those things just didn't line up. But listen, when it was my time, I was ready.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

All right, all right. Now, you know, some people don't even know what WOSB is, um, but uh we'll get into that. Uh matter of fact, let's just ask you now, what is WOSB?

SPEAKER_01 12:59

So that's a what uh women's own special it's any anyway, it's a certification for women. Okay. And as a minority, you can get the women owned one. They have one that's economically something, but they say if you get those certificates, that that sets you up to be um recognized quicker than somebody who does not have it.

SPEAKER_02 13:19

Okay, okay, that's what they say, uh-huh. What they say. So um, and you you had all of that when you got started.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

I did not, I do not have any of the certifications. I just put on there that I am a minority, and which I am, and I am a woman. Okay, awesome. But I did not have the paperwork.

SPEAKER_02 13:38

Okay, hmm, interesting, interesting. Yes, yeah. So share with us some early challenges that you may have had.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Um, with the contracting or just in general? In general, in general, one of the things um I sold myself short. I started off just taking everything just because I wanted to make, you know, I just wanted to do everything. And I was running myself very thin. I was not charging properly either. And um I took a class on um on food costs and costing, and I decided that I just wasn't gonna do everybody. It was a certain client that I wanted to serve, and um I went, I got into corporate uh clients because they will pay, they have the money. They they're having lunches all the time or dinners, and they're not trying to pick through, or can you take this off? And you know, why are you charging that? I I got tired of that. I said, Oh no, no, no, no. My time and uh food costs is just too much, right? So either you're gonna pay, or I'm not the person for you, and it's okay. And it's somebody gonna pay. And it's okay.

SPEAKER_02 14:46

Yes, it's okay. And with these uh uh food prices now, I guess these government contracts are a whole lot better than some individual uh uh clients because uh, like you said, people are trying to save money and cut corners, and uh, but you do quality service, right? And the food is quality, and that costs money to do that, and I understand that. I certainly do understand that. What what is one miss uh misconception that you'd like to share with the people today, uh, Michelle?

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Um, I think people, when they see that you are a chef or a cook, they they um think it's a meaning menial job. You know what I'm saying? She's just like cook, she's just a chef. Well, no, it's a it's a very first of all, I am a certified culinary professional because I have a I went and got my certificate. One of the reasons I went and got my went back to culinary school, although I have my master's and everything else, was that I did not want people to sell me short, that I wasn't a professional. Okay. I was that I was more than a home cook. So one of the things that people do, they'll talk down to you sometimes when they're, you know, but they want all this fancy food, but they want to talk down to you, or if you come and present your wares and they want to treat you like the hell. No, no, ma'am, no ham, no turkey. They're not gonna do that. I'll leave your food right there on the counter because you pray for the food, but chef shell is gone.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

I hear you, I hear you, and you know, when people uh go to a nice fancy restaurant, they don't question the credentials of the chef that's in the kitchen, right? They do not. So why question a chef just because this is uh someone who may not be as well known as a famous chef, you know, at a well-known restaurant? I mean, they both had to go to school, and you went to school and you have your culinary paperwork, you have your certification. And so I understand there's just a certain level of clients. Yeah, and I get that. I definitely do get that. Um, it it makes a whole lot of sense to me.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

Yeah, and less headache as well, because and when I stopped, and it's it took it started with me. When I stopped selling myself short and realized, listen, you are professional, you're doing a quality service, I'm gonna get paid for for just that. Because it's not just the food, it's my time. Exactly. Yeah, all the prep. All the prep. People all really, right?

SPEAKER_02 17:21

And then you you also you you have all of your supplies and everything, that part, you know, and the quality of service. I mean, come on. So, I mean, this is this. I will tell you guys, Chef Shell is truly professional, okay? She is truly a professional. You are not getting some uh cheap uh backstreet catering company. I mean, you're talking about somebody who has first of all standards, number one, okay? And then number two, she has all of the certifications, the education, and all of the professionalism that goes along with that. So, I mean, that's why she is Dr. Shell, okay? And it's Dr. Shell's soul food cooking. And I'm telling you, it is so, so good. So, so good. So, Dr. Shell, what encouragement would you give others that may be looking to um get into either cooking or catering or government contracting within some other form of business?

SPEAKER_01 18:27

I say follow your dream. And when I tell you, the government is one of the biggest places that they pay, they pay for everything, okay? If you sell pens, it's a government contract for that. If you if you're a speaker, they are right now, AI is very popular. If you can learn AI and you know, uh they're really big on co-piloting and and um I used to do chat GPT, but now they would copilot. But any of those sections, if you sell t-shirts, there is a section for that. I was uh at the facility that I work at, um, I was a little bit complaining about some of the cleaning, and they were like, Well, oh, we gave we've given this contract to uh a person who helps special needs people. Okay, so they even help if you have disabilities, and so I explained to them, no shade to them. I said, but then they can they need to show them because they're if they can empty the trash, they can sweep the floor. And so I explained to him what what was needed, and he said, Okay, well, um, chef shell, we're gonna get that taken care of. I said, Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Awesome. See, guys, I told you she's a professional, she is simply truly a professional. I mean, it's just it's she's a professional at heart, I'll say that. Um, and you would have to know her. She's my friend, one of my first friends, I have to say, when we moved to Georgia. And we don't have time for that story, but she is very genuine and she is very authentic, okay? I can I can vouch for her, okay. Um, so let's see, let's talk about some of these resources that would be good for uh some of our listeners, Chef Shell. What kind of recommended resources would you um like to offer?

SPEAKER_01 20:17

Well, if you want to get into government contracting, first of all, make sure that you have your business, uh uh all your business stuff in line, you know, registered with the state that you're living in. Um get your EIN number. And these are things you guys that you can do for free. Do not pay anybody for this, okay? Go to irs.gov, you know, and get your EIN for yourself. You first will have to uh log on with your state. If you're in Georgia, you just go to the state of Georgia and you apply for your business license. But most states have that. Get those two things first, okay? Once you do that, get you a bank account because you're gonna need those things. You want to line up everything. You're now official with the state with the state that you live in. You also are official with the uh IRS because now you're not just using your social security number, although you could, I don't recommend it. I'm not a professional in that area, so talk to your tax professional. I, you know, to to how to sign up uh your business, whether it's an LLC, S Cork, or any of those things, a partnership. Talk to a professional for that. But make sure you sign up your entity correctly when you sign up with the IRS. And then once you have those things in line, go to sams.gov. That is where you are going to um sign up to be a vendor with the government, and after that, you're gonna begin to put an alert in your phone or email alert so that you begin to get whatever your area is. For me, it was catering. So I put in food, mobile food, uh, just anything related to foods. They're called uh N A I C S codes. So you just look for those codes, put those things, anything that you're interested in. It was one more thing that I get uh a lot of uh I can't remember what it is, but they always are sending me these things. Oh, like uh even giving away food. Now I don't have a food pantry yet, but I get a lot of things uh for food pantries as well because that's one of the N A I C S's codes that I use. Okay. So you sign up, you do all those things, do your research, and give give yourself like a little alert. Everything will come to your to your ebox, your inbox. And when you see those things, just scan through. And if you see that it's something that you want to um to go for, don't be ashamed, don't be afraid. Just go for it.

SPEAKER_02 22:33

Thank you. Thank you, Chef Shell. You are so encouraging, guys. If you are out there and you are looking to pivot, because this is the purpose in the pivot, if you're looking to pivot to uh government contracting, I tell you, she is giving us a lot of information today. And um you can connect with her also. Um, but before we do that, um is there anything that you would like to promote today?

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Do you have anything that you have coming up that you want to talk to us about? Well, like I said, I am let um I am on Airbnb. So if you have any guests coming to the city of Atlanta, tell them to look up uh Dr. Shell Soul Food. And uh also we are doing catering still. We are not doing the weekly meals, but if you want meal prep, we can set you up some meals for the week. So also, we will be having a contracting class. Chefs that want to get into government contracting. You need to uh email me or um go to my website and get my email. I don't want anybody texting me, so you can email me at Chefshell Food at gmail.com and get that information because I want to help others. I believe that it is money out here for all of us, you guys. Let me tell you. I am favored by God. Let me just tell you that I am, but I am one of his favorites, and you are too. So if this is something that you're interested in, it doesn't have to be cooking, it could be janitorial service, it could be whatever you want, but get your foot in the door because they have small set-aside monies just for you.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, guys, this is gonna be uh the end of a very informative uh session today, and I am also going to add Chef Shell's uh information in the show notes because I know sometimes we're talking and some people are driving uh when they're listening, and some are working, and you didn't get a chance to jot anything down. So we are gonna put her inform her information will be in the show notes um along with ours. And so um, any last words, uh Chef Shell, for our listeners today?

SPEAKER_01 24:52

Well, I just want to thank you for having me on The Purpose and the Pivot. This has been exciting. Uh, we are great friends, and I am so proud of you and what you are doing with this show. And don't you let me go your first guest?

SPEAKER_02 25:05

Absolutely, guys. She is my very first guest, and she will not be the last. And who knows, we may have her come back again. You never know. So, uh until next time, be encouraged, enlightened, and empowered. This is C. Renee McLean. Thank you for joining us today.

SPEAKER_00 25:27

Thank you for tuning in to the purpose and the pivot. If today's episode encouraged or inspired you, be sure to follow the show and share it with another woman who's navigating her own transition. For coaching support or to connect with C-Rene McLean directly, visit McLean Career and Life Coaching or schedule a consultation using the link in the show notes. Remember, your purpose evolves and you have permission to pivot. Until next time.