“Be good, be clear, and be current.” That is the mantra of Philip and Sibs Harrell, homeowners of Sundae Scoop, a mom-and-pop ice cream store in Virginia Seaside, Virginia.

Customer support is the primary precedence for these enterprise homeowners. Whether or not chatting with prospects or deciding on and coaching workers, Philip and Sibs give attention to creating an inviting group area for buddies and households to collect.

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“On the finish of the day, being in the neighborhood is what an ice cream store is about,” Philip stated. “We characterize each tradition that is in our space. That is the place the ube ice cream comes from, or the coquito, or rum raisin. Every a type of [flavors] is gonna reply or contact one thing in somebody that they bear in mind from their childhood.”

Sundae Scoop’s heat and interesting customer support has earned the enterprise a 4.8-star Yelp score with almost 100 critiques (on the time of writing). Most reviewers focus on optimistic experiences they’ve had interacting with Philip and his pleasant workers, together with Yelp Elite Aneesa P.

Arriving proper after the shop had opened for the day, Aneesa chatted with Philip as she ordered her ice cream. He shared the story of the store, helped her select the right gluten-free taste, and even helped her snap the right photographs and movies to accompany her overview.

“I felt like we actually related,” Aneesa stated. “He wasn’t similar to ‘This is your ice cream. Go.’ He was like, ‘Hey, I wish to let you understand, behind the scenes, the story of how I got here up with this concept.'”

Philip and Sibs see optimistic critiques like Aneesa’s as a key device for boosting workers morale. When a scooper will get referred to as out by title for contributing to a optimistic buyer expertise, Philip and Sibs are the primary to allow them to know.

“They’re younger children. They’re very self-conscious,” Sibs stated. “So it feels actually good when folks give them their big-ups and title them.”

Philip and Sibs spend plenty of time not solely encouraging current workers but in addition hiring scoopers who will contribute to Sundae Scoop’s hospitable tradition. They ask all job candidates to completely learn the critiques and pay attention to what folks love most in regards to the store. They wish to be certain that all new and potential hires are able to ship the peppy, pleasant service Sundae Scoop guarantees.

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As a community-driven area, Sundae Scoop is lively within the Virginia Seaside space, partnering with native faculties and companies on occasions like ice cream socials. Philip and Sibs are additionally dedicated to mentoring fellow small enterprise homeowners, connecting with different companies by way of group teams and selling them on the partitions of their store. In his three years operating Sundae Scoop, Philip has helped three different companies get off the bottom.

“They took the danger too. They took that leap of religion,” he stated. “So if somebody like myself or my spouse can come alongside and assist them on their journey, that is all the higher as a result of it is constructing a stronger group.”

Philip has discovered these relationships particularly necessary to domesticate as a Black enterprise proprietor. He speaks to the concern of the unknown that may floor within the Black enterprise proprietor group when you do not know who to show to or what sources are on the market.

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“I at all times encourage folks simply to hitch one thing,” he stated. “You gotta discover one thing larger than your self. You need to discover individuals who appear to be you, and it’s important to discover individuals who do not appear to be you. And also you want to have the ability to use recommendation from all of them and put it collectively.”

Supporting Black-owned companies was a part of Aneesa’s motivation to go to Sundae Scoop. Being one in all a handful of Black ladies in her discipline, she was in a position to join with Philip over what it is like to achieve success in a white-dominated area. Aneesa burdened the significance of writing critiques to make sure that nice Black-owned companies do not get closed down on account of a scarcity of assist.

“All of us must assist one another, not convey one another down,” she stated. “[It’s] actually necessary to me to have the ability to let everyone know, ‘Hey, we will personal all of those areas and likewise achieve success as effectively.'”

Philip and Sibs remind themselves daily of their dedication to being groundbreakers of their group with a mural on the wall of Sundae Scoop. This reimagining of the well-known portray “Beneath the Wave off Kanagawa” represents a line from artist and rapper Tobe Nwigwe’s music “EAT” that reads: “[We] do not simply experience the wave, we create it.'”

“[Sundae Scoop] is our approach of making our personal waves, of constructing our personal path and ensuring that we will be okay,” Philip stated. “On the finish of the day, simply be good, assist one another, and assist one another the place you possibly can, and I can virtually promise you that it may come again your approach.”

Along with the facility of heat and interesting customer support, Sundae Scoop believes:

Take heed to the episode under to listen to straight from Philip, Sibs, and Aneesa, and subscribe to Behind the Overview for extra from new enterprise homeowners and reviewers each Thursday.

Accessible on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Pandora, and Soundcloud.

Editorial contributions by Callie Morgan and Kristi Lindahl