Living The Red Life - Multi-Million Dollar Project Executive Turned Passion Into a Bakery Empire

Episode Date: February 16, 2026

Keshia S. Davis is an innovative entrepreneur and DJ. Known for her ability to harmonize her corporate experience with her passion for baking, Keshia, alongside her role in the world of music, shares insights into her journey from a high-level corporate career to running a successful bakery in Philadelphia. Driven by a desire to create meaningful customer experiences, Keshia transforms life's special moments with her culinary creations while DJing offers her continual inspiration and energy.Baking and music are Keshia's twin passions, each demanding a unique blend of creativity and precision. Throughout the episode, she emphasizes the disciplined, scientific nature of baking contrasting it with the vibrant spontaneity found in DJing. Her transition from managing multi-million dollar projects at Aramark to orchestrating a bustling bakery demonstrates her resilience and adaptability. As a DJ, Keshia draws parallels between the meticulous curation of music and crafting personalized customer experiences in her bakery. Tune in to explore how Keshia navigates her entrepreneurial path and continues to inspire as a female leader, community advocate, and an embodiment of living passionately.Key Takeaways:Baking is both a science and an art, requiring a specific discipline that Keshia likens to the precise skills needed in a corporate environment.Transitioning from the corporate world to entrepreneurship has taught Keshia the importance of resilience when faced with business obstacles.Keshia deeply integrates emotion and customer satisfaction into her baking business, viewing each cake as an expression of joy and celebration.DJing and baking intersect in Keshia's life as both activities involve reading and influencing emotions, whether through flavors or music beats.Community involvement and networking remain vital in Keshia’s professional ethos, supported by her active role in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.Notable Quotes:"Baking is a science and an art, but definitely a science is very specific.""You're going to hear a lot of no's in your life, no matter what you're trying to do.""I love my life...Getting up, pouring into people, being an example.""DJing, for me, I love when people are nodding and vibing with or I love when I'm helping people reminisce.""I actually like delivering. I like going to the venues because actually, I get to do a little marketing."Connect with Keshia S. Davis:WebsiteInstagramConnect with Rudy Mawer:LinkedInInstagramFacebook

I feel like everyone can bake. What makes you and your style, your approach, so unique to the craft? Baking is a science and an art, but definitely a science is very specific, and you have to have a certain level of discipline. At least for our business, there's a lot of emotion tied to our customer base coming to us and helping them celebrate their most important life's occasions. You come from the corporate world. what are you teaching others about what you learned in the corporate world?

You're going to hear a lot of news in your life, no matter what you're trying to do. But in business, there are going to be a lot of obstacles that you'll have to overcome. You're hustling, but you're also creating the cake. You're DJing. Doesn't it lose a little bit of like the aura? I was like, I'm supposed to be behind the door. Like, you're not like that at all. Yeah, you're like front facing in it, literally in it.

No, I actually love what I do. So I love my life. Right on. up pouring into people and being an example and people seeing me doing what I do. I think it's probably the bigger message in the film. My name's Rudy Moore, host of Living the Red Life podcast, and I'm here to change the way you see your life in your earpiece every single week. If you're ready to start living the Red Life, ditch the Blue Pill, take the Red Pill,

join me in Wonderland and change your life. Welcome back to another episode of Living Your Legacy podcast, The Red Life Edition. insight success. I am Ray Gutierrez. Joining me today is another amazing, powerful woman, but there's a reason why, and I'm a little biased because we're both DJs. So she's already one of my favorites. Kisha S. Davis, how are you? Welcome. I am doing great, Ray. Thank you so much. I apologize for calling you Keisha S. Davis, you are not a ship or a few ship. I keep calling you like a boat. You are not a boat, ma'am. It sounds like a move like one. We literally just wrapped up your episode of Women in Power.

Quite a small chaos there, but we got through. How was your experience? It was great, actually. It is a testament to how things run in business. Sometimes you just got to go with the flow and keep it pushing. Right on. It was great, actually. Cool, cool, cool.

I'm glad to hear it. Boy, am I glad. What are we going to learn about your episode? How I grew up and what was instilled in me early on. through my childhood years and why I am running the business now, who Denise is and what she's what she is to me and how I'm Denise of Denise. And then I'm running this great bakery in Philadelphia and North Philadelphia. And how I want to take it to the next level and make it a national brand.

We're already trademarked. So, you know, I'm just really trying to do that. And so that's what you're going to learn about in my episode. So bakery, baking, is it quite a business to get into? I feel like everyone can bake. What makes you and your style, your approach, so unique to the craft? Baking is a science and an art, but definitely a science is very specific, and you have to have a certain level of discipline to get into baking.

And, yeah, some stick-to-itiveness. Because the first case that I baked when I was 12 did not come out right. It was a disaster. Sure. But. Everyone falls on the first jump. But I kept trying. And I've actually started baking more recently.

So I'm naturally a cook and I have some other talents. And so I do cake decorating and all that. But baking is a science. Let's talk about your entrepreneurial journey. come from the corporate world. What was happening in the corporate world? Did you enjoy it? What did you learn about yourself? What are you teaching others about what you learned in the corporate world? So I've been in sales. I've sold a lot of things from large IT systems to I mentioned being a telemarketer in college. I learned that resilience is key, right?

You're going to hear a lot of nose in your life no matter what you're trying to do. But in business, there are going to be a lot of obstacles that you'll have to overcome. And so that is easily translatable into running a small business because resources do not abound like they do working for a $13 billion food company like I worked before. Holy moly. I worked at Aramark before I I live next to Nessie in Switzerland. Yeah. Corporations is very scary. That's huge. Yes, huge, right? But the cool thing about working in that company was that I had, I worked with

the C-level executives in project management, so I had a 360 degree view of a huge food company. Maybe I'll have a $13 billion food company soon myself. Definitely well. 14 billion, I would say.

15 billion, I would say. Let's shoot for hire. Let's shoot for hire. But yeah, knowing that is possible, knowing how that story got started, and then bringing some of those things to my business with less, way less resources. Right on.

Yeah. I'm going to say translatable, not super easy, but translator. There's a lot of moving parts. Cooking, baking, running a kitchen, a business, and all the employees and folks that you were managing,

there's a lot of moving parts in SOPs. But that attributes to, I would say, maybe because you're a DJ as well. Like, when you're a DJing, And you're hearing your monitors and it's your versus the house and you're on a BPM and you're here like. And you're watching the crowd. And you're watching and you're reading the room, feeling of frequencies and you're like, is this going to land? Right.

Or when to know when to clear a dance floor because the bar's got to make money. Yeah. Talk about how your love for the craft of DJing flows into your art of baking and cooking, flows into the flow of, flows into the flow of your corporate life. It's all about making people feel good. Right on. Right. So DJing for me, I love when people.

are nodding and vibing. Or I love when I'm helping people reminisce about a time, they can hear the eyes are clothes. Yeah. And they're, you know, they're, or they're dancing, and they're older people dancing like they danced 50 years ago. That feels good. But it's the emotion that is tied to the music.

Same thing with baking. And at least for our business, there's a lot of emotion tied to our, customer base coming to us and helping them celebrate their most important life's occasions. So very similar. Brito? Very similar. What is your philosophy when you're crafting?

Do you feel like you bake or cook better when you're angry, happy, sad? Or when I just got to get it done? So when I'm more of a person that works very well under pressure, sometimes it, it might blow up. But if I just got to focus and get this cake done, or if I got a, you know, if I have a short

window of time, I got a 20 minute set. Oh, I'm going to bang that 20 minutes set out, DJ. We're talking DJ. Unless you're a 6 o'clock in the afternoon DJ and the room is empty. You won't want to be that DJ. Playing the bangers a 6 in the afternoon. Don't do that. Right, right, right. No one likes that DJ. Right, right. But if I've got,

you know, you know, a couple weeks ago I did a wedding that kind of, the band played way too long, and I only had a few minutes to play. So I had to kill it in 20 minutes. You're still DJing weddings, and good for you, man. I cannot wait to get back to my CDJs. I miss it. I miss, like, that environment, being in that world. And seeing the room hustle, like seeing the bartenders, the barbacks, the bouncers, having, you know, the hostess escort,

were people to the VIP room, and you're just in the flow. And you're just like, man, I can not. I believe I control this energy. I'm just a weird nerd. Control the energy. That's right. The DJ controls the energy. Talk about what it's like to spin on vinyl.

What it's like to have crates to be a Serato DJ. Just because we're DJs doesn't mean we're the same. I don't see DJs and she's on Serratos. To me, this is real DJ. So, well, I'm on Sorado right now in Rain 1, but I started out with real vinyl, on techniques, with crates. I would have like five crates.

that I were put into my Honda accord with my DJ equipment. Being able, literally when you're digging through the crates, you know, cutting your cuticles on record covers. Not the same when you're scrolling through with them. No, actually, it was a little hard for me to make that transition because I was used to seeing my records visually. Then I had to kind of like think of what the next thing to play, because they're files.

And I hadn't built my crates out yet. in Cerrado. So how do you how do you organize your crate as if I uh because I like the mixing key like do you mix in key or you just whatever flows with you I because you're more top 40 right or no I'm hip hop I'm hip hop R&B so I actually organize my crates by BPM so I might be like 70 to 90 to 100 and then I'll do that and then I call that energy pockets when I want to start this energy pocket, my mids and my highs, and then peaks and then launchers. Yep. And then sometimes it's just a vibe.

So I am by, bide crates, you know what? It was my favorite one. Yeah. And then you're just got, sometimes I don't even know what the artist name was. I'm just looking at the, the energy. I'm like, oh, I put this in this pocket. I really trust myself that three days ago when I was that person pre-planning this version of myself, then I'm in safe mode.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So talk about some of the pre-planning that it takes or even production planning, product managing, that connecting all of your worlds into one that is, the producer of your reality? Yeah, it costs a lot of money to run a bakery. Ingredient costs are high. And so really have to plan at a granular level at this point

just to make sure there's not a lot of waste. So coordinating teams with the back office and making sure that our baking teams have the right things they need to make at the right time. so our deferating teams can get done and the cashiers get it out the door. So it's quite a bit of coordination there. To get the customer, their cake

when they order it. It's not like widgets. It's not like, yeah, your widget is back orders. So it's your cake for your niece's birthday party. Oh, gosh. Yeah, everything has to be done. How are you delivering such precious cargo? Like, how does the one deliver a seven-layer cake?

One does not. I have a nice size truck that I deliver. And yeah, very careful. I trust me with the gates. Wow, I love it. Do you think this is because you're an only child? This is a sense of control. From one only child to another.

Anybody right now to deliver to them? So if you're watching or listening to this podcast. If you kid, yeah, I need someone to help me deliver. But, no, I do, I actually like delivering. I like going to the venues because actually I get to do a little marketing. Right on. Talk to the manager. Yeah, that's awesome.

That's not business cards, that kind of thing. And I can teach somebody how to do that. Yeah, right on. I like to do that. Yeah. And that's what I like for, I like to see how it turns out in the venue. For sure, for sure. I just like to see it.

I know it's kind of like a stereotypical question, but it's like any folks that you've transformed based on your cake? Like, was it that one wedding that was a crisis and then your cake showed up and saved the day? I don't know. Would you like to make one up? Because I want to tell you, I have walked into some venues,

and I think the cake probably did save the thing. I was just going to say, there's got to be. I'm like, you guys, ooh, This is this is gonna be a nice day Then I come in and I smile It's gonna be our day It's gonna be a beautiful day Here's your cake

Like that's the kind of energy That I try on wedding days Because they're always so Hectic I don't usually see the bride But if I see the bride That's not good If I see the bride

If I see the bride You know I feel so well If I see the bride There's a good province there There's a Confucius There's a Confucius There's a Confucius province there. If you see the bride of the wedding day, you're not having a good day or something.

All right, so turn to me a little bit. I know you're hiding from me. You might be, it's okay. I just want to make sure that the things that you didn't say on your interview for, in your interview session, you see on the podcast. There's a couple of things that you left out that you wanted to bring up and talk about. We were talking about leadership and we were talking about community engagement and one of the big things that's part of my life, very appropriate that we're in this red room is that I'm a proud member. of Delta 7 Theta Sorority Incorporated. Oh, which is a public service sorority. Right on. And so a lot of what I do is civic engagement and community engagement through my sorority.

And then I've served on some nonprofit boards for raising scholarship money. Right on. Yeah, yeah. Sorority, tribe, club, cult. Same thing. No cult. Not the cult. Not a cold part.

No, no. X on that. But tribe. I really wanted to land on tribe. Tribe, for sure. Tribe. Our village, a huge hundred and a thousands of sisters. Right on.

That's so cool. For me, that's looking for my tribe of sisters, if you will. It's difficult. Like, we spoke about this earlier. Being 40 today is interesting because you're either raising a family or still raising yourself. I'm a little older. them for them. All good, but, but

how would you educate someone like me that's like, yo, what's up, DJ? What up? Love your Bakery. Like, let's talk. You could still do whatever you do. Yeah, yeah, 40, 14, it doesn't matter. Because that is you're taking care of yourself. Yep, yep. Self care is like a real thing. For sure.

Oh, you're taking care of yourself. Fought to yourself nice. Yeah, still working on that. Good self-talk. Still working on that. You can do it, even when it's hard. There's a reason why you're doing what you're doing.

So focus on that reason, and that should help you get through it. And when you're not moving, you're dying, right? It's very true. That probably explains why I'm always so jittery. What is your DJ name? Oh, my DJ name is DJ Mystique.

Nice. So that's M-I-S-S. Right on. There's a lot of mystics out there, but you're DJ. Cool. That's a different one. No, no, right on. No, no, no, you're not.

Do you sometimes get creative and kind of just, like, DJ out of your bakery wagon? And we're like, all right, I'm going to deliver from 9 to 5 to 5 to 2 in the morning. I want to be DJing out of this truck. No. No. You've got a whole sorority that's going to be your fan club chasing after this wagon. Like I really envisioning. They eat order cakes and they ask me to DJ.

Well, there you go. Well, next time you do a big, like, powwow delivery DJ thing, you got to get cameras out and do a big thing. Interesting. We'll be here to support from... For sure. What I will say, I have DJ parties ever since I've been DJ and I've been DJing for over 25 years. Right on.

I've DJed parties where I've decorated the cake. I look across the room, I'm like, oh, that's our box. Let's see who decorated it. Hey, that's me. Decorated that cake. So that's cool. What do you tell to folks that are like, that to us is just like you're hustling, but you're also creating the cake, you're DJing.

Doesn't it lose a little bit of like the aura? I was like, no, I'm I don't know, a business owner. I'm not supposed to be in front of the customer. I'm supposed to be behind the door. Like, you're not like that at all. Yeah. You're like front facing in it, literally in it. No, I actually love what I do.

I'm out here. I have a t-shirt that says I'm doing all the things. All the things. Yeah, so I love my life. Right on. Getting up, pouring into people and being an example. And people seeing me doing what I do, I think is probably the bigger message in itself. Where should we take this conversation?

Anything else you'd like to add? Anything else that we felt like we may have missed in the interview session that you want to make sure you say in the podcast. Before we wrap up. Yeah, I feel like you covered everything. I think you've got a lot of personality. Yeah. How can people find you and follow your journey? Find me on Instagram so you can find a big degree at Kue.

cakes by denises.com. Have a cookbook coming out soon. So I did not want to forget that. Right on. Let's plug your book, please. So it's Denise's Delacies with Chef Kisha. So, and then look for me on Eat This TV. I'm going to be starting my second season of a baking demonstration show on Eat This TV.

So that's 12 episodes. Are we already fighting for ratings between the two apps here? Are we already doing this? I love it. You can find her on Insight Success TV or what other app? Eat this TV. Right on. I love this closer.

This is the best way to end of Friday. Yeah, Kay, I'm going to just call you Kay. Thank you so much for a lovely time and energy. It was quite a memorable Friday. With that, thus concludes another episode of Living Your Legacy podcast for Red Life and Insight Success. I am Ray Gutierrez.