Most people think investing means money. Stocks. Real estate. Portfolios.
But what if one of the most powerful investments you could ever make… is time?
What if patience, obsession with your craft, and refusing to rush could become an asset more valuable than capital itself?
Today, I want to tell you the story of a man who invested differently — long before most people even realized that was possible.
And as women building wealth in a world that often tells us to play small, his story holds lessons we need to hear.
Introducing Chef Vinny
Vincent Williams — better known as Chef Vinny — has cooked more fried chicken than anyone on the planet.
Nearly fifty years in the kitchen. Decades refining a single craft.
He’s the mind behind Honey’s Kettle Fresh Fried Chicken — and what fascinates me about his story isn’t just the food.
It’s the way he thinks. Because Chef Vinny isn’t just a chef. He’s a food innovator. A creator of legacy. And more importantly — he’s a long-term investor.
Investing in Depth, Not Speed
We live in a world that rewards speed.
Scale fast.
Launch quickly.
Monetize early.
And as women, we often feel that pressure doubled. Prove yourself faster. Justify your presence sooner. Make it work before anyone questions you.
Chef Vinny did the opposite.
He stayed in one lane — fried chicken — for over five decades.
No rushing to franchise.
No chasing trends.
No pivoting every few years.
Instead, he invested in depth.
He went so deep into his craft that it became impossible to replicate. That kind of mastery creates what wealthy thinkers call a moat — an advantage so strong, competitors can’t simply copy it.
This is a lesson most people miss:
We live in a world that rewards speed.
Scale fast.
Launch quickly.
Monetize early.
And as women, we often feel that pressure doubled. Prove yourself faster. Justify your presence sooner. Make it work before anyone questions you.
Chef Vinny did the opposite.
He stayed in one lane — fried chicken — for over five decades.
No rushing to franchise.
No chasing trends.
No pivoting every few years.
Instead, he invested in depth.
He went so deep into his craft that it became impossible to replicate. That kind of mastery creates what wealthy thinkers call a moat — an advantage so strong, competitors can’t simply copy it.
This is a lesson most people miss:
Innovation Without Approval
One thing Chef Vinny says that really struck me is how often people told him to stop innovating.
His own employees would say: “Stick to what works. Stick to what sells.”
Sound familiar?
How many times have you been told to stay in your lane?
Not to overcomplicate things?
To stop experimenting and just “be grateful for what’s working”?
But he didn’t listen.
He kept experimenting. Breakfast burritos. New flavors. Unexpected menu items. And then there’s the carrot salad.
He said something so simple, yet so wealthy in perspective:
“Nobody in the country makes a great carrot salad. Honey Cow makes a great carrot salad. It’s not for everybody — but for that one person who loves carrot salad and can’t find it anywhere — we serve them.”
That right there is elite-level thinking.
Because wealth isn’t built by pleasing everyone. It’s built by serving someone deeply.
And as women, we’re so often conditioned to be everything to everyone. But Chef Vinny reminds us:
You don’t need to be for everyone. You just need to be undeniable to someone.
Serving the Overlooked
Chef Vinny understood something most businesses overlook:
The overlooked customer is often the most loyal.
That carrot salad isn’t about volume. It’s about identity.
This is the same principle behind luxury brands.
Collectible assets.
Music rights.
Niche real estate strategies.
They’re not for everyone — and that’s exactly why they work.
Scarcity isn’t accidental. It’s intentional.
And here’s what that means for us as women building wealth:
You don’t have to compete in oversaturated markets.
You don’t have to lower your prices to fit in.
You don’t have to dilute your vision to be palatable.
Find your carrot salad.
Find the thing no one else is doing well — or doing at all — and own it completely.
The Turtle Mindset
Chef Vinny often refers to the turtle and the hare.
Slow.
Steady.
Unbothered.
He understands that nothing meaningful happens overnight. Everything takes the time it needs. And isn’t that the story so many of us are living?
While the world celebrates the overnight success stories, we’re quietly building.
Refining.
Learning.
Growing.
While others sprint, burn out, and disappear — we stay consistent.
And here’s the part that truly reframes investing:
Time didn’t slow him down.
Time worked for him.
Patience became his silent partner.
This is especially important for women who feel behind. Who started later. Who had to pause for caregiving, health, or survival.
Your timeline isn’t wrong. It’s strategic.
Experience as an Invisible Asset
At one point, Chef Vinny says something that stopped me in my tracks.
He says: “I now have fifty-two years of experience in the food business — specifically the chicken business — before launching into franchising.”
Think about that.
How many companies take fifty-two years of research and development before scaling?
Very few.
That experience is an asset. An invisible one.
You can’t buy it.
You can’t shortcut it.
You can’t compete with it.
And that’s when it hits you:
Your lived experience — your years, your repetitions, your patience —
can become capital.
All those years you spent learning. The jobs that didn’t pay what you were worth.
The side hustles that felt small. The skills you picked up along the way.
Those aren’t losses. They’re equity. And when the time is right, they compound in ways you never imagined.
The Wealth Lesson
Chef Vinny’s story reminds us that investing differently doesn’t always look exciting at first.
Sometimes it looks slow. Sometimes it looks boring.
Sometimes it looks like staying when everyone else leaves.
But over time, it becomes undeniable.
This is quiet wealth. Unshakeable wealth. Wealth built on mastery instead of noise.
And for women who’ve been told we need to be louder, flashier, more aggressive—
this is permission to build differently.
To invest in depth.
To trust your timeline.
To serve your niche with precision.
Reflection for You
So, let me ask you: What are you being told to stop… that might actually be your edge?
What skill, craft, or interest, have you underestimated because it didn’t pay immediately?
And what would change if you stopped rushing your timeline and allowed depth to do its work?
What if your “carrot salad” — the thing only you can do the way you do it — is waiting for you to take it seriously?
Closing
Chef Vinny didn’t just invest in fried chicken.
He invested in time.
In patience.
In obsession with quality.
And that’s what makes his success so powerful.
In future posts, we’ll explore other stories of people who invested differently — and built wealth in a way most people never think to consider.
Until then, remember this:
Not all investments look like money at first. Some look like commitment.
And those are often the ones that pay the most.
Salima
Just me thinking out loud over here
PS: To check Chief Vinny’s business and story head to https://honeyskettle.com/