She started out selling bread on the streets of Liberia. Now, she is one of New Jersey’s most successful Black entrepreneurs.

Adenah Bayoh owns four IHOP locations in the state. She is also a real estate investor, a partner in the all-vegan restaurant Urban Vegan, and owner of the soul-food franchise, Cornbread, a fast-casual farm-to-table eatery that recently expanded in Brooklyn, New York, according to Black Enterprise.

Bayoh points to one constant for her success — hard work.

“I wouldn’t say I was successful in everything I’ve tried, there have been some failures and that’s expected with anything or anyone,” Bayoh told Black Enterprise. “I’ve been extremely hard working in anything I’ve done and I’m very optimistic. I understand there’s always light at the end of the tunnel and that situation may be very hard right now, but you’re going to get through it.”

She’s hit gold with Cornbread. The Brooklyn location is thriving soon after launch, and Bayoh said she’s surprised by the support from the community.

“I think if you can make it in Brooklyn, you can make it anywhere. And that’s how we kind of look at the expansion into Brooklyn. We wanted to test that market because we knew there was a great concentration of our customers and our people there, and it’s just been extremely powerful.”

She added that the embrace from Brooklynites is making expansion possible in the state and surrounding boroughs.

Bayoh hopes to provide franchise opportunities for Black women and others from minority communities and wants to help entrepreneurs navigate the mental gymnastics that come with being a business owner.

“Black entrepreneurs have shown that if we give them the support they need, they can be successful, so when I think about this year, what I really want to do is perfect Cornbread and franchise it,” Bayoh told Black Enterprise.

She remembers the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when she struggled to get funding to keep her business in progress.

“It was devastating… it was devastating not to be able to have access to PPP funding, and it was just a really hard time, but we relied and depended on the community, which was able to help pull us through,” Bayoh told Black Enterprise. “I can tell you right now we’re not really out of this pandemic; it’s not been easy, it’s been a fight of resilience, it’s been a fight of just trying to make sure that all your hard work doesn’t go in vain when you see your restaurant close.”