Marcus Lawrence stands in the window of Nony’s Cheesecakes in Athens, Georgia. He started the business in 2012 and rebranded the name last year. (Photo/Ashtin Barker)
Marcus “Nony” Lawrence’s business isn’t just about making cheesecakes. It’s about having resilience and determination to fight for the career you want.
“One of my biggest messages is consistency, like just stay at it. If you don’t quit, you can’t fail,” Lawrence said. “Failure is only when you quit.”
Lawrence is the owner and CEO of Nony’s Cheesecakes, which began as Cheesecake Topia in November 2012. Lawrence was forced to close in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, he rebranded the company to reflect his personal growth and long-term vision for success.
For him, launching a business and becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t a carefully guided journey – it was partly a leap of faith based on hustle, ambition and belief in his community’s support.
That independence, though empowering, also came from a deeper fear – one rooted in the distrust of traditional systems that many Black entrepreneurs share.
“I was really stuck on doing it on my own. I wasn’t even going to ask [for help] because I was told that there were barriers. I didn’t even bother to ask.”
Instead of seeking out loans, Lawrence launched a GoFundMe about a year ago, to raise money for his food truck and other business expenses. To date, the campaign, community donations, purchases and tips have raised about $4,000 of the $80,000 needed to bring his dream to life (not all numbers are visually shown in the GoFundMe total).
“I want this food truck, and I believe that the community that believes in me is going to make that happen. I shouldn’t have to go to a bank or anything to make that happen,” Lawrence said. “Because ultimately, I feel like that’s just to keep us in debt. That’s a personal belief… I’m really fearful when it comes to stuff like that.”
These are the cheesecake flavors that Marcus Lawrence publicizes as a part of the rebranded company, Nony’s Cheesecakes. This sign is on display right outside the food truck for customers to view, and it also includes the story behind the business, along with the link to the GoFundMe to help with the expenses. (Photo/Shweta Krishnan)
This fear isn’t unfounded.
According to research from the 2024 The State of Black Business Report, Black business owners face more barriers to accessing capital compared to other groups, which impacts their ability to start a business.
Four in ten Black-owned businesses are completely denied loans, lines of credit and cash advances. Only 32% are fully approved, compared to 56% of white-owned businesses that are fully approved.
This data comes from the Federal Reserve Banks “2023 Report on Startup Firms Owned by People of Color: Findings from the 2022 Small Business Credit Survey.” The graphic was created by the Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunity and published in the 2024 The State of Black Business Report.
This reality reinforces a cycle of self-reliance and community support.
But being a Black business owner in a small town like Athens comes with more than just financial challenges – it also comes with stereotypes that Lawrence has tried to break.
“You know the stereotype of Black people open when they want to- that’s one that I know I used to say,” Lawrence said. “If you go to a store that’s Black-owned and they’re closed for whatever reason, you don’t need to know the reason, you just know that ‘oh that’s how Black people is’ or if they’re late for something…, it just burns on the inside when I’m late for something now.”
He recognizes what his customers expect, and he holds himself to a higher standard to ensure that he is not reinforcing the stereotypes he is trying to break.
“Even now, just dealing with the stress of things, I kind of want to lash out, go hide in the bed or something, but it’s like I have to be a symbol of change or something different. You want something different, you got to do something different.”
His commitment to making change in his community extends beyond his customer service. It shows up in how he runs his business and teaches his team.
After baking the cheesecakes, Lawrence and his employees cut them into pieces and put them into individual boxes to be sold. These pieces, all different flavors available on the menu, are stocked in his kitchen freezer. (Photo/Shweta Krishnan)
His current employees are from his family – his two sons, sister-in-law and niece – and he finds it important to not only teach them how to run a successful business, but to have the willingness to grow.
“That’s one of my biggest things. If you come in under me, just be prepared to learn and grow,” Lawrence said. “I want motivated people- somebody that either wants a location of their own or they aspire to be an entrepreneur, and they can take from what I have, the information that I have, and be able to utilize that in their own way.”
Lawrence’s employee and sister-in-law, Kimberly Sessions, spoke about her personal experience working with Lawrence and watching the business grow.
“It’s grown a lot…I think it’s better now,” she said. “I can talk to him about anything, and he’s willing to work with me.”
Kimberly Sessions, one of Marcus’ employees, makes Biscoff cheesecake. She has been working with Nony’s Cheesecakes since September 2024. (Photo/Shweta Krishnan)
His successful mentorship is evident through his previous employees. Five out of the seven employees that he had at his first company, Cheesecake Topia, have gone on to launch their own small businesses.
Still, Lawrence recognizes that mentorship, particularly in the Black community, is not always easily accessible.
“Since I’ve gotten a mentor, I’ve realized that mentorship is very important, and I don’t think there are a lot of mentors available here,” Lawrence said. “I don’t think there’s a lot of education as far as understanding how important a mentor is or how important resources are.”
He noted that when he first met his mentor, Maxim Watkins, the owner of Food Truck Builders A-Z, he was skeptical. He said Watkins’ position and the information and money he had made him think that he would take his ideas and run away with it – especially because it had happened previously.
“It’s just letting the guards down. I think there’s a lot of distrust amongst Black people and that’s within the community and outside the community…,” Lawrence said. “Breaking those walls down and figuring out how we can come together to help each other and not feel like we’re going to take from one another.”
But Watkins helped Lawrence gain access to a trailer and kitchen space, allowing him to make more cheesecakes and take his product on the road.
This vision of unity is something he hopes extends to the local community. Lawrence dreams of a day once a week or even once a month where community members intentionally shop at local businesses.
This community collaboration is not only something he hopes to see with businesses, but also on a personal level, with mentorship.
Lawrence has a message talking about his journey on his publicly available website. He seeks to make his dream a reality by sharing his goals to show people what this business means to him. (Photo/Marcus Lawrence)
Lawrence grew up in East Athens, where he was not afforded as many opportunities, resources and the education to succeed. He seeks to use his experiences to make a difference in the next generation of entrepreneurs, not only to build success but also hope.
“We’ve taken some pretty hard losses on the East side as far as people who I knew as kids to be really good people but maybe made some different decisions that weren’t the best, but I want to be that beacon of light to show that it’s an opportunity to do something different,” Lawrence said. “You don’t even have to change who you are. You can be exactly who you are- just grow. Just be willing to grow.”
Skills I Learned:
I had an opportunity to work with three different students to create this multimedia story, highlighting an individual in the Athens community. I enjoyed being able to put together authentic soundbites and pictures from the interviews and tell a genuine story about this individual’s business, what it means to him and the impact it has on the larger community. This story was a culmination of skills I have learned throughout my time as a journalism student, and I am grateful that I had the ability to tell the story of a hardworking individual who creates a wonderful experience for the Athens community.