Morris' "Self Employed" TV Show Debuts on Magnolia

Fort Worth entrepreneur Jonathan Morris’ new television show “Self Employed” debuted Monday on the startup Magnolia Network, with Morris travelling to Dallas to interview the cheesecake maker Val Jean-Bart of Val’s Cheesecakes.

“Every business starts with a dream, that leads to a hustle, that makes a connection, and creates community,” Morris, owner of Fort Worth Barber Shop and partner in the soon-to-open Hotel Dryce boutique hotel in west Fort Worth, says in the trailer for Self Employed. Self Employed is one of the inaugural series on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia. Click here to view the show.

Morris drives to Dallas and interviews Jean-Bart at one of his stores, and gets to participate in the making of a chocolate cheesecake.

“I suspect that Val’s achievements are about more than creating flavor combinations, and I’m looking forward to digging in,” Morris says in the 16-minute show.

Jean-Bart gives Morris a taste of his entrepreneurial journey. A civil engineer, he and his mother, who died later of cancer, baked together. After she got sick, “every Sunday, we would rally around cheesecake.”

In starting Val’s Cheesecakes, Jean-Bart kept his job until he was sure the business was off the ground. That story leads to the first of three lessons Morris imparts during the show: “Jump when you have solid ground.”

“You have to take risk as an entrepreneur, but you don’t have to risk it all,” Morris says. The other two lessons: “Pursue your passion,” and build a local supply chain.

Morris visits one of Jean-Bart’s local suppliers, and then makes a cheesecake with Jean-Bart.

“You have figured out how to take your cheesecake and build a community around it,” Morris tells Jean-Bart. “I think America needs to taste Val’s Cheesecake."