Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Shauna Sankey, owner of BlackGirlSalsa LLC., located in Colorado Springs, CO, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We sell SALSA!! BlackGirlSalsa is a small black-owned business. We are Pueblo, CO natives now living in Colorado Springs, CO. BlackGirlSalsa salsa was born from the Covid 19 Pandemic, but the recipe dates back to 2016-2017. I made this salsa to fit the taste of what me and my family like.

We wanted something smooth, not chunky, spicy with flavor, not just heat, and a salsa that you can eat unconsciously while watching your favorite show. And the name came straight from our boys. One evening before family dinner, our boys and their cousins were eating chips and salsa and spontaneously started singing, “gotta get yo BlackGirlSalsa aye!!! Gotta get yo BlackGirlSalsa aye!! And that’s how she got her name!

Tell us about yourself

I’m a wife and a mother of three young boys. Our oldest is in the Air Force, our middle will be a sophomore, and our youngest son will be entering 5th grade. I am a graduate of UCCS and work full-time for the state of Colorado. Although we love our jobs, we one day want to retire and have the freedom of passive income and have something to leave our boys. A business is one avenue my husband and I can access to build wealth and generational wealth. I am motivated by the compliments from our customers' pictures posted on our Instagram and the many different opportunities that have come and that will come.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

As of right now, we are so excited to have our salsa in two restaurants and one local grocery store. We have been in business for almost two years, and we started with just two flavors. We now cover the Scoville scale with six different flavors/heat levels. Today you can purchase the following salsas on our website. Embe Mango Salsa, mild, hot, Smokey Habanero, ghost pepper BOOYA, and our newest flavor is called Moto-Moto Swahili for hot-hot, made from the hottest pepper on the Scoville scale, the Carolina Reaper pepper. Now all of these salsas are packed with FLAVOR and then heat.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The time commitment. Owning your business means that you are putting your 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. It gets challenging to balance the business work and family.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

JUST DO IT!! Lol, yes, if you wait until you have the perfect business plan, a specific amount of money, and a certain type of staff, you’ll never start. If you start it with what you have, it’ll grow into what it’s meant to be.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I’d just have to always shout out to my husband for supporting me and our business. Without his guidance, I’d be all over the place.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://blackgirlsalsa.company.site/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackgirlsalsa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackgirlsalsa/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blackgirlsalsa


If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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