Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Karen Taylor, founder of Breakfast Cure, located in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

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

Hi, my name is Karen, and I'm the founder of Breakfast Cure. We offer a line of gourmet slow-cooker meals made of only the finest organic, gluten-free ingredients. Just add water, allow to slow-cook overnight, and wake up to a warm, healthy, and delicious homemade breakfast. My customers are passionate, health-conscious women who love healthy, tasty morning meals that are ready when she is, feel warm and comforting, and save time for what she loves.

Tell us about yourself

As an acupuncturist, I want everyone to experience meals that feel like a hug. Classical Chinese medicine teaches that warm, hydrating, well-cooked foods are easy on the organs of digestion which must otherwise heat foods and beverages up to a "100-degree soup" in order to process and absorb the nutrients.

I don't know of another product that's like Breakfast Cure which I founded after 25 years of practicing acupuncture. Inspired by Chinese medicine and the wisdom of warm cooked meals, the health of people and our planet is the cornerstone of my company. I never compromise on the quality of ingredients, using local, small, and single-source farms whenever possible. Our products offer the unique combination of being surprisingly delicious, ridiculously quick and easy, and optimizing digestion and elimination while feeling noticeably soothing and comforting.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I learned about the benefits of warm, well-cooked, hydrating foods from my teachers while studying Chinese medicine. I immediately adopted the practice of slow-cooking my own breakfast overnight. I experienced the way my whole digestive system felt warm and comforted. Fast forward 25 years, and despite my efforts to educate about the benefits, offer recipes, and even sell slow-cookers in my clinic, I failed to inspire my patients, who I knew would benefit, to try my breakfast recommendations. I'm thrilled to share my biggest feeling of accomplishment since starting my business is knowing that now there are thousands of people who have adopted this easy, healthy habit for themselves.

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

As an entrepreneur, there are always endless things to do and often ten hats to wear each day, especially at the start. I can lose track of the reasons I started Breakfast Cure in the first place or feel disconnected from the lives and people I've impacted. It can be easy to fall into overworking and to see only the challenges while ignoring huge accomplishments.

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

  1. Organization is key. Keep it as digital as possible. Find systems that work for you by researching top business tools. Get help if needed or take a course. Get inboxes to zero. Know your metrics. Know how to locate work you've done, so you don't reinvent things repeatedly. Create your own templates for everything possible. Track every testimonial in one document or file. This way, you can open the file and remind yourself how much love there is for your product, why people love it, and how it has benefited them and their lives. Allow this gratitude to fuel your passion and keep going. Don't lose these precious gems.
  2. Be sure your heart and soul are in it, and you are very clear why you want to start THIS business because it will be a ton of work, and there will be countless challenges.
  3. As soon as you can, hire people who have skills that complement your own to do important jobs you aren't good at or really dislike.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

It's also important to remember the footprints we walk in and how the work, creativity, and generosity of innovators from the past have made our current passion possible. I'm grateful for my teachers, the countless doctors of Chinese medicine who came before, and, especially, to those who have shared their knowledge and wisdom directly with me, the brilliance of which has captivated my whole adult life. Though there are many ways that I've been deeply inspired by acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine over the past thirty years, it always comes back to daily routines and rituals, and also food! I love good food. What I eat each day has always clearly affected the way I feel in both the short and long term.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://breakfastcure.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breakfastcure/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breakfastcure/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.