Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Cassie Larson, Founder of Cassie's Plant-Based Kitchen, located in Portland, OR, USA.

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

I help people switch to a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet with cooking and nutrition education, side-by-side in-kitchen coaching, and personal chef services. With my help, changing to a WFPB diet can be fun, exciting, empowering, and nourishing. Everyone deserves the chance to feel this way, but not everyone has the time or energy to invest in making such a significant change in their lives. I'm here to support my clients to learn to love to eat and cook this way.

Tell us about yourself

When my husband had a very unexpected heart attack at 41, I began researching coronary heart disease and what could be done to help him heal. I found out that a WFPB diet could not only help him heal from his heart attack but help reverse his heart disease. I threw myself into cooking, and a few months later, he was doing so well the doctors couldn't believe it.

It doesn't work to tell someone who's had a heart attack, for example, to change their way of eating and then send them home to figure that out alone. They need support.

I eventually got my Master's of Science in Wholistic Nutrition because of the healing power we experienced when we began to eat this way. I want to help others make the same journey and have my support along the way.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

After working with a client for a bit less than a month, she reported more confidence in the kitchen, improved overall well-being, and even shed some weight (a goal we didn't even have).

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

Marketing myself is something I have had to climb a steep learning curve to accomplish. It hasn't come naturally, and I still sometimes struggle with this very crucial part of being a business owner.

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

Don't give your self-doubt the chance to stop you from giving it a go. It's there to keep you safe, but it will keep you small if you let it. Try to accept that you might have a gift that others really need and that it is actually a selfless act to get out there and provide that for people. Your talents are important, and you'll never regret trying.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.cassiesplant-basedkitchen.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cassiecooksplants/
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3OHaKiY
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3oI2eWp

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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