Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Vinni LaRosa, Co-Founder of HQ Nutrition, located in Windsor, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
HQ Nutrition is an e-commerce nutritional supplement company based in Windsor, ON, Canada. We manufacture all products at our facility in Windsor and have a product line that suits anyone’s supplement needs. Although our products can suit anyone, our main set of customers are athletes and your average gym-goer. We’ve been in business for two years and have reached thousands of people across Canada with our product. Of everyone we’ve reached, 55% were male, and 45% were female.
Tell us about yourself
My name is Vinni LaRosa, and I’m the Co-Founder & CMO of HQ Nutrition. After my education at Ryerson University, I met my now business partners, who presented me with the idea of starting a supplement company, as they both had experience in the industry. After piecing together a business plan and strategic planning for our best entry into the market, we launched HQ Nutrition, Inc. in October 2020. What motivates me every day is knowing how high HQ’s ceiling is.
As an e-commerce company that manufactures its own products, we have fewer limitations than most companies when it comes to how fast you can scale your business. We also now have thousands of customers who are very dependent on our products and use our products to achieve their health and fitness goals. This is something I don’t take for granted, and I work every day to make sure we keep our reputation as a trusted and high-quality supplement company.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I would say my biggest accomplishment so far as a business owner would be surviving the pandemic and the unfortunate restrictions business owners had to deal with, particularly in my region in Canada. On and off for over a year, people in Ontario couldn’t go anywhere without a mask, all gyms were closed, and many more restrictions that hurt my business were in place for a very long time.
This found us having to be extremely creative and resourceful to find new ways to get sales and acquire customers. After a long time of dealing with it, we’re now fully open and free to scale our business the way we’ve always wanted to.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is being responsible. You are responsible for employees, all your business expenses, all of your customers, customer service, supply chain issues, which lead to more expenses and more customer service, and so on. You have to embrace it and be grateful for the position you’re in. The way I see it, the bigger my responsibility gets, the bigger the reward. That’s something I’ll always be content with.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be ready. Find something you’re passionate about, and never say you’ve done enough market research.. no you haven’t. You don’t want to be in a position you can’t get out of because you rushed your way into a business. Be as prepared as possible.
- If you can, find a partner or partners for your business. This alleviates a lot of stress and risk for you. It’s also nice to be able to sit down with your partners and find a solution to something or go over new strategies. More opinions are always better than one.
- Be all in, or don’t be in at all. If you’re part-time with your business, that’s exactly what it’s going to be for you-you get what you put in.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.hqnutrition.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hqnutrition.ca/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hq.nutrition/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HQNutrition1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinni-larosa-01103b1a7/
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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