Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Joanne Thimothe, PhD, Founder of LaSource Food Industry Consulting, LLC., located in Pittsford, NY, USA.

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

Our customers are food entrepreneurs and food businesses looking to save time and money by using a nutrition facts label template without commitment. We also provide custom label services and other food safety and quality services.

Tell us about yourself

My first motivation was to provide a no contract, no commitment site to generate nutrition facts labels. I worked a lot for some national brands on generating their nutrition facts.  Over the years, I grew frustrated when I was asked by some nutrition label companies to sign up and pay monthly fees when I needed to generate just one nutrition facts label because of an update. I have been in the food industry myself for over 15 years. The passion was there and after working with a team of developers, www.nutritionfactslabelgenerator.com came to life. Food entrepreneurs can upload their nutrients data and generate a nutrition facts panel for their packaging at an affordable price. We offer the only batch display on the market.  Food entrepreneurs can generate up to 10 nutrition facts in just one session. This is a great time saver for brands that have multiple flavors where only a few details change from one label to the next.

Food entrepreneurs are often overwhelmed by the amount of FDA rules they must follow. I help food businesses build and implement food safety systems, develop food safety plans, HARPC plans, and HACCP plans, and create nutritional facts. I offer a wide range of tools, tips, and ideas on how to improve your operations. I work with startup entrepreneurs and small and large food businesses.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I primarily work with B2B. Therefore, contributing in a small way to a growing packaged food business is very humbling. I will ask you for a big favor. Next time you walk into a grocery store, look at the products on the shelves and start thinking about the people who work on these products. The journey that these products have endured to get on the shelves is incredible. When I am part of the team that brings a product to market, I get very emotional when I see one of these products during family gatherings or in the cart of some random person at the supermarket.

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

One of the hardest things about being a business owner is to keep up with changes. Nutritionfactslabelgenerator.com is heavily based on technology. It provides a do-it-yourself platform to users unless they need a custom order.

While the rules in the food industry stay mostly the same, the site needs to remain relevant with the search engines and keep up with the many new devices and updates so our users can download their digital products easily.

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

I use this acronym in the draft of a book that I have yet to publish, WIN IT.

  1. W: Have a clear picture of what you want.
  2. I: Identify the winners in your field. We all have access to many successful people or organizations via social media, webinars, trade shows, books, etc.
  3. N: Network and learn. It is always hard to admit that success is about who you know and what they can do to help you on your journey. When you are around people who are a version of who you want to become, your path to success will accelerate. You don't have to reinvent the wheels.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.nutritionfactslabelgenerator.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nutritionfactslabelgenerator
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3W6kUxI

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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