Anything Gluten-Free - Strength and Sunshine

Team Subkit -

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Rebecca Pytell, founder and CEO of Strength and Sunshine LLC., located in Delray Beach, FL, USA.

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

Strength and Sunshine is a healthy gluten-free, and allergy-free food and recipe brand and website with a mission of helping individuals and their families with Celiac Disease, food allergies, and autoimmune disorders discover peace, joy, and ease in managing their restricted diets (all with a dose of fun). Established in June of 2013, now a leading publisher and authority in the gluten-free and food allergy space, Strength and Sunshine provides delicious plant-based recipes that are gluten-free, top allergen-free, and vegan. From creatives twists to get you in the kitchen trying new foods and flavors to copycats of your favorite childhood foods and snacks!

Tell us about yourself

I am the Founder and CEO of Strength and Sunshine, LLC. Established in 2013 to fill the need for gluten-free and allergen-free recipes, strengthandsunshine.com provides delicious plant-based recipes that are gluten-free, top allergen-free, and vegan.

After being diagnosed with celiac disease in 2008, I fell in love with creating recipes and transforming old favorites into amazing free-from alternatives everyone could enjoy and love. I turned my passion, experience, and expertise into Strength and Sunshine, which has become the authority in gluten-free and allergen-free cooking, helping a worldwide audience reclaim their love for food and empowering families to get in the kitchen regardless of their restrictions or skills.

I am the author of the Breakfast Bliss cookbook, published March 2022, full of the best 100% top allergen-free breakfast recipes for everyone to wake up to SUNSHINE. Taking my 9+ years of skills and experience from building and growing organic brands and communities from the ground up, I worked and consulted with small businesses, startups, entrepreneurs, and 8-figure companies to develop their online marketing, content strategy, and communities to grow their revenue, authority, and trust. From CPG to Saas, I love working in the food and beverage industry and emerging tech space. Known as a grocery insider to my fans, I am obsessed with staying up-to-date with all breaking news in the food and beverage industry. From emerging trends, newly established brands, product launches, ingredient R&D, manufacturing, and business transactions.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Starting and growing my business from the ground up. I had just turned 17 when I started my blog (as a fun hobby) but was soon able to organically grow a loyal and dedicated audience that has helped propel Strength and Sunshine to where it is today. I love that my passion for food and cooking can also be my career and that this (once small) thing that I started in my childhood bedroom has opened up so many doors for me, taught me so much about myself, and has literally changed my life in too many ways to count.

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

Doing everything alone. You get to a point where you need to and can outsource certain aspects of business, but you still need to be "on top of your game" all the time. As internet culture has evolved, it's not enough to just post a recipe of what you made for dinner. I miss the laidback days of old-school blogging; now, having an online business requires being up-to-date on all social media platforms, email, SEO, video, products, etc.

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

  1. The best businesses start, grow, and thrive from love and passion. Don't start a business because you think it will be the most lucrative endeavor. Start it because you LOVE it, you have passion for it, and you want it to thrive. You wake up, and you're excited to get going.
  2. Outsourcing is hard, especially when it's a creative business like food blogging that is SO personal. Baby steps. Start simple like outsourcing tax and accounting (which I only just did this past year!)
  3. Cut out the things that aren't driving results. While I believe you should always secure your place on social platforms and online spaces, once you figure out what is working and complements your business goals as a whole, cut out the rest/ Everyone's audience and metrics for success are different. Take advice with a grain of salt...even mine!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://strengthandsunshine.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/strengthandsunshine/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccagf666/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rebeccagf666/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-pytell/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ph/RebeccaGF666/_created/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@strengthandsunshine/

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.