Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Charlotte Grand, Founder of The Fertility Kitchen, located in Wokingham, Berkshire, United Kingdom.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
The Fertility Kitchen is a food and wellness platform that empowers women to take ownership of their fertility by optimizing their nutrition and lifestyle. It provides recipes, evidence-based advice, and supportive communities through The Fertility Kitchen cookbook, website, social media, TFAB Wellness online membership (TFAB = Trying For A Baby), Optimises IVF courses and bespoke support to help women become the expert on their own health.
Tell us about yourself
I founded The Fertility Kitchen following my personal fertility struggles, during which I discovered there was a lack of practical advice on diet and lifestyle. So, I did my own research, translating this into real food and everyday eating by creating recipes to optimize fertility. Over time I transformed my diet and lifestyle and retrained in nutrition. When I began working with clients, I realized that other women were also dissatisfied with the lack of fertility nutrition and lifestyle advice available. I thought about how I could draw on my personal and professional experience to educate and inspire others and create a community for women on their path to motherhood. I had a lightbulb moment, and The Fertility Kitchen was born. I am motivated each day to do what I do because I know how isolating infertility can be. I want to help make the journey easier for others than it was for me.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment so far is the publication of my cookbook, The Fertility Kitchen, in June 2022 with Quercus Books. It's a practical and supportive guide for anyone who wants to conceive and is half nutrition and lifestyle advice and half recipes. I had the idea in 2015 and have pursued it relentlessly ever since; it took me 7 years to bring it to the world. I've learned that if you have a goal and stay laser-focused, you can achieve anything.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
As a solo business owner, working alone is probably the hardest thing for me as I constantly need to learn new things, and there is no one to delegate to! Creatively I don't have anyone to bounce ideas around with, which can be hard, but on the plus side, I can make decisions and implement my ideas quickly.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Make sure you're passionate about your business idea because it will take over your life!
- Aim to put boundaries in place to help you achieve a work-life balance; otherwise, it's easy to work all the time.
- Build a support network around you, especially if you are starting out on your own, so that life doesn't get too lonely. It helps to connect with other business owners, even if they aren't in the same sector or industry as you. I have two people I touch base with every day, and they have essentially become my work colleagues even though we do different things.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://thefertilitykitchen.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefertilitykitchen
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefertilitykitchen/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-grand-bsc-hons/
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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