Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Biscarini Marco, Co-Founder of Vibrant Meals, located in Chattanooga, TN, USA.

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

Vibrant Meals is a healthy, ready-to-eat meal prep company that serves its customers through direct-to-consumer delivery and multiple retail locations. Our customers are anyone in a wide array of health nuts, fitness fanatics, gluten-free-dependent to regular people that are usually 'on the go.'

Tell us about yourself

The business was started out of a desire to bring healthy eating to the South. My wife had experience making macro-specific, portion-controlled meals, and together we built a brand that people have come to love and trust.

Along the way, we have developed a second-chance hiring program in which we hire many individuals from our church's rehab program. This has been an extremely rewarding yet difficult part of what we do - but it is at the heart of what we do internally. Knowing that we are providing a safe, positive and fun place to work for people who otherwise are overlooked gives me an immense amount of joy. This, along with our products' ability to truly change people's lives, is what keeps us going.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We started this business with nothing (bootstrapped), and now just five years later, we have expanded into multiple cities and are looking to acquire our first competitor before the end of the year (almost 60 employees and almost 8-figures)!

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

As a business owner, you cannot just 'shut off' like you can as a W2 employee. There is always something going on, a fire to put out, a problem to solve - but that's what keeps it exciting.

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

  1. Don't overthink it. If you do, chances are you will never start. It's scary as it is exciting, but once you get started, it is addicting. You need to learn to be adaptable, resilient, and to keep a smile along the way.
  2. Hire slow and fire fast.
  3. Learn to delegate, or you won't grow (but don't skip TRAINING - it pays dividends).

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

It is a journey, and you must be willing to dig deep (usually), but if you learn how to manage people, lead them well and inspire them along the way, then you will be well on your way to building something great. Don't let what you see online give you a false perspective of what it's like to build and then grow a business - it's messy, but you need to be ok with falling, as long as you are falling forward, then you will never look back.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.myvibrantmeals.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VibrantMeals/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vibrantmeals/

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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