Ashley Nanney: Feed Your Vitality, Business from Passion, Episode 010
Thank you for listening to a special Holiday Edition of the Hard Way MBA podcast.
Our guest, Ashley Nanney, Founder of Feed Your Vitality has inspired me, and taught me about how to turn a passion into a business AND how to eat better to feel better. As you’re considering 2015, Ashley’s advise on both fronts, will be helpful. Enjoy!
Feed Your Vitality makes healthy food taste naughty.
The story behind your business is inspiring. Share with us what drove you to start business?
– Sent home with hospice at one point in her life.
– 97 lbs overweight.
– Daughter was 2 at the time, now 18 years old
– Was passionate about food, tastes, etc.
– Was a personal shift to begin with. At the same time, she was cheffing for people in their homes. After 30 days on the paleo diet she felt amazing. Shifted everyone they were cheffing for over to this diet. one year later 96% of the clients were still doing it.
– Demand grew from there.
– Moved into St. Patrick’s center commissary
The Food
– Shop the perimeter of grocery store
– Avoid processed food
– Inflammation is the cornerstone of all disease so you avoid anything that causes it.
– Started eating this way
– Foods to remove:
– Grains: Cause a chronic low level allergic state from gluten, soy, corn, etc.
– Inflammation: Do you have the ‘-itis’ swelling of or inflammation of.
The business
– This food takes more time to prepare
– In our grab and go culture that’s hard for people to do
– They made a line of food that fulfilled both
– Then made it freezable
– Expansion into training / teaching people how to do it on their own
I think most people who start businesses based on their passion give up based on reality. What’s kept you going? What hurdles have made you consider giving up? What would you do differently a second time around?
– Easy to get attached to a hobby and try to make it a business. That’s a mistake. She had an entrepreneurial mind running in the background from day one.
– Nando Parrado said ‘Had I gotten to the top of the hill and seen how much was in front of me I probably never would have kept going.’ That’s the thing with them.
– Key to being successful for them has been putting some thought out business planning but have also gone where the doors are open and follow your gut.
– Listened to their customer say ‘Make it happen.’
– Finding partners, cross-fit gyms, etc.
– Being candid with customers that there’s an experiment going in the business.
– Value and enjoy the business
– Success is about knowing what your good at and getting people around you who are good at it.
– Know where you need help and accept it.
Hurdles that you almost quit?
– This summer was hard – almost Packed it in.
– Needed to move from St. Patrick’s Center. Had to determine how they’re going to move / shut down.
– Pricing out what they could afford and after they’d signed a lease they found that move-in would cost 4X the original bid.
– Busted their entire plan for 2014 and there was no way to gracefully back out.
What about a second time around?
– Listen to your gut.
– Value the difficult times because you learn from them. They will teach you.
– Re-framing how we look at experiences and pay attention to the ‘Listen Moments’ when you feel like
This podcast is all about learning from the hustlers of the world. What piece of business advice would you give to the up and comers, the driven professionals? Something they can put to work today.
– Get yourself connected to successful people. They’re the ones who want to talk business at a cocktail party and if you’re willing to be honest with yourself, they’ll be your best support.
Get in touch:
– 314-910-3324
– on Twitter: @feedurvitality
– http://www.feedyourvitality.com/