I grew up with my father’s business supporting my family, and we always lived a very nice life, but by no means were we wealthy. My father created a beautiful life for us through his hard work over the years, so to this day, I cannot tell you why I had never thought about becoming an entrepreneur until 2015. In hindsight, I would not have had the grit or maturity to be self-employed before all the life changes I implemented, so you could say “everything happens for a reason.”
So when was the entrepreneur seed planted? I remember spending nights talking to Carmelo about life, deep conversations about my dreams, the cars I wanted, the house I wanted… but HOW do we get them? At that time, we had no answers. As I continued to work my job at the dental office, I would prep meals for myself and Carmelo for lunch during the week. We were very into healthy eating, and bringing lunch to work can save you hundreds of dollars a month, so every Sunday, I would prep our meals for the week and put them into Tupperware containers. Carmelo was a State Trooper at the time, and his co-workers started to make comments about his lunches. “Where did you get that?” “I’d pay your girlfriend to make those for me.” Carmelo came home one evening and said, “What if you could start a business preparing meals for people?” I won’t lie; right off the bat, I thought it was a terrible idea. Who would need this? Doesn’t everyone cook their own food? Flash forward to 2023, and I can say most people hate to cook or don’t have time to do so.
We did a quick internet search and found someone in the Buffalo area who had already started a meal prep business, but his food looked AWFUL, to say the least. This was the very moment we decided that I would take the first step. We brainstormed for hours every night regarding the steps that would need to be taken to start a business. We both decided that it was too risky for me to leave my job to pursue this meal prep idea full-time with no customers. So the first step I took was taking on meal prep as a side hustle. I could work my job Monday-Friday and meal prep on Saturday and Sunday. Perfect idea, lower risk.
For all the naysayers that have attributed what I have created to things like “oh, her dad gave her money to start her business. She must have gotten a female business loan, etc.” All those comments do is make me laugh. 95 Nutrition was started with $500 cash, my own two hands, and a FREE Facebook and Instagram account. Let that blow your mind for a moment and then you can read how it happened.
It took weeks to get our first customer, and I will never forget his name was Kenny Woo. He found one of our flyers at the gym and gave us a call. That night, Carmelo and I stayed up till 3 am trying to figure out where to start. It was go time. I went to Restaurant Depot and purchased one singular 40lb case of chicken (that was the smallest size they had). I figured I could freeze the rest of it for us to use at home in our meal prep because I only had ONE customer. (Flash forward to today and just our chicken orders for the week exceed 3,200lbs.) I went to work that weekend prepping for one singular customer. We delivered it to his home Sunday afternoon, and the rest is history. One customer turned to 2, turned to 20 in just 4 weeks.
I was thrilled, but let’s just say I was overwhelmed, to say the least. Now, working seven days a week between my “real job” and my side hustle, I was starting to make some real money. The real question was when to resign from my “real job”. GOD, THIS WAS SCARY. I had 20 customers now, but what if that changed? What if I didn’t get any more? Looking back, it was so cute of me to think like this. I was doing it. I was on the cusp of being self-employed, but I still didn’t believe in myself. Eventually, a few weeks later, I worked up the courage to put in my two weeks’ notice. On my final day of work, I left scared to death, but I was able to channel that fear into motivation. This was it. I was officially self-employed.
As the business continued to grow over the next few months, I was getting limited on space in our commissary
kitchen and running out of time during the day to complete all of the meals. Since I was in a shared-space kitchen, I only had a limited amount of time to complete the meal prep. Carmelo would come in after his 12-hour shift at work and help me do the dishes, clean up, and box the meals for delivery. I remember one night I finished up so late that he was delivering the meals to customers’ homes at 10:30 pm!! In the first five months of business, I was able to go from $500 in my checking account to $60,000. I had NEVER had that much money in my bank account in my life. It was time to make a move. With Carmelo’s unwavering support we decided to get our own kitchen and very first storefront, and on Saturday, April 30th, 2016, 95 Nutrition’s first retail location was opened.
Writing this blog has brought back so many memories, far too many than I could ever share with you in just one blog. There were tears, there were moments of joy, and many days of feeling like I just couldn’t do it anymore. If I could give anyone advice on starting their own business, it would be to do as much as you can yourself for as long as you possibly can. Second would be to SAVE YOUR MONEY. Even though I had more 
money coming in than ever when I first started, Carmelo and I still lived like we were broke. We went out to a modest dinner once a month and did not splurge on items like clothing that we did not need. We saved every penny possible, which allowed us to make the move to our facility when the time was right. Had we spent the revenues from 95 in its early days, we may have found ourselves backed up against a wall financially when we needed it most.
Starting your own business can be one of the most thrilling and fulfilling journeys of your life. It’s a chance to pursue your passions, take control of your own destiny, and build something truly remarkable. Yes, it can be scary, and yes, it can be challenging. But remember this: every successful entrepreneur was once in your shoes, facing the same fears and uncertainties. What sets them apart is their unwavering belief in themselves and their vision, and their willingness to put in the hard work to make it a reality. So if you have a dream, don’t let fear or doubt hold you back. Take that leap of faith, and trust that you have what it takes to create something extraordinary. Who knows where your journey will take you, but one thing is certain: it will be one heck of a ride!
