Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adrienne Falcone Godsell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Adrienne, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

When you are a small business owner, you want to be liked, you want to offer personalized customer service, you want to create your own niche, you want to offer expertise in your line of service. I have seen multiple times, plus did this myself`- is not putting enough value in yourself/undercharge customers and end up going out of business.
I did not go out of business, however I did keep clients who did not align with me. This will always end up sucking the life out of you and even leave you resenting the client when it is you who are keeping them.
When you do not value yourself, your skills, your expertise, your health, your relationships, and your business will suffer. That in turn translates to profitability.
You must price your services properly, competitively. You do not cheapen your services by letting people convince you to give them special discounts. You raise your prices when your cost of goods are raised. Your customers will understand, and if they do not, there are other businesses that they can use. When they find out the quality is not the same, they will come back .
Bottom line is the bottom line. Pricing is everything. One must know how to run a business and how to be profitable before you open your business. Contact your local toastmasters to learn how to speak in public. Join local network groups to meet like minded business owners. Check your city’s offerings for small business support seminars. Look online for small business seminars to learn your next step. I know in Tampa there are many local support services offered complimentary as well as online seminars.
Ask for a meeting with a small business owner that you admire. See if they are willing and open to offering advice. One day you may be the person being asked how to be that profitable business.

Adrienne, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Holistic Chef Adrienne Falcone Godsell, B.A. Liberal Studies USF, Tampa, Fl., A.S. Culinary Arts Johnson and Wales University, N. Miami, Fl., began her adventures in the culinary field at 14 when her parents opened a traditional Italian deli/catering business in Fort Myers, Florida. That little nibble of the hospitality industry had her hooked, taking her on a journey of kitchens that include Moffit Cancer Center Tampa, Fl.; Honolulu, Hi, Kamaaina award winning restaurant Horatio’s; Registry Resort Naples, FL; opening Seattle restaurant Palisade; Don CeSar Maritana Grille, St. Pete Beach, Fl; and then fell into the world of natural foods in 1998. It was there that she finally found her culinary calling taking her years of experience and plugged it in to the world of ‘Food For Health’. Adrienne has taken ‘health food’ to new heights, always searching for ways to make healthy eating practical and affordable. As a working mother of 3, she knows the challenges of eating healthy and making it flavorful without making a huge mess in the kitchen (‘we don’t get the luxury of having dishwashers at home the way we do in the industry’).

Adrienne applies the same work ethics she uses in her home kitchen that she uses in the field – cost effective, non-labor-intensive recipes – to keep her and her own family going as well as her personal chef profession. Adrienne wants to Share the Health with everyone, via Skype or in-home cooking lessons; cooking classes, dinner parties and wine pairings and corporate lunch and learns.

In 2019 Adrienne self published her first recipe book The Real Language OF Food Constructive Recipes For A Healthier You, available on Amazon and self published her second book Clean Eating Made Easy Meals In Minutes, in 2020.

Adrienne can be reached at email [email protected]
813-990-7428

Instagram@iamthefoodwhisperer
LinkedIn Adrienne Falcone Godsell

As heard on
Joel Chudnow’s Hawk Health Hour – Hawk Radio
Brandon Rimes’ Real Estate Quarterback Radio Show 1380 AM Tampa Bay
Sarah Bingham’s Snot Nosed Kids Podcast
Joanne Muir’s Art of Self Evolution sobradionetwork.com
MLD Institute International Live Love Laugh You Tube Channel
As featured in
Tampa Magazine November/December2019
Voyage Tampa Magazine November 2021

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Over 12 years ago, after receiving a TBI from a car crash, I was working under physican’s orders as a nutritonist, assisting their pateints with making healthier food choices reading labels, avoiding added sugars, acidic foods, finding dairy substitutes, implementing 2C cooked veggies in each meal, and finding tasty gluten and grain free alternatives. I offered the nutrition services on my website as well. I did not know in the state of Florida that unless you are a licensed dietitian, you are not allowed to refer to yourself as a nutritionist, although you are allowed to implement/teach a physican’s nutrition guidelines to others.
Instead of someone taking me aside and informing me that this was not permitted, someone called the state and had me cited and charged as posing as a licensed dietitian without a license, given a multi $1000 fine, and was told that I could have criminal charges brought against me. Although I was under doctor’s orders, since the patients were paying me directly instead of through the clinic, and since I had my nutrition services on my website, they were able to charge me.

After much research, I contested the charges and made an appeal to the state attorney. I was able to get the fine reduced to hundred of dollars, have the charges dropped and have the file closed with the note that I was not intentionally, knowingly or willingly posing as a dietitian without a license.

I then had to restart my career from scratch and rebuild my business, turning to personal chefing full time.

Here I am today – as a personal chef, author, corporate lunch and learn presenter, and working my to a cooking show.

Any advice for managing a team?

When I worked in the hospitality industry in the late ’90’s and early 2000’s, both in restaurants and in health food store cafes, I was able to hire, train and maintain my staff through mutual respect, fair wages, and making games to build team spirit.

I had very low turnover rate due my staff liking each other and genuinely respecting each other even when they had personal differences. Personal differences were left at the door, since the team needed to work together to make both day and night shifts work smoothly (no one likes to pick up someone else’s mess and I would not tolerate it). When you value your staff, they stick with you. I turned the corporate budget on edge making my payroll the largest expense and it paid off. The businesses had high profits and the staff enjoyed where they worked.

Contact Info:

• Website:holisticcheftampa.com
• Instagram: iamthefoodwhisperer
• Linkedin: Adrienne Falcone Godsell
• Youtube: The Food Whisperer