We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anatesha Wilson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anatesha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

My first client(s) came from a previous job I had. At the time where I was working I would pack lunch, and each time Id heat my food up I get so many compliments on the smell. I was very flattered and eventually offered to start selling lunches on Fridays. At first it went from about 5 people per order and grew very rapidly to almost 20 orders each Friday. It made me feel great and really motivated me to want to take it a step further in my cooking career. Each platter was sold for $10.

Anatesha, 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?

My business is BoneappleTesh, which is a word play on the term “bone appetite” and my nick name Tesh short for Anatesha. For those who don’t know me I am a chef and refer to myself often as shef (she and chef). I am proud to be a female cook because growing up my father was the one who cooked often versus my mother. I did not take much of an interest in cooking until I lived on my own and had no choice but to cook in order to survive. Although I learned recipes later in life I never have been shy to try different recipes or cook for many of my friends and gather their feedback. Before starting my own business I was known as the girl who makes really good dip . I came up with the phrase “get a grip of the dip” but wanted to take it a step further and sell more than dip. I creatively came up with the name BoneappleTesh and now I serve and make food of all types. I cater and also set up for personal or private events. As a mother of two babies it is now more than ever important for me to continue to follow in my passion of cooking and doing so at my own pace. I look forward to teaching a cooking class one day.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Honestly most of my clientele has been from social media, instagram to be exact. The main way I grow my clientele is I let them know in advance what I am selling which usually gives more time for the word to be spread. I also make reels, take photos, as well as many videos which reaches many people outside of myself to view and follow.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is do not compare yourself to others. When I first started my business I only sold dip. One time my dip got compared to someone else’s and I got very discouraged. I almost quit cooking all together until I got reminded that there are many types of the same thing. For example there are different brands all of bread. What it comes down to is preference and some people may prefer you over someone else. Lesson over all is do not get discouraged .

Contact Info:

• Instagram: BoneappleTesh