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

Alright, Lisa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

During my teenage years I worked in restaurants, sold homemade pasta for a family owned business and worked for my parents who owned a restaurant. All of these experiences were fun, however I went to college and became a teacher. I enjoyed my students and then became a parent, staying at home when our 4 sons were young. While some Mom’s found meal time exhausting. I loved it and especially enjoyed family time around the table.
When my youngest son was 3, I began working for a catering company. Each day involved prepping different foods, desserts, and taking them to events.
I began thinking about how handy it would be to have meals prepared for the family, by a Mom that allowed you to skip the store and the recipe. Just thaw and bake or pour into the crockpot.
In hindsight, each experience throughout my life, built the foundation of skills I would need to start my family focused meal delivery business in 2019.

Lisa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

In 2019 I was prepared to begin working out of a commercial kitchen in my area by getting insurance and Safe Serv accreditations in place. I heard about a female owned business for sale that created freezer meals for families. It was fate! I bought the framework of the business and the owner consulted with me as I took over.

The beauty of this freezer meal concept is the freezer. Each family size recipe kit is assembled with a protein, chopped veggies, ingredients and measured spices. The kit is then frozen, ready to be thawed and used on the day the customer chooses. The customer doesn’t need to do any preparation, just cook and serve.

I have experienced the loss of both of my younger siblings, and have close friends battling illnesses. This calling to begin my own business and succeed is pushed by the fact that life is short and opportunities to make a business doing what you love, should not be wasted. My meals are also ideal for families going through life’s challenges, weather good or bad. Having Mom made meals prepared are a way to help and heal.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My business began in the spring of 2019. Of course we had no idea what was about to happen in 2020. Meal Thyme was one of the few that really grew during the pandemic.

At first I was worried about shopping for ingredients and contracting the virus myself. I had to decide whether I would shut down or push through to keep my customers cared for. I knew my delivery service, could really help families stay home, but still enjoy Mom made recipes.

So, I shopped and prepared meals through out the pandemic. It was challenging dealing with product availability and price changes. Each week presented a different set of obstacles. Thankfully, I have the kindest customers who have stuck by, through all of this.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of clients for Meal Thyme, are my customer comments on social media. I am really grateful to have a few customers who have taken the time to leave a Facebook review, or make a comment on a post. Word of mouth is the best for my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: mealthyme4u.com
• Instagram: mealthyme4u
• Facebook: Meal Thyme