We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lisa Wilson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lisa, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
Yes I’m happier as a business owner. No I don’t think about having a regular job anymore. Being my own business I can make food the way I want and make sure it’s the best around. I don’t have to serve mediocre food because someone else thinks it taste good and I know it doesn’t. I listen to my customers and give them food that makes them happy.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have worked in all different kinds of fields related to food in order to adapt to whatever curveball I’m thrown. I started working in a family owed Sandwich shop, worked in a cafe as a barista, made smoothies, milk shakes, sandwiches, worked in bbq cafe, got training from bagel cafe in California, did catering in California and Las Vegas for close friends and referrals, had a tent at first Fridays in Las Vegas and served burgers and fried ribs, moved to arkansas and opened my food truck. I visit a lot of places and different kinds of food options so that I know what their food taste like and what portions they are serving then if I like something I try to recreate it using my twist on it with a Texas flair. And if I don’t like it I will make a better version of it. I can cook almost anything just by looking at a picture even if I have never tasted it before.
My husband of 25 years is my inspiration and my backbone for achieving my dream and he did whatever he could to make me the person that I am today.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I started taking food to friends parties and when they asked for me to bring another dish to another party because they loved it so much it gave me confidence. Then I was asked to bring more food than other people it started making me feel even more confident about what I was cooking. people asked me if I catered so I started out small then it went from baby showers, bat mitzvahs, small weddings. During my catering events I would make sure that when we cleaned up we would check peoples plates and see what was left behind and that way if there was a pattern on things being thrown away I would know what people didn’t like and I would either make sure it was better the next time or I would not make it again because people was not fond of it. When i cooked for friends they had to give me honest opinions on how things tasted so I could fix my recipes and tweak things. Eventually I had the confidence to start my own food truck
How did you build your audience on social media?
Facebook, google, instagram when you post pictures make sure they look good, not sloppy. In these days people eat with their eyes so if I see ugly pictures of food I usually don’t eat at that place. Make sure your customers are happy because they will leave feedback strive for perfect. All of my customers come from word of mouth and social media
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @burntsugrs
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/burntsugarsfoodtruck/
- Yelp: Burntsugars Food Truck
Image Credits
Lisa Wilson