We were lucky to catch up with Rickieha Patrick recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rickieha , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

My idea was literally an accident. 2 days before a scheduled brand photo shoot, I got this weird idea to get an apron made . Now initially I scheduled a photo session for headshots only, so when I had the thought of an apron I started praying. I asked God “Is this your idea, if so what name do I use?” I heard “Get Prepped”! I was extremely shocked because I had a podcast in the works so I thought. The young lady made the apron and I took my pictures. Weeks later I finally had the idea and yelled “Get Prepped with Kieha meal prep service”. Excited I started writing down what services I would offer and how I could impact people. March 2022 with a picture and a apron “Get Prepped was born.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Born and raised here in Birmingham, Al? I started my training as a chef in 1988. I watched my grandmother, aunts, and uncles cook tasty food for years. I started asking questions at a young age about how to prepare my favorite dishes and my grandmother would always oblige by inviting me to help her cook. Cooking allows me to be free and share my heart with people, I love to see the look of delight when people try my food for the 1st time is so exciting. I remember praying for an extra income and God said “use your hands”. Meal prepping was an answered prayer for not only myself but for so many of my clients. My services aren’t just about preparing meals, they are convenient, delicious, and made with love. I make sure that I bless and pray over each meal specifically for clients. I always hope that each meal gives clients something more than just nourishment. Cooking for people is definitely my love language and hopefully one day I will be able to change the world with my cooking pans!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I never wanted to cook for a living. I just wanted to sell home cooked meals on the side for extra income. I heard so many horror stories from chefs, restaurant owners, caterers, etc…I always told myself I would never do it full time. My timeline went something like this, in March 2022 I had a photo shoot with an apron, signed up my 1st meal prep client in April 2022, partnered with The Nutrition Plug in May 2022, to my first catering even in November 2022. My side hustle has now become a catering business as well.

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

The lesson I had to unlearn was proper pricing. The 1st couple of months I made no profit. I was basing my service pricing on what people could afford rather then what the services, supplies, and time costs.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: GetpreppedwithKieha