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

Alright, Stacey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

In 2009 as a recently divorced single mom with a “hobby business” I had created for fun I had a choice to make: Leave my business and go back to work, or risk it all on building my business & have the freedom I needed to be a mom AND support my family.

I took the leap of faith, surrounded myself with amazing people and set my sights on nothing but success. Failure was NOT an option. While I did take a job to help with benefits in the beginning, within a years’ time, my business was able to support me and the flexible lifestyle I needed to accomplish my goals.

It was a risk as an entrepreneur, but one I have ZERO regrets making and now, 14 years later, am so glad that I did.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a Chef who specializes in helping busy people get flavorful, health forward meals on the table fast and easy.

I realized very early on with my experience as a chef and a mom and struggling to get dinner on the table every night that there HAD to be a better way, and I set out to find it.

Having developed a product line of spices, seasonings, sauces and condiments and using them in my recipes that feature whole fresh ingredients, I teach people how to whip up flavor-forward meals they’re proud to serve- in just minutes.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Resilience.

The key to being an entrepreneur is to have a positive outlook- no matter how bad the circumstances appear, it’s important to keep a cool head, not panic and dig deep! I’m not saying we should look at everything with rose colored glasses, however, I have heard time and time again about people who walk away from things when the going gets tough or things look their worst. Jumping ship without really analyzing can be detrimental. Take Covid for example- when it first hit, I was really worried. As a small business and primary breadwinner, I was quite concerned about what was going to happen with my online business. Rather than jump ship, I held on, listened to what people were telling me they needed and then made small shifts with my offerings to help. It created a whole new arm of business for my company, generated thousands of new customers and secured our place in the future.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Reputation is everything in ANY market, but especially hospitality and food. In my business, I solidified my place as an expert in the field of family cooking by talking to my audience in a voice and with a persona that resonated. For me, that meant being myself. I teach but do not preach. I educate and inspire without berating or shaming. I am the friend to my customers that they want to have and the expert they want to hang out with. I come across people frequently who I interact with who say “you’re as nice in person as you are on TV!” And others who say things like “I feel like you’re in the kitchen cooking with me and I know I can do this… thank you.” That’s the best compliment I can receive. Being authentic works.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.StaceyHawkins.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/wowstaceyhawkins
• Facebook: Facebook.com/wowstaceyhawkins
• Linkedin: StaceyHawkins
• Youtube: @staceyhawkins
• Other: Pinterest.com/wowstaceyhawkins