We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Viridiana Bucio. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Viridiana below.

Viridiana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Not Found

Raising a family kept us focused on ensuring success in that area while the dream of being business owners took a back seat. But as the saying goes, one thing leads to another. Our three kids growing up and a company lay-off after eighteen years made it an ideal time to pivot our lives. Unexpected circumstances create unexpected outcomes. Contemplating a move out of state for a few years led us to visit Austin, TX. We loved the vibe there and couldn’t help but notice all the mobile food businesses throughout the area; an uncommon site in Chicagoland where we originate from. By the time the company lay-off occurred we were living in Austin. The entrepreneurial seed in our minds had already been cemented so this unexpected circumstance created an unexpected outcome: A new business venture is born!
Our vision consisted of providing traditional Mexican recipes from the interior and the same ones we both grew up experiencing in our mothers’ kitchens. This style of food was not as pervasive in our neck of the woods and seemed like an untapped market.
But that’s the easy part. An inspiration for an idea does not a business make, it’s just a start. Until you break a sweat is when you’re really on your way. When you’re new to any business especially in a whole new industry it steepens the learning curve exponentially. We relied on drive, grit, and a burn-the-boats-no-way-to-go-back mindset to launch, open, and sustain the operation. Ultimately, financially it cost us more than double our initial investment to open our doors, so the stakes were high for us.
Looking back, we didn’t do enough research in many aspects of the business which would have made life easier, but it is these same challenges and mistakes that build experience, character, and wisdom. That said, we would certainly do it all over again and here we are four years later and counting.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Although entrepreneurship was always a bucket list item to be achieved someday, we never thought we’d end up in the food business. Neither one of us of had any commercial food industry experience. Collectively, we each have over two decades in the accounting, education, real estate, and information technology industries as employees.

On the surface, these are seemingly unrelated industries to the food world, but many aspects are in fact useful in supporting our operation. Take for example, accounting, it’s obvious it is critical to know key numbers for any business. You need basic understanding of a real estate and leasing contract. Education exposes you to different people from all walks of life, useful in retail. Information technology is so vast as well and there are countless ways in leveraging technology in the food business.

We bring this experience into our operation everyday in the form of attention to detail, quality, and great customer service. We’re not just offering an item for you to consume but an experience. Aside from that, we have strived to offer a compelling value proposition in the ratio of food quantity versus the cost to the customer. Take for example, one of our signature tacos the Tacorrito™. It is what you get when you cross a taco with a burrito. Essentially, it is a breakfast taco that on average weighs half a pound of food. When you wrap it up, it looks like a mini-burrito or Tacorrito™!

Have you ever had to pivot?

Almost from the beginning, we had to pivot towards changing our core menu or more precisely, add to it. We noticed that our initial buzz died down or so it seemed. We had to attract new and repeat customers, of course. So, we added breakfast tacos, a staple in Austin but not a staple of traditional Mexican food, at least not how they’re done in Austin. This was not our intention initially, but we had already “burned the boats”, so it was sink or swim time. Fast forward to today and these breakfast tacos are our most popular items on the menu.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There are so many fantastic resources out there which we’ve used as mentors but two that really come to mind are the E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber and Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. Also, any podcast that features entrepreneurs is essential to learn from others mistakes and successes.

Contact Info:

• Website: fridascocinatx.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fridascocinatx/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fridascocinatx
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/fridascocinatx
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/frida-s-cocina-austin

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