Founder of The Healthy Chef, Teresa Cutter, went from being a fitness expert to running a successful small business. Teresa now spends her time formulating healthy new recipes, tasting new products and conducting cooking masterclasses.
She is hard at work creating her very own small business empire. Her aim? To get as many of us as possible cooking our own food and eating healthier. Here’s how she’s doing it.
Q. How did you go from being a nutritionist and fitness trainer to running your own small business empire?
A. When I opened my first café called The Healthy Chef, I wanted it to be a place where people could be nourished and enjoy themselves. It was the perfect place to blend my passion with food and nutrition. We’ve had the likes of celebrities and athletes such as Elle McPherson, Megan Gale and Kelly Slater enjoy the food at our café.
In 2012, I sold the cafe and launched The Healthy Chef Functional Food Range. I wanted to create the highest quality and purest wholefood nutritional products which would support optimum health and wellbeing.
Q. What is a normal week like for you at The Healthy Cafe?
A. Every day is different at The Healthy Chef. I’m either recipe developing, product tasting, holding a cooking masterclass, or planning my next healthy cookbook.
Since we are also a boutique publishing house, as well as a wellness company, there are always exciting projects that we’re working on. At the moment, I’m preparing for my Body Shaping food demonstration where people can learn more about sustainable and healthy weight loss without feeling deprived of delicious foods. This is the main reason why I’ve launched my range of pure protein powders, drinking chocolates and other functional foods for optimum health and wellbeing.
“Every week is different!”
Q. What is your favourite dish to make when you have had a long day at work?
A. I like to keep things simple. In particular made with fresh ingredients. So after a long day at work I like to make a salad with lots of leafy greens, avocado, olive oil, herbs with some quality protein such as poached organic chicken or free range eggs. Then I like to unwind with a mug of healthy Naked Chocolat with homemade nut milk or some soothing herbal tea.
Teresa runs a boutique publishing house and a ‘wellness’ small business
Q. What helps you relax while you’re working hard in small business?
A. It’s hard to find some downtime in between working at the office, events and product developing. However, I always make sure to either have my early morning walk with my husband. It’s the perfect time to enjoy some sun and fresh air while getting my head in the right frame of mind before I begin the day. It also helps to take a nice warm bath at night to help with relaxation.
Q. How did you come to create your own little publishing empire in-house?
A. It’s always been my dream to share my passion for healthy food and nutrition. At the time I wrote my first book, The 80/20 Diet, I was surprised by how many people were following extreme diets or strict dietary ideologies. I really wanted to stress that focusing on the broader picture – that is, to eat natural wholefoods – was more important than worrying over finicky nutrition details.
The success of that book has lead me to write my other health and cookbook titles which include Perfect Digestive Health, Purely Delicious and Healthy Baking. I love the entire process of writing, developing and shooting the recipes.
Q. What has been the best thing you have discovered in small business?
A. The best thing would probably be knowing that the possibilities are endless. With each product launch, event or book, I find that my network and contacts grow. From there new opportunities and developments just happen. It’s almost like a snowball effect. Before you know it, I’ve got a TV appearance, a pro-partner collaboration and interstate events showcasing my recipes. It’s exciting and a lot of fun!
“I BELIEVE possibilities are endless.”
Q. What has been your most challenging time with The Healthy Chef?
A. Probably one of the biggest challenges is being across everything in the business. I’m grateful I have a dedicated team bringing all the elements of the business together. But there’s always approvals, designs and formulas that require attention. So it’s just about managing my time and expectations.
Q. What your business ethos?
A. Often in business certain doors may be closed to you. My approach in this case is to bang a hole in the wall and build your own door where you have the key.
Q. What advice would you give to small business owners?
A. You just have to follow your dream and do what you enjoy doing. Who wants to be working in a job they don’t like, right?
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