My Entrepreneurship Story + Wellness Tips Featured in RTRTwellness.com
Entrepreneurship
My Entrepreneurship Story + Wellness Tips
Featured in RTRTwellness.com
On June 1, 2011, I woke up and quit my full-time personal chef job. Back then, my goal was to create an online cooking program.
I worked a ton of jobs to support myself to make that happen: I had a meal delivery and catering company called Red Clog Kitchen in NYC, I taught at cooking schools and was a food stylist, and I also did two cooking shows: Chopped! and Cook Your Ass Off.
During all that intense work, I had a health meltdown. I had severe vertigo that meant I had to lay on the floor, and I couldn’t work. I also couldn’t hear out of my right ear.
My acupuncturist, James, who I went to once a week, looked at me and asked, “Carla, when are you going to start eating like you cook for your clients?” At the time, I was eating tons of late-night pizza, drinking until 4 a.m., and not really taking care of myself. Sure, I was the “healthy” personal chef, as I made gluten-, dairy-, and refined sugar–free food for my clients, but I had to clean up my act.
To get started, I did Whole 30 and went strict Paleo, and I even gave up alcohol, coffee, and sugar. It was the worst, but slowly my health got better, and I got stronger.
And guess what? As my health improved, so did my business. As I aligned my personal values with my work, it was easier to create from a space of authenticity. Now, nine years later, I am launching my online cooking school Cook+Chop. My Kickstarter will be out soon! Please stay tuned, I am most active on Instagram.
Eat Well,
xo Chef Carla
This post was originally featured on RTRTwellness.com
Here are my entrepreneurship wellness lessons that I learned over the past eight years:
Cook like it’s your job. If you don’t know how to cook, figure it out! Do you need to take a class, order meal delivery, or find a health food store with prepared foods? You need to fuel your body and brain to do the high-level work you want to do. Think salmon, avocados, chia seeds, hemp seeds, goji berries, and matcha—here is my matcha smoothie recipe for inspo. I tell my students, “Once food is taken care of, everything in your life starts to flow.”
Meditate. You need to get your head right to make the right decisions. You also need the space to not react immediately to a nasty comment, a bad review, or a demanding client. That’s when mistakes happen. Give yourself the space—as little as one minute of breathing to help you center before a meeting or presentation will do the trick. Before I teach a class, I listen to a guided meditation—I teach from a place of service to my students. My favorite guided meditation app is Headspace (they have great ones for kiddos.) I also Love Kait Hurley’s App.
Move your body. I read posts all the time that say, “I don’t have time to work out.” There are so many great five-minute workouts. Go outside for five to 10 minutes or download a workout. There are a ton of free and paid apps. You do not have a make a special trip to the gym. Find something that brings you joy. For me that’s going to Pilates at 6:00 am, Barre3 online, or the Kait Hurley App. If you need to schedule a meeting, ask them to go for a walk instead. Think: How can I move today?
Sleep like your life depends on it. I learned this when I had kids. Aim for a minimum of seven to eight hours a night. Get off your phone—keep it out of your room (or at the very least plugged in across the room). Set an alarm for when you need to start getting ready for bed. Design a routine—kids do this, and so should we—hot shower, pj’s, reading, or whatever makes you happy. No screens and no phones for at least an hour before bed. Do not look at your phone in the middle of the night, as there is no reason to be liking posts at 2:37 a.m. It can wait, and better yet, it can wait until after breakfast. Take those extra minutes to move your body, meditate, or journal in the morning.
Schedule rest and downtime. Just like anything else—if it’s not scheduled, then it’s not real. Schedule in time without screens, to be in nature, and to have time with family and friends. For years, I would push off meeting up with friends for work, and it was a big mistake, I lost a lot of friends along the way. We are starved for community and connection. Meet those “friends” you have on Insta in real life for a cup of tea (or go for a walk) if you are close. Pick up the phone and call someone to tell them you are thinking of them or send them a physical letter or card.
As I aligned my personal values with my work, it was easier to create from a space of authenticity.
- Chef Carla Contreras
If you have one takeaway from reading this, remember: Take care of yourself because if you don’t, you can’t take care of your business. Please keep up with me on my blog for meal prep inspiration and healthy-ish recipes. I am most active on Instagram, where I talk about the messiness and magic of motherhood, entrepreneurship, and cooking.
FREE 5/5 Challenge
If you need MEAL PREP + COOKING ideas (for your REAL life) click on Cook+Chop: online cooking school.
PS: I created the FREE 5/5 Challenge in my Instagram feed through June 30th. The 5/5 are: Rest, Deep Nourishment, Movement, Mindfulness and Water. If you need MORE info, I have an IGTV + MORE in the highlight 5/5 Challenge @chefcarla_c.
Please SHARE this post, if you know a friend that could use the 5/5 or SAVE for inspiration when you need it!