November 2022 - Chelsea Austin, RD, CD
Getting out of your comfort zone is truly where the magic happens...trust me!
After finishing my schooling to become a Registered Dietitian in 2019, I found a cozy 9-5 job at my local hospital. I felt at ease because I had a job in my field and no longer had to be tested or learn new things outside my realm of expertise.
I enjoyed my job and felt content in my routine, but after two years, I got the offer of a lifetime – my sister and her partner asked me to be their co-founder and start a business with them. I was skeptical, but when I found out what it was for, I immediately said yes!
For health reasons, I follow a gluten-free and dairy-free diet, and my co-founders are both vegan. We had such a hard time finding foods we could all eat together, especially desserts. So when we couldn’t find what we wanted on the market, we were inspired to make our own! The business idea was genius, we wanted to create the best gluten-free and vegan baking mixes on the market! And the best part of it all (in my opinion) was that it would be called “Chelsea Approved,” a term coined by my family to organize our pantry after I made my dietary changes.
After deciding to embark on this journey of starting a business, we dove right in. I quickly found that starting a business is not easy and I was completely out of my comfort zone for the first time in years. On the one hand, I was thrilled and excited to be pursuing a business idea that would help so many people, but on the other hand, I was terrified of trying something new and possibly failing. Through many ups and downs, we learned and grew as individuals and as a team.
My cofounders and I continued working our 9-5 jobs while spending all our free time on Chelsea Approved. Slowly, but surely, what started as an idea, developed into dream, and is finally a reality! Our team has been driven to bring delicious baking mixes to people with food allergies/intolerances and/or food preferences, all while navigating the field of business - something I had never explored before. We are so excited to be introducing our brand and will have products available soon for purchase on our website.
All this to say, getting out of my comfort zone was the best thing I ever did, and highly recommend you do it too!
Talk to you soon!
Chelsea
