biz chick spotlight: Meet Tanuja Paruchuri, Founder of Food For Thin

When I discovered Tanuja’s website, FoodforThin.com, I knew this was one biz chick that we just had to call attention to. Read her inspiring interview with me, as it will encourage you to move forward with your own passionate business ideas. The excerpts from the interview are below. Read the entire spotlight and more of the interview here.

Meet Tanuja Paruchuri, Founder of Food For Thin

Frustrated with her diet and weight, Tanuja Paruchuri joined Weight Watchers in 2008. By her first meeting, she was hugely disappointed in the program. “The point of weight loss, for me, was healthiness…not just carb, point, and calorie counting.”

It was at these failed Weight Watchers meetings that Food For Thin was born. Determined to lose weight her way, Tanuja methodically researched nutritionally rich foods. With her newly expanded palate, Tanuja decided to explore with different ingredients and new types of cuisine.

Two years later, Tanuja has gone from a size 10 to a size 0, successfully lost 40 pounds, and adapted to a healthy day-by-day lifestyle that has given her more confidence and energy.  She has also turned her healthy cooking into a growing business and is writing a cookbook, which she hopes to publish by the end of this year.

Interview Excerpts:

1. What do you think has been the key to your success so far as a business owner?

I think one of the major keys to my success so far has been the ability to accept failure. For many Type A personalities, such as myself, imperfection tends to cause stress and unrest. Once I started to ask myself, “what’s the worst that could happen,” I realized that really anything that goes wrong in the business is not going to cause my world to crumble. It’s not going to be the be all end all…I’ll manage. [Read more...]

2. When you started, did you need capital? How did you raise money?

Since my business is more of a “just-in-time” concept, I didn’t need a whole lot of initial capital investment. Don’t get me wrong – with all the cooking experiments I do, I end up spending a lot on ingredients. And in terms of buying supplies like food service containers, labels, marketing materials, and small appliances – those expenses were very real.

When I started my business, I didn’t know anything about starting a business. Funny, because I studied business and earned my BBA in marketing. I didn’t know I even needed investors, let along how to get them! [Read more...]

3. Has your family played a role in the success of your business? If so, how?

In a word, yes! I have two different families…I have my nuclear family, my mom, dad and sister. Then I have my boyfriend. All play very important, albeit, different roles in my life and subsequently, the success of my business. My parents taught me hard work and gave me my education and didn’t leave me with any debts to pay after college. All that is pivotal in how I manage my business and finances today. My nuclear family has been incredibly supportive of my venture – emotionally. On a practical level, however, they feel that the risk is too high. [Read more...]

4. What’s your typical day like?

A typical day for me…it’s a mix of routine and uncertainty! It all starts with the night before and when I finally get myself to fall asleep. Depending on how much sleep I get, I either wake up at 6:30a or 7a. If I wake up at 6:30a, I take the time to do a quick 30 minute workout, then I get ready. By 8a, I’m out the door and on my way to the metro. My commute is about 40 minutes long and I usually arrive at the office (my “day job”) around 8:45a. At lunchtime, I typically log in to the social media world and write some posts, make some comments, etc. [Read more...]

5. How does social media play into your marketing? How much time do you spend?

Social media plays a huge role in my marketing effort right now – mainly because it’s mostly free! I probably spend 5-7 hours a week on social media strategy and application. I try to write at least 3 blog posts per week and then I use my Facebook page, Twitter account, and website to drive people to the blog. I have paid for advertising on Facebook, but have generally found it unproductive other than the ability to drive people to your Fan Page. However, in terms of sales, it hasn’t been great. I have found that Facebook and Twitter are very productive when it comes to driving people to your actual website – but buying is another story. [Read more...]

6. What advice would you give one of our readers looking to really turn her business idea into a successful one?

I would say go for it! What do you have to lose? Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid in general. There are about a hundred million excuses that you could probably come up with not to start a business. But at the end of the day, everyone craves autonomy and everyone wants to do something meaningful with their lives. Success is an ambiguous word…some people are looking for more money and some people are looking for something more fulfilling. Most people are looking for both. [Read more...]

The above responses are just excerpts. Be sure read the entire thing here and see more pictures of Tanuja and her food and packaging.

Links

Food for Thin Website: www.FoodforThin.com
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-for-Thin/109662439099516
Twitter: @FoodforThin, http://twitter.com/FoodforThin
Food for Thin Blog: http://www.foodforthin.blogspot.com/

biz chick in the making? Ask questions.

If you have questions for Tanuja or just questions about business in general, trying to balance a business and a day job, or using social media in business, speak up! There are more interviews with amazing biz chicks to come.

I hope this was inspiring! Please let me know what you might want to see in future interviews and also if you have specific biz chicks you’d like to see in the spotlight!

Tagged as: Food for Thin, Tanuja Paruchuri