Sometimes you have to get tired before you can succeed – physically tired, mentally tired, emotionally tired – basically, just ready to make a major change. That was the case of TrueMan McGee, founder of Funky Fresh Spring Rolls. In his case, the change initially came in his personal life. But that eventually led to a business too.
McGee has been keeping up with me for the latest edition of our exclusive Smart Hustle report. During the discussion, McGee detailed how his business began and some of the factors that led to his growth. The initial catalyst is what McGee calls his "get tired" moment, which took place on March 1, 2012. He still remembers the moment very vividly.
He said, "I think once you've hit the bottom, it's the best time to change."
At the time, McGee weighed about 300 pounds and was tired of eating unhealthy foods pretty much every day. So he changed his diet and finally started a personal training business.
But Funky Fresh Spring Rolls, a company that focuses on creating more interesting and healthier versions of spring rolls using fresh, local ingredients, only appeared much later. It started because of a burrito. McGee had done it with sweet potatoes and black beans and some family members have tried it. When they raved about it, he knew that he had discovered something awesome. But at the time, he did not even think of it as a business opportunity. He just wanted to give people an easier way to eat healthily.
McGee said, "My love of fitness has revived my love for cooking, because I just wanted people to eat healthier foods."
But the more time passed, the more he began to realize the potential of his idea, which at that point had turned healthy food in general into spring rolls prepared with fresh ingredients.
He said, "I felt deeply that this could be something huge because my clients and their friends were receiving an overwhelming response."
You can listen to the entire discussion and then check out some of the best tips and insights below.
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Awesome Fresh Spring Rolls Out Tips for Small Business
Choose a name that sets you apart
Funky Fresh Spring Rolls is obviously a unique and catchy name. Upon arriving with that, McGee said that he was looking for something that really reflected how different the company's products were from others.
McGee said, "You can have a good business product, but if the name is void then you might not have the same scope."
Using events to spread the word
Once the Funky Fresh Spring Rolls product line was set up, McGee was tasked with spreading the word. He took advantage of farmers' markets and festivals to present products directly to customers.
He said, "You will be in front of hundreds or thousands of people at a time and have face-to-face interactions with them. It was one of the first things we had to do was put ourselves in front of these customers. "
Making mistakes
Finally, McGee insists that it is important that business owners are not too afraid of failure.
He said, "You're going to fail, there's no way around it, it's just having the ability to bounce back and readjust and evolve. from your mistakes. "
Images: Funky Spring Rolls / Instagram