Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Bindu Marasini, Founder of Bindu Bites, located in Austin, TX, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My business is Bindu Bites! Bindu Bites is a food company that creates healthy, tasty cuisines with a Nepali kick. Our customers are hungry people looking for healthy, easy-to-prepare foods with great flavor. Bindu Bites currently specializes in Nepali Sauces and Nepali Dumplings, known as momos. The sauces are enhanced with spices only found in the mountains of Nepal, and the recipes are handed down through generations of Nepali women.
Tell us about yourself
I grew up in rural Nepal, in the foothills of the Himalayas, while on the other side of the world, my father worked as a chef, earning the way for my family to come to America. I was raised by my grandmother, mother, and older sisters. I learned to hand-pick the fresh ingredients for our meals, mill the spices in the family mill, and prepare the traditional recipes handed down to me by the women of my family. Eventually, my family and I were reunited with my father in Texas, where we were again able to enjoy homemade meals together as a family. I trained as an accountant, working in the farm to the grocery market, before branching out to start my own venture, Bindu Bites, to share the authentic tastes of Nepal that united my family, and help bring others together with good healthy tasty food...one bite at a time.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner has been to sell out of my products in the markets I have entered. The validation is amazing that I have a product that people want and that people are willing to spend their hard-earned money and time to obtain. Time and time again, I am reminded that the number one reason businesses fail is they create or build something nobody wants.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Owning a business comes with plenty of things to keep one awake at night. The hardest thing is to accept that you cannot do everything. You must trust others to help you get work done. Finding people you can trust and rely on is an amazing blessing. The rule is, if someone else can do it, then you should not be spending your time doing it! Do the things only you can do, and find others to do the rest.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
First, do not be afraid to fail. If you are not making mistakes, then you are either really blessed, or you are not pushing hard enough. In addition, fearing mistakes can paralyze you from moving forward. Take risks, risks, do the things no one else is doing, learn from failure, and improve.
Second, get the right team together and listen. If you are the best at everything, then you have not surrounded yourself with the right people. You need to find experts in the things you need to get done and enchant them into consulting and working for you.
Third, give as much as you get. There are a lot of others out there building businesses. Yes, they are your competition, but there are more than enough customers to go around; it is not a net zero game. Everyone can potentially help your business or is a link in a chain of contacts that gets you to that person you need to be introduced to. You may be someone who can help another business or the next step in their contact list to succeed. In the end, helping those around you can help you, and everyone benefits from the success of each other.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: http://bindubites.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bindubites/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bindubites/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bindu_Bites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bindu-m-1b8b9465/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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