Charlotte CEO shares 6 ways to grow your business nationally

Amber Lewis is a problem-solver. The former bank executive and CrossFit enthusiast created a way for busy families to maintain a paleo diet when she created modPaleo home food delivery service. Fast forward five years, her rebranded and redefined company, now called The Good Kitchen, is targeting a national audience.

I talked to Lewis about making the move to a larger stage to see what lessons other hopeful entrepreneurs might learn from her experience. Here are six:

(1) Plan ahead

Establishing a solid internal foundation is key to being able to grow effectively.

“We were very focused on making sure we had the processes in place so that once we got to a certain point growth-wise, we could go to that next level,” said Lewis.

Lewis, who started the company renting space out of a food truck, now manages 17 employees at a 6,000 square foot commercial production facility off Yorkmont Road in Charlotte.

(2) Focus on quality control

Don’t let the product suffer in order to meet growing demand. Until recently, regional purveyors like Hickory Nut Gap near Asheville, Wild Turkey Farms in China Grove and Alberts Organics in Charlotte have been at the core of The Good Kitchen’s food. In order to reach a larger audience with the same quality, they are fostering new partnerships like White Oak Pastures in Southern Georgia.

“We still know our farmers,” Lewis said. “We still are paying attention to the quality of the food they are providing as well as the impact they have on the land.”

(3) Market yourself

Embrace what makes you different. Highlight what makes you great. Unlike some other home food delivery businesses that have grown in popularity, The Good Kitchen meals only require reheating. Individual meals are sealed to stay fresh for 14 days from the time of packaging. Lewis says taking a company to that next level is like being reborn.

“The most challenging part is just to go from a local market where everyone knows who you are to this national market where you have to re-educate everybody on what you do and why it’s important,” she said.

(4) Be willing to change

Lewis reviewed everything from the name of the company, to the menu, to costs before taking the concept national to make sure it will fit the needs of a larger audience. She says while the all-gluten-free meals still follow a mostly paleo template, they have expanded their chef-driven menu with primal meals that may include well-sourced dairy or gluten-free grains.

“When you think about the amount of time and the cost it’s going to take an individual consumer to go to the different markets and make sure they are vetting the food and putting all the work into making sure they have a quality raw ingredient, it’s less expensive to buy our meals,” she said.

(5) Network, network, network

Entrepreneurs don’t need to have all of the answers. Lewis recommends joining business groups and says finding other viewpoints is extremely helpful for growing a company.

“I network with people who have bigger businesses than I do,” she said. “And people who have been there and done that before. Talk to everybody and ask everybody questions because you’ll learn something from everyone.”

(6) Take care of you

These days Lewis doesn’t have time for CrossFit like she used to, but she said after working “herself silly” for three or four years, she now understands the importance of taking breaks to recharge.

“Make (sure) you take care of yourself,” said Lewis, “because if you aren’t taking care of yourself then you aren’t able to offer 100 percent to the business, or your employees, or to your customers, or to your partners.”

The Good Kitchen is looking to a good 2017. Lewis is hoping to get her popular pimento goat cheese spread into retail locations and is launching a new product line at the end of March.

“I’ll give you a hint,” said Lewis. “It’s for the kiddos and we are really excited about that product. It’s something nobody else is doing.”

Photos: The Good Kitchen

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Charlotte CEO shares 6 ways to grow your business nationally."