Turning a Food Trend into a Booming Business---all with Zero Marketing Dollars, with Gia Lee, Founder of Hot Box Sushi
Dear FoundHer...Real Founder Stories for Women Small Business Owners
Lindsay Pinchuk
4.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 15 March 2022
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In today’s episode, host Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with special guest Gia Lee, Founder of Hot Box Sushi to discuss her transformation from stay-at-home mom to successful business owner.
Like many entrepreneurs, Gia accidentally stumbled upon a business opportunity during quarantine. What started as a small side hustle in her kitchen, has quickly transformed into Chicago’s latest food trend. Although she had given up her career to be a stay-at-home mom, Gia always dreamed of one day finding her passion and would encourage anyone with a passion to follow their heart. It’s never too late to do what you love.
Tune into this week’s episode of Dear FoundHer… to learn more about the importance of word-of-mouth marketing, flexibility, and starting small so you can create the business of your dreams no matter where you are in life.
Quotes
• “I never thought I could do this, but anybody can do anything. It's just about doing one thing every day to get to where you want to be.” (14:07-14:17)
• “You can pivot. You don't have to choose one thing and stick with it. You can do whatever you want and change your mind and be successful.” (15:23-15:34)
• “From the beginning when we launched the product, I really wanted to focus on the experience. I wanted our product to be very pretty and Instagramable.” (20:10-20:24)
• “We have not paid for a single thing of marketing, everything has just been really through word of mouth.” (22:37-22:41)
• “Nothing is going to go how you intended or how you planned. We've had to pivot so many times, and I think just learning to roll with the punches is super important in any business.” (29:29-29:40)
• “I don't think you need a lot to get started. You can start really small.” (31:30-31:33)
• “Time with your kids is so precious, and it's so fleeting.” (33:35-33:39)
Connect with Gia Lee:
Instagram for Gia | http://www.instagram.com/@gialee80
Instagram for Hot Box Sushi | http://www.instagram.com/hotboxsushi
Please don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe. Want even more resources for growing your business? For more lessons on founding, growing and selling a business, join the FoundHer Confidential Community.
Subscribe to Dear FoundHer on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!
• Grab one of Lindsay’s FREE quick small business marketing guides: https://www.lindsaypinchuk.com/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Dear Founder, as you know, there's no blueprint for entrepreneurship. You wear so many hats, |
| 0:09.7 | you burn the minide oil, you pour your heart and soul into everything that you do. But without a doubt, |
| 0:15.3 | the journey is worth every single second that you put into it. I'm Lindsay Pinchuk, host of the Deer Founder podcast. I say this |
| 0:23.3 | because I've lived it for over a decade. I started my first company with $500 in my pocket |
| 0:28.7 | and a baby in my belly. I grew it and I sold it all. This podcast is my weekly letter to you. |
| 0:35.5 | We'll talk all things starting, growing, nurturing, and in some |
| 0:39.7 | cases even selling a business. Together with some of my closest contacts, I'm here to help you find |
| 0:45.2 | your own success, whatever that means to you. The ride as a founder is the ride of your life. |
| 0:50.8 | So come on and join me for another episode that will get you one step closer to |
| 0:55.0 | reaching your own founder goals. Welcome back to another episode of Dear Founder. I'm really excited |
| 1:01.3 | for you to meet today's guest. Gile created a pandemic product that became a smash hit and I |
| 1:08.5 | truly couldn't live without it. I can't wait for you to hear her story. |
| 1:12.8 | But before I introduce you, in today's episode, we talk a lot about the power of a pivot. |
| 1:17.6 | As you continue to learn and grow your own business, I invite you to join me in my new |
| 1:22.0 | exclusive group, Found Her Confidential, from exclusive podcast content, ebooks and monthly Zoom lessons, plus some |
| 1:28.7 | Q&A and a Facebook group where you can connect with other founders, we will cover various topics |
| 1:34.3 | on founding, growing, and selling a business, including how to embrace a pivot. From time to time, |
| 1:39.7 | I'll even bring on some special guests and more. Click the link in my show notes. We're kicking off in April. |
| 1:46.5 | So, Gia Lee is the gal behind Chicago's latest food trend, hotbox sushi. |
| 1:51.6 | As you hear us talk today, I share my own experience of how I personally found hot |
| 1:56.1 | box sushi and how I basically can't live without it. |
| 1:59.7 | As a former stay-at-home mom, Gia stumbled upon this business during quarantine. |
... |
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