It’s another glorious Friday! And it’s time for us to highlight more amazing black entrepreneurs! In Where You Should Be Spending Your Money, we showcase the various businesses available in our community that we can support to inspire you to cycle your very important and all-powerful dollar amongst people that look like you and have YOU in mind. Today, we are featuring Kimberly Barnes of Might Be Vegan.
IHTG: Tell us a little about yourself (hometown, family life, etc.).
I’m originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, born and raised there. I graduated from North Carolina A&T State University and have since lived in 7 different states, Georgia most recently. I’ve got two companies, ContentPark and Might Be Vegan. Here’s a little more about ContentPark and my full-length bio.
IHTG: What motivated you to start this business?
I’ve always loved being in the kitchen. I remember growing up watching the Food Network every single day at my grandmother’s house. There have been two major (I would call them) bookends in my life that have helped me on my journey to health. I’ve spent the last 20 years transitioning from carnivore to plant-based fully. Watching my best friend die when I was in my early 20s and then most recent hearing that my mother has been diagnosed with hypertension. The health care system is reactive. They only respond typically when something is wrong. But they’re not necessarily going to promote healthy living [and] healthy eating as much. And that’s where I come in. If we were in a different country if we were living in the Islands or somewhere else I think we’d probably be having a different conversation around food. because the truth is the government and all those sorts of larger entities are honestly much more concerned about the dollar than they are about the health of the people.IHTG: Tell us about your business (what product or service do you offer, your typical customer, etc.).
Might Be Vegan is specifically for people who understand that in order to be healthier they need to to take control of their diet. They need to step in and make some changes. And so sometimes those changes can be scary. The path can be unknown for many people and so Might Be Vegan is for those considering a plant-based diet or just want to add more plant-based foods into their diet. [The vegan experienced and the vegan-curious alike].
IHTG: How does your business give back to the community?
I offer in-home meal preparation and I create recipes. They’re original recipes their tasty recipes they’re not bland. I know that when people think about vegan food they think about white people or you think about people who are not seasoning their food well. I know that people of color are not down for that. That’s why I’m in my kitchen every single week. I’m making things that taste good, that have flavor, that isn’t doused with a bunch of salt. So when you ask the question what am I giving back to the community; I’m giving life back to the community.IHTG: What advice would you give to someone considering starting a business?
I would probably say that it’s a misnomer that when you start a business you’re going to spend most of your time doing the thing that you love. Honestly, I spend about 80 percent of my time doing business and 20 percent of my time cooking doing the thing that I love to do. And so that’s something to think about. I would recommend maybe finding a business coach, connecting with Score which I think is a state-funded community-based organization of executives and former entrepreneurs. Connect with them to get some advice about what it means to launch a business. Lastly, don’t compare your business or yourself to other people’s.
IHTG: What is the best advice you’ve received since starting your business?
The best advice that I received from starting my business is probably to start a Facebook group. I haven’t done it yet but I know that that’s something that I hadn’t thought about doing that well. I hadn’t thought about prioritizing. I had it on my list of things to do in the future but I wasn’t prioritizing but after you know talking with this particular friend and walking through the benefits of it, it’s definitely on my top list now.
You can learn more about Kimberly and her services by visiting her on Instagram @mightbvegan.
