Today we’d like to introduce you to J’Amy Peterson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us J’Amy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have been a stay home mother of five children for the past 20 years. My family moved to Prosper from Canada almost six years ago for my husband’s job. I had always been on the lookout for ideas of businesses that interested me to start on my own but had never come across one that I was passionate about. While doing budgeting an meal planning for my family, I decided to see who would like me to prepare home-cooked meals for other families. I prepared a few meals and tested them out for freezing and reheating, developed some packaging and labels and created a group on Facebook. I offered five different menu items each week to choose from, described the meal and what it cost on Facebook and people commented on which one they wanted. I then spent three days making the food and freezing it and then people picked up on a specific day each week.
The first week I had 15 orders. I was so overwhelmed with cooking and almost decided to back out right then. But each week more and more people tried it and really liked my cooking, so it kept me motivated. There were some weeks I make up to 100 meals on my own. I had read the cottage laws for food businesses from home but hadn’t read thoroughly enough. I knew I couldn’t grow too big without a commercial kitchen, so I didn’t advertise and I kept orders limited, but about two years after my first Facebook post in someone told me I shouldn’t be selling food that was temperature-controlled from my house without a commercial kitchen. I was mortified because I already had about 1000 followers and business was pretty steady. It was around this time my husband lost his job that we had moved here for and we were told our work visa wouldn’t be valid much longer and we’d have to return to Canada. Canada is great but we had a life we loved here, so we were looking for every option we could to be able to stay in Texas.
I decided to go back to school and get on a student visa while my husband kept looking for a job. I took some culinary arts classes to get a bit more technical training. While in school, we discussed the option with our immigration lawyer that we could start a business and stay on an investor visa. We were told to just start the business and then apply for the visa and we should get it. I knew I had to stop cooking from home or go commercial, so we started looking into spaces for rent and business loans. It felt very daunting, but we felt guided and helped in our process. After praying ALOT doors opened and we were able to find some great people who helped us find this fabulous property that we were able to renovate and make into a really cute place for our business. We have had fabulous support from the community in Prosper and we are getting to be known in the outlying cities as well. We want to be a place that really supports the community around us and helps families stay close and ease the burdens of their hectic lives. We have been very blessed.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road but each time we needed something, we were able to find answers and help with some work and a lot of prayers. Being immigrants with a limited credit history we didn’t think we would get the size of business loan we needed to pay for all the startup costs. But when we shared this concern with a few business owners in town they steered us to the right bank to go to and we qualified pretty easily. It has taken a lot more money than we thought, so we have definitely put all of our savings into it, but we are starting to see the rewards from that after just eight months in business.
Creating a brand is also a challenge. I really wanted to love and never get tired of or regret the brand we had chosen. So we picked a branding company carefully and at each stage, I had to decide if my logo, colors, mission statement, theme brought me joy and sent the message I was trying to convey with providing good quality home-cooked meals that bring families together. It was a long process but I love what we are creating.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Prosper Pantry – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We make prepackaged home-cooked meals that come in full that feeds 4 to 6 and half that feeds 2 -4. We are just starting options for individual sizes. We are known for made from scratch food that meets a variety of dietary needs that is not processed, had limited packaging and is easy to store, reheat and clean up after with very little effort and waste.
We promote meal time as an essential time to slow down and focus on family and reconnecting. We know this is hard to do with everyone’s busy schedule, so we make it easier by cutting out the prep and clean up and just enjoying a meal they can all feel good about. WE have good size portions for a fair price and try to provide real personal service where we can.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I find Dallas to be a very friendly place with quite a diversity of culture and things to do. I wish there were more outdoor things to do such as more trails and hiking. Maybe there is more than I know about.
Contact Info:
- Address: 608 Eat first street Prosper TX. 75078
- Website: prosperpantry.com
- Phone: 2143055786
- Email: jamy@prosperpantry.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/prosperpantry/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1033948233362854/?ref=bookmarks
Image Credit:
Thanks to our Prosper Pantry Marketing Manager Janis McBride for the photos.
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