Evaluating your business regularly is an important exercise for entrepreneurs, because there are circumstances that we can’t plan for. Whether it is sourcing issues, a change in personal passions, or a global pandemic, many things can change the path of your business. Hear from a panel of business owners who made the challenging decision to close their business, what they learned along the way, and how their success was in the journey of operating a business.
About the Moderator:
Natalie Shmulik is The Hatchery’s Chief Strategy and Incubation Officer and go-to resource for launching a successful food and beverage business. With an M.L.A. in Gastronomy from Boston University, Natalie has years of innovative experience working with supermarkets, culinary publications, consumer packaged goods companies, and food service establishments. She continues to play a valuable role in branding and marketing for food businesses around the country, with her specialty in trend forecasting.
About the Panelists:
Cynthia Kallile the founder/owner of The Meatloaf Bakery — a nationally recognized specialty food business featuring none other than meatloaf — has a story to tell. An accomplished entrepreneur and author, she leveraged her love for cooking and marketing savvy to launch this one-of-a-kind business to Chicago and national audiences in 2008. Today, Cynthia provides marketing consulting services to clients in various sectors including food and beverage, professional services and insurance. From brand strategy and execution to writing and editing, she helps clients, large or small, set and reach their goals.
Sol Solis a Chicago native, is a certified women-owned entrepreneur with 20+ years of start-up and operational experience. She began her entrepreneurial journey in 2000 by opening and growing a successful dance studio based out of Chicago, Latin Rhythms – Academy of Dance & Performance. Sol sold her shares of this company fifteen years later, and the dance studio continues to operate in their current West Loop location. In 2012, Sol co-founded a healthy meal service company, Paleo Fit Meals (PFM) to address the demand for authentically healthy, convenient meal delivery service. PFM partnered with CrossFit across the Chicagoland area, providing meal plans to its members. PFM proved to be successful and desirable to athletic residents. In 2014 and 2015, PFM was invited to exclusively cater the Reebok-sponsored/ESPN-televised, Regional CrossFit Games, serving over 7000 attendees over a weekend-long event. In 2016, Sol pivoted PFM’s direction and co-founded Mera Bites, a clean-label cookie company that believes in whole-food ingredients and uncompromised taste. Flavors are naturally free from common allergens and are carried by health-conscious grocery chains like regional Whole Foods Markets. In the summer of 2022, Sol and her business partner decided to license the production of Mera Bites to another women-owned Chicago company.
Greg O’Neill is a marketing executive who has spent his career developing and growing some of the world’s best known global brands. He and his husband, Ken Miller, took their passion for food and wine and founded Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine, an award-winning Chicago based retailer that had four store locations as well as several wine bar restaurants. After over 15 years in business, they decided to close the business late in 2019 and moved on to their next chapter. Greg remains in the food and beverage world as a marketing consultant and content expert serving producers, retailers and industry associations. For the past two years, he has volunteered as a coach/mentor for several Hatchery businesses, to help them reach their potential and to learn the ‘how’s” and “how not to’s” of culinary entrepreneurship.
