Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Audrey Heine. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Audrey, we sincerely appreciate you joining us today and agreeing to talk about some very personal topics. So, to kick things off, let’s talk about a tough one – divorce. Can you talk to us about how you overcame divorce?
I had been with my ex since we were 17. We got married at 20 and were married for 25 years. All I ever wanted to be was a wife and stay at home mom. I was blessed to be able to do just that. We had our roles, he was the money, bills, cars and outside of the house. I was the kids, and took care of inside the house and all that came with that. Life was good, then life became an unknown adventure. Having faith in God, when he uttered the words I want a divorce, the first thing that came out of my mouth was Ok, I know God loves me and has a plan and if He is moving me out of the only thing I’ve ever wanted to be I can’t even fathom what is in store. It was hard in the beginning. I had never even paid bills. I had never really worked, sure, I had volunteered with a lot of organizations, but little did I know that when I went to look for a job they wanted job experience where I received a check. So I tried school. That wasn’t great and ended up quitting. So the opportunity presented itself to restart my Meal Prep company and just recently open a Commercial Kitchen. Never in my wildest dreams did I even think this is where I would be at the age of 53. I had lived a predictable life up to this point. To be living a daily adventure is super scary and I really feel as though I don’t know what I’m doing. But I do what God puts in front of me to do each day and it never fails somehow I keep going. My new motto is go big or go homeless.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
We’ve Got You Covered is a meal prep company unlike any others out there. We semi customize each meal just for you. I wanted to create a meal company that could accommodate everyone no matter what eating plan they followed or what type of restrictions they may have. Even though our clients don’t get to pick their meals out, we find that it has gotten them to try things that they typically wouldn’t have. It keeps them out of the rut of eating the same things each week, as our menu changes weekly. We are a great resource for anytime someone needs meals. We offer family meals in different sizes to fit any families needs. We are great to work with and will take the time to help you figure out the best plan for you. We also have just opened up our own commercial kitchen. Blessed Adventures Shared Kitchen offers time and space for anyone in need of a commercial kitchen. We seems to not follow the trends, as we operate this company differently as well.
I wanted to create an open, light kitchen space that was great to work in. We have added touches that make it seem as though you are cooking in your own kitchen at home. We offer weekly packages. We found this is ideal for those companies out there that work events or just are in need of a kitchen sporadically. We also work with companies that need a kitchen on a regular basis.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Jumping into owning and operating businesses, I didn’t think I had any knowledge to know what I was doing. But all signs pointed to me opening these businesses, so I just kept moving forward. I took the skills I had developed as a stay at home mom and put that into my menu planning and organizing. I had developed a routine when I was staying home with kids so I kept that frame of mind when it came to working the businesses even though in the beginning it was just me. I would set an alarm, get up and get ready and “be at work” at my little desk in my living room everyday. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, so I asked a lot of questions. In seeking out answers, I would learn about other things I didn’t know that I needed to have in place. It is kind of like being on a treadmill, you just keep going forward and don’t stop. Also along the way I have learned to be true to how and why I started these businesses. Without fail every time I have went against that feeling I got within me things didn’t turn out great. Learn to trust that feeling. I had to realize I started these companies and I had a vision as to how I wanted them run. Not to say I haven’t tweaked things along the way, but at the core I have stuck to my vision.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I truly believe when you go all in on your strengths it helps you develop and improve on the things that you aren’t as strong in. Our strengths are typically things we do well. I have found the more things I am doing well, the braver I become to do the things that scare me to death.
I knew that one day I wanted to open my own kitchen. I didn’t know it was going to be so soon. I had just gotten the meal prep business running like clock work, so much so, that I even had free time! I was helping a friend in her business and noticed a space that was available by her office. Just out of curiosity, I reached out to my commercial real estate gal and we set a time to check it out. Well of course it was the perfect space for what I had envisioned. So I jumped all in, full force.
I had developed the strength in trusting what was put in front of me. I had seen so many times that when I took on what was placed in front of me, it all worked out great and I grew. If I hadn’t developed that in me, I would not have had the courage to lease a building. I had never leased a building, did a build out or really knew anything that I needed to have in place. It took a ridiculous amount of time to finally move in. I couldn’t help but think that whole entire year, what am I doing? But even in the craziness of it all, I had peace knowing I was moving forward and growing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wevegotyoucoveredllc.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audrey-heine-aa21a790/
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=blessed%20adventures%20shared%20kitchen
