Lady Who Left Corporate Job To Focus On Her Sauce Business Succeeds, Launches Sauces In 300 Stores In The US

Businesswoman named
Essilfua Bartels, has shared her journey to entrepreneurship on LinkedIn.

Read he post below:

I had a successful career in corporate! I was a Global Procurement Manager, had accounts all over the world, worked in Europe, the US & South Africa with internal & external clients but my spice & sauce business was a side gig that I never took seriously
.

Fast forward to 2016 when I switched jobs to leverage my salary to augment the side hustle. It was a smart move; I got a better title, more money but I was truly miserable. Company culture, commute and job description was completely different from what was advertised and 4 months into the role, I was let go.

I was really at a crossroads; apply for another job or give my side gig, Essiespice a chance. I decided to give Essiespice 6 months of undivided attention and in those 6 months If nothing happened, I’d return to corporate. I already had two job offers pending that I put on hold so I really wasn’t scared about finding another job.

In those 6 months of laser focus on Essiespice, I was able to land my sauces in Wholefoods, was profiled in FORBES and had a whole spread in TIME magazine.

This was my indication that I was exactly where I needed to be.

This past weekend we launched the sauces in almost 200 Target stores in California, Maryland, New York, Virginia, D.C, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

I went from stores telling me my West-African sauces “didn’t fit” on their shelves and wouldn’t sell, to now being in 300 stores across the US.

I took a chance on myself. I took a chance on my dreams. Everything I acquired working almost 10 years in corporate has been invaluable in running Essiespice.

Whatever dream you have, I hope you protect it, you nurture it but most importantly, I hope you give it a chance.

Source: Essilfua Bartels | LinkedIn

Email: elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com