From selling handmade products to used items, online shops are becoming more prevalent. Social media offers a unique experience for businesses to advertise, connect, and engage. It’s not easy to create a small business from scratch but entrepreneurs who have determination and passion can be successful.

A turn for the better

Jennifer Hernandez is a senior Marketing and Management major at UTA who has found success on Instagram with her business eatsbyjenn.her. It is a meal prep and catering business providing meals on the go for people with busy, active lifestyles

In July 2018, she had a hectic lifestyle consisting of two jobs and school. Hernandez said it was tiring and stressful to commute and balance so much work. She says, “I just wanted to be a full-time student. That was my ultimate goal in my life at the time.”. She has always loved food and cooking, so she began posting colorful, mouth-watering desserts and healthy food on Instagram such as breakfast tacos. She gained followers by being active on the platform and by word of mouth. People began asking if she would consider selling or meal prepping the food she made. “Well, I don’t see why not!”, she replied. Two clients grew into a small business for Hernandez and she was comfortable enough to quit her other jobs and focus on school. She now dedicates most of her time to engage with her 6,000 plus followers on Instagram. 

Like a one man band

Hernandez handles everything on her own from staying active on Instagram to cooking the meals. 

She relies on the platform for marketing her business. She begins by posting a new menu every week on her Instagram story. Customers can then go to her profile and click a link to fill out their order and personal information. At the end of the week, she compiles and organizes all the orders. From there, she picks up groceries, emails customers to confirm payment, and prepares the food. Customers can then pick up their orders from two locations in Dallas

The work is tiring and time consuming, so how exactly does she manage to do it all? Her advice to small business owners is to create a balance between work and your personal life. This includes having a certain time designated for marketing while going about your daily life as well. Creating daily to-do lists helps her stay organized and this goes for both her business and school.

Business during changing times

Once the pandemic hit, she says it did not change her routine much since her business and classes were all online to begin with. She emphasizes that taking care of one’s health is the most important. For Hernandez, she realized that prioritizing her mental health was crucial during these times. She likes to incorporate one day of the week to rest. “I’m not going to feel guilty about not being productive.”, she says.

It’s been more work for her business, but she is glad about the extra exposure since everyone is on their phone a lot more. Hernandez feared that business would go down since many were making their own meals at home. To combat this, she decided to adapt and tried to bridge the gap of her regular customers. She started by offering empanadas, which are a Spanish baked good made of a soft outer crust and filling inside. She calls it a “quarantine snack” since she wanted a comfort snack and figured others would too. This temporary menu item has become one of her top sellers.

She says right now eatsbyjenn.her is going steady and she is grateful for the success so far. She hopes to dedicate 100% to her business and find an internship in social media marketing once she graduates in the Fall of 2020.

You can follow her journey on Instagram @eatsbyjenn.her, and order some delicious food while you’re at it!