Everything Fresh : BUILT ON FAMILY VALUES
“IAM only as strong as the team that stands with me. Our team members have been with us for many years. They’ve grown with us, so their spouses and their children have all become a part of our ‘family’,” Executive Director Melene Pullen shared, as she had a heart to heart with Outlook about family within her unique company, Everything Fresh Limited.
Pullen embarked on this business with her husband, Courtney, in 2009 and rose to success, enjoying a fulfilling journey along the way. She offers an essential service – providing dairy products, an array of cheeses, fruits, vegetables, seafood, meats, produce and dry goods to the masses.
Starting small, she followed the natural order and grew to become the premier food distributor of imports and exports to clients and customers. In the process, Pullen,was also able to tap into her professional potential, to surpass entrepreneurial expectations.
She dug deep and unleashed her inner motivator, noting that since her parents didn’t have it financially, she knew she had to push beyond her limit and do it for herself. Next in the line of inspiration was her husband. She admitted, however, that working with him wasn’t always easy.
TOUGHEST OBSTACLE
“The toughest obstacle I’ve encountered as a businesswoman so far, is working side by side with my husband Courtney. We had to find a way to balance working out our differences, realising that we will not always agree, recognising at the end of the day that we’re making the best decision for the business, all while respecting the other person’s opinion. I’ll be the first to confess that it was easier said than done, but we had the same objective: to thrive at business, so we kept that at the helm and made it work.”
Looking at Everything Fresh in its entirety, she declared that she feels extremely proud of the business they have built with their hardworking and devoted team. A team that she considers family.
“This is where I spend day in, day out, most of my waking hours. My husband would say I am a workaholic. Getting in some ‘me time’ is what I like to do best: that includes being at work and surrounding myself with family. But Everything Fresh is my family away from home. So it comes around full circle.”
Outside of family, at work and at home, Pullen likes to catch up with the world of fiction and engage in some reading. And when her head isn’t in the clouds, she can be found escaping to the land of sun, sand and sea, relaxing on the beach. Does she indulge in these activities often? “Not enough”, she disclosed.
With further business expansion already on the horizon, her advice for anyone desiring the pursuit of passion, is to have a plan.
“The road is not an easy one. Do your research. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, you will learn from them. It takes a lot of work and dedication.”
For more information on the company, you can visit their website, www.everythingfreshja.com, or check them out on Facebook and Instagram: @everythingfreshja