The "Unfinished" Recipe
Written by Lindsay Grohs
Last week, the business that I had poured my heart into was put on pause. I’m not going to lie, at first, it was a tough pill to swallow, because I loved it so much. However, after letting the emotions settle, I’m surprisingly at more peace than ever with the decision.
Like food, this experience taught me that not everything always goes exactly as planned. Sometimes recipes need adjusting, ingredients need substituting, or an entire dish needs to be started over from scratch. That rarely means the effort was wasted, but rather it means you learned what worked, what didn’t, and what you’ll take with you into what you create next.
Through this article, I want to share the ingredients that shaped my experience and the lessons I learned when the final result looked different from the original plan. Even when our biggest goals and dreams get sidetracked, each experience can still be part of an intentional plan, one that may be preparing us for something even better down the line.
The Business Recipe
In June, my company launched a meal prep business. I was tasked with leading this brand of the company. To say I felt underqualified would be an understatement. To say I was full of energy, passion, and excitement to take on this new project and role would also be an understatement.
Helping build this brand over the summer was a journey, to say the least. I don’t think I’ve ever learned so much in such a short span of time, at least in direct correlation with my career path. I was utilizing all the main ingredients to continue building this business: time, energy, creativity, teamwork, and passion. I was handling tasks from recipe creation to production to partnerships, tabling and events, client communication, and so much more. Yes, there were days when this all felt extremely overwhelming, but ultimately, the experience was far more rewarding than it was stressful. Much of that came down to a few factors, starting with the people beside me.
Ingredient #1: A Strong Team
That brings me to my first and perhaps most important ingredient in the recipe for building this business: my team. When choosing a job or career, I cannot stress enough how important it is to consider whether the people around you support, teach, guide, and empower you. That doesn’t mean they will agree with everything you do or avoid correcting you when you make a mistake, but rather are honest with you because they genuinely value your growth.
This is exactly how my team operated. They were always there to offer support, guidance, mentorship, and everything in between. Like ingredients working together in a recipe, each person brought something different and valuable to the final result. That strong foundation gave me confidence to fearlessly try new things in all areas of the business. When you feel empowered, something shifts. You become less afraid to make the wrong decision because you know you’re giving it your all and that you have a team behind you, ready to support you and guide you along the way.
Ingredient #2: Curiosity
I also cannot stress enough how important it is to pursue the things that genuinely excite you. I’m not saying you have to know your dream job right out of high school or even college. That’s not realistic. What is realistic, however, is allowing yourself to experiment.
Invest in your career early by exploring different opportunities and discovering what you do and don’t enjoy. When you find something that interests you, follow it, study it, and dig deeper into it. Even if it’s not your lifelong career or things change along the course, following that God-given passion can bring you closer to what is ultimately meant for you.
Being eager to learn is one of the best qualities you can have early in your career. When you ask questions, dig deeper, and commit to learning, doors that once seemed impossible to open slowly begin to unlock. The best part is that you’ll probably have a lot of fun and learn a lot about yourself along the way!
Think about your palate. You learn what you like by tasting different things. You cannot know what you enjoy, or what you don’t, without being willing to sample something new.
Ingredient #3: Passion
Although the business ultimately paused, I genuinely loved the time I spent building it. In fact, it was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my career, which is saying a lot because I’ve genuinely enjoyed the majority of my jobs, lol! I was constantly challenged to get outside of my comfort zone, but that was honestly the best part. Finding something that fuels you while also pushing you to grow is incredibly rewarding.
Passion is the seasoning that brings the work to life; however, it cannot carry the entire dish. It still requires discipline, patience, and practical skills to support it.
The Method: Putting the Ingredients to Work
Now that you have the ingredients, it’s time to put them into action. A recipe does not become a finished dish until you’ve put everything together. It’s the same for careers. A strong team, curiosity, and passion only become valuable when you pair them together in practice. This means showing up even more, and especially when you feel uncertain or scared. Pushing through the fear, knowing that confidence is something that will come from action and experience.
It also means asking questions, even when it feels easier to try and figure out everything alone. More importantly, it means applying the knowledge and feedback you receive so that you can genuinely grow your skillset, expand your experience, and continue growing.
When the Recipe Fails: Treating Failure as Feedback
All this to say, the journey won’t always be filled with sunshine, rainbows, and picture-perfect outcomes. Failure is part of the process, and the only way to navigate through it is to accept it, learn from it, and keep going. You’re allowed to be upset about it without dwelling on it. You can’t change what happened, but you can choose how you move forward. There will be times when you have to just reflect and realign.
When a recipe fails, you evaluate it. Even when you have every ingredient measured out and carefully follow each step, the final dish may not turn out the way you imagined. Instead of throwing it all away, you figure out where it went wrong, make some adjustments, and try again. The outcome may look different than the original plan, but that doesn’t mean it’s not just as good.
The Taste Test: Reflecting and Realigning
Every recipe needs a taste test. This creates a moment where you pause, evaluate what you created, and decide what it needs next. Careers require that same level of reflection. Asking questions such as “What worked well?” “What would I change?” and “What did this experience teach me?” can help you determine your next step. Recognizing what you learned and using it to make more intentional decisions moving forward is extremely important in the business world. Whether that means adjusting the recipe or changing it completely, taking time to reflect allows you to realign with your goals and move accordingly.
The business being paused does not mean that I failed, but rather that one chapter produced a different outcome than I expected. One that ultimately taught me a lot and prepared me for the next chapter of my career.
Final Course: What I’m Taking With Me
Even though the business paused, some skills and lessons still remain in play. I walked away with greater confidence, leadership experience, stronger customer relationships, improved communication skills, valuable knowledge of the food production process and recipe development, and a deeper sense of resilience. I also gained a clearer understanding of what excites and fulfills me in the work world. I am certainly not leaving the table empty-handed!
It’s important to remember that careers rarely follow the “perfect recipe”. Timing can be wrong. An ingredient can go missing. The final result may be far from what you originally envisioned. But that does not make the experience itself a waste. Every new attempt teaches you more about your craft, your goals, and ultimately, yourself. Carry every lesson, skill, relationship, and memory with you into the next thing you create. Keep experimenting, asking questions, studying your craft, and don’t be afraid to change course if you need to. The recipe may change, but that does not mean the final result will be any less meaningful.
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