Where there is a will, there’s a way. It might be an old cliche, but there’s a reason why it has stood the test of time—because it’s the truth. And Danika Brysha is a testament to that.
After a decade of dieting and struggling with eating disorders, the model decided to make a major change. But this time she switched her focus from the physical to the spiritual, emotional, and physiological areas of her health and wellness that were in desperate need of attention. Brysha decided to start the Whole30 Challenge and quickly realized that going back to basics and giving her body the nutrition (and nurture) that it needed with whole foods was hitting all of her health goals.
Brysha had a lightbulb moment in her NYC apartment kitchen and realized she wanted more people to see and feel the results she was experiencing. So, she launched Model Meals, a Whole30 meal plan delivery service that brings clean eating to the masses, one wholesome meal at a time.
Fast-forward to today, and the humble company is now accessible in three states (with more to be added soon). Ahead, the successful entrepreneur shares the challenges of growing and bootstrapping a small business, the biggest money lessons she’s learned along the way, and the self-care routine that helps her combat founder depression.
CREATE & CULTIVATE: You launched Model Meals in 2014 from your N.Y.C. apartment kitchen after doing the Whole30 Challenge. What is Model Meals? What motivated the launch? Why did that diet change everything for you? Can you talk through how it helped with your ADHD and why?
DANIKA BRYSHA: I spent the majority of my life in a fight with food and my body. As a bigger girl, I felt that the media didn't recognize someone who looked like me as beautiful, so I thought I needed to change that. I spent a decade dieting and struggling with eating disorders until I finally threw up my hands and said I was done and I started finding ways to love myself exactly as I was.
When I moved to NYC in late 2013, I had been getting interested in the power of food and how it impacted the brain and mental health. I found the Whole30 reset and loved that it wasn't about counting calories or measuring portions, but more about learning how to read food labels and nourishing yourself with real food and learning what foods work well for your individual body and which ones don't.
I came out of my Whole30 Challenge in what feels like the beginning of my new life. Sure, I lost 15 pounds and my skin was clear and people were telling me I was glowing—BUT what I felt on the inside was dramatically more impactful. After years of struggling with ADHD and taking medication to focus, all of a sudden, my mind was clearer than ever. I felt a sense of mental clarity that I still find hard to describe.
I realized that changing what I ate dramatically changed my life so much that it could likely change the world. About six months after this experience, sharing my journey along the way, I answered the demand I'd received from so many people interested in eating this way but feeling overwhelmed with where to start. I started cooking out of my tiny N.Y.C. studio apartment and delivering my "Model Meals" to friends around the city. That is where the idea was born.
Has it been an easy path overall in building the business? And if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome? Why?
It hasn't been simple, but it sure has been easier than what I can imagine it feels like to go to a job you hate every day and working under someone else's thumb on something that doesn't feel important to you. I do believe that when you follow what lights you up, whether as an entrepreneur or when you find a business that aligns with your values and passions, the work becomes much more natural. It just sort of flows.
Early on, we were doing everything. Truly everything. Cooking, packaging, delivering, marketing, customer service, etc. That's just how it goes with a small business. You do it all until you can afford to hire someone to delegate to and that's where you grow because you create space to take on the next higher problem. I'd say at this stage, four years into the business, we are now looking at new challenges in order to really grow and take things to the next level.
“Success is freedom. The freedom to spend your time where and how you crave. It’s knowing that you are doing something good in the world.”
You've been open about the early stages of Model Meals and how they were rocky financially. What have been some of the biggest money lessons since you started? What advice do you have for new business owners starting out now? Where do you think is the most important area for a business owner to focus their financial energy? Why?
I love this question because it took me a while to realize how truly important money and financial literacy is to self-care. I went into serious debt living in N.Y.C. and ended up moving into my parent's garage for two years as I was nearing 30 years old. I remember how defeated I was feeling, but I pushed on because I believed so deeply in what nourishing food could do for this world.
To date, we've built the business without investment, but it's something we're beginning to talk about to help us reach our goals. I would say the biggest lessons I've learned are about taxes. As a model and then an entrepreneur, I pay my taxes at the end of the year and I just knew nothing about this "adult" side of life so I got myself in a really big hole early in the game. There's a lot you can do as an entrepreneur to be smart about how you spend and save.
I also have a business partner, Camille, who is our CFO. I think it's important for all owners to understand the finances of a business, but I also believe in staying in your zone of genius (mine is more on the marketing, vision, creative side) and working together with others who have complementary skill sets. We were able to be scrappy for quite some time, but as our operation has grown, we're beginning to consider what might take us to the next level.
For those just starting out, I say, don't get too caught up in a business plan or thinking you need a ton of money to get started. Just start. Figure out a way you can do what you want to do, in some capacity, on a budget. You will learn so much as you go and it will help you to invest money in the right places once you have it.
When you hit a bump or hurdle in your career, how do you #FindNewRoads + switch gears to find success?
I love to read. I find it to be a place where I can go to get wisdom from some of the brightest minds that I may not have direct access to otherwise. I really have to intentionally schedule time to read because of the demands of my schedule, but I do my best because it's quite often that I read a book that changes the full course of what I was doing and dramatically improves my life or my business.
I'm also trying to be better about reaching out to mentors for help. I could be better at this. I also like to switch gears from looking at what's not working to remind myself of what is. That helps me and my team to stay motivated through growth spurts. I believe that any block in the road or challenge is just an opportunity to reevaluate and try something new, so I do my best to say "thank you for the contrast" and dig into where it might be trying to direct me.
You recently started The Brunch Series where you travel the country and teach people about self-care and empowerment. Why did you decide to do this? What did you learn on the tour? What message do you hope to share as a result of this tour?
The Brunch Series was a 66-event women's wellness tour that I did with my boyfriend, Chef Bill Haley. I started The Brunch Series because I realized that all the tools I'd used over the last few years that got me out of debt, out of my parent's garage, and running businesses with millions of dollars in revenue could help others too.
My self-care routine sets the foundation for the life that I've built. Without it, it's very hard to handle the demands of this life. I knew that these tools could help others and I loved the idea of living a more nomadic, minimalistic lifestyle on the road. We sold and donated most of our belongings, moved out of our house, packed up the essentials (including our 200-pound Mastiff, Kingsley), and ended up living in an RV all over the country for the year putting on these events for thousands of women.
Ultimately, everything I aspire to do is about giving people the tools to create the life of their dreams. The Brunch Series taught my original Self-Care Checklist as well as skills like manifesting, visualizing, and goal-setting. It was also highly focused on connecting like-minded women in local communities. That's something women really struggle with as adults—meeting friends with common goals and lifestyles. We loved being able to hold space for these connections.
Model Meals recently expanded and you can now get meals in three states with plans to open more. What is your approach to growth and scale? How has the business changed since the expansion? Have there been challenges? If so, explain.
Growing a business comes with plenty of challenges, but I think the most important piece is to hire the right people. The way we've grown is to get out of the way. I'm constantly learning to surrender control and trust our team to make the decisions needed to grow. Because I have several things I am working on at once, I rely on the people who are there in the day-to-day to help judge what's best for the company, and then I bring in our vision and leadership to make the final calls. For us, we know we have an amazing product and service, so the biggest challenge is just making sure people know that we exist. I'd certainly like to be national and international one day.
I think another challenge is helping people understand why eating this way is so important and how it translates to their dreams, goals, productivity, health, and the big picture. We work very hard to source the quality of food that we do, and helping people to understand why that's important (animal welfare, regenerative agriculture, transportation and environmental impact, disease) can feel like a big task. Also, I'd say that the biggest challenge in the meal delivery space is the actual delivery part when you have a perishable and fragile product. We're always looking for cost-effective ways to improve this.
You've also had a successful career as a model simultaneously to building your business. What skills have transferred over from the modeling world into the business?
I've been working as a plus-size model for a decade now. I am so grateful for the industry because it really helped me to find body confidence and self-worth early on before the body acceptance movement was as prominent as it is now. I feel like I was at the forefront of that and it's something I'm proud of. The modeling industry has allowed me to BE the girl that I so desperately needed to see in the magazines and in fashion when I was growing up, so I'm very grateful for that.
As a model, especially today, you have to be running yourself as a business. That's just how it goes. Social media has changed a lot about how we're found, and the opportunities we get, so running yourself as a business is crucial. The big difference for me between my personal brand, Danika Brysha Inc. (which includes modeling, media work, workshops and events, speaking, social media, etc.) and Model Meals, is that Model Meals has felt much easier to grow because I am not the product. It's certainly easier to delegate but I know that both can grow in their own ways.
What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs who have an idea but don’t know where to start to execute it?
I would tell them to commit to some small time window to work on it every day and make it non-negotiable.
My life changed because I changed the things I did every day. Maybe every morning before they go to their day job they wake up 30 minutes earlier and work on their vision for those 30 minutes. Don't save it until the end of the day or try to squeeze it in on the elusive day when you "everything is done and I have more time." It won't happen. Just start one day, every day. You will learn so much from working with your clients that it does no good to write a business plan or figure out solutions to hundreds of problems that might happen. Don't worry about solving problems until they occur.
Also, read! Read as much as you can. Almost everything I do is because of a foundation I built through reading and then putting things into practice.
“When you follow what lights you up—whether as an entrepreneur or when you find a business that aligns with your values and passions—the work becomes much more natural. It just, sort of, flows.”
You've achieved great success but it isn't without a lot of hard work and hustle. Can you recall a specific time you failed and how you turned that around/into an opportunity?
Oh, there are so many times. I have plenty of things I've done wrong and wish that I could change, but I can't. I'd say, overall, the thing I wish I did differently was to use my feelings and emotions as a compass much sooner. I spent a lot of life cut off from how I felt and doing what I thought people thought I should do. I was totally out of alignment with myself, and as a result, I hit a lot of dead ends.
I found that when I prioritized my self-care and mindfulness practices (journaling, meditation, rest, lots of quiet time) I could use that clarity to guide me and it didn't steer me wrong. We have all our answers inside of us, we just often don't create the space the listen, and so instead we look to everyone else to tell us who we are and what we should do. And that will always fall short.
What do you wish you could go back and tell yourself when you were first launching your business? Why? And would you do it all over again knowing what you do now? Why/Why not?
I would 100% do it all over again (and I plan to with other businesses I'm building or will build in the future). I think I would just tell myself to trust my gut, to remember that this about the journey and for fun, and to constantly remind myself of my WHY. I would write down, in the early stages of the business, what my grand vision was and why I want to do what I'm doing. It's easy to lose track of that as your business grows and changes, so it would be great to have a really clear understanding of where I was when I started it.
For me, I love nothing more than noticing a gap in what doesn't exist but needs to, coming up with an idea that solves the problem, and then taking it from thought to thing (a.k.a. something tangible) that I can serve the world with. That process is so rewarding and my favorite part about a business. I think that is why I will likely continue building businesses for some time. It really lights me up and it is all sparked from something along my own journey that would have helped me.
Success is such a broad term and it means something different to everyone. How do you define success? What traits do you need to succeed today?
For me, this definition changes often, but I'd say, that success is freedom. The freedom to spend your time where and how you crave. It's knowing that you are doing something GOOD in the world. It's the knowledge that money in the right hands can have a hugely positive impact, so it's not just okay but important to strive for wealth (if you desire it). For me, success is about putting my energy and time into something I care about, having enough freedom and white space to nurture myself, my relationships, and my health. It's freedom in all things.
Founder depression has been a hot topic of discussion in recent months with more entrepreneurs opening up about their personal struggles. We'd love to know, who do you reach out to when you need advice or support? Do you have a mentor or are there groups you can turn to? What advice do you have for people reading this who might be struggling with that too?
What a great question. The reality is, our business is a direct reflection of us. I wish that I could spend a year with all aspiring entrepreneurs and help them get their self-care routines super sturdy before they venture into this space. That's the thing that has given me much of my success today: that I set that foundation first. It's the reason that, in addition to running businesses, I teach courses and do workshops all around self-care and self-care routines. It's what we do every day.
I wake up at 4 or 5 AM almost every day to do my routine. I move my body (in gentle ways that feel good to me like yoga, walking, pilates), I eat very well, I get 8-9 hours of sleep, I read, journal, meditate, practice gratitude, write a biography and journal entry from my future, and more. Sometimes I do this routine in 20 minutes and sometimes I have more time. We all have different schedules and demands (shout out to the many many people who are raising children while still trying to take care of yourself) but I believe that we can all find time to make space for these habits. I rarely drink alcohol and was sober for the majority of the last five years as I built my business. I also schedule white space days where I'm intentionally unscheduled so I can focus on creative work. I take a day off from social media every week on Mondays too. It has taken time to cultivate these habits, but they work. I'm on probably about 100 flights a year and I still stick to this routine as often as I can because it is the foundation for my mental and physical health which impacts everything else.
All this being said, most important is that I am gentle with myself. I don't beat myself up if I skip days or need a week to veg out. I tune in to myself and my needs.
The filtered world of social media often hides a lot of the hard work and hustle behind-the-scenes. What is the reality of being an entrepreneur today? What key traits do you need to be successful?
Entrepreneurship has pros and cons, and I don't think it's necessarily for everyone. It depends on how you thrive and what your values are. For me, it's probably the endless calls, emails, and the fact that almost every 15 minutes of my life is scheduled (even if I'm scheduling in white space). I've come to learn that I will never be done and that there will always be someone waiting on me for something. That's just how it goes. I have to find gentleness and healthy boundaries so that work doesn't take over my life.
When I'm modeling on set, my laptop is out and I'm answering emails between shots. I take walks when I am on calls to multi-task. I automate and delegate pretty much everything I can from my clothes to my food to household needs. There is no “turning off” ever, which is why intentionally scheduling rest, self-care, and white space as I would schedule work-related meetings is the only way to find balance.
I think, as an entrepreneur, you just need to have something that lights you up. Something that's important to you. You need to be willing to hire people smarter than you when you can and you need to realize the trade-off from leaving work behind at the end of the day and the always lingering tasks in your head. You need to find a consistent self-care and wellness routine that supports you and you need to develop systems. You also need to learn how to work with people. it's the hardest part of any business but crucial to growth.
What is the #1 book you always recommend? Why?
The Firestarter Sessions by Danielle Laporte. A great way to get clear on what you want and just dig deep into the direction of your life.
Photographer: Dan Busta
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