Lorissa Link of Lorissa’s Kitchen Protein Snacks: Key Lessons in Business and Building Lasting Impact

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our lives today. Many of us now have new challenges that come with working from home, homeschooling, and sheltering in place. As a part of our series on how busy female leaders are addressing these new needs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lorissa of Lorissa’s Kitchen Protein Snacks.

Lorissa is the founder of Lorissa’s Kitchen Protein Snacks, makers of fuel-good protein snacks crafted by a mom for moms. The brand was inspired by Lorissa’s passion to keep her busy, on-the-go family fueled with wholesome, premium snacks. With a long-held passion for using real ingredients, she refused to sacrifice quality for convenience and her passion became a reality as she brought her first products to market in 2016.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I grew up in a small town in Southern Minnesota, and my first job was on a farm. That job not only taught me how to work hard, but also gave me the chance to interact with food in its most natural forms. Years later, I discovered my passion was to find and use food made with real ingredients to feed my growing family, which then translated into founding my business — Lorissa’s Kitchen Protein Snacks.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started at your company?

The most interesting (and exciting!) story has to be when I first saw bags of Lorissa’s Kitchen on shelves. I can’t put into words how excited I was driving to the store and could hardly believe all my hard work had finally paid off. When I got there, I walked up and down the aisles until I found it — the first bags produced of Lorissa’s Kitchen Korean BBQ Beef Steak Strips. In that moment, I was completely overwhelmed with feelings of pride and gratitude. To this day, I tear up thinking about it because it was such a proud moment for me.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

There’s always something exciting happening at Lorissa’s Kitchen! One of our most recent accomplishments is Lorissa’s List. As a mom-founded snack brand, we wanted to give back to mom-owned businesses around the country. And just in time for Mother’s Day, we launched Lorissa’s List — a digital destination for gift-givers to search for the perfect gifts for moms from 40 mom entrepreneurs. We’re highlighting companies across many different categories and price points, from clothing to shoes to beauty and more! Check out LorissasList.com to shop the list.

To address the second question, Lorissa’s List was started with working moms and mom entrepreneurs in mind. This past year, the pandemic made it even harder for business-owning moms to balance their families, their companies, and other untold challenges. The idea behind Lorissa’s List is to put a spotlight on women who inspire us and to spread the word about their growing businesses.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Definitely my mom! I’ve always found something magical about a family gathered around the kitchen table to share a meal, bonding and building traditions, which is how I came up with the idea for Lorissa’s Kitchen. My mom was the one who gathered our family when I was younger. At the end of the day, the mission behind this brand goes back to this very tradition, along with becoming a mom myself and wanting to provide my kids with the highest-quality protein snacks I can. I know other moms share those same desires, so I hope that Lorissa’s Kitchen helps fulfill them.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our lives today. Can you articulate to our readers the biggest family related challenges you are facing as a woman business leader during this pandemic?

As a woman and mom entrepreneur, maintaining balance was the toughest challenge during the start of the pandemic. Being in charge of a business is difficult enough but continuing the day-to-day tasks and managing my family while everything was shut down made it even more difficult. We made it through, and I was lucky to find support in my family and also in a community of my peers and fellow moms who understand similar struggles.

Can you share what you’ve done to address those challenges?

One thing that we’ve done to help address these challenges is start Lorissa’s List — which was born out of the challenges small businesses, and particularly mom-owned businesses, face daily. Lorissa’s List not only shines a much-deserved light on 40 mom entrepreneurs, but it also fosters a community facing the same challenges. We want to ensure that these women are equipped with the tools they need to not only grow their businesses, but ensure that they maintain relationships, interact with colleagues and peers, stay close to their families and support one another.

Can you share the biggest work-related challenges you are facing as a woman in business during this pandemic?

Even before the pandemic, balancing business and family has always been the biggest challenge for me! It is very easy for the workday to bleed into my family time, especially when we all shifted to work-from-home during the pandemic. It is incredibly challenging to have all three kiddos at home while trying to work, balancing work calls with homeschool and mealtimes. Yes, I’ve definitely hidden in closets to take work calls and have also had my kids in the background on Zoom calls, but who hasn’t at this point! In the last year, I’ve tried my best to not be so critical of myself and to give people grace. We’re all doing the best we can, and we need each other’s support.

Can you share what you’ve done to address those challenges?

Absolutely. Setting boundaries was the thing that helped me most overcome that challenge. Family time is sacred to me, so I try keep work separate from that time whenever possible. As we’ve all seen, this has become understandably more difficult to maintain during the pandemic where our work and home have become one. This just means keeping that balance and separation is even more important during this time! I have a great team at Lorissa’s Kitchen, and they work hard each day to ensure that everything runs smoothly, which is invaluable.

Can you share your advice about how to best work from home, while balancing the needs of homeschooling or the needs of a family?

First and foremost, create structure! I make a schedule at the start of every week to help keep my family organized and balance everything going on. Trying to juggle it all during a pandemic is a whole new undertaking. I constantly remind myself to practice patience. This is easier said than done, but it absolutely rings true, especially when the whole family is at home, working and learning all under one roof. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help, whether that be from your colleagues, peers or family members. We’re all in this together!

Can you share your strategies about how to stay sane while sheltering in place, or simply staying inside, for long periods of time with your family?

Try to take time for yourself. During this past year, I’ve really found that taking a bit of quiet time to do some inner work has really helped me to reconnect with myself — even if it’s just for a few minutes. This time I take each day reminds me how important it is to show up for myself, so I can continue to show up for my family and others.

Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the coronavirus pandemic have understandably heightened a sense of uncertainty, fear, and loneliness. From your perspective can you help our readers to see the “Light at the End of the Tunnel”? Can you share your “5 Reasons to Be Hopeful During this Corona Crisis”? If you can, please share a story or example for each.

I’ve reconnected with my family in ways I couldn’t have imagined pre-pandemic. I’m hopeful that, after this past year, we can get through just about anything now.

I’ve been given the chance to see how resilient my children (and whole family) really are. As a mom, it’s been incredibly rewarding to see how adaptable my kiddos have been this past year! I’m now more hopeful that they’ll continue this adaptability and resilience as they continue to grow.

The entire Lorissa’s Kitchen team — they’re all incredible and it’s been so insightful to see what everyone has achieved this past year under unforeseen circumstances. I’m hopeful that this has only made our team stronger, moving forward.

I’ve learned more about myself and what I need to stay balanced, calm and collected during a time like this. This makes me hopeful for how I’ll continue to show up for not only myself, but also my family and employees.

This past year, we’ve all been given the chance to take a step back from our busy everyday lives. I’m hopeful that this has made us more grateful and focused on what truly matters.

From your experience, what are a few ideas that one can use to effectively offer support to their family and loved ones who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

We’ve always done ‘pit and peek’ at the dinner table, but since we’re all at home together now, I bought kid conversation starter cards. They’ve really helped create meaningful conversations, added in humor (which we all need) and made our family bond even stronger because we’re taking time to listen and learn about each other. It’s also forced us to disconnect. This means disconnecting from our phones, computers, devices, the news, all of it. It’s been so important for us to have a little time each day where we’re all “off”, spending quality, uninterrupted time with one another.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My best advice and favorite “Life Lesson Quote” is to pave your own way! I encourage all female business owners and even women in general to find their niche. Spend as much time as you need to really understand what you want first, and then dedicate time to get to know your customers and how to help them.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can visit our website at LorissasKitchen.com and follow us on our social media channels @LorissaKitchen. To check out and shop Lorissa’s List, visit LorissasList.com.