Moon Meals Offers Healthy Choices for Time-Starved Professionals

“Why can’t I get healthier options that taste good?”

That’s the burning question that drove LaForce Baker to create his healthy catering company, Moon Meals, which has been serving the downtown Chicago area with lunch and late-night (11 a.m. to 2 a.m.) deliveries since 2012.

Often finding himself working late hours at his corporate job, Baker —both a foodie and a marathoner—became increasingly frustrated that the only late-night food options available were “pizza and unhealthy Chinese food.” Yearning for tasty, healthy food options and having found a gaping void in the marketplace, Baker was inspired to solve the problem. He wanted to create a company that could cater to the needs of time-crunched working professionals by offering healthy options without sacrificing taste.

Just three months after coming up with the idea for Moon Meals, Baker decided to leave his job at a global corporate marketing agency to run his own business full time.

But he’ll admit, he’s no Mark Zuckerberg or any other storybook upstart entrepreneur privileged with the gift of built-in capital.

“I didn’t have a rich uncle. Both my parents were working-class,” he says.

So, how was he able to make the leap, in only three months, no less?

Baker tells me he had two things going for him: a researched business plan (which included counsel from a trusted advisory board); and healthy financial habits.

“I’ve always been a saver,” Baker says, “but I really started saving during my last few months at my job. I don’t think I spent any of my paycheck the last three months.”

Find out more on how Baker was able to expand Moon Meals on the next page …