Extraordinary Woman: Stevie Morgan
About three years ago, Stevie Morgan was a soon-to-be single mom trying to figure things out. She had just moved from Miami back to Tampa where she (and her father and grandmother before her) had been born and raised, and was pregnant and unemployed.
“I didn’t have a job and I was like, ‘OK, what now?’ I had been playing around with delivering food to my dad—cooking food and keeping my family healthy. He didn’t even like carrying a lunch box so I started to deliver meals to him and he loved that. He was a busy executive and had gained 100 pounds—he wasn’t eating breakfast or lunch and was just eating dinner. After I started delivering his meals, he started losing weight and having increased energy.”
This was in 2014. Today, Cater Me Fit, the company that was born from her daughterly service, has become a lifesaver for busy professionals looking for healthy home-cooked meals delivered to their homes.
“I remember the day it became a real business,” recalls Morgan, 26. “I was sitting around the kitchen with my friends and we came up with a name, Cater Me Fit, and it’s all history from there. I never expected that it would do as well as it is and it’s exciting.”
Morgan now has a team of more than 30 employees. They cook every meal and deliver three days a week, although they are in the kitchen every day. They tailor to a variety of tastes and lifestyles, including traditional, paleo and vegetarian. Cater Me Fit is also available at two locations in Tampa International Airport to bring healthy food to travelers. “I think there was just a need and we went to the top of Google really quickly. We started getting more and more calls and now we deliver thousands of meals a week.”
Starting and maintaining a successful business is in itself a remarkable thing. What might make Morgan’s story even more inspirational is that she was pregnant when she started the business, and despite the demands of 2-year-old Jourdan, was able to grow the business rapidly.
Not only does she run her own business and take care of Jourdan, but she is also passionate about mentoring young girls and giving back to the community.
Cater Me Fit, Jourdan and mentoring are not her only passions: the indefatigable Morgan is also training to become a professional boxer in her “spare time.”
What do you think is the secret to your family’s success?
Work ethic, passion and staying disciplined. Those three things really have made all the difference for us.
What advice would you give to other women?
No excuses—just do it. It really truly works for me. You just can’t make excuses for yourself. I also think it’s important for women to know that being emotional is okay.
What is your proudest moment?
I think my proudest moment was having my son, Jourdan. I think there are a lot of things to be proud of, but my proudest moment is definitely when I had him.
Can you tell us about some of the awards you have won?
Since starting Cater Me Fit, I won the Startup Scholar Program with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and I also won an award for Best Starup Idea as well. I have also been nominated for Small Business of the Year which was pretty exciting.
Is there anything as a single mom that you would want to share with other single moms?
Being a single mom is definitely tough—and I just have one kid. I have learned that I have to be tough. I can’t play victim and sit around feeling sorry for myself because there are people who have a lot more kids who still have their stuff together and who are juggling way more things than I am. I just have one child, and that reminds me to stop having a pity party.
The biggest thing I have learned is that single mom or not, you just need to keep going. Just do it. There’s no excuse, you can take a baby anywhere—I used to bring Jourdan into the kitchen with me in the beginning so that I could start my company and keep it growing. So just keep going and don’t give up.
What is your biggest achievement?
I don’t even know if I have achieved it yet! I think am still working on that.
What makes you happy?
That is tough to explain. But really, life makes me happy. The quality of life makes me happy. Life with my son makes me so happy. Helping others makes me happy as well.
What are some of the things Cater Me Fit does in the community?
We do a lot of work with the homeless ministries and we cook for them every Sunday. We do two big events every year: The Great Egg Race and Operation Christmas Gifts. We also do a toy drive and a food drive as well with feeding Tampa Bay so there is always something we are working on.
How do you relax and take time for yourself?
I go to the gym every day. I have to—that’s my “me” time. I am working to become a professional boxer as well. I also like fishing. I like to read, and I stay active in the church, which keeps me on track.
How did you get into professional boxing?
I started boxing seven or eight years ago. It just takes time, training and discipline and I love it. It is addicting, and I feel like boxing helps so much with life. You may not be great at it, but it exposes things about yourself and you have to work through things by yourself because it is only you. You don’t have a team to help you, so it is all you.
What kind of message would you like to give women in the area or the community?
I don’t want people to see me and think ‘oh wow, she did it, she made it,’ but if I can do it, anyone can do it.
I don’t believe in excuses. There’s no excuses allowed. If you want to do something then just do it. There is not an excuse that you can come up with that can possibly mean anything.
Is there anything you want the young women you mentor to take away from their time with you?
I feel very strongly that because I am a young successful business owner, I can help girls. There are a lot of young women and girls that need that example to be strong and to make it happen, whatever it is. So I try to help them realize that they truly can do anything.