Meet Chelsea Geegan | Serial Entrepreneur & Market Innovator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chelsea Geegan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chelsea, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In 2015, I was working for a large hospital group in Houston, TX. My job was to support three oncologist in the radiation department. Prior to that, I worked in a more lax position at an elementary school. While working for the hospital group, I realized how much I felt like a prisoner. I had no freedom to do the things I wanted to do outside of supporting the doctors. If I was late from my lunch break, I was questioned. If I clocked in late, I was questioned. If I wasn’t sitting in my office when one of the three doctors needed something, I was questioned. I realized then that the goal was freedom because I didn’t like to be micromanaged. I understand how to be productive and sometimes sitting in front of a computer at a desk for 8 hours a day can limit creativity and productivity. After six months, I decided to start my first tax firm because I wanted to be in control of my future.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I started my first business in 2015 at twenty-two years old, I learned very soon that I didn’t care about a “career” or climbing the corporate latter. All I wanted to do was make the most money working the least amount of hours so that I can spend majority of my time with my family, traveling and living life on my own terms instead of working 50 years working for a boss who’s paying me what they think is “fair” and being excited about retirement. My tax firm quickly grew but I realized that I need to incorporate a way for my clients to send their information in an organized way from anywhere. I didn’t want to limit my reach and my marketing style on social media was reaching people in all 50 states. Ive always been very tech savvy. In high school, I was coding and creating websites for my friends so I knew exactly what I needed to do. I grew my tax firm and opened Supreme Tax Services in 2017. In my free time, since processing individual and business taxes is mostly in quarter one, I opened a food truck to keep busy. I participated in all the big events and festivals in Houston and people quickly begin to recognize the brand. About five years later, I decided to open a brick and mortar in the midst of covid. In 2021, I opened Creole Kitchen and Daiquiri. The brand quickly begin to go viral. I begin to use unique marketing strategies like a cooking show on all social platforms called Cooking Creole which displayed my loud and bubbly personality, delicious recipes and cocktails.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Houston is a very unique city and we offer a diverse range of things to do and food to eat. Some of my favorite places to eat in Houston is Creole of course, but outside of that, I love Taste Kitchen and Bar which is an elevated soul food eatery. Taste offers brunch items everyday all day. Houston is known for our brunch vibes so on the weekend, it’s usually a line wrapped around the corner so make sure you snag a reservation. I love sushi so Id definitely recommend some of our exclusive sushi places like Hidden Omakase, Soto, or Neo. the freshness and uniqueness of the pieces won’t disappoint. I can go on and on because I have my favorite restaurant for each type of food. My favorite bars around town would be 5015, Off the record, One Armed Scissor which is downtown and its surround by other bars as well. I would tell anyone who’s visiting, “Dont ever leave Houston on a Sunday”, we Sunday Funday like no other place.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The key to having success is understanding that you can’t do everything yourself. Having the right team and individuals involved makes a huge difference. My tax mentor is Saba Haile. I appreciate her for always taking the time out to give me insight when I need it, I can trust her and her experience in the tax industry and she’s helped me grow to understand how to capitalize, expand and excel. When I started my food truck business, UrFavCreoleKitchen my good friend Desmond Lee helped me to understand the business operation, food cost and helped me build relationships with people in the industry that excelled my business. 5 years later, I choose to open my brick and mortar, I wouldn’t have been able to successfully run Creole Kitchen and Daiquiris if Chef Don Bowie, restauranteur, consultant and my significant other, wouldn’t have stepped in and taught me how to organize, staff, schedule and understand how to monitor my food cost, labor cost, and over head expenses. Brick and Mortar and Food Truck are cousins but not siblings. Two totally different beast. I’ve always had an eye for marketing and navigating social media but my marketing team, In-House Social, took my vision to another level and helped me establish a brand. Branding and Marketing go hand in hand but are two very different things. I appreciate my team.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelsea.jenaee/