From Military Chef to Entrepreneur: Shaylene Hawley's Culinary Legacy

From Naval Chef to Huntsville Entrepreneur: Shaylene Hawley Builds Legacy Her WayHost Tanya Hendrix interviews Shaylene Hawley, a Navy veteran and founder of Shay la Vie, a mother-daughter, woman- and veteran-owned private chef and elite catering business in Huntsville, Alabama. Shaylene shares what it was like cooking on a Navy destroyer, earning three degrees, and how a chocolatier role and the pandemic layoff in San Diego pushed her to start her own business as a single mother and disabled veteran. She describes moving cross-country for a lower cost of living, finding Huntsville through a fellow private chef, and getting early support from the local community that helped her land clients. Shaylene discusses the challenges of marketing during the pandemic, the vulnerability of scaling to large events, stereotypes faced as a woman veteran, and defines success as having control of her schedule to show up for her son’s life.00:00 Welcome to Legacy01:34 Meet Shaylene Holly02:46 Chef Life in Navy04:32 Pandemic Pivot Plan06:36 Why Huntsville Alabama09:10 Building Shay la Vie11:20 Marketing and First Break13:44 Growth Fears and Wins16:54 Single Mom Leap21:26 Motherhood and Leadership24:19 Women Veteran Stereotypes29:00 Redefining Success Today32:25 Connect and ClosingConnect with Shaylene on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/184Ug1mJ1B/Connect with Shaylene on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefshaylavie?igsh=MXJjc3Y3dmYwbm8xcw==Connect with Tanya at Huntsville Estate Planning Lawyer LLC