Photos by Mike Dinardo & Josh Carruba

From Struggles to Success: How a Determined Woman Built a Multi-Million-Dollar Business While Transforming Lives

In the heart of Rochester, NY, Shaina Zazzaro stands as a testament to resilience, determination, and the power of a dream. As the founder of Effortlessly Healthy, a multi-million-dollar meal prep business that revolutionizes the way people think about nutrition, her journey is anything but ordinary. From humble beginnings, battling setbacks, and navigating personal and professional challenges, she has risen to become a beacon of inspiration for entrepreneurs, women, and families alike.

Her story is not just about building a successful business; it’s about redefining what it means to fail, persevere, and ultimately triumph. Raised by a single mother, she learned early on the value of hard work and the importance of giving back. Whether it was working her way through college or turning a side hustle into a thriving enterprise, Shaina has continually shown that resilience is the key to unlocking success.

But her journey wasn’t without its hurdles. From struggling to land her first job after college to losing nearly everything while building her business, Shaina has faced her share of trials. Yet, with an unwavering focus and the support of her family and community, she turned those challenges into stepping stones, transforming Effortlessly Healthy into not only a thriving company but also a symbol of empowerment and hope.

In this exclusive cover story, we dive deep into her inspiring path, exploring the moments that shaped her, the lessons she learned, and the vision that continues to drive her forward. From her early struggles to her personal health transformation, Shaina candidly shares the highs and lows of her remarkable journey. Early Journey and Background

Can you tell us about your background and the pivotal moments that shaped your journey?
I was raised by a single mom and grew up in the greater Rochester area. I watched my mom always working and trying to provide for my sister and me. I knew from a young age that my goal was to provide for my mom the way she provided for us, and I am proud to say that I have done that.

There have been so many moments that have made me the person I am today. One of the stories I share in my keynotes is when I graduated from college summa cum laude. I was sure I would land a job in medical sales making a six figure salary. I sent out resume after resume, and didn’t even get called in for an interview. It was one of my lowest points. I was running out of money, so I had to go back to waitressing to make ends meet. Not only that, I took a job selling $5 Bang Bang shrimps (basically shrimp tossed in mayo and sriracha). And because I was the new girl, I got one of the worst shifts, weekdays during lunch. If I got a $1 tip, I was doing well.

This would have been a pivotal moment to just give up. Instead, I worked on what I could control. I had to wear a fake chef’s coat, and I made sure that it was pristine. I made sure my pants were clean and ironed, my hair and make up done. And, I had my resume ready to go, in case I had an opportunity for a connection.

At each table, I would introduce myself and share that I graduated summa cum laude and was looking to get into medical sales. I repeated this story so many times, I lost count. But one day, this perseverance paid off.

I was covering another section for someone who had called out. One of the tables that I served, and who heard my story, happened to be the CFO of one of the largest healthcare systems in Rochester. He was out to eat with his family. That was the opening I needed. He saw something in me and told me he wanted to help. He got my foot in the door with two interviews. From there, I took a job that put me on the path to my business success.

What inspired you to start your business, and how did you come up with the idea for Effortlessly Healthy?
I have always been heavy. As a child, I was bullied for my weight. I always wanted to eat, and I didn’t understand that there are choices in what you eat. Instead of having a third serving of pasta, I could have had a third serving of salad.

When I was at my first medical administration job out of college, I started to work on my diet and my habits. From there, I began to have medical staff come to me to ask me to share how I was creating my food options that I brought to work. I did not start out thinking I was going to go into meal prep. I was simply cooking for myself and my grandparents, making sure they were eating healthy as well. I believe in my heart that health leads to wealth.

Healthy eating does not have to be difficult or require an advanced degree. I wanted to create a way for anyone who wants to work on what they put into their bodies a simple way to do it, with the menus already created and the ingredients prepped and ready to go. Everyone should strive to be Effortlessly Healthy!

How did your early career struggles and failures shape your perspective and drive?
I share with both clients and audiences who hear me speak that success is not a straight line, and you can fail up. My early career struggles and failures, and I have had a lot of them, help you to build your resilience muscle.

I used to think you manifested your destiny. With the countless setbacks I have had and work I have had to do, I know better. There is a fire in all of us that simply has to be lit.

It makes me a little crazy to see other speakers who only talk about their success, as if they woke up with a multi-million dollar company and a perfect physique. I believe the struggles create the future success that we want. Failure isn’t an option, but it is a reality. I had to fight for everything that I have, and I would not have it any other way.

What were the biggest challenges you faced while building your business from the ground up?
One of my hardest lessons was that it is ok to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them and get back up. I started my business in 2013 with a dollar and a dream. I bought a 1978 Shasta RV, and that was a complete failure. I thought it would work as a food truck, but it was an expensive mistake.

I have hired personnel that ended up not working out. I have been robbed. I would get ahead for a bit, and something would knock me back. I am sure others can relate to that. I remember getting up to 100 customers and feeling so proud of myself, but I didn’t have the right quality control and operations in place. We lost all but seven of those customers. It was like starting over.

I have been homeless, staying on couches of friends to get by, and have had negative bank accounts. But one thing that was consistent was always getting back into the game. I kept trying to find a way. It was a repeat of failing and figuring it out, failing and figuring it out. No one was going to show up and bail me out – I had to keep going back and trying.

Building Effortlessly Healthy
How have you grown Effortlessly Healthy into a multi-million-dollar organization over the past 11 years?
I have worked hard and made mistakes, but I also knew I had people in my corner. First, my mom has been a huge part of my success. She has moved back to help me with my business, rolled up her sleeves and gotten to work, and always has my back. For that, I am extremely blessed.

Second, my husband has been one of my biggest supporters and teachers. He is a chef and a successful entrepreneur in his own right. He has been a key ally in my resilience story. He came at the perfect time and is always willing to lend a hand.

I have also had others who have been instrumental, like my best friend, Alex, who inspires me as much as I inspire her. And I have surrounded myself with other professionals who raise me up and stand for my success.

What is unique about Effortlessly Healthy’s mission and approach?
Effortlessly Healthy is on a mission of helping someone choose a healthy option for themselves, one person at a time and one meal at a time. And we make sure that the quality of our food and the customer service is always top notch.

I am my business, and I am so grateful for all of my clients. I want to make sure each person has the best meal they can for every meal they choose. And when someone chooses Effortlessly Healthy, they are choosing all the struggles and successes that I have gone through. In turn, I am choosing to help them put the best food possible into their body, and their body will thank them for it.

Were there any specific milestones or breakthroughs that marked the turning point for your business?
The biggest turning point came in 2019, where I saw the hard work and learning from my mistakes pay off. We have seen amazing growth over the last five years, and I believe that has a lot to do with the mission of Effortlessly Healthy, to help one person at a time, one meal at a time.

Not only has Effortlessly Healthy become a multi-million dollar business, the company was named #62 of the top 100 companies by the Rochester Chamber of Commerce (one of my many goals realized), it was also named #8 on the list of the fastest growing M/WBE in Rochester.

How do you continually innovate and stay ahead in your industry?
I am always learning and pushing the boundaries of what I can do. I am fortunate that my husband, Mike, is also in this business. I am able to discuss trends and new ideas with him, especially around menu items and ingredients for the Effortlessly Healthy meals.

I am also embracing innovation by writing my first of many books, which will be coming out in 2025. Being an author and speaker means I have to keep pushing myself. I want to inspire others with my journey, which is still unfolding, and share both my successes and my failures – especially my failures. You learn so much when you don’t succeed, but many people want to skip that part of their journey. It is a critical piece, and one that has kept me leading in the industry.

Overcoming Personal Challenges
You’ve lost 50 pounds three times, twice after having your children. How did you achieve this, and what motivated you to keep going?
My first weight loss journey began with the focus on eating healthy to control my severe psoriatic arthritis. I had been diagnosed while in college, and I went on methotrexate. It made me so sick, I had to go to my grandparents’ house to help me. The medication was making things worse, so instead, I focused on cleaning up my diet. My disease went into remission from being very aware of what I was putting into my body.

I achieved my weight loss after giving birth to each of my beautiful children, again, by focusing on my eating habits.

And I added walking to my daily routine. My joints were not strong enough for running, so I focused on walking. This was especially helpful during the pandemic. I would take my kids in the stroller and walk for miles.

I got down 50 pounds, and wanted to get healthier. That is when I started working with my amazing personal trainer, Ivan, and adding weight training to my exercise routine. I am now the strongest and healthiest I have ever been in my life!

How do you maintain a healthy lifestyle while balancing the demands of being a wife, mother, and entrepreneur?
Life will always be demanding, let me tell you. There is always a reason to skip self-care in order to care for others. However, making sure you take time out to focus on yourself and your mental and physical well being is critical to staying on top of your responsibilities.

I have set up my business so that I have others that are extremely skilled in handling different areas, so I do not have to be trying to do everything in my business. Both my husband and mom step in to help with family responsibilities, and I am grateful to have that support system.

I have done this so I can schedule time every day to work out and stay healthy. And, with Effortlessly Healthy meals, I have meals delivered to my house that can be easily prepared, saving me planning, shopping and prep time. This also allows my husband and children to cook with me as a family, which is so wonderful.

How has overcoming your health challenges inspired your approach to life and business?
My biggest mantra is that failure isn’t an option, but it is a reality. Having to overcome all the challenges I have faced so far, from health to business to weight and beyond, has given me the resilience muscle I need to face what life will throw at me next. Because, believe me, life will continue to throw things at you. The question becomes, are you going to roll over and admit defeat, or are you going to keep getting back up?

How did you turn moments of personal failure, such as financial struggles or feeling defeated, into opportunities for growth?
Every failure has an opportunity to learn and grow. If we were not challenged at all in our lives, if everything was simply handed to us, we would not have any opportunity to discover what we are made of. One of the biggest things I have reached for when I am feeling defeated is to focus on what I can control. Taking back even 10 percent of control in your life can help you to push through an obstacle.

I also take time every morning for positive self-talk. It is so easy to get up in the morning and say to yourself that you look terrible or you will never get that promotion or stay away from those cookies today. We are so good at tearing ourselves down. I spend ten seconds looking myself in the eye and telling myself, you have an opportunity to move towards your goal today. Will you go for it, or find an excuse not to?

I suffer from anxiety, and using positive self-talk helps me to lessen the hold negative thoughts have on the actions I take every day. It doesn’t eliminate them, but it does make them much quieter, so I can focus instead on building myself up.

Empowering Others Through Your Story
You’ve shared your inspirational stories with audiences worldwide. How did you decide to step into this motivational role?
I have a natural ability to chat with anyone (just ask my husband!) I love talking to people to learn their story. And I have so many stories I can share. I started noticing that I would get messages, emails and DMs saying how something I shared either during an interview or on social media or even a conversation I had in person inspired a new outlook and new choices.

When you hear that enough, you think to yourself, maybe I have something there that is worth sharing. And yes, I had thoughts of self-doubt if my stories are inspirational enough.

I want to inspire every person I touch to choose a healthier option for themselves, to get up and move, even for ten minutes, to give themselves the gift of positive self-talk, and to work towards a goal they thought would always be out of reach, but actually isn’t. I have been where you are now, and I have gone through really tough times. And I want you to know that you have the fire within you to get through the bad times to make it to the good times.

Why do you believe it’s important for people to see failure as a stepping stone to success?
It makes me crazy when motivational speakers only talk about the last 5 percent of their journey to success. What about the other 95 percent? Most of us are in the middle of a failure in some form or another. That is not the end of the story, but the beginning. Failure doesn’t have to define what our success is. It is simply the way to learn and grow to get to that success point.
If you never fail, you are living a very small life. And I don’t want that for you. I want you to be ridiculously bold in your goals. In order to get to those crazy goals, you have to fall down…a lot. Failure is a reality on the way to success. Just because a motivational speaker doesn’t share where they started from (and it wasn’t a multi-millionaire on a stage talking to thousands of people) doesn’t mean they landed in the middle of their success. Talk about the failures. It helps you to learn from them and strengthen that resilience muscle.

Your mantra is “The question isn’t why, it’s why not.” How has this mindset helped you persevere?
When you ask yourself why, you are focusing on limiting beliefs. These are beliefs that prevent you from exploring all options in a scenario. You immediately limit what you can do because you think it is not possible or allowed or available.

When you start to ask why not, you are pushing against those limiting beliefs. What have you accepted as fact that is really a construct instead?

When I ask myself, why not, I am also asking myself, what is stopping you? What are you giving your power to, and how can you take that power back? That keeps me resilient and pushing forward.

What feedback or success stories have you received from those you’ve inspired?
I get so many stories back of actions people have taken to improve their health and their lives, and I love those stories! My best friend uses my stories to help her make better food choices (avoiding fast food and cooking instead). Another friend says she can hear my voice in her head when she wants to stop for a donut or ice cream, and instead she will go to the grocery store and grab an apple. And the donut and ice cream stores are in the same parking lot, so she is just going in a different door!

These stories not only make me motivated to keep sharing my experiences, but also inspire me when I feel like I am getting overwhelmed or struggling. We all struggle and all have off days. I look at the emails and DMs I get and that gets my head back in the game.

Balancing Life and Work
How do you manage the responsibilities of being a successful entrepreneur, wife, and mother?
I am still working on managing all of this! I wake up every morning and try to balance all of my responsibilities. Sometimes I kill it and other times, not so much. But I do three things that help me.

First, I enlist my community to support and help me. I sometimes do not do well in prioritization and the balancing act. Second, I communicate with everyone to manage expectations and to make sure people know what I need and how they might be able to step into the void. And lastly, I use my Effortlessly Healthy meals to take some of the work out of my day while still ensuring my family eats well.

Honestly, some days are easier than others, and every day is a restart to get back into it.

What are your top tips for women trying to balance personal and professional goals?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help! We don’t have to be superheroes and try to handle everything. There are people who have done a portion of the balancing act and have tips – find those out!

And don’t feel that you have to do everything every single day. Goals come into and out of focus. You can’t be able to spin all the plates all at once. Some days move your personal goals forward, and some days are professional goal-oriented.

Once you achieve a certain goal, be sure to set up your next goal so you keep moving forward.

Are there specific routines or habits that help you stay grounded and focused?
I always, and I mean always, set up time for working out and walking. Taking that break during my work day helps me with my mental and physical health as well as reducing stress levels. I sometimes feel guilty taking that time out, but I am reinvesting in myself, and that is critical.

Second, I use Effortlessly Healthy meals so that my meals for the week are planned and packaged ready to go. That routine takes guesswork out of what to prepare and if I have the ingredients on hand.

I also make sure I am there for my kids and husband. It is important to connect each day and be present. Time is something you will never get back, so go to the soccer games or have date night.
Lastly, because my company is running efficiently with my team, I check in with them but do not micromanage. They are doing exactly what they should be doing, so I make sure to support them without overstepping.

Future Goals and Vision
What are your goals for the future of Effortlessly Healthy?
Honestly, my main goal is to continue to support my clients and provide the best menus with the best tasting food so clients come back again and again. I also have been working on expanding further into senior communities in Rochester. My grandparents, specifically my grandfather, had a huge impact on me growing up and I want to be sure everyone’s grandparents are eating well and have a dining experience, not just a meal.

Do you have plans to expand your brand or explore other industries?
I am expanding my personal brand to continue to keynote and inspire others to invest in their physical and mental wellbeing. I am also writing a book that will be out in 2025, the first of many, I am sure!

I am on a mission as well to be the national ambassador for health and wellness. We are seeing such sharp declines in both physical fitness and mental health, and I want to be an uplifting force to inspire people, from kids to adults, to eat better, move and find ways to reduce stress and anxiety.

Where do you see yourself, personally and professionally, in the next five years?
My goals over the next several years are to be the national ambassador for wellness, both physical and mental, to be a multi-book author, and to continue to expand the number of keynotes I give each year. I love sharing my stories and helping others know they are not alone in their struggles.

Final Insights and Advice
What advice do you have for women facing financial struggles, career obstacles, or health issues?
My advice is keep looking for a way to move forward. You can get upset and let yourself feel down, and the next day, start searching for a way to move the needle forward and make it one more day. Some days may be something seemingly insignificant, but that one action opens up alternatives that get you moving forward.

What would you say to someone who feels like giving up on their dreams?
It may feel like that is the only option, and that feeling is temporary. Look at what you can control while you feel like things are out of control. Taking back that power can help you get grounded. And even if you have to go the long way around, it still can lead you back to that dream.

Tell our audience what made you decide to start taking your advice to the stage and becoming a speaker?
I talk to so many people with my company and being a part of the greater Rochester community. I knew I could impact so many more people in a positive way and help them move towards success, whatever that may be for them. I knew having a book and getting on stage would help me to touch and inspire people into being positive, focusing on their health and wellness, and striving through setbacks to their goal. And I am so glad I did!