An insatiable appetite

She doesn't even need an alarm clock. Every morning Özlem Gök gets out of bed at 4 o'clock and starts her working day. For her, this is not a problem, on the contrary: "I prepare my emails, which I send later on because otherwise it would be strange to receive emails sent so early! It allows me to be alone, to be quiet, to take some time for myself before my son wakes up. Everything is ready when he gets out of bed and I'm already well on my way. It's a precious time-saver because as a single mother, you have to be very organised", she explains.

For this nutrition specialist, being self-employed was a wish as well as a lifestyle advantage: "I always had a desire to be independent, to not have to answer to employers, to work for myself. Yes, I work more than when I was employed, but I adapt my schedule to take care of my son when I need to, the rest of the time my priority is my business, so I can work at night and at weekends, whenever I have free time", she explains. Özlem Gök was able to achieve this flexibility just a few weeks ago when she became self-employed. A process that took time, but which is a life goal for her.

Passion for nutrition

The young woman grew up in Turkey, in a family where the mother was active but managed to take the time to prepare healthy meals at the same time. A habit that hasn't left her since. She studied business administration in Turkey and then went on to do an MBA (Master of Business Administration) in Germany, where she settled for a few years. After graduating, her passion for nutrition caught up with her and she went back to school to become a specialist in the field. In the meantime she moved to Luxembourg from where she commutes to Germany where she studied. She was employed in a psychiatrist's practice where she worked on the administrative side, but noticed that a lot of patients come for consultation because of eating disorders. The link between eating habits and psychology is tenuous, she notes, and says she refers some of her clients to professionals when the problems are too serious.