The Mac & Cheese Millionaire: Building a Better Business by Thinking Outside the Box

by Erin Wade

A captivating tale about what it takes as a small business owner to build a meaningful company from the ground up, falling in love with your work along the way

In The Mac & Cheese Millionaire: Building a Better Business by Thinking Outside the Box, best-selling author, entrepreneur, and culinary innovator Erin Wade shares her inspiring and often hilarious journey of leaving her corporate lawyer job to open a hit mac and cheese restaurant, taking you through the challenges and victories that paved her path to success. By sharing the lessons that helped her sell millions of dollars in cheesy carbs, she delivers the tools you need to create change and surpass all your expectations.

This book isn't just a personal narrative; it's a masterclass in redefining what it means to love your work. Because while her journey started out of a love of mac and cheese, Wade found that what she ultimately fell in love with―was business. What follows is the story of starting a small business, all of the ensuing trials and tribulations, and ultimately building a unique, feminist work culture that helped transform the restaurant industry.

You'll also find:

-Funny and inspiring personal anecdotes that illustrate the power of tapping into your own singular brand of leadership
-Strategies for creating a one-of-a-kind work culture based on greater meaning, purpose, and connection
-Tools to embrace a feminine leadership style that offer an enduring competitive advantage to entrepreneurs

With leadership takeaways for businesses of all sizes, The Mac & Cheese Millionaire is an essential read for small business owners, professional women, aspiring entrepreneurs, and, of course, comfort food-lovers. Wade's story demonstrates how blending passion, innovation, and a bit of culinary magic can lead to unparalleled success. Whether you're dreaming of launching your own venture or seeking to infuse your current role with more meaning and joy, let this book be your guide to transforming your professional life.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published September 24, 2024

About the author

Erin Wade is a best-selling author, chef, and entrepreneur. Erin opened a cultishly popular restaurant, Homeroom, which has been covered everywhere from the Cooking Channel to the Wall Street Journal.

She authored the best-selling The Mac and Cheese Cookbook, as well as a viral op-ed in the Washington Post about her restaurant’s solution to sexual harassment that was named one of the publication’s best of the year.

Erin's work on business culture has been covered in Forbes and The New York Times, and she was named one of thirty-five “World-Changing Women” by Conscious Company magazine. Erin has a public policy degree from Princeton and a law degree from UC Berkeley.

She lives in the Bay Area with her wife, their four children, and an array of surfboards.

Erin can be reached at erinwade.co

Reviews

[Carriefeibel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, and I don't own a business or even work in business. I don't have an entrepreneurial bone in my body! But I do work in a profession built around ideas, and I do manage people -- sometimes one-on-one, sometimes in small groups. This is a business book for the rest of us.

Wade is writing about work, writ large. Instead of "leaning in" to the typical compartmentalization of work life and personal life, Wade stubbornly interrogates the limits of what we call "work life," and proves, through her own experiments and innovations at her mac and cheese restaurant, that "work life" can be as suffused with personal connections and meaningful purpose as our "personal" life and relationships. (Perhaps that's why she called the restaurant "Homeroom.") Finally, for the business-minded readers, Wade shows how and why this approach can be very profitable as well.

Wade's personal and entrepreneurial journey is surprisingly suspenseful at times, and funny as well. I was pleasantly surprised that the book is also a memoir, sprinkled with stories from her L.A. childhood and her adrenaline-fueled stints in some of NYC's most stressful and exploitative restaurants. In retrospect, these personal anecdotes make sense; Wade's entire goal in opening a restaurant was to create a workplace that was profitable, yes, but was also a laboratory that incorporated her emerging feminist identity and her personal values of connection, community and fairness.

Wad set out to prove that a restaurant could treat its servers with dignity and respect, could root out sexism and harassment, and could invest in employees and incorporate them into problem-solving and decision-making. As a result, her restaurant bucked the trend of high turnover and alienation, and increased its custumer loyalty and profitability.

You'll be fascinated to see how she got there, through all the twists and turns of the food industry, the hard-earned mistakes and hard-fought victories, all the time accumulating the tools and wisdom to build the workplace that she dreamed of, built on a new definition of "success" -- and some mouth-watering descriptions of mac and cheese in all its delicious and varied incarnations.

[Lydia C · Rating 5 out of 5]

**"One of the best books I’ve read this year!"**

I love books about entrepreneurship, startups, and small businesses. I love books where people tell their own stories. I love books that take me to stay in a restaurant behind the scenes. I love books telling a come back story after a layoff from an unfulfilling job that only pays the bills. And I love books that empower women and encourage them to chase their dreams. *Mac & Cheese Millionaire* has all of this in one, which is why I devoured it in just a few days.

The author takes readers on an incredible journey, weaving together the freshness of water, the richness of mac and cheese, and the love and passion for redefining what work can be. Her writing is both funny and sensitive, making the story so captivating that I felt transported to the scenes she described, almost as if I was living them myself.

The raw honesty and vulnerability in this book are deeply moving. The author doesn’t hold back—she shares her life in a way that feels authentic and inspiring, and it makes the book unforgettable. It’s a must-read for anyone looking for a powerful, relatable story about entrepreneurship and chasing your dreams.

[Ja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally shy away from any books that are business related because, well, they don't usually speak to me. Rather, they often speak AT me, condescendingly informing the reader of all the things they're doing wrong with their business and the things that they need to do in order to be successful and make all the money and retire rich and all that. Yea, no thanks.

But when you start reading 'business' books from diverse people (i.e. not old white men), then you'll start getting more diverse points of view. And thus, the business book might be a little more relatable to your life than you realize. Even though I don't own my own business (at this time of writing at least), I still found this book to be highly engaging and affirming. It's part memoir, so that helps in understanding who Wade is as a person both personally and professionally. After being let go as a lawyer, she decided to go into the culinary business and eventually opened up Homeroom, a successful mac & cheese restaurant in the bay area. Adding that place to my want-to-eat list!

Wade is reflective about her experience as a restaurant business owner, or CEO, and the challenges that she faced to make it a successful place not just for herself but for her team as well. Gradually, slowly, they worked their way up, sometimes clawing at success in order to be recognized because who else is going to be your own spokesperson? I really appreciated her candor and reflective attitude, as well as her push to inspire lots of other younger people out there to work for their dreams.

A great read for when you need a boost of inspirational confidence.

[Rebecca Bloom · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mac & Cheese Millionaire: Building a Better Business by Thinking Outside the Box is a brilliantly written and thought-provoking book which posits a wise, funny, honest proof of concept. Erin Wade unfolds the notion that purpose-driven, collaborative paradigm shifts can transform a workplace, especially when led by women. As a former employee benefits lawyer, feminist and avid reader of nonfiction, I found the lessons of this book both practical and a touch revolutionary. Comforting and exciting, like a perfect bowl of mac & cheese!

[Hannah Chea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was apprehensive during 70% of the book since it was right on the verge of being cringey millennial girl-boss self-help book but after finishing it, I realized that it was a lot more relatable to me now & pretty revolutionary business thinking at the time. The book also contextualized my own eating experiences at Homeroom and how that's changed over the years (rip post-2020 Homeroom). Incredibly honest book about being a woman in business & the trials & tribulations that came with trying to form a workplace family.

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains good examples of being a caring leader, being willing to change, creating a place you and others love to work, and offering a product consumers enjoy. I appreciated the discussion of there not being one definition of success (being big, bigger, biggest). After reading many business books by men, the author's story was refreshing. This book is unexpectedly feminist by the time you get to the end, and I was so excited for it. At the end of many chapters, I would have a smile and be thinking, "You rock, Erin!"

[Liz Alterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a bowl of creamy mac and cheese, this book can be devoured in one sitting. Filled with humor and wisdom, Erin's story of leading with her heart and following her passion (and her palate) is perfect for anyone considering making a career leap. I loved the quotes at the start of each chapter and the way Erin ties real life family experiences to navigating the business world.

Thanks for sharing your inspiring story, Erin!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, relatable, entertaining. An especially valuable and worthwhile read for anybody in a leadership position (in any field, not just business). And now I want a bowl of mac and cheese.