beginnings
how I got started | There were many signs that led me to where I
am today. The first of these was during one of my medical school
rotations had the opportunity to work at a medical health resort that
served Vegan food. I would then go home and experiment with vegan cookie
recipes, this was the start of my vegan cookie line (little did I know
then!). After graduating from Medical school I felt I did not know where
I fit. I loved the knowledge, the feeling of helping people but my role
seemed unclear. I felt compelled to see other aspects of life and
worked as a healthcare professional in a movie set. I always baked
cookies and experimented with flavors at home. The pivotal point came
when I saw that teamsters and truck drivers were choosing the cookies I
brought to the set over the doughnuts. My first foray into the business
aspect was embarking on selling breakfast bars at a local store. When I
showcased my bars alongside my small cut up samples, customers said
they preferred to purchase my samples and I did not sell the bars. That
was really hard; in fact I came home and cried! I then got the
realization that they wanted to buy the samples! I knew I had a great
tasting product, and the thing is being an entrepreneur it's a personal
risk, the bars were not working but the samples were, so quit or give it
a try!
inspiration
why this job?| I remember reading a book about finding where you
really belong, it suggested looking for things that you really enjoy and
how they can play a part in your life. My discovery of this wonderful
line of work began with my upbringing. I grew up in a home where people
baked and everyone cooked. As a child I stood up on chair to
participate. My mom was very health conscious and she always substituted
healthy ingredients for not so healthy ones.
love
why I love this job!| There are many things I love about my job.
First off, I love food! I feel like it is important to love the
category of what you do. For me it brings together my need for freedom,
my interest in business and health. I love providing high quality
products and education to people and I love the creative freedom that
comes with it. I get such great comments from people and feel the impact
my food has on them
work
my typical day| My days are varied and combine the business end
along with the creative. I visit our baking plant and make sure the
quality is met. I experiment and plan on product lines. I work on
promotion related events and identifying new stores to carry the
products. Then of course there is the management of the business which I
do with my great small team. I believe in treating my employees very
well and it pays me back!
challenges
what they are | It's a limitless job, which is the opposite of
boring and it can be hard to shut down and take a break. There any many
problems that come up, but I feel like they are learning opportunities
and they bring me new information and lead me towards making a better
business.
upside
all about growth | My job is gratifying in so many ways. I am
proud of the high quality of ingredients that we use to create our
cookies. We do little things that make the difference, everything is
natural, we get special coconut from the Philippines and we sweeten with
dates and natural fruit. It's vegan and kosher with no butter and eggs
and tastes so good! I don't really have an advertising budget; I chose
to give away the cookies to promote the product to charities. I am very
tangible person and it is easy for me to picture someone eating my
cookies vs. seeing an advertisement. At this current time, we are
looking at expanding our line of foods. I have also written a children's
cook book. For me it is about the education, teaching children from and
a young age on how to take care of the one body you have been given in
this lifetime.
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