A Constant Journey. Ethiopia, November 2012

Omri and I just got back from a great 8 days in Ethiopia.  It really is an amazing country.  My second time there exposed me to even more aspects of the culture, the country's products, and the amazing investment opportunities.
We stayed at

...

...where we had a wonderful stay with Bubi (who owns the hotel with her husband) and her staff.  The guards, who were learning English, taught me how to count to five in Amharic (thanks, Bayou!) we talked politics with the evening staff of the restaurant, and enjoyed many conversations with the receptionists (hi, Mahlet!)

Our weekdays were filled with meetings with different people from the sesame scene; and let me tell you, the scene was hopping.  Harvest season just ended, sales just started, and there was a sesame conference going on for two days at the Sheraton.  We spent several afternoons in the Sheraton lobby, drinking coffee, holding meetings, and doing work.  The Sheraton and the Hilton are the business spots, and although we couldn't afford to stay (or attend the conference), we could afford the coffee (despite it being three times more than everywhere else).  

Starting-up: exposure on a budget.

I took this time to learn as much as I could about sesame, the market, and the business culture in Ethiopia.  Never stop learning.

We were lucky to meet and make a new friend while walking around when we first arrived.  (No, not this monkey you see to your right...) A young guy our age, Isaac, who approached Omri immediately knowing he was Israeli.  We became fast friends; he took us to get dinner and beers at cool hangouts a couple nights during the week, and we traveled with him to Shashemane.  We spent the weekend learning about Rastafarianism, listening to Reggae and Ethiopian pop music (Teddy Afro!), and took a day trip to Awassah.  There we spent the afternoon at a park feigning off monkeys with blue balls who were trying to (read: succeeded to) steal our peanuts; and we took an awesome boat ride to see hippos!

Yes, Ethiopia is a business endeavor for us, but each time we go we get the opportunity to see the country on a more beautiful and intimate level.  As I've written about before, I'm all for mixing business with pleasure.  I want my professional future to be based on a product I love, from a country I have begun to love, working with people I love.

Soom Foods will always pride ourselves on being completely honest.  So I'll be the first to say, starting a business is not easy.  If you're interested in a more personal account of the stresses of entrepreneurship, feel free to check out my most recent blog post on 2f4ced.

Soom Foods is a journey.  It's a journey of entrepreneurship, of building a business.  It's a journey of getting the sesame seed from the Humera region of Ethiopia into your lives.  But it doesn't stop there.  We have goals to not only invest in sesame, but in Ethiopia.  We have dreams of being a part of this historic time in a developing country; dreams to be more connected with the farmers, to create jobs, to help their children go to school.

There's a lot going on!  I'll keep you in-the-know as much as I can.

Most important of all of our current endeavors, we will be getting you Soom Foods Tehina as soon as possible.

I can't wait!

Want to share in the Sweetlife

I must start this blog post by saying our Mom is (almost) ALWAYS right... In life in general, but mostly about her creative business ideas.  My sisters and I are proud to boast that my dad, a successful entrepreneur himself, only had the means to start his own business because of our mother's entrepreneurial success.

I'm not sure if everyone would agree, but hearing suggestions from a mother can sometimes be difficult.  Maybe it's because I'm only 23, with the naive idea to be as independent as possible, but I don't always take Mom's suggestions with as much grace and appreciation as they deserve.  I'm working on it though, knowing that my defensiveness is a whole bunch of interpersonal communication jargon manifesting itself into real life.  I'll address the interpersonal ideas in another blog I started with a friend, Chloe English, called twofaced.

Back to Mom...
Upon returning from a year abroad, she had cut out numerous articles that she thought would be interesting to read pertaining to Soom Foods.  Bless her soul.  That was in August.  I just got around to reading them (mid-November) :) Love you, Mama!
One resonated with me in particular: "Restaurant sweetgreen strikes a chord with Sweetlife festival" by Missy Frederick in the Washington Business Journal the week of April 13-19.

Sweetgreen is an amazing brand.  For those of you who don't know, it is a chain of make your own salads, wraps, and yogurt creations.  They pride themselves on being healthy, sustainable, and happy- active, fun members of their community (same hometown PS- Maryland, represent!).  They created an amazing music festival, Sweetlife, "that speaks to sweetgreen's evolution as a brand promoting not just salad, but a healthy - and hip - lifestyle."  BOOM. What I want for Soom Foods.

Our highly classified (read: unfinished) business plan and branding outline discusses the importance we too place on health, sustainability, and staying true to our fun, hip selves (or so we'd like to think.)  My original hope to launch the Soom Foods brand was through a music festival, emulating the 24 hour Nature Parties I love and are popular in Israel (via India.)  Maybe one day!

In the mean time, I'd love to work with a wholesome brand like sweetgreen; hopefully have the opportunity share in the Sweetlife.  Plus, Tehina is a GREAT ingredient for delicious dressings, and can be used as a sweet and healthy yogurt topping!

A love for Foreigners...

... Or being foreign.

Though several weeks from my last blog post, the international capacity of Soom Foods is still very much a hot topic on my mind.


First and foremost:  Jackie and Omri's wedding was AMAZING.
In the picture to the left, Omri had just broken the glass, a tradition in Jewish weddings that brings memory to the destruction of our Temple, but also announces the marriage of the couple.

Our mother's arm in the air (left) and Jackie's elated face (white dress, center) do not begin to do justice to the joy that followed: the food was delicious, the bar tenders worked (very) hard, and the DJ blasted music until 2:30 in the morning.

But, alas, the wedding is over, and work continues.  While Omri and Jackie enjoy two weeks in Italy, I am preparing for our trip back to Ethiopia and maintaining communication with our options for Tehina production here in Israel.

It is amazing to communicate with people of very different places and cultures.  Lucky for me, English is the international language, and business is conducted accordingly.  The Israeli sales associate at the Tehina plant works for two Arab brothers that started the Tehina conglomerate.  Our meetings are conducted in English, with bits of Hebrew I am blessed to know fluently.  In Ethiopia, all meetings are in English, only surrounded by the Amharic greeting, "selam-no" and good-bye, "ciao" with thank you, "ahmesugenalew" (a-mi-sa-genalo) dispersed amongst the conversation.

I genuinely enjoy spending time and speaking with people who's first language is not English.

This past year was spent as an English teacher in Israel, followed by a month of traveling throughout Europe.  Besides colleagues on my program, my cousin whom I traveled with for a week, and the occasional American I befriended, I mostly found myself surrounded by people who's first language was not English.  For instance, four of my seven days in Berlin was spent with an amazing group of ------>
people from France.  I actually loved sitting amongst their French conversations, deciphering their broken-English translations when they remembered to fill me in.

Why do I enjoy foreigners?  Actually, I think the question is: Why do I enjoy being foreign?
 I'm not sure...  I have the upmost respect for people that conduct business in a learned language; and I'm glad to have had experience in understanding English spoken by non-native speakers.  It has greatly prepared me for doing business internationally.

I'll end here with an example of a sign-off from a friend and work-partner in Addis Ababa:

Have a nice day!

An International Pleasure-filled Company

For those of you who may not know, Soom Foods spans continents.

We are incorporated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA, sourcing our seeds from Ethiopia, and will have our Tehina produced in Israel until we reach the means to create our own factory in The States.

I have been working from Rockville, Maryland; taking weekly trips to Philadelphia for networking events and meetings, and will soon be flying to the Holy Land and then to Ethiopia.

As Soom Foods has shaped up to be, I am continuing in the unconscionable practice of mixing business with pleasure.

To date, I have spent most of my working hours on Facebook (friend us, please!), pinning to Pinterest (pin with us, please!), and contemplating the ever-intimidating world of Twitter (tweet @SoomFoods, please!).  I do market research by shopping online and visiting stores.  I go through endless articles and blogs of healthy living and eating, and am keeping an ever-expanding list of "people to reach out to... eventually!"  Product development consists of making smoothies and delicious snacks--- that I make, take pictures of, eat and share.

Keeping with the trends, I am not only going to Israel to set up a production facility and accompany Omri, our Tehina broker, to Ethiopia... but I am going for my middle sister's wedding!  To Omri!




Days should be mixed with meetings, wedding planning, and seeing family and friends.


I am blessed and excited to be starting a business about a product I love, doing business in countries I love, and working with people I love.

Don't mix business with pleasure...?

Sesame

Now

My family

Onwards and upwards :)




I am very much looking forward to these next couple months; and returning to the US ready to distribute!

Networking

Last night I went to the World Trade Association of Philadelphia's annual banquet at the Cescaphe Ballroom in Philadelphia.  I had been encouraged to attend by a marketing associate from the Philadelphia Port, and he was nice enough to introduce me to several people.

*I'm linking several things, because I'm beginning to be the biggest trade industry dork.  I can't get enough of going around websites and learning about something I had never thought about before starting Soom Foods.  It's amazing to think about the things that cross oceans, and how international trade connects the world- and everything that goes into it.

The first people I met were a manager from a transportation company and the manager of the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market.  After introducing myself and explaining to them about Soom Foods, they asked me if we were planning on bringing a high quantity through the Philadelphia Port- to which I enthusiastically responded, "Yes! We're hoping to bring a container in the next few months."  They nodded, and my introducer explained, "To put it into perspective... Do you see that tall woman over there?" (There was a very tall woman standing a few tables away.) "She brings in a few thousand containers a month!"

OH! Well then... not a high quantity currently... but eventually!

I chuckled and they gave me some encouraging laughter and congratulated me on Soom Foods accomplishments to date, wishing me luck with our endeavors, telling me I could be in touch with any questions I come up with.

Two great contact cards in the bag!

Next, I introduced myself to the very tall woman, laughing and explaining to her the encounter I just had.  She thought my story was hilarious and she also had some encouraging words for me; telling me to shop around the freighters and forwarders for the best price and match, and gave me a couple of suggestions.  The best thing I learned from her was how much she enjoyed working in trade.
It's never boring- one container is stuck at a port somewhere, something else came in early, and another container is late- and it all has to get figured out!  Every day is different, exciting, and time flies by!

Her card: check.

I spent most of the evening with a nice lawyer, who's client is currently importing from Australia.  Although he wished I never needed his services, he did tell me his son-in-law has a Restaurant Supply company in Takoma, WA, and would be happy to make the introduction so I could learn more about the wholesale industry!

Card 4!

Card 5 came from a man who has a company with one ship that goes between the US and the Bahamas! Soom Foods in the Bahamas?  Don't mind if we do...

Ultimately what I'm learning is that it's important to talk to everyone and anyone.  People are so encouraging of entrepreneurs and new products in the trade industry, and are particularly excited to see young people trying their hardest.  They are more than willing to share their knowledge and helpful contacts.

And I am appreciating it all; I'm learning so much and enjoying myself in the mean time!

Product Development

Amy Zitelman
Co-Founder Soom Foods, LLC
Director of Marketing and Sales
...yada yada yada

Marketing is great fun.  I can market all day every day.  Only problem is that we are still a few months from getting our product to the US.
So since I can't sell... I've taken on a sort of Product Development roll.

This is my experience making a Lime Infused Tehini Dressing for seared tofu on a broccoli slaw salad.

My friends have been amazing at sending me Tehina recipes.  This particular recipe was given to me by my friend Scott, and called for scallops.  The only thing I know about scallops is that I don't eat them.  The picture looked like they had a similar consistency to tofu... still don't know if that's right, but I went with it.

The Tehini dressing called for the following:

1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons Soom™ Tehina, 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 

1 teaspoon lime zest, 1 tablespoon water, pinch of salt and pepper

No problem.  Had all these ingredients in my (read: my roommates'; actually read: my parents') kitchen.

Whisked these ingredient together.

Cleaned this up and let dressing sit until time to cook dinner.

I cut Extra Firm tofu into pieces about an inch thick.  Slightly salted and peppered each side, and put onto a hot pan of olive oil and a little butter.  In the future, I'd love to use a sesame or coconut oil.

Covered tofu slices with the Tehini dressing and seared on the pan for a few minutes on each side.

As for the salad, I peeled carrots and cucumber into a bowl to match the long ingredients of Trader Joe's Broccoli Slaw and tossed it with the remaining dressing.

Final product:

topped with sesame seeds

It was delicious, but the tofu was a little bland.  I'm thinking a little more salt and the sesame or coconut oil and garlic in the pan should help with that... 

Any suggestions?

You an check out the few recipes we've mastered on our website: www.soomfoods.com

And "like" us on Facebook to see what we're posting about

... and stay ready for our Tehina!

Shelby here...

...Bringing my first blog post to the Soom Sisters blogspot.  

My posts will be predominately focused on the operations and strategy of Soom Foods, so let's discuss the first strategic decision of Soom Foods: setting up shop in Philadelphia...

...Wednesday night I came up with a tag-line for Soom Foods' distribution:

"Delivered with Sisterly Love, from the City of Brotherly Love."  

The inspiration hit me at an Alma Links meeting with Cary Borish, owner of Marathon Grill, who focused much of his conversation on the growth of Philadelphia and the artisan business community.

It was a fascinating talk that explored the importance of social responsibility, food systems, and the "local" movement; he was preaching to the choir when he encouraged the participants to pursue meaningful, inspiring work. 

But what stood out was an issue I have been critically thinking about lately: doing business in Philadelphia.  

As a company we are dedicated to Philadelphia.  I started school here in 2003 and have lived in Philadelphia since (except for a 14 month hiatus in Israel).  I made it my personal mission to counter the "brain drain" and took a job with an economic development organization, Ben Franklin Technology Partners whose goal is to increase jobs and revenue for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  I believe strongly that Philadelphia is an incredible City with a fabulous work-life balance and a down-to-earth yet freakish way about it (to quote Cary Borish...)  Philadelphia also LOVES food and prides itself on its restaurant scene and local artisan food businesses. 

Further, we are networked into the Business Community in Philadelphia - Philadelphia Startup Leaders, IndyHall and Philly Tech Meet-ups.  We have had meetings with SELECT Greater Philadelphia and the American Israel Chamber of Commerce, established food business and import professionals, accounting and legal service providers and not to mention the Small Business Development Centers and University entrepreneurship programs.  Nothing seems inaccessible in this town. 

Just a few weeks ago I shared a blog post about how Philadelphia is emerging as an amazing start-up community with Jackie and Amy.

We understand the landscape of the City, and have met many people and organizations that will support our development.  I recently read an article about working from home (Want Your Startup to Succeed? Stay Home

http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2012/08/want-your-startup-to-succeed-stay-home.php) that discussed the correlation of business success with founders' connection to the City.  Following Amy's last blog post about working from home, it seems like we are making the right decision to develop our business in Philadelphia.  

Philadelphia provides Soom Foods with direct access to a port, food storage space and food distribution facilities in South Philadelphia; tax incentives to set up manufacturing in certain zones, and the Enterprise Center Culinary Enterprise Division to demystify the regulation and restrictions of food production.  

Time will tell if we've made the right decision.  Philadelphia taxes are scary and historically prohibitive.  But we're a company predicated on a strong values system, and supporting the business ecosystem of Philadelphia is high on that priorities list.  Let's just hope that Mayor Nutter uses Soom Foods tax dollars to fix the pothole around the corner from our office.  Or maybe he'll read this blog post and extend a friendly tax exemption... 

-------------------------

What do you think of our packaging idea, "Delivered with Sister Love, from the City of Brother Love"? 

Please take our survey on the left banner of our blog.  It'll be up for a couple weeks, so if you get a chance, please share with family and friends!

AZ's Working from Home

My goal on Soom™ Foods' facebook page ("like" us please! http://www.facebook.com/SoomFoods) is to post a Soom™-recipe-a-day; a 365-day challenge; a way to get into the pattern of utilizing social media everyday... for work!
I missed yesterday.  Besides not posting on weekends, (followed by posting three on Mondays) I hadn't missed a day yet.  And knowing my semi-forgetful tendencies, this was a big feat.  But day 22, Thursday August 30th, no post; and I'm pretty disappointed.
Here are some things I keep telling myself; followed by quick answers.  Yes, I've been talking to myself. And aren't I technically talking to myself in this blog?  Uh-oh. Maybe working from home isn't the best idea...

It's not the worst mistake in the world! We only have 72 followers. Psh, 72 AWESOME FOLLOWERS.
How important is Facebook really?  VERY. A friend of Soom™ recently mentioned how Facebook is like stairs; you use them everyday... (but you wouldn't invest in them)
What's the big deal?  I posted today. No harm no foul. ...HEARD THAT ONE BEFORE.

Ultimately, it's about more than my self-made challenge on Facebook.  It's about my ability to work from home.

I get a great e-mail every day from under30ceo.com.  Learn more about them here, and sign up for their newsletter if you're interested.  
I'm no CEO, but the news and advice for young entrepreneurs has given me lots of knowledge and things to consider.
Their email today featured an article called "Minimal Hours, Maximum Productivity"; highlighting the fact that the author is working from home.

The author had great advice for setting up shop at home: 
1. Work in a work-delegated, closed-off space.  This got me thinking that I should be looking at 1-2 bedroom apartments in Philadelphia, rather than a studio, so I can create a working zone.  (I originally wrote office space instead of working zone, but that got me thinking about the movie, and I'm trying to stay focused here.)
2. Parkinson's Law: tasks fill up the time allotted to them.  I have ALL day to post a recipe? NOPE. I have 5 minutes to post a recipe, starting NOW (or whatever 5 minutes I allot to such a task)
3. Plan ahead. Set a schedule for the following work day.  (... and stick to it)
4. Work when you are most productive.  I've found I'm working well when I first wake up into the early afternoon.  I'm also happy to sit down at my computer after dinner.

I'm not going to lie, working from home is awesome.  Beautiful weather calls me out for runs in the late afternoons, and I'm free to stop into a yoga or spinning class to my heart's content.  My friend Jason even drags me outside to get in a few games of deep-end pool basketball.  (Yes, it's as hard and as fun as it sounds; we wear goggles and are allowed to hold onto the walls to not drown.)  
But what makes working from home amazing also makes it challenging.

I'm new at a lot of what I'm doing, including working from home, and I'm slowly figuring out how to do it all right.

Testing, 1 2 3...

Hello world!

I'm Amy, younger sister to Jackie and Shelby; currently known as SheJAMZ (Shelby, Jackie, and Amy Z) and evolving into the Soom™ Sisters.









My sisters and I are going through a great endeavor- starting our own company: Soom™ Foods, LLC.  Importer and distributer of Tehina (sesame paste) and sesame products.

We're just starting... Well, we've been working on the business backend for almost two years,  and are hoping to import and start selling here in the US (out of Philadelphia) this December.

Our family business is up and running, and so far our three VERY different personalities and interests have exposed themselves as three unique and complementary aspects of our business.


You can learn more about us on our website: http://www.soomfoods.com/the-team.html

The point of this blog, however, is to share what we're doing, learning, trying, etc. with the world.  Or you.  Really, whoever is interested.

Shelby is our CEO (not just of the company; but of us, all our lives, as the oldest)  In short: graduated from Wharton UPENN, currently lives in Philadelphia, Co-Director of PresenTense.  She does anything and everything business.

Jackie is the middle sister (physically and mentally scarred) In short: Has lived in Israel since 2007, just received her Masters in Environmental Science, is getting married in October to Omri :) and makes sure we are constantly on the right path to reducing our carbon footprint, maintaining sustainability, and that everything is good all around. 

And I'm Amy- embodying what it meaans to be the youngest sibling.  Graduated with a Communication BA in Interpersonal Communication from the University of Delaware in 2011.  I'll be doing marketing and sales for this wonderful company.  A year out of college and starting a business is exciting, overwhelming, difficult, and fun... and I'm open to share what I'm thinking/ seeing/ feeling/ doing.

I'll be writing about everything; from people I'm meeting, things I'm learning, and what I'm working on from home (i.e. still trying to figure out how to best utilize twitter, and how excited I got when someone re-pinned a Soom™ picture) 
For instance today- I learned working out of my grandmother's apartment is NOT a healthy or productive work environment... it's hard to write a blog when I'm called in to listen to Dr. Oz's suggestions on weight loss and skin treatment every few minutes.  BUT one day Dr. Oz will hopefully be sharing the nutritional benefits of Sesame.

And I've digressed...

To wrap up, my goal is for my sister's and I to write two blog posts a week.  So with our block scheduling (thank you, JDS) we should each be posting around three a month.  

Soom™ Foods, LLC is proud of our company and we are dedicated to being completely honest; no preservatives and no sales gimmicks.  You can read about what we're going through, while we're going through it.