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.