sheJamz take on Earth Day

This is Taz.
He loves the earth

Today, April 22, is Earth Day! A day celebrated in many countries to raise the awareness of environmental issues happening around our planet.  The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970.  SheJAmz, O, and Taz

 were not even thoughts in the brains of their parents; and it is still commemorated 43 (?!?!) years later!  Therefore, our blog post this Monday will be focused on how we, at Soom Foods, are giving back to the planet.

In the early planning stages, when Soom Foods was still a mere idea thrown around at the dinner table, we knew that if (read: when) Soom Foods would become an actual company we were going to give back philanthropically from the start. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The three of us (SheJAmz) were raised by two dedicated and philanthropic parents that showed us, by example, that giving back to the community was something that must be done.

At Soom Foods, we believe that protecting the environment is important and we decided that the first organization we will donate to will be the nonprofit, 1% for the Planet. Their mission is simple, straightforward, and spoke to us as business owners. 

"1% of the Planet exists to build and support an alliance of businesses financially committed to creating a healthy planet."

1% for the Planet was co-founded by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, the owner of Blue Ribbon Flies. In addition to being business owners, they are environmentalists.  They understand that protecting the natural resources that keep their companies in business is a smart business move.  I, Jackie, as well as Shelby and Amy, agree with Mr. Chouinard and Mr. Mathews. We understand that the environment in which we live and conduct our business in is not simply here for our benefit. After all, what business would we have if our planet can no longer supply our product?

Please help us help the planet!  We’re making it easy for you.  Every purchase of a Soom Foods product will give something back.

A (wo)Man's Field

It wasn't until I came across a post on HARO, an amazing site that "connects reporters to qualified sources," that I really began to consider the ratio of men to women in my experiences representing Soom Foods.  The question was, what advice do you have for young female entrepreneurs.

I read it as, what advice would I give myself.

Last month I was standing at an eCommerce Meet Up in Philadelphia, next to two (of maybe five total) women among 40 people.  Another woman and I laughed at the lack of female attendance, and I quickly realized that commenting with this woman about the lack of women was not the reason I went to the Meet Up,  networking was; so I politely excused myself to grab a drink.  I sparked up conversation with a group of men around the fridge.

Fast forward to the end of last week, and the same ratios of men to woman (yes, singular; me) began to emerge.  Omri and I finally began our sales process, meeting with several grocery, market, catering, and restaurant owners and managers in the Maryland/ DC area.  I was the only female in attendance at five of the seven meetings.

http://aaguina2.blogspot.com/

I'm lucky to say I am not uncomfortable around men.  In fact, I think I would be less comfortable in a group of women.  I grew up loving sports, particularly basketball, which gave me more to do and talk about with the boys in my grade than the girls.  That comfort and ability to relate has continued through today, where a large percentage of my close friends are the XY mix, and I'd rather kick back to watch (any) sports game, than do (almost) anything else.

Just because I relate better to men does not mean they relate better to me, and I find myself in the thick of a boy's game grown up.  Just like in elementary school, when my close friend and neighbor had a boys only birthday party which I was not allowed to attend, I find myself an obvious outsider as I've worked to put Soom Foods on the shelves and into dishes.
In our entire supply chain, from manufacturer to warehouse, I am one of very few (majority of the time, the only) double-X.

How do I get myself into the game?  Well, I run it; by asking questions when necessary, giving answers when asked, and making the decisions for what's best for my sisters and my company.  With the help of two amazing men, I might add.  Brian Shube, a member of the supply chain boys club, helped me in organizing the supply chain; and Omri, the best brother a girl could ask for, is my voice abroad and ally in our initial meetings.

So what was my advice to young female entrepreneurs?
Get in on the conversations. 
For more, check out the 10th of the 13 suggestions from seasoned business owners.
The other 12 are great, too.

I felt like they were speaking to me.

Social Media: The Consoomer Experience

Soom Foods has chosen four social media outlets:  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram...

...to streamline the consoomer experience

...and answer the question: How do (will/did) you soom™?

http://www.facebook.com/SoomFoods
Facebook has become Soom Foods' hub.  Like (almost?) everything, whatever we do, you will see on our Facebook wall.

Please "like" Soom Foods on Facebook; we post things like this blog, recipes, pictures (lots of pictures!), soom updates, and more.  We repost articles and videos about health, nutrition, family, entrepreneurship, and whatever else speaks to us and hopefully to you!

https://twitter.com/SoomFoods
We're tweeting and listening to others' tweets.

Follow Soom Foods on Twitter; stay updated on health (and beauty!) trends that tehina consistently fit, see pictures straight from Instagram, read our blog posts... all in 140 characters or less!

 http://pinterest.com/soomfoods/
Admitted addicts.

Follow Soom Foods on Pinterest; and check out our boards

"a #soomful of tehina for..." which showcases delicious recipes that can be upgraded, trading tehina for ingredients in it.  

"soom recipes" where we'll pin consoomer recipes

and more

http://instagram.com/soomfoods
Follow Soom Foods on Instagram to see where we are, what we're making, and most importantly- what consoomers are making.

Follow these easy directions:
1. make soomthing delicious
2. put it on instagram; tag a soomful (#soomful) in the description.  You can even give us a shoutout (@soomfoods)

We may have four outlets, but you just need to know about one.

Check out www.soomfoods.com (in a few weeks, we're currently updating!)

There, you'll be able to connect to our facebook, twitter, pinterest and instagram accounts.

More importantly, you'll be able to upload your #soomful pictures and share your recipes in a click.

It's all about the consoomer experience.