June 2008

Alarm blares at 6:45am (earlier if I plan to exercise first), get ready for work, spend time with my girls and help them get ready for their day or just be present, breakfast, the dog, out the door and off to work… Phone calls, writing, emails, meetings, almost 2pm yikes, grab lunch and continue working, just noticed it’s 5:30pm, less than an hour to cram in more stuff before I need to run out the door… Yikes, it’s 6:28pm, scoot home to have dinner with my family. Eat, clean-up, kids’ bedtime routine, 8:30pm+ pay bills, stuff around the house until almost midnight, get ready for bed, zzzzz… Six to seven hours later, start again.

What I didn’t write about is what I need to consume on a daily basis to give me the energy I need throughout my day. (Note: I didn’t say to “get through my day” because getting through the day is never an issue, it’s crazy, it’s hectic, but it’s fun). Breakfast is key, and not just because my company produces breakfast cereals. It’s key because if I don’t eat, I get tired and grumpy, or my stomach growls embarrassingly loudly. (Aside: I’ll never forget that early morning in economics class in college where the other side of a very large classroom started laughing because of my stomach’s angry cries). I grew up eating three meals a day, and try to stick to that with the occasional snack. I try to consume lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and some fish, chicken or meat. The challenge for me is mid-afternoon, especially if I happen to be over-tired (i.e. often). The hitch, I’m not supposed to drink caffeine – nothing, zippo, zilch, no caffeine.

About 10 years ago, I had a scare with a lump in my breast. At the young age of 30 I had my first mammogram. I was blessed and lucky because it turned out to be a cist that went away after I stopped consuming caffeine. And back then, I only had one cup of coffee per day. But with a scare like that, I stopped drinking coffee or Coke cold turkey. However, one cup of coffee is nothing compared to most Americans daily caffeine consumption. In fact in CNN last week there was an article about moms needing caffeine just to get through their day[1]. One of the moms interviewed drinks “about four energy drinks, three cups of coffee and a six-pack of soda every day.” After 12 years of no caffeine and no cists, why did I start drinking coffee and the occasional Coke again (even if not daily)? Let’s see, hmmm, married, two kids, one dog, one house, and one start-up company. Just like the CNN article says, “caffeinated moms drink to keep up”. And that’s what I do, I just try to limit it is as much as possible for health considerations.

With all the demands on us today, do we really have a viable alternative? As my mom always said when I was little, “there just aren’t enough hours in the day.” I never understood what she meant, but I surely get it now. There just has to be a healthier alternative to caffeine. In our technology driven society, simplifying our lifestyles will remain a challenge – but one I will continue to aspire to.

Does Anyone Really Care? Does It Matter?

I started this blog this past March and got off to a very slowwwww start… one post in March, one in April, several in May, and up to speed in June. Okay, so I’m not a race car and didn’t hit 90mph in 10 seconds. As a female entrepreneur who launched products into the food industry, I was encouraged to blog about my life and experiences on the Zoe Foods website. I didn’t think that what I was doing was unusual or that people would even be interested. Doesn’t everyone follow their dreams?

It’s not always easy, I’ll grant you that. But if you don’t live your dreams, no one will do it for you. So join me, and not to coin Nike deliberately, “just do it!” As I move forward with this blog, I will commit to sharing the ups and downs of being a mom, entrepreneur, and CEO (Common Everyday Over-achiver). Will you?

If I feel like I’m only 32, does that mean I can abuse my body in the way that I did when I really was 32? Probably not, or I might suddenly feel a lot older. You’ve seen people who look 60 when they’re only 50? I feel bad for them because it seems unnecessary when some simple things can make such a big difference.

All of the things one can do seem to fall under the heading of lifestyle – exercise, diet (i.e. what you eat every day, not going on a diet), sleep, and attitude. It’s worth taking care of yourself at all ages because being able to enjoy life is dependent upon feeling good.

I have a friend who always seems to be struggling with an injury or sickness, and yet she appears to take care of herself (eats healthfully, exercises, and gets plenty of sleep). So, the only thing that I can figure out is that attitude is the other key component of a healthy lifestyle, and that means keeping things in perspective. I had a cut on the bottom of my foot this week, but it didn’t mean that I walked around with a limp and complained about it. Aside from the occasional cold or “bug” from wearing myself down (not enough sleep), I’m extremely healthy and really very grateful for it.

So be aware of your lifestyle. Eat a balanced diet with a variety of whole grains, lots of vegetables, fruit, chicken, fish, and meat in moderation. Don’t deprive yourself of things you love – it only amplifies your cravings. For example, I really do love pizza. Nick’s Pizza in Needham, MA makes pizza like I grew up with in NY – delicious. But, I only go there for lunch once a week which enables me to enjoy it without giving it another thought. Other days, I have chicken in a wrap, yogurt with fresh fruit and Zoe’s Granola (of course), and leftovers (also a healthy favorite). As for sweets, I try to adhere to one every other day, and certainly no more than one per day. Again, no deprivations, no cravings – it makes maintaining a healthy weight much simpler. Now, I’m not waif thin but at the low end of the BMI for my height, and since I don’t aspire to being a supermodel, that works for me. How about you?

On the plane home from L.A., so lots of time to ponder. Had business meetings last Thursday, and another meeting scheduled for this morning (now yesterday) with Jackie Warner (but unfortunately, she cancelled due to illness). But the real impetus for this trip was to celebrate my middle sister’s 40^th birthday: a girls’ weekend at a spa in Southern California - my mom, sisters and cousin – very relaxing, and very decadent.

We all stayed at my sister’s apartment last night and I noticed a birthday card she had displayed that said “40 is the new 30”. Is this because we live longer? Is our society so age obsessed that we need to deny reality? And, more importantly, does living longer give us the right not to take on responsibilities that our parents did at the same age?

Hmmm. I’m 42 and I don’t feel middle aged. However, a good friend who is a doctor announced to a bunch of us (all in our early 40s) that we were in fact middle-aged. He said that this is based on the reality that we have reached the mid-point of our lives. No matter, I am as young as I feel, and I refuse to feel middle-aged whatever that is.

So, I will continue to deny reality and pretend that the wrinkles around my eyes only appear when I squint or laugh, that the lines in my forehead are merely stripes as my five-year-old calls them, and that after too much sun (remember all of the baby oil?), two kids, lots of sports and athletics and the accompanying injuries and surgeries, that my body looks as good as ever and that I still feel great.  I figure there’s nothing wrong with a positive attitude! My grandfather learned to play tennis at age 70, since I already know how, maybe I’ll learn to sky dive?

As for people in their twenties taking on fewer responsibilities, it is dangerous to generalize, but I’m going to take that risk. Over the years I’ve hired a bunch of different people at Zoe Foods from right out of college through 50s. I have noticed a trend through my hires and the interviewing process. Although there are always exceptions (our summer intern is clearly one of them), many people just out of college are not prepared to “pay their dues” in the workplace and often do not have the same work ethic that my generation has. Perhaps they are justified, if we really have to live for 80+ years, why rush into taking on responsibilities if we don’t have to.

So, where do I net out on this topic? 40 is the new 30, and yet we don’t have to worry about our bodies aging right before our eyes because how we feel is more important than how we look. As for responsibilities, don’t expect someone to carry your bag for you while you’re served strawberries dipped in chocolate on a silver platter. Life is full of challenges and experiences, greet them head on, and turn your dreams into reality because no one is going to do it for you.

Man, this is the most turbulence I’ve ever experienced at a high altitude. In fact, the screen gets blurry as I type, and the flight attendants won’t get up to attend to a passenger who rang his call button because it is just soooo bumpy. A couple of minutes is one thing, but this has been going on for about 15 minutes straight and isn’t seeming to abate.

I admit, all kind of crazy, morbid thoughts fly through my brain in moments like this. It doesn’t help when the young girl at the end of the aisle crosses herself and holds on to her friend. I have too much to accomplish in my life so I believe that this uncomfortable situation will soon past. Perhaps if I pretend to be on a ride at Disney, it would be more fun and less hair raising. Looking forward to writing again when I land, or when this passes.

Before I tell you this story, let me draw you a picture of the Zoe Foods Corporate Headquarters… small New England town just outside Boston, 1500 square feet, shared space with a hedge fun manager, 3^rd floor walk-up between Doris’ dress shop (great seamstress) and another shop, wood floors that tilt in all directions and slanty ceilings (can you see the converted attic space?). Low key, low cost, and highly functional.

Four of us are sitting in our conference room (i.e. round table in windowed alcove near stairwell entrance) last week in the middle of a meeting when in walks a very professional looking woman. She profusely apologized for interrupting our meeting (no problem) and stated that she’d like to drop off her resume because she was interested in working for Zoe Foods in sales. She said that she loves Zoe Foods. I step away from the table and introduce myself as Tori. She replies, “and you are?”

Hmmm, she had lots of gumption and presented herself nicely – but she clearly had not done any research on my company. I almost didn’t even notice this point until Tim pointed out the irony of it all. Lesson learned: dream, believe, prepare, and then achieve!

1. Have a special notebook, keep it small in size. I’ve found if it’s a permanent cover with changeable pads of paper, I stick with the process more. My notebook is the backup hard drive for my brain. I take notes in it whether in a meeting or when I hear an idea that I want to remember. I also keep my “to do” lists here. This is where the swirling thoughts in my head find a comfortable resting spot – albeit an unorganized one.
2. Write different topics on different pages (hence a small notebook is preferable since you don’t waste paper). At the end of the day, go through your notes and tear out what you want to keep; file it. If it’s not worth filing, either throw it out (i.e. put it in your recycle bin) or hang onto it for a little. When the notebook is full, if you haven’t filed it, recycle it.
3. Carry a day planner or electronic calendar with you always. I’ve found an electronic calendar (PDA) to be much better.
4. Take the most important things from your notebook that you either have to do or really want to do, and put them on your calendar. Block out the time that you need to truly accomplish the task or project. Be realistic in how much you can get done in a specific amount of time. Schedule it! Schedule all of those things that you never have time for. And, don’t break that appointment with yourself.
5. Surround yourself with people who are organized and think differently from you. They help to provide you with balance, just as you help them to think out of the box.
6. Don’t ever let a pile of papers or magazines get so big that you can’t clean it up within 30 minutes. I’ve found that this rule prevents undaunting messes.
7. Have a specific place for your incoming mail. Write the due dates for bills on the outside of the envelope, pull them aside, and file them on your desk (in view) in chronological order.
8. Ideally, clean off your desk at the end of every week. I admit that I don’t hit this goal every week, but I’m working on it.
9. Exercise. Do something every day, even if it’s just a short walk around the block. I walk my dog daily and try to work out as much as I can. It helps clear my head, and often my best ideas come to me during this time.
10. Realize that ADD is just a different way of thinking that allows you to think out of the box. Pick just a couple of these tips to try and stick with it. If you don’t, it’s okay, just start again tomorrow!

If you build it they will come, role models, business, family, ADD, exercise, too much sugar, school, summer activities, too much to do, too many plans scheduled, down-time, friends, family, filing business expenses, bills, unpacking, color of the kitchen walls, septic system, radon in the basement, sales, meetings today… ADD. Sitting on a plane on my way to Los Angeles. (well, I was yesterday as I’ve now been up for 22 hours minus some naps on the plane). Had planned on sleeping for at least three hours, but lucky if I got 90 minutes. My brain is in gear and has begun its daily musings, so my body will obey and follow suit.

A little over a year ago I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Edward Hallowell, author, psychiatrist, and well-known expert on attention deficit disorder (ADD). Interestingly, it was a business opportunity for my company because Hallowell believes that omega-3s can help improve our ability to concentrate.

Before meeting him, I read his book Delivered from Distraction. Every couple of pages I’d ask my husband to read a paragraph because I thought it described me. The descriptions were uncanny in their resemblance to how I process information and think. Since an early age in school I realized that I had a different learning style from my classmates. For example, I calculated (and still do) math problems with different logic than everyone else while still coming up with the right answer. I learned to work around it and work with it by creating tools to stay organized. (I’ll come back later with tips that have helped me).

ADD has served me well. It’s not severe enough to be debilitating and is probably the reason for my ability to see lots of possibilities and solutions where others may give up. I have learned that this is common among entrepreneurs, but sometimes frustrating to be around for those who see the linear path and not all the wonderful twists and turns that life presents us with.

One of the things I struggle with most is winding down at the end of the day and going to sleep. I can lie in bed and one thought just leads to another. How frustrating to watch my husband fall asleep within a couple of minutes. In observing our two daughters, my older daughter is just like my husband, and my younger one – well, just like me. If you have a tip on this one, please share it!

Since we just moved to a new house, we received a terrific house-warming gift (not including the very delicious homemade cupcakes from a neighbor, and my husband thought no one does that anymore) – but a deck of cards of questions appropriate for the whole family called Table Topics. To follow on to my blog from the other day about getting your kids to eat what is in front of them, the best way to achieve this is to not talk about what they’re eating!

Forget reverse psychology or any other tricks of the parent trade. Just get your kids involved and thinking about something else and having a real dialog. Even my four and five year old girls can participate in the questions posed by Table Topics. The best part about it – dinner has not only become relaxing, but entertaining! I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it is to have a lively dialog with your pre-schoolers and spouse.

Table Topic: What do kids know more about than their parents? It’s not just princesses and groovy girls, it’s what any good manager, psychologist, or believer in the “The Secret” would tell you – believe in your children and treat them in the way that you would like them to behave and those dinner-time woes may just fall by the wayside.

If any of you have read the book, The Secret, you’ll know what I’m talking about. I don’t want to get all “new agey” on you, but, I really think there’s something there. We attract what we believe and what we want. So I believe there’s truth in the old adage, “be careful what you wish for.”

In all honesty, Zoe Foods has been a roller coaster ride for the last eight years. If anyone had ever told me it would be so hard to start a business and turn it into a success, I would never have believed them in all of my naïve optimism. More stories on this topic, but I’ll save them for another day.

If Zoe were a cat, the company would be in its ninth life. The company is small, and is going through a difficult time with consolidation in the grocery industry, Whole Foods Market’s discontinuing brands to make room for their private label products, product challenges, management challenges, etc. All of that said, we have some really exciting opportunities coming our way, and I can see that the light at the end of the tunnel is not an on-coming train, but rather daylight. So hold on for the ride…

I leave for LA tomorrow on a 6:30am flight (I’ll be up at 4am – ugh) for some sales meetings in LA with my VP sales and some of our brokers, and a meeting with Jackie Warner of Bravo’s show Work Out, and the founder of Sky Sport Spa. Now there’s an entrepreneur for you! Despite the obvious differences between our companies, from my research on her, we have a similar philosophy – make a difference in people’s lives via a healthy lifestyle. So the roller coaster ride continues with interesting opportunities at every corner. Stay tuned… And yes, I did work out this morning and felt the burn (while my kids darted in and out of my bedroom and my dog pranced around with his bone in his mouth).

Originally published on http://zoefoodsblog.blogspot.com/.

Am I the only mom that hears the same thing over, night after night at the dinner table? And by the way, it’s not, “mmm, this is delicious.” How about the litany of complaints ranging from: “It’s too spicy. “I won’t eat the tops of the broccoli, mommy, just the stem.” “Will you count how many more bites I have to eat to get dessert?”

Ugh – dinner used to be relaxing. After a long day at work, my husband and I need dinner to be more relaxing, but even more importantly, we want our girls to learn to eat a variety of foods and to enjoy eating healthfully. As hard as this can be, we persevere. With the increasing rates of childhood obesity and diabetes, and the number of girls that have eating disorders, we realize how important it is that we teach our kids to try new foods and to know when they are hungry and when they are full.

Once the girls had some teeth, my husband and I decided that our family would all eat the same thing for dinner – i.e. no specially made meals, no chicken fingers (“mommy, I didn’t know chickens had fingers!”), and no noodles with butter. Although dinner isn’t as relaxing as we might like, our girls are learning. They eat chicken, fish (I didn’t even eat fish until college!), red meat, pork, and pasta of course, along with a variety of vegetables, fruits, and the requisite daily treat.

So hang in there, teach your child to enjoy lots of different foods, tastes, and textures, always include at least one thing in their meal that you know they will enjoy that’s good for them, and pass the ketchup on your way out by leaving it in the fridge.

Originally published on http://zoefoodsblog.blogspot.com.

I just read a blog on the Wall St. Journal site about “The Benefits of a Feminine Leadership Style” (http://blogs.wsj.com/independentstreet/2008/06/09/the-benefits-of-a-feminine-leadership-style/#comment-14448). Here are my thoughts:

I have worked for both “good” and “bad” bosses of both sexes and thus, don’t think it is gender that makes someone effective or successful in managing other people. So what does make someone a good manager of people? From my experience it is whether they have the capability to be fair when put to the test, and if they are authentic.

In the eight years I have been running Zoe Foods, an all natural foods company that produces cereals and bars, I am sure that I have made all types of management mistakes. But, the two things that I have always done is to be myself and make every effort to be fair. As a result, I believe I have earned the respect of my employees and shareholders, and if the company can produce excellent products that live up to their claims, the company too, will be successful.
As a mom and an entrepreneur, I find the same is true with my family and children, as at work. The main difference - my employees don’t have tantrums - usually

Originally published Tuesday June 10, 2008 on http://zoefoodsblog.blogspot.com/.

I was just at a new parents’ meeting for my children’s new school. All very exciting, but I admit that I did have an ulterior motive – meet some mothers of the other girls in my daughter’s pre-K class to arrange some play dates over the summer. That way, my daughter would have a friend at her new school. Sounds easy. It turns awkward when I explain that I won’t actually be at the play date because I work full-time, oh, but my girls’ nanny will be there.

This of course leads to the question: “So, what do you do?” Now you think this would be easy to answer, but there are so many options… I work in the natural foods industry, I run a natural foods company, I could even say that I started a natural foods company and run Zoe Foods. Or, I could just say that I’m an entrepreneur. Nothing seems to roll off my tongue because I don’t work for someone else in the way that most people do. I don’t leave it all behind when I come home at night; the day’s challenges and goals are always brewing in the back of my head, and of course the bottom line is always part of my consciousness.

How do I explain in a casual situation what I do for work when I’m an entrepreneur who adores her family and being a mom? I’m at the school function aren’t I? I’m present. My life’s work just goes in two directions: (1) my family, and (2) my job.

Building a company is hard, growing a brand that can make a difference in people’s lives with all natural, nutritious and delicious foods is harder, but raising your kids to be kind, respectful, considerate, and loving people? Isn’t that the toughest challenge of them all? And that’s the task that I outsource on a part-time basis! Now where’s the sense in that?

After five years of deliberating on these questions, I’ve come to the conclusion that we are all here on this planet to achieve different things and that being an entrepreneur and a mom are not mutually exclusive. In fact, most moms are entrepreneurs! Entrepreneur (n.) a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, esp. a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. In my book, a family is certainly an enterprise, and no one will deny that raising a family takes a lot of initiative, tons of effort, and contains risk!

How a woman balances her roles is as varied as the number of women who choose to take on both work and family. Maybe I’m only dreaming that I can do both at once and do both well, but I don’t think so. I really believe that I can, and some of the cool stuff that is taking place at Zoe Foods right now and with my kids is proof that I am beginning to achieve the goals that I set out for myself.

So in answer to the question “What do you do?” I think next time I will say I’m a CEO – Common Everyday Over-achiever* of all things ranging from kids’ play dates to doctor’s appointments, and yes, Zoe Foods.

Note: I would like to attribute this very clever definition of “CEO” to Kris Kaplan, a fellow EO (Entrepreneur’s Organization) member, and clearly, another CEO.

Originally published on http://zoefoodsblog.blogspot.com/.

Last week was my girls’ last week of school. On the last day, the school had a sing-along and a picnic. During that time the kids ran around and played. At age 3-5, they do not really comprehend the full import of the day – that many of the 4 year olds, and all of the 5 year olds will be attending different schools in the fall. They are at school five days each week till noon, and then during weekly playdates, and birthday parties every couple of weeks. Then, school is over. Everyone’s lives are about to move on in very different directions. The parents of course were all in awe that their babies had just finished pre-school or pre-K and how quickly the year had whizzed by.

I discussed how quickly the time has gone by with one dad and soon discovered that he held the same opinion as that of my husband: the faster we run, and the more we take on, the faster time goes by. So does that mean that the converse is true? If we do less, time will slow down?

Sounds crazy but at 42 years of age, there’s still so much I want to see, do, and experience in my life and with my family that I cannot imagine how I will squeeze it all in. (Even that sentence was long just to get everything in!) There’s just so much fun to be had and many wonderful people to meet.

My wise yogi friends seem to have figured it out by being in the moment. The thing is, I am in the moment. There are just so many wonderful moments and they all whiz by so quickly. Why is it that when you’re little and your birthday is only a month away it seems like forever, and now that I’m almost 43, my 40th birthday celebration seems like it was yesterday?

Originally published on http://zoefoodsblog.blogspot.com/.

I’m sitting at my desk in my Zoe Foods office with my earpiece on for my cell phone, typing on the keyboard for my desktop, and my laptop PC open and on to my right that I’m checking occasionally for interesting emails.

My director of operations, Tim, walks in and just starts to chuckle as he hands me something I recently printed and left on the printer (one of my many projects). I look at him with a quizzical look, and then say, “oh thanks, yeah, I printed that.” He said, “Why don’t you have a phone hooked up to your other ear, since you’ve got a computer going for each eye?”

Tim turns to leave and I say, “Ooh, now I have my next blog idea – thanks.” I take the earpiece off after listening to Verizon’s hold music (trying to get a new phone number for our home which we just moved into a couple of weeks ago) when I realize that after 25 minutes on hold, I had become accustomed to Verizon’s hold music and that it was actually helping me to tune out all of the junk and focus on just one project.

Hmmm, how many things am I working on at the moment? Well, I’ll only admit to several. How many different things are going through my brain, that’s a story for another day, but probably common to many entrepreneurs and multi-tasking moms – and when you combine the two – well, watch out!

How much can any of us really get done at one time, and get done well? Am I really accomplishing more by having so many projects going at once, or is Zoe Foods that grossly understaffed? Questions to ponder for another time… because now I’m going to run home to spend a little quality time with my kids before I go to an EO (Entrepreneur’s Organization) Board meeting.

Originally published on http://zoefoodsblog.blogspot.com.

A little while ago I wrote about my belief that there is no magic bullet. I certainly did not mean to leave anyone hanging as to what might be a healthy option. So I’d like to share with you a healthy meal plan that was created by a registered dietician for Zoe Foods. In working with this dietician, our goal was to create a meal plan that would help you to learn what a balanced diet would be like for one week. The thought is that you can then continue with these eating habits and add your own combinations and variety. We wanted to help get you started. We also learned that every day does not have to, nor can it be perfect. But over the course of a week, you will have eaten healthfully, and hopefully enjoyed your meals, as well as learned that it’s not as hard as it looks. So have some fun with it, and take a look at the following link: (http://www.zoefoods.com/mealplan.htm).