Today I have a story about making new friends, starting a new career, and supporting your friends’ dreams rather than being a naysayer. It’s like several of my friendship advice columns mashed together.
A FRIENDSHIP BEGINS
I met Nancy Fink, founder of Spoon Optional, a new company in the Twin Cities selling vegetarian, organic soups, in 2003 when we were both still new(ish) to Minneapolis. We were set up on a “date” by a friend of our husbands’ families who figured that two young couples with husbands from the Twin Cities and wives from other Midwest cities would get along well.
The four of us hit it off quickly, but on our third date Bryan and I broke the news that we were expecting our first child. I say “but” because that change in status had the potential to thrust us in different directions. I stopped teaching when Sam was born, filling my days with playdates, baby classes, and endless errands (some of which I invented to get out, I’m sure). Nancy worked full-time in HR. Thankfully, our friendship continued to grow steadily anyway.
RAISING KIDS TOGETHER
The Finks had their first child six months after we had our second. Now in addition to spending time together as families on occassional Friday nights, Sunday brunches, or Saturday nights without the kids, Nancy and I were on the same stay-at-home schedule. We had a weekly playdate with our friend Jorie, and the three of us supported each other with advice ranging from the practical (sleeping, feeding, potty training) to the too-many-to-name deeper issues.
DREAMING OF A WRITING CAREER
Nancy and Jorie, still enjoying the newness of life with their first babies, were unconditionally encouraging when I talked about starting a writing career. Neither one reminded me of my utter lack of experience, nor did they act like it was “cute” that I wanted to try something potentially far-fetched. They read drafts of my novel and rode the roller coaster with me as I waited to hear from agents. They commiserated with my letdowns and celebrated my successes as I slowly carved out space for myself in the freelance writing world. Not big on using social media, they shared articles for me anyway when I landed pieces on bigger sites.
SPOON OPTIONAL IS BORN!
In the past few years Nancy and I spent a lot of time on long walks brainstorming about which direction she might go as she felt ready to work outside the home again, though not in HR. We talked often about her passion for cooking and nutrition, but she wasn’t sure how that would translate into the next step.
Then one day last winter Nancy started experimenting with healthy, portable soups. She’d make enormous batches, and since our kids go to the same school, I was often a lucky recipient of extra containers of roasted tomato basil, butternut squash, and numerous other flavors she was making for her family and just for fun. “You should sell this,” she heard from me and from everyone else who ran into Nancy with the extra containers of soup that took up too much room in her freezer. If you saw Nancy last winter, she was always sipping soup on the go.
A KEY TO NANCY’S SUCCESS: FRIENDSHIP
What has made Spoon Optional so special other than Nancy’s drive and talent is how she has included her personal community in her business journey. Several of Nancy’s friends got to taste the soups at different points and chime in on name ideas and the look of the labels. As Nancy was putting each piece of Spoon Optional in place, those of us in Nancy’s life felt increasingly attached to the project. I don’t feel like Spoon Optional is MY baby, but I do see it as something akin to my favorite niece. And I buy about four jars a week because I love the healthy, convenient option of sippable soup, I love Nancy, and I owe her big time after SO MUCH FREE SOUP!
HOW TO BUY SPOON OPTIONAL!
Nancy wrote about her motivation to start a soup business on her own site as well as how she learned to love cooking. On the Spoon Optional site you will also find out about the benefits of sippable soup and of course where you can buy it in the Twin Cities. (It’s only available locally for now, but trust me, that won’t always be the case.) Follow Spoon Optional on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date about new buying options.
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37 Responses
I’m local! Please enter me in the drawing!!
Will do for sure!
You know I would love this. 🙂 Great article!
Super healthy and perfect for you.
I didn’t know you two even knew each other! Who knew? I really liked your comments that your friends didn’t think taking up writing was ‘cute’. I too am dismissive of folks sometimes and it can hurt. Anyhow, I’ve tried 3 soups so far and they are beyond yummy and I feel good eating so healthy. Please enter me in the drawing! Great to know more of your history together.
Thank you! And don’t forget to use your 15% coupon whether you win the drawing or not. 🙂
Sending you a pm.
Oh, I should not have read this right before dinner! Now I have two reasons to be sad I don’t live in Minnesota: I can’t take your writing class and I can’t have the soup. So happy for your friend Nancy – please tell your blog readers when the soup is available to be shipped!
I definitely will! I know so many of you will appreciate how easy and healthy it is (as opposed to canned soup, which is full of sodium).
Tried the tomato basil soup. Both Alyson and I loved it! She’s been begging me to get some more!
Rebecca had the tomato today! 🙂
I’m local 😊 and would love to be entered into the drawing. I am so lucky to have a great group of women who happen to be fellow writers and are so supportive and encouraging when it comes to words I write. I am so grateful for friends like these.
I think I know these women! 😉 I will enter you in the drawing for sure. She’s also selling them at Linden Hills co-op. A good to know if you’re ever by there.
Great article- love the way you have a group of friends who have supported and helped each other take the risks and make the leaps of faith needed to take parts of their lives in new directions. You guys are very lucky. I am local, so please enter me I. The drawing for the soup.
We are lucky! And we work hard at it, too. I really think that social media can take over so much that it takes work to remember how important it is to see each other face to face. The walks over the years have been the best use of our time for sure. I will definitely enter you in the drawing! Thanks for reading and commenting.
I’m not local, but these look and sound delicious! Best of luck to your friend — hopefully we will see her soups in Texas one day 🙂
I hope so too! Thanks for reading, Caryn!
This looks like such a convenient option for busy parents. Can’t wait to try! Would love to be entered into the drawing! 🙂
Oh my gosh, Andrea, this is so completely up your alley. Do you and Nancy know each other?
Yes, our kids are in preschool together!
I’m sort of local😄. I think I’ll need to stop at Linden Hills Co-op on Thursday before writing group so I can bring soup back to Rochester!
Yes, do it! And so happy the gang is back together this Thursday.
Oh how fun! I’m not local (*sad face*) so can’t enter, but all the good luck to Nancy in the world! (And she could check out our locally run Good Food Store as a place to expand to. I know they work with smaller businesses!)
Dakota recently posted..Crafting with Kids – Tips to Hook them for Life
Thanks so much, Dakota. I will tell her!
I’m local, love soup, and as a busy MBA student would love to win!
Will enter you for sure. You will love it!
Yum. And brilliant. I’m local! And you’ve played a big role in supporting one of my dreams:-)
It’s been really amazing for me to watch it all play out. Honored to have played a little role.
Cannot wait to try this soup!! How amazing for Nancy!!
It is so completely your kind of thing!
Nancy’s soups are as beautiful as they are delicious. Love them!
I don’t remember what i ate before. I’ve been drinking lots of them.
Way to go Nancy! I’m placing an order this week 🙂
I can’t wait to try the new cauliflower one!
Hello Nina
Such a nice about friendships. I firmly believe that behind every wonderful woman are some great girlfriends! It has always been my mission to make sure we women truly treasure our girlfriends. Our friendships with other women are important to our health and happiness in many important ways. Friendships are so important in our lives that it is surprising how often we try to “go at it alone.” The demands of everyday life with work, home and family can make it seem like there’s no time for our friends or ourselves. This is especially true when we are coping with depression. We hide. We don’t want to bring anybody down. We get very, very busy. So busy that even the President couldn’t get an appointment. But it’s so important that we stay in touch during these times.
Given all of life’s joys and challenges, it’s great to know I can rely on the loyalty, honesty, insights and laughter of my girlfriends. I consider myself very lucky that my girlfriends were able to help me when it was hard for me to see what was wrong or what I needed to feel better. They’ve always been there for me and it’s made all the difference in the world.
I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.
Alice Clover recently posted..Health and beauty benefits of spinach
I love that! Yes, behind every great woman for sure!
AAAHHH! First your writing studio and now this!? Why do you tempt me, so, TWC? This sounds fantastic, the soup, the friendship, all of it.