Goals, Outcomes, Questions...

Besides my wonderful marriage (of 15+ years),  I have never entered into a partnership venture before.   With that being said,  I'm at a loss for roadmap as to how to process and proceed with our new cookbook venture.    Traditional religious weddings come with a set of plans, agreements, etc. to make it easy on us newly engaged folks with our gaga smiles and goo-goo eyes.  But, what about business partnerships?  

It seems as if May and I are in the "honeymoon" phase of our venture with big dreams and lofty plans.  May tells me she pictures us on the Today show doing cooking demos.  "Or we could be at the Farmer's Market selling our cookbooks."she gleams.   I love those ideas but yet - yikes, I am more comfortable behind the scene.  Perhaps its time to make sure we are both on the same wavelength with outcome goals.

It has come to my attention that all good partnerships shall not only start with enthusiasm and determination but also with a shared vision.   I always hated the yearly goal setting exercise that my boss made us do,  but I realize its importance, especially in a teamwork setting.      Last week we said "jump" and the net will appear.  Err,  I'm frightened and want to at least visualize that net.

So the process continues.   We are both exploring healthy recipes that are easily adaptable to all dietary restrictions especially low carb and gluten free.    We are coming together with recipes our families like and new ideas for recipes.    My fear is that we haven't nailed down our niche market - or have we?   

Questions to consider as we progress:

1.  Name your top three priorities for work/life balance?  

2.  What would your ideal role is this project look like?

3.  What is our plan after creating this cookbook?  

4.  How will we market and sell it?

5.  How much money are we willing to invest?

Mission statement

The business side of mind knows that every viable idea or business needs a shared mission statement.   I think May and I are on the same page with coming up with recipes that are nutritious and low allergy.   We like the idea that everyone in the family can come together and eat the same meal despite their food preferences, dietary restrictions, etc.

There is so much undue anxiety and pressure around cooking meals for your family these days, especially if you are working full or even part time and then add the pressure of food allergy or intolerance or a new diet.

   Many of us wait until the last minute to decide what's for dinner and then it seems to be what is easiest or available.   I'm often uninspired to cook and just make a simple meat and vegetable dinner which is fine but leaves me feeling uninspired in the kitchen.

Many cultures believe that there is more to just nutrients in food.   Food can taste better when prepared with love - there are studies.  Food can taste better depending on where and when it is shared.   We don't need to go out to dinner to bring the family together in a shared event.   We could easily create this shared event at home.   I want to research a way to bring this to every family and make dinner shared, enjoyable and absolutely nutritious.

A few years ago I decided to get out of my cooking rut with a venture into cooking a meal from a different country.   This was a fun process as it opened up my repertoire of cooking ideas - but the involvement was huge.  I was constantly researching and hitting up several stores for special ingredients.

Why can't there be a way to simplify it all -  a repertoire of recipes that use a basic pantry of ingredients.   Recipes that are varied in taste and easily adaptable to every family members dietary needs.    I'm looking for dinners that are fun - dinners that bring everyone together in a way that is lost in our society.    Dinners that make us interact and enjoy each other.   Gone are the dinners where we have to pass food around the table.   For the most part,  we cook one pot or one dish meals and serve it up on a plate.    Its all about speed and not about enjoyment or interaction.

When I'm out at restaurants,   I've noticed that the tables where people are sharing food - they are sharing a connection.    Fajitas, Pho,  Fondue -  recipes such as this seem to bring people together.   There is always a sense of fun and smiles when meals like this are placed on the table.

My mission is to uncover this... I'm going to try a new experiment at my house.    I'm going to seek out recipes where we share the meal prep at the table.    I want to see if this idea can bring everyone together, make the cooking process less stressful for the chef,  and result in more clean plates.

Examples of recipes to explore:

Tacos, Fajitas

Fondues

Pho and other soups

Crab pot - corn, potatoes, crab, shrimp poured out onto the table.

Roll your own Sushi

Stirfry - cook meat, vegetables and sauce  separately and bring to the dinner table.

Lettuce boats

Can passion create a business

Research can be delicious!

When you consider starting a new partnership, business or other endeavour, the analytical mind considers the business plan.   Is there a market?   What is our target market?  What do people want?  What will sell?  What is marketable?

What if,  just what if... we forgot about all that and just go with a passion project.   Why do we have to cater to what we think people want?   Maybe people don't know what they want?   Maybe we all want to just see someones passion shine through.

These are things that I am exploring.   I'm listening to a podcast by Todd Rose, author of the Dark Horse.    His Harvard based research has shown that we can be extremely successful in doing what we are passionate about.   It is all how we measure success.

Food has always been my passion.    I can remember loving cookbooks ever since I was a young child.  Back in the 70's, cookbooks lacked beautiful photos and delicious descriptions,  but they made up for it in taste.   You could just read the title and let your imagination take you on a delicious ride.  "Blackberry tarts, I bet those look and taste amazing.   Chicken and biscuits,  ah, that sounds so warm and yummy."

Today we are loured into a online world where nothing looks as it seems.   I am disappointed time after time with delicious looking recipes on Pinterest or some blogger's lovely website.  The photos are taste tempting and the flowery long description makes my mouth water.   In the end,  it is just
disappointment.  Nothing is as it seems.    Is this the future of recipes?   Clickbait!     Just like a failed date on Bumble...  the photo and description are nothing like the real thing.   Why waste your time with  online recipes that lure us in but leave us totally unsatisfied. 

I have a stack of cookbooks in my dining room,  I'm studying everything about them - the foreword,  the layout,  the quality of the binding,   the photos, etc.    A great cookbook is one that you'll dog ear, break the binding,  cover with food spatters and end up wishing you bought two copies because your first one is just a mess.  A good cookbook shouldn't overwhelm but inspire great delicious meals time after time.

What happened to the Joy of Cooking?    Most of my friends with kids express so much anxiety about food shopping and cooking.   Their kids have a gluten intolerance or severe food allergies.  Their 10 year old just declared that they are a vegan or their youngest was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.    Yikes, meal planning is now a ticking time bomb - what if  the food manufacturer doesn't list all the ingredients?  What if I misread the food label?    What if this has too much sugar?

Even as someone formally trained in food label diagnostics,   I have made some fatal mistakes.   We have a multi-diet household.    My husband and I have been doing an Atkins/Keto hybrid diet for the past 5 years and we do our best to keep our two kids on a Feingold diet plan.   Sounds daunting - well it is,  even for the most seasoned professional.    You can't ever assume what is in a healthy sounding product.  Just a few days ago I was duped into buying Life Cereal.   We rarely have cereal in our house, but after a lot of begging and a 99 cent sale,  I allowed a box that junk into my house.

My 7 year old son polished off the entire box in one weekend!   And then the crazy anxious behavior ensued.    When Zach eats too much BHT,  TBHQ,   Red Dye 40, Blue 1, etc - well he turns into an emotional mess and his skin turns into a bumpy, itchy mess. 

An Idea, maybe?

Gone are the days where a stay at home mom could enjoy the down time and relax when her kids go to school, maybe indulge in a few daytime soaps.   Us mom's are now expected to act as the CEO of our home domain and XYZ company, while juggling parental duties such as take the kids to school, cook, clean, tutor, and walk the dog.

As a small business owner and stay at home mom,  I should be happy for a bit of respite now that my kids are in school full time. Alas when my fellow foodie friend, May, approached me with the idea of co-authoring a cookbook -  my mind suddenly shifted into high gear with hundreds of ideas and images of cookbook titles and recipes floating about.

As a dietitian,  food and health is near and dear.  I'm dream job was always that of a food tinkerer or writer.   And my cohort, May, is  a CIA trained chef,  she definitely has the credentials for a project of this caliber. 

Umm, so cookbook authors... I like the sound of it.  Definitely not
out of our realm of expertise,  but where do we begin.   It seems as though everyone is writing recipes these days.  Scores of cook books adorn the shelves and online sites offer any recipe you wish within a three second google search.   Can an unknown author even have a chance at getting published?   Do we need an extreme niche?   Who is our target market?  What health marker should we focus on?   This opens a world of questions that has me bogged down into idea paralysis. 

The process... this blog is a tool to define the process.   Take a step back and look at the bigger picture, one step at time that one must undertake in any creative business venture.     Please read on and subscribe to ,  one step at time... this blog is a work in progress documenting the process from an idea dreamed up in a coffee shop to hopefully a salable book.