GUEST POST: Reflections on 20 Years
Eric Miller joined the Souper Jenny team as a server at the original Souper Jenny Buckhead in 2009. His skills with all things financial allowed him to easily shift to Jenny’s CFO in 2015. Here are his Reflections on Souper Jenny’s 20th Anniversary.
When asked to reflect upon the 20 year history of Souper Jenny in an effort to reveal the core ingredient or ingredients of its success, many different things came to mind.
Depending on how strictly scientific you choose to be about it, 20 years is considered to be a generation. Souper Jenny moves from the discussion of being a perennial phenomenon to a generational one! It makes perfect sense to me. I remember serving grilled cheese sandwiches years ago to 3,4 and 5 year olds, watching them take a bite and then scamper, take another bite and then climb. These little children are now in college, dropping by with their parents or a girl or boyfriend on Spring Break to get a bowl of turkey chili.
The Zadie Project in the News!
GUEST POST: My Misogi -- Introducing The Souper Walk
Misogi. What the hell is a Misogi?
When I first heard this word in a personal development class a few months ago, I had no idea what it meant. Is it a type of mushroom? Possibly a new kind of chef’s knife, or maybe some crazy vegetable new to the States?
Nope, that was just my restaurant mind racing and a Misogi is nothing related to food. Instead, it’s a type of challenge you take on once a year. It revolves around a personal challenge. It is an activity that stretches you out of your “normal” and tests your limits.
So, a couple of weeks ago I decided not to waste any time and set my first goal of 2019. A physical challenge with a project centered around a cause I care about. My Misogi.
The result is The Souper Walk for the Zadie Project.
Happy New Year 2019!
Happy New Year everyone!
2019 is a very special year because we are celebrating serving soup for 20 years! First of all, I’m pretty impressed with myself that I’ve even HAD a job for 20 years!
I remember our very first day in 1999, when I wondered if anyone would show up for lunch. I posted handmade flyers around the neighborhood and hoped for the best! I was over the moon when I counted up our $300 at the end of the day. Twenty years later, I still get excited when I see guests relaxing over a hot bowl of soup.
Luck & Money Soup for New Year’s Eve
Creamy Cauliflower Pakora Soup
The Power of Visioning
Every year I make a vision board and I hand-write out a vision of where I see myself the next year. I include all of the things I would like to accomplish, both personally and professionally.
It’s a giant collage that I hang somewhere I know I will have to pass every day Mine is on my home office wall, where I’m forced to face it every day. I create a no excuses rule of why I can’t do something that I had said I wanted and would do. And just do it!
I can 100% guarantee that visioning works. 2018 was a huge year because I publicly stated what I wanted to achieve, and then I came up with a step-by-step plan, including asking for help.