a little bit of news

30 Mar

About two months ago, I had an idea. And then I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I stayed up late the night it popped into my head, excitedly gabbing it to Kevin, who was supportive and helpful as always. When I woke up the next morning, I completely doubted the whole thing – my master plan suddenly seemed ridiculous. Since then, I’ve been visiting every place between those two extremes, but my solution is to simply move forward. And I’m excited.

So, my friend Faryn and I are starting a sweets company.

It makes me smile to see that written out.

We don’t exactly know what we’re doing. Neither of us have ever owned or operated a small business before, nor have we done a long list of other things that might relate to the task. But we’re doing it, even so.

Faryn and I have worked together two or three times a week for almost five years as members of our sketch comedy group, Harvard Sailing Team. She’s smart, funny, and pretends to be naive. She’s also organized to a fault, detail-oriented, and has a great creative style.

Despite our unbelievably different personalities and my tendency to tease her relentlessly, we make good partners.  We solve problems similarly and our strengths seem complimentary. Still, I don’t know how she puts up with me. On second thought, I don’t know how I put up with her. You can meet her at her new blog called Fear Of Missing Out.

So far, creating this biz is terrifically fun. We’ve been testing recipes and brainstorming taglines. It has consumed a good deal of our free time – full Sundays, some weeknights – but I haven’t minded it at all. The mental space at the desk job, since I now sit in the reception area and answer the phones all day, is a blessing. I’ve been able to spend some time each workday researching other small businesses like ours, learning things about baking that I didn’t know before, and communicating non-stop with Faryn about every single detail.

I am looking very much forward to documenting this process as we go. We’re obviously still in the very early stages and it seems like a good story to let unfold in real time.

13 Responses to “a little bit of news”

  1. Blue March 31, 2009 at 12:26 am #

    Exciting! If you need a taste-tester, I am willing and able. (For the common good, of course!)

  2. Billy March 31, 2009 at 9:53 am #

    Congrats! Starting your own thing is definitely worth all the pressure and stress. Best wishes!

  3. twizzlers519 March 31, 2009 at 9:54 am #

    Hi Billy P. – Thank you! Nice to hear from you. :)

  4. keithhuang March 31, 2009 at 9:56 am #

    congratulations twizz ! i’m excited for yalls new (ad)venture. i see big things coming your way — big things!

  5. Rebecca March 31, 2009 at 10:12 am #

    This makes me sooooo happy!!! You guys are going to do great! Oh my, I can’t wait for the grand opening!

  6. twizzlers519 March 31, 2009 at 10:19 am #

    Thanks Keith and Rebe! Keith, you’ll be happy to know we’ve made some drastic improvements since you first taste-tested for us. And Rebe. We’re bringing leftover brownies to practice tonight. :)

  7. Katie March 31, 2009 at 10:21 am #

    Amazing! This must have been the secret. Do you have a company name yet?

  8. marina March 31, 2009 at 10:32 am #

    heard about this yesterday–am very excited and happy for you both!

  9. Brett March 31, 2009 at 7:54 pm #

    You should make yoga cookies!

    I don’t know what that means.

  10. Tom & Vicky Curran April 6, 2009 at 4:41 pm #

    We wish you the best of luck Jen & Faryn in your new adventure. Hope the business takes off well, that you find a good location for your sweets factory & that you’re flooded with customers.

    • twizzlers519 April 6, 2009 at 4:43 pm #

      Hi Uncle Tom, Thanks so much for the well-wishes!!!

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. The Jig Is Up! « Fear Of Missing Out - April 12, 2009

    [...] past month, and the experience has been nothing short of exhilarating and nervous-making.  Jen announced the news a few weeks ago on her blog, and naturally, my fear of missing out compelled me to start sharing it [...]

  2. April Showers Bring Brooklyn Flowers « Fear Of Missing Out - April 13, 2009

    [...] As Jen and I have been baking and learning together over these past several weeks, we’ve come up against challenges and roadblocks, but ultimately it feels like we’ve been getting green lights, as if the world is telling us, “Go ahead, we’ll help”.  It’s exhausting and rewarding.  As I’m getting ready to leave my desk job for the day, I know that we have a long night of baking ahead of us.  I’ll keep you posted on what comes out of the sweets labs of Faryn & Jen. [...]

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