Values — Issue 04: Letter from the Editor

Hi Starter fam,

I am back in Kauai and it sure feels good. I love this place. You might not think of it as a creative hub, but as an entrepreneur working to tap into my greatest creative potential, it’s amazing how important it is to find a place that’s quiet to cut out the noise and hear what you truly are here to give. Wherever you are, find that quiet space for yourself.

It also forces me to slow down. I am learning the gifts of slow quite literally as I wait for the soft-serve equipment (I am sharing with some other food makers) that is coming on the slooooooow boat! It’s just how things go here in Kauai. While I wait for the machine’s arrival, it’s actually forced me to do these important preparatory steps for the business that I KNOW I need to be doing for the right foundation, yet still the thrill of creating and pushing ahead in making the product can cause me to skip right over.

This month I am making my values concrete and diving deeper in them. I am certainly a values-based entrepreneur and they have been swirling around in my head, but I have not written them down. I’m very passionate as a new mom about work and family integration. I shared some real real on the ‘gram about my struggles figuring out the balance. You also hear me talk a lot about regenerative organic agriculture because I have learned enough to know that it is the future of our food and the healing of our planet, but I have not given myself the time to dig in deep. Changing that this month.

My first introduction to regenerative organic agriculture was through Karen Leibowitz and Anthony Myint. They own a few very successful restaurants in San Francisco. I knew their restaurants like Commonwealth and Mission Chinese well, but they really came on my radar when they did a carbon footprint test on their own businesses and shared their learnings. It then led them to starting The Perennial, the most progressive and environmentally-friendly restaurant. They pushed all the boundaries and while they did that, they started a non-profit called The Perennial Farming Institute to help explore initiatives that could help mitigate climate change and respond to its impacts on the food system.

I have learned so much from them, and the artwork on this month’s cover is dedicated to how they have helped lead the way for the food community to understand what it means to be growing food in harmony with nature. They shared the tough news that they closed The Perennial just a few days ago and will be putting their full effort into The Perennial Farming Institute. It’s certainly a loss for the community and a reminder that business is hard and not a given. BUT it’s also proof that your values and mission will live on. The fear of failure can often keep you from starting at all, but if you start with a clear why and have your values concrete, you will see that the work you are meant to create might be through this idea, or it might be a stepping stone to the next project. The projects and businesses are more temporary, but the underlying reasons you do it are the ones that last.

So on that note, the month of February is all about values. In this issue I share the stories of food entrepreneurs who are doing remarkable work, while living their values. This month’s book club, I am going DEEP on regenerative organic agriculture, thanks to a recommendation from the folks at Patagonia Provisions. Outside of my reading I am going to be meeting with people on island who can teach me the regenerative ways specifically for the ecology of Kauai. You can follow along those adventures at @thestartermag.

I wish you all the best this month.

In Good Food We Trust,
-ELO

PS — You can see the full issue and all past issues at thestartermag.com and subscribe to get this little email magazine delivered to your inbox!