The JAY Effect, Yemisi Anderson
One day, after years of using other companies' seasoning, I asked my husband what he thought about making our own seasoning. He was hesitant at first, but after he tried the mixes I created, he too was convinced. Now we are catering with our line of seasonings and asking others to give their food The JAY Effect too! Our seasonings have been sold in 48 of 50 states in the U.S. so far.
We run a catering business and have created our own seasonings because we were unhappy how salty other company's seasonings were. Right now we have five seasonings – original, Cajun, seafood, garlic and herb, and taco – which we sell online, as well as at five Carbondale-area natural health-focused grocery stores, markets, and vendor events.
We love feeding people. That's a thing that we genuinely enjoy. (Plus, see above)
We want to encourage healthier eating habits, starting with better options for consumers. I'm hoping to get more people to be mindful about what they're eating. We've got to be more careful about what we’re putting in our bodies and buy more things that are good for you.
I was participating in in SCORE’s 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition.
It was great to get the opportunity to pitch my business. I've never done that before. I've never pitched for funding. We've been bootstrapping this. I don't have an education in business. I'm learning a lot of this stuff along the way. Participating in the pitch competition really helped me think about my business in a different way.
I reached out for help in scaling. We're not quite a big factory yet, but we're outgrowing what we're doing. What does it look like to manufacture our product? We still want to make our product. I was seeking help finding resources for equipment, spacing, etc. and trying to understand how to get to those next steps.
My mentor and I discussed the possibility of my products being sold in Kroger or other national grocery chains, and we've also discussed scaling the business.
To provide meaningful guidance to aspiring entrepreneurs from my experience in commercial banking.
