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Jenna Saraco & Nicole Steriovski
Partners
Local Creative
September 03, 2013

Say what you will about the perils and pitfalls of technology in today's world, it does provide tremendous opportunities that simply didn't exist before the invention of the internet. While social media remains a mystery to many of us, Jenna and Nicole's company, Local Creative, gives it a friendly face. They are a small food-related business working with small food-related businesses, and to us that sounds like the future of entrepreneurship.

When did you know that you wanted to work in food?

J:  The year after I graduated from college I was unemployed and living at home.  Both my parents were working full time so during the day I loved to go grocery shopping and buy all the ingredients to prepare dinner for my family.  After a while I got really good at it and decided I wanted to devote time to creating healthy, innovative meals everyone could enjoy.

N: When I was growing up both of my grandmothers kept summer gardens.  I would always help them pick the freshest cucumbers, tomatoes & peppers to make huge salads.  Something really resonated in me while spending time in the garden alongside my family. After living in New York for a few years I decided to take a break from the corporate world and began working as server. I really love the rhythm of a restaurant - brewing fresh coffee, getting set up for the day, and helping shape guests' experiences.

How did you get your current good food job?

J: We made it up.

N: Yeah, we combined our previous experience in social media management, digital marketing, public relations, and photography into a one-stop creative service team. Our concept is a very valuable resource for small food businesses to compete with the marketing muscle of larger restaurants, given the ever-increasing importance of presenting a strong online presence.

How did your previous work or life experience prepare you for a good food job?

J: I studied photography in school, but after I graduated, my interest in food started to evolve. I started reading cookbooks and food blogs where I could find new recipes to make for dinners.  Soon, I started doing dinner parties with my friends and then naturally began taking pictures of the food I was making and the meals I enjoyed.

N: My family has really strong Eastern European (Macedonian) roots and I grew up eating fresh produce and meats and having large family meals and gatherings.  Structured meals/dining events are environments in which I feel very comfortable and thrive.  From a work perspective, working with the Thompson hotel group gave me great insight into the world of hospitality and then branching into lifestyle PR helped me to make a connection between my interests and see opportunities to integrate my experiences.

What was the greatest obstacle you had to overcome in pursuing your Good Food Job dream?

J: Deciding to make something from nothing. We each brought some knowledge to the table from our past experiences but neither of us had ever attempted to start our own business, so it was a big learning process.

N:  It's always challenging to take a chance with a new business.  We had to decide this was going to be a priority and we were going to put a lot of energy into making this work.  Social media is still a relatively new form of marketing communication and can be intimidating for many people, but it is an extremely efficient and cost-effective way to both reach niche markets and expand a business's potential clientele.

What can you identify as the greatest opportunities in food right now?

J:  I think the greatest opportunity is in finding and creating the resources to educate people about eating well and create sustainable ways of living.  We are hopefully moving away from a commercially focused food industry and back to the era of mom & pop food establishments to create a healthier lifestyle for ourselves and our families.

N:  I agree with Jenna, there are so many resources available right now to keep us educated on what is going on with our food, from health implications to production/ethical concerns. It is easier than ever to stay connected to developing food trends and prevailing issues to find out what is going on in one's own neighborhood and community.

If you could be compensated for your work with something other than money, what would it be?

J: Office supplies, I love office supplies/technology, iPads and such.  Also, I would work for a lifetime supply of Blue Bottle Coffee.

N:  A space trade would be fun, maybe cool neighborhood venues to host events in return for our services.

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