THe Baoginning. (30 min)

Okay, doesn't quite roll off the tongue but..
Hello again, and welcome to the team!

We will get started right away in having you be the best version of yourself while you're a part of Team #Baonanas. In order to do business differently and learn as best we can about business, food, and growing as an individual, we must start by being on the same page. Our culture is made by the shared values, ideas, and attitudes of our team members, not just us. It's easy to slip into contentment at a workplace, and that's why we want you to feel that your input and your creativity is always welcome. Let's begin!

Our (real) story

The HOW and WHY we got to where we are today..

"Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."
Joshua J. Marine

Learning about my journey isn't just so I could talk about myself (because there are a baollion things more interesting than me) but it's essential to know about me before I could begin to ask about you. Please read the part that everyone outside looking in knows about our beginning here before reading on.

Ever felt lost, unmotivated, uninspired, constantly searching for what you were meant to do in life? This was me for a long time too. "Smart" but never applying myself, in 2009 I pursued (not really) Nursing at Rutgers University for 3 semesters and transferred out.  Avoiding real life responsibilities, I distracted myself with my passion for dance and took and barely passed 1-3 classes a semester at Union County College for 3 semesters before having a rude awakening in the form of Trisha asking me, "when do you graduate?" I never thought about the end goal, never spoke with my advisors, never made actionable steps to get to my goal, never thought about what happens after college is over, and it wasn't until this moment that things began to change. 

With the patience of a goddess, Trisha made a gameplan and I finally completed my time at Union County with okay grades coming short of her goal for straight As. I was always keen on self-awareness and self-improvement, but never when it came the most important thing in life, self-sustainability. It's during this time I learned about "The Growth Mindset" theory by Dr. Carol Dweck, which explains that something that is "hard" just means it requires more time and effort and that any aspect of yourself can be grown and improved. Thanks to "The War of Art" by Stephen Pressfield I learned about how anxiety, doubt, fear is often times a sign of growth and stepping out of your comfort zone to level-up in whatever it is you may be anxious about. I finished with an Associate's degree in Psychology and learned that Occupational Therapy was my true calling. I attended Kean University to get my Bachelor's in Psychology (Occupational Therapy Track) and got straight As two semesters in a row. I took a break in Fall 2015 after two semesters. #Baonanas came to us by accident, but had it not been for this crazy journey #Baonanas wouldn't be where it is today. 

After a lengthy (and tense at times) talk with my parents, I let go of the security of an education to commit my full time to this company. I decided #Baonanas would provide for our future (and Iroh, our Shiba Inu), and that I would do business differently with a team composed of unique individuals chasing dreams of their own. Now, Trisha is a HUGE part of how we got to where we are, and although she won't dive into her personal life as much as I will, it wasn't until August 2016 that she stepped away from co-running everything with me. She's currently pursuing her dream of being an attorney for the underrepresented.. hoping to fight for Human Rights, Immigration, and others in the Public Sector. If you ever see her, say hello!

Our Mission, our core values, our culture

The HOW and WHY you are so important to us..

"Core Values are lit AF and are vital for shared collaborative efforts and growth"
William Shakespeare (maybe)

Our mission

Our main mission with #Baonanas is that, like a family, we support our team and our #BaonanaNation in their dreams, aspirations, and endeavors. We started out as a fundraiser and received lots and lots of help from our friends, family, and even strangers. We couldn't have come this far without them, and continuing from the ongoing theme in our values, we want #Baonanas to be there to support them in their journey. They should do what makes them happy and work hard for it. We want our #BaonanaNation to feel comfortable in sharing with us what makes them baonanas (aka what makes them passionate, what do they love, etc.). For all the ups and downs of trying to make their dreams come true, we want #Baonanas to be there cheering them on.

We want #Baonanas to be very lighthearted and fun and for it to feel like family. We don't want to appear serious. Because #Baonanas is mostly our story, we want to appear very friendly and approachable. We want to convey feelings of warmth and homey-ness.

#Baonanas is a play on words on the word bananas and the Chinese character bao, which is a Chinese word that means many things. Bao comes from Baobei, which means baby or Bae. Translated literally, baobei means "precious treasure". Bao is what Trisha and I call each other, instead of babe, honey, etc. Bao can also mean "to be full" not just in the stomach but in the heart.

We want #Baonanas to be the dessert that you turn to for all the moments in your life -- good or bad. We want it to be something that grows with our customers just as it has grown with us. We want it to be part of their story like it's part of ours. We want it to be the dessert they eat for their birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions and for when they're sad because of a heartbreak or they had a bad day at school or at work. We want them to share it with their loved ones. We want #baonanas to be there for all those moments.

our core values

practicing self-awareness

- Self-awareness is the prerequisite to self-actualization, the ability to reach one's full potential. By thinking critically about our thoughts and actions before and after we've executed them, we'll be able to reframe negative emotions into positive thoughts that are conducive to progressing our life's goals forward. 

Constantly improve

- "Breakthroughs are born in deficit" Embrace your deficits in Health, Family, and your Career. These are areas for self-growth where you will level-up with proper research, but most importantly, effective implementation. Contentment never leads to happiness

taking initiative

"Gathering arrows and firing them are two different actions. You can starve with too many, but be fully fed with just one."
- As we work on improving ourselves by reading this, listening to that, and learning xyz, we must remember that executing these ideas is what makes a difference in our lives. We must always look for ways to be proactive, productive, and effective both in the kitchen and in operations.

making a difference

"The world is not changed by people who sort of care"
- If you can't tell already, we really.. really.. really.. care about our team members. We want to impact your lives as positively as we can, and know.. you have the ability to impact our lives and the lives of others tremendously. Seek out to be a positive influence to both our team and to the world around you. 

Be #Baonanas

"When you think about quitting, think about why you started"

- Dig deeper into why you have passions, goals, and aspirations in the first place.. What are you #baonanas for? What's the real meaning behind these dreams. Dig deeper into why you decided to join #Baonanas, why you love the things you love doing. Understanding your 567 allows you to have personal core values that dictate why you do what you do. It shows the heart behind your goals, and fuels you to wake up hitting the ground strong.

our culture

For being an irreplaceable part of Team #Baonanas, we want to help YOU reach any milestone or goal you may have in your career or personal life. At #Baonanas, we keep the conversation open regarding your performance or progress in this company and in whatever it is you may be baonanas for. This is done with weekly check-ins that are required by all team members to ensure we're doing all we can to set you up for success in the workplace and in life. Broken down in the check-ins are Key Results Areas (KRAs) that help you understand why you're so important to not only this company, but to Trisha and me. #Baonanas is a growing operation, and everyone plays a vital role in having growth occur. All too often companies leave their team members hanging, not knowing what they should be doing or how to do it, and Trisha and I have worked very hard to ensure your success is easy. Utilizing Consistent, Productive, and Reliable (CPR) behaviors, we will share our strengths and weaknesses as a team so we can work on them together. The culture of this company is to help each other grow in everything we do, and this is done with open and accepting communication.

As the company grows, career opportunities will open up, and this is something that we always want to offer within the company if possible. If this is something you may be interested in, being upfront with your goals within the company will be tremendous help to us. We may not have an opportunity to offer at the moment, but we will always keep your goals and aspirations in mind. Click here to see the potential roles you may fill one day.

YOUR future

The WHO and WHERE YOU will be in the future..

"If you shoot for the stars and hit the moon, it’s OK.
But you’ve got to shoot for something. A lot of people don’t even shoot." 
Confucius

STOP reading if you're somewhere you can't play music outloud or in your headphones to daydream for a little..  CONTINUE whenever you can. I mean it! You're going to take notes and share them with me after this exercise so don't skip, and take this seriously. It's more for you than it is for me. Okay. Follow these steps:

1. Go on youtube, spotify, wherever, and pick a song with no lyrics (or an instrumentals version of a song) that you can listen and daydream to for 2-3 minutes. (don't hit play yet) these 2-3 minutes will feel like a nice break from your everyday tasks and i'm sure you need this.
2. This is a breakdown of the daydream i'd like you to do after you hit play:
   • 1st half or first verse and first chorus: Your ideal job, the ins and outs, everyday activities, etc. if you happen to feel anxious or uncomfortable understand that it's only fear the unknown actionable steps between you and this ideal job. this feeling is normal but these unknown steps will be learned through experience and time, so enjoy the daydream! PAUSE THE SONG. WRITE THESE DOWN, and expand on whatever you envision. should be 5 minutes minimum. think about your perfect day, the things you'd be doing, what you want to be known for, what your specialty is, where you want to be, who you want to be working with, etc. then hit play!
   • 2nd half or second verse, bridge, chorus: Your personal life during this time. Significant other? kids yet? traveling to where? doing what activities? WHEN SONG ENDS, WRITE THESE DOWN. I won't read them, but we'll talk about them.

I need you to understand that there are actionable steps between you and the future you want for yourself.