Stop Digging!

Nancy: Hi, this is Nancy and I'm with Susan, your friends here at the Stop Digging podcast. Susan, how are you? How are things?

Susan: I'm doing great. I'm super excited for today's guest. I just am loving the fact that we're starting a new series on cultural diversity from a variety of angles. And, uh, you're going to be kicking it off with our amazing guest whom I've known for a while. And she's covering a topic of culture that I, it's just dear to my heart.

If any of you have been listening to our podcast, you know I am an aficionado of Mexican food, and fusion Mexican food is even better. And I mean, just any kind of food. I mean, I'm all over that. So we have an amazing guest. Nothing speaks to a culture as much, I think, as really the cuisine that they eat and, uh, our next guest is bringing that to a lot of people who normally wouldn't have access to it.

So, Nancy, who do we have and what are we going to be covering here?

Nancy: Well, today we're going to be speaking with Aida Camelich Lowe, and she has been described as a serial entrepreneur. And what I love about her, she's done so many things and she can talk about a lot of things. I can't wait to ask her about the llamas. So we'll get back to that. But first of all, um, welcome Aida.

How are you?

Aida: I'm doing good. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Nancy: Oh, you're welcome. I just want to say, I was searching, researching you and I'm like, how many websites do you have? Cause there's so many different things that you do. When we start, we start picking people for our conversations, we were always looking for someone interesting who does, you know, a lot of things and you do a lot of things.

Let's kind of set the stage here. So what is it that you do right now? Tell us a little bit about where you are and what you're doing at this time.

Aida: Right now, my main business is Aida Food Company. And I'm based here outside of Eugene, Oregon. And what I do is I create food. So I create food that I sell at farmer's market and to people and cater. In fact, I just got an order just a few minutes ago, so that's kind of cool. So,

Susan: you're, you're even, uh, doing work while we're talking then.

Aida: I was trying to schedule a pickup for tomorrow.

Nancy: Well, uh, earlier Susan, uh, mentioned, you know, talking about food and I, I can relate. I was a little Latina girl growing up in a community that didn't have very many Latinos. And so when my mother would make enchiladas and, um, tamales and just all the moles and all that, that to me just was like, so comforting.

Then when I went out into the world, the greater world and moved to California, I was like, "Wow, like, you can eat this whenever you want!" 'Cause I grew up in the sticks in Idaho.

How did you get started on your journey? And tell us, what was that first business you started?

Aida: Oh my gosh. Well, the first business was in design and I worked for a corporate facility, interior architecture firm after college. And it was great, and it was exciting.

But then after a few years, the economy changed, and I went independent. I had to be out of the office. I designed corporate offices for people, and I just couldn't be in an office. So I had to venture out and become independent. So since that time, I've been pretty much independent. I like calling my own shots and doing that kind of thing.

Nancy: I think a lot of times when we're starting off in our careers, we don't really catch that idea of what we do best and where we fit in the best. So that's a really interesting thing that you learned early on.

How did learning that and knowing that about yourself lead you to the next thing?

Aida: Oh, my goodness. Well, I was in that, uh, for a number of years, and then a good friend of mine referred me to DuPont, and then I became a consultant for them, consulting with DuPont and interacting with architects and designers who were my peers. So that was a natural thing. It wasn't sales, it was more national marketing and marketing their product and think tanks trying to figure out what people want in commercial carpeting for their offices.

So that was kind of a natural progression.

Nancy: Oh, wow. That sounds like you had to do a lot of research and, uh, marketing work.

Aida: Uh, not research. It was more, what did people want? What did I see that people wanted? Requesting a color design, um, within price points for corporate facilities and, uh, a lot of marketing and, um, interacting with people. And that was a lot of travel. It was great. I loved it.

Nancy: How long did you do that?

Aida: Four years.

Nancy: Oh, wow. That's a fair amount of time. What did you like most about that? I know you mentioned people, was that the thing you liked the most?

Aida: Well, they wanted us to continue design. So I stayed as an independent designer and did both at the same time and because they wanted us to be boots on the ground. And that was great and fun, but I wanted to bring my circle, my sphere closer to home and get back to California. And so then I decided to do that and went into sales with one of our clients.

Nancy: So that brought you back to California. At what point did you go out on your own. I know that you were consulting and doing that, but, when you started changing the direction that you were going from design into these other areas.

Aida: Financial need. The economy changed, had to pivot, had to change. Sales was great, but it was feast or famine, commission. And I was looking for something a little bit more stable. And so what I did was, one of my sisters was in real estate and other ones were in education. So I decided to venture into the financial end of real estate, residential mortgage loan officer.

So I did that for, I'm going to say four years. Four years is my, my thing.

Nancy: Yeah, it sounds like it.

Aida: Yeah, it was feast or famine, it was great. Interest rates were at 17%, that was really high. That was in the early 80s. But anyway, long story short, people needed homes, I did that.

And feast and famine, so then I decided I needed something more stable, so I went into teaching.

Nancy: What did you teach?

Aida: Kindergarten.

Nancy: Love kindergarten teachers. They're the best.

Aida: I got my credential and then went on to masters and fostering kids. And, uh, then after seven years, I adopted my kids and then I chose to just stay home and to help them.

Nancy: How long were you at home with your children?

Aida: Well, I started, uh, the Llama Brew business maybe four years after that.

Susan: Where are we right now? Just so we know in your four year cycle,

Aida: Right now I've been, I've had my business for six years.

Susan: You beat yourself.

Aida: I did. I did.

Nancy: Well, I think that's really interesting because a lot of our audience members, they work from home or they're, uh, you know, they're starting their passion project or, um, they're solo entrepreneur. And so many of us have children.

We're able to do the work in the pockets of our day and that's, you know, um, sometimes boredom is the, well, maybe not when you're a mom, maybe it's the mental boredom, but like those ideas, you know, when you're up in the middle of the night, nursing that child's like, "Oh, yeah, I could start this business."

We meet so many people who just have a thousand ideas and they have so much energy and you mentioned your business and you slow rolled it in, but tell us about Llama Brew.

Aida: Okay, well, I was at the computer one night, late night, husband was asleep, and we had llamas and goats, and I'm like, "Hey, these guys have to earn their keep." how can I make some money to pay for all the feed and the vet bills and this and that? So then I started researching and then I thought, "Oh, llamas, you don't have to compost it."

And so I kind of woke him up and I said, "Hey, what if we take the llama poo and do something with it and like liquefy it or do something?"

And he's like, "Yeah," and so he gave it the name Llama Brew because it's like not a beer, but it's like a beer food for plants and natural and you don't have to compost like horse or cow, it doesn't burn your plants.

So we did that and, and he designed the labels, I was surprised. So it was a joint effort. I did the photography and we just kind of put it together really fast.

Nancy: And how did it take off?

Aida: Well, we still do it, but it's not the main business. But yeah, people still want it.

Susan: You did research on it though, first. you Didn't just, like, wake up in the middle of the night and say, "Oh, let's go collect our llama's poo." I kind of vaguely remember that you were testing it on plants. You solicited a number of people that you knew to try it. You gave away samples and asked for feedback. This was a process. It was a passion project, but not just, it didn't just happen overnight.

Aida: Well, we did overnight, but then we had to do labs. We had to do our testing. You're right. And, uh, send out for labs and various labs and then, uh, talk to a lot of people who grew. And did experiments and I did had a garden and I did tomatoes with Llama Brew tomatoes with another brand and then just water and I documented, took pictures and measured and did all that stuff.

And yeah, the Llama Brew worked a lot better than the other ones. And there was no chemicals in it.

Nancy: Oh, my gosh, we're doing A/B testing. Look at that. That's amazing.

Susan: Right? But see, that's what I really admire about you. Lot of entrepreneurs, uh, people who have entrepreneurial souls, they're not put off by the minutiae of what you have to do to get your idea off the ground. But some new entrepreneurs don't know that that's the stuff you have to do. And they think that by slowing down, it's, they're losing momentum, but you're here to say that that's the exact opposite.

Aida: It takes time, a lot of experimentation. Talking about the food business, Mondays and Tuesdays, those are my experimentation days. Sure, there's some business calls and stuff and emails, but I try to take two days a week and experiment and it's fun. So I try different things.

Susan: Feeds your passion too. It keeps you inspired to keep going. When you say experiment, are we talking scientific experimentation or...

Aida: Food experiment, something new that I've never done before.

Susan: So recipes, new recipes.

Aida: Yeah, so I'll look at something and I'll say, "Okay, that looks good." I'll analyze it like the week before and make sure I have the ingredients. I'll shop for good price points. And then I'll start, and then I started making something which I've never done before and it turned out really good. Okay. Bye.

Nancy: So that leads us into your food business. So Aida Foods, your main market, is it farmer's markets? Is that right?

Aida: Yeah, I started, uh, with farmer's markets and, uh, yeah, right now that's what I'm doing. We have a new product that, well, a couple of products we're trying to, uh, get to sell online and that's a process and it's taking a little longer than I thought, but the labels take a long time and then ingredients.

We have to make sure that the ingredients are stable in terms of getting them. So we're getting very close to that point now. And we've sold it at the farmer's market with great success. And people are really happy with it.

Nancy: What's it called?

Aida: Well, one is my Mole 5.

Nancy: Ooh.

Aida: So a client challenged me about four years ago and said she wanted mole, but she wanted it gluten free and vegan.

And I said, "That's impossible. Mole has lard and mole has bread."

Susan: All the good stuff that makes mole great.

Aida: She challenged me and I'm like, Hmm.

It took me about six months, you know, free time experimenting and trying things and tasting. And then finally I nailed it. So now I have a gluten free, vegan, no nuts, no tomato, Mole 5.

Susan: Oh wow. That means I could eat it and not feel guilty.

Aida: No chocolate and it tastes just like the real deal.

Nancy: Oh my gosh, I'm gonna have to go to Eugene and do a road trip.

Susan: I know you guys are kind of in the same part of the country and one of you has to score some for me.

Nancy: I can get it and freeze it.

Aida: No one's making it, it's not on the market. We have our label design done. So we're ready to rock and roll. I have to get the testing done and then get final approval. I took a class, a required class by the government to be able to can, so I'm my own canner. I don't have to farm it out.

Nancy: Right. All the food safety requirements.

Aida: Yeah, I had to go through the University of Georgia and I did that during COVID.

It was online. So I had to get certified for food safety. I can't remember the whole term of it, but, uh, that was a requirement so that I can do it myself.

Nancy: How long did that process take you from when you decided like, "Oh, I want to do this and enter farmer's markets." And then you did your research and product development to where you are today.

Aida: One of my friends in California said I should go back to teaching and I'm like, no way. Been there done that. I don't go backwards. I go forward. And she said, "Oh, you should because you're, you know, you live rural and, you know, and you'll be around people and stuff."

I'm like, okay. I transferred my credential, became a teacher here, got the full credential and, uh, started subbing. I thought, well, I'll try it out. So then one school I was there and they really liked me and the parents liked me. It was an immersion school. So I said, okay. I applied for a position and to my shock, I didn't get the job.

I was absolutely shocked. It was June, the end of the school year, and I thought I'd start September and start, you know, first grade or kindergarten or second grade. Didn't get it. So I went to my kitchen cave and just started making stuff, just trying to figure out what in the world, this is like crazy.

So this lady came over and knocked on the door to do a survey with my husband and I gave her something to eat. And she said it was the best thing ever. I think it was tie dye croissants or something like that. And she gave me five dollars. I said, I can't accept your money, no way. And she insisted.

I said, "Okay, you are my witness. I'm starting my food business right here, right now." Because she said I had to go out and get it out there. So I did. So that was it. Like the end of June. By the second week of July, I was hitting the, we have a thing called the country fair here. It's kind of like a, uh, Grateful Dead following old hippies, having a good time.

So I hit the camps and, uh, met someone who owned a restaurant and people liked what I had. So that was official. I got my license to the state. It was not that difficult to get and just research how to do it. That's how it started. And then within two months, I was in a farmer's market.

Nancy: I love that story. I just finished reading a book called The Alchemist. It is about following your journey. And what I like is that sometimes we miss the clues when people say, Oh, you're really good at that. Why don't you do that? We feel sometimes we have to do things out of obligation or we're been doing it for a long time, but I love that you listen to that woman. Also that you had the time and space to do it. 'Cause that doesn't always line up. And obviously you made really great food.

So you've been working in the farmer's market. What's that culture been like? And how has that transition been for you? What kind of opportunities were available when you started entering that space?

Aida: Well, I started on the coast. It was a small farmer's market. And, uh, we didn't know where it was gonna go. It was a drive. And it was, uh, on a Tuesday afternoon. It gets really windy on the coast. And then I wanted to get into the Eugene Farmer's Market, the Lane County Farmer's Market, because it was big. But there was no space. So then I was subbing, I still subbed, but at a different school. And I was having lunch with the teachers and I said, "Hey, yeah, I'm starting this thing at the farmer's market, but I can't get in."

And this gal said, "Oh, my, my sister sold at the farmer's market."

And I said, "She did?"

"Yeah, but she stopped doing her pies. She went back to work."

I said, "Well, that's funny because I make pies."

And she said, "Oh, well talk to this guy. He'll probably share with you."

So I went and looked for him on Saturday, and I asked him. And he said, "Oh yeah, sure, you can share a booth with me."

So that's how I got in. Otherwise, there was no space. I had to start sharing a booth with someone.

Then summertime, he told me he has more apples, so there would not be space for me, but at that point in time, the farmer's market had space for me. I'm not sure if it was because I had proven myself and they made space or someone fell out. I don't know.

So that's how that started. So I just pushed along and just kind of made it happen. I wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Nancy: Yes, that is amazing.

Susan: I like the timing of everything because I work with startups too. And a lot of times people try to do all the research and testing on the front end before anything has gelled, because they want to feel a level of competence before they start. But that's really not how it works. You really have to step out first. There's an organic quality to developing an idea into the market.

And you've described how that's happened a couple of times, actually, in your endeavors in that. You know, was it officially networking or was it just organically having conversations with people to let them know what your passion was? And that is the true, authentic kind of networking that yields results.

Because somebody has a cousin or a brother or a sister, or a neighbor who knows somebody who can help you and just following up on that. And if it doesn't lead somewhere, maybe that person leads you to somewhere else and it's following those organic leads.

Even your story about how you landed on the food industry, is that you were disappointed you hit, you hit a dead end and something else. I think it's important to kind of look at that mindset, listeners of this podcast. The mindset of an entrepreneur isn't that they don't see obstacles, it's that every obstacle isn't a dead end.

Aida: Right. It's true. It's very true.

Susan: Nothing's wasted, even your previous jobs. They may not have been a good fit, but nothing's wasted. The sales that you learned how to talk with people, how to, um, calculate commissions or put pricing quotes together, um, doing, you know, mortgages, working with the public.

Nancy: Market analysis.

Susan: Market analysis, uh, networking, how to work with teams, how to, you know, all of that you're now using for yourself.

So none of that was wasted as it brought you to your passion.

Aida: My career was in Bachelor of Fine Arts. When I was teaching, when I didn't get that job, I wanted to get back into art and sculpture 3d. And that was one of the passions I was thinking about and playing around with stuff. I took a night class at the junior college just so I can, you know, get my hands dirty.

And then I realized when this food thing happened, I took all that design stuff and I put it into my food. And that's why I like to be creative. It has to look good. It has to taste good. So I took all that past experience and rolled it into, you know, I believe food is art. And my mom always said, you eat with your eyes. And you never should cook when you're angry or the food will turn out bad.

So, I'm always really happy when I'm creating.

Susan: I'd be a lot skinnier if it was just with your eyes, but, uh, I know I've eaten your cooking before and I'm sure it's just gotten even better, but was there a reason you chose the kind of food that you make? I I mean, why not French food, for example? Or... you know what I'm saying?

What made you focus on that specifically?

Aida: Well, I started with pies because me and my mom, we made a lot of pies. But then it transitioned because my husband said, why don't you sell your salsas? And I'm like, well, do people want salsas? He goes, they would like your salsas. There's no tomatoes in my salsas and it's not chunky.

So we tested it. We took it to market and tested it and gave samples of course, and everyone loved it. But one guy said, can't you make it hard, hotter? And I'm like, yeah. So I made it hotter the next week and he bought it. So now the salsas is a whole line. I've cut back on the pies, but a lot of sauces.

So it's from mild to hot and we source our local farmers to support our economy and do, uh, vegetables. Salsas and they're really great.

Nancy: What I find fascinating about that is you're really kind of on the cusp of trends because, you know, when people, more and more people are learning about their food allergies and a lot of people have allergies to tomatoes. I'm one of those people. And so I have to be very careful about what I eat. And so, you know, you have this niche and once people find out about supplier for the foods that they like, enjoy, and can eat, um, without having any side effects, you have loyal customers.

Aida: Oh yeah, we do. They're vegan. They're gluten free. They're no, no dairy, no nuts. No sugar, no soy and, uh, no tomatoes.

Susan: If I didn't already know what your food looks and tastes like, immediately in my mind, I would be turned off and I would think, "Oh, she's must be selling cardboard." But I know better because if any of you go to Aida Food Company on Facebook, I believe, and are you anywhere else?

Aida: Well, everyone goes to Facebook.

Susan: If you find her, her page, you're going to see some amazing photos and you're going to be like, "No way that can't be good for you." But it is, and it looks really amazing.

Nancy: You were talking about creativity and how you have taken your passion for art and your area of expertise and applied it in so many areas of your life.

I want to go back a few years because when I was reading about you online, there was a story, a radio story about how you adapted to the changing business climate when COVID happened and everything was shutting down.

Can you kind of tell us what happened?

Aida: Well, um, COVID hit and, uh, it was kind of like, well, what am I going to do?" The farmer's market remained open because it was outdoor. So I was very happy about that, but I thought, okay, I have to pivot. And so I started thinking, okay, I could do, uh, some catering and, and supply food to people because restaurants were closed, everything was shut down.

And I thought, well, this could be a way to pivot. So I pivoted. The farmer's market stayed open and, I talked to people about what they could do with their entrepreneurial businesses and to keep us all going.

Nancy: And can you explain a little bit, like, maybe some of the challenge? What kind of challenges did you have making that pivot?

Aida: Ensuring that I could be at the market and I remember the food supply, the supply chain, just like, ka poop. I couldn't get flour, because what I started was with the pies, and then I went to salsas, which I still have, and then, uh, I started making French baguettes.

So it's kind of like Mexico City, where my family's from, was a lot of French influence. I thought I'd go with that. And then the Mexican food. But, uh, the supply chain was like really, I couldn't get flour. Flour went from 7 a 25 pound bag to 18 for the same 25 pound bag. And, uh, it was really difficult.

I'd go in and try to get something. I couldn't get it. And I'm like, uh oh, where am I going to get yeast?

Susan: I do remember there was a yeast shortage because everyone was at home and they couldn't go out and get supplies. And so everybody was like, Oh, I'm going to be a bread baker. So you'd go to the grocery store and nothing was on the shelves and nobody knew where to find yeast.

Nancy: I got so tired of cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner for two straight years. And after I could go out and do something, like, I am not cooking for a while. I told my husband, I'm on strike, but I like what you were doing. I went to the farmer's market and I found anybody who was selling food in a different way, and I was buying it and trying it.

The challenges, like you said, with the supply chain was really difficult. I think one of the things that I find interesting is the resiliency in your stories, the adaptability and seeing those opportunities to, you know, pivot, like you said, but also to look around and see what's there.

Like when you said, Oh, I didn't have pie, or I didn't have flowers. So you switch to something else and you're still using that creativity. Were there other things that you tried along that route?

Aida: In the food business?

Nancy: Yes.

Aida: Well, let's see. I started with the pies. And then brought in the salsas. Then expanded the salsas. Because I started sourcing our farmers, so it became seasonal. I love kabocha, which is a Japanese squash, and it makes the best salsa, but that's only available in the fall into summer.

But during the year, uh, the new one I have is cucumber salsa, which tastes like a Greek tzatziki, but there's no dairy or yogurt in it. And it tastes just like a tzatziki, so people love that. And then cilantro, of course. And now I see in the stores, there's knockoffs of cilantro, lime, and I'm like, Oh, yeah, but there's a bunch of garbage in that.

I do habanero, guajillo, I do the mole, of course, uh, what other sauces do we do, uh, carrot salsa, uh, just whatever I can source, what season, what's coming up, I do a really killer eggplant garlic salsa.

Nancy: really?

Aida: That's really good. Everything's good on pasta. One day I told my husband, why don't you make dinner? So he made spaghetti and then he had a sauce on it. And I'm like, what sauce is that? It was green. And I went, that's the best spaghetti. And he said, I used your salsa. Okay. Now we tell people you can eat it with your pasta or put it on a pizza.

Nancy: That's really creative.

Aida: Yeah.

Nancy: Aida, you know, I keep thinking, was there someone who inspired you along the way?

Aida: Yeah. My mom. Here's her cookbook.

Nancy: That's awesome! What is your mother's name?

Aida: Elodia. She authored three books during COVID when she was 100 years old.

Nancy: What?

Susan: Wow.

Nancy: A hundred years old?

Aida: She passed two years ago and she wrote, she wanted to write this cookbook for, for all of us. And it's in Spanish and English, and my sister helped her, but, uh, my, bless my sister's heart, she's not a designer, so my mom gave me permission to redesign the cover.

And so I'm doing that, but that's kind of, I need to make that a priority.

Susan: For our listeners, Aida, why don't you tell us the title and your mother's full name so they can find the recipe book.

Aida: Well, it's not available yet. So it's Recetas del Pasado al Presente, which is recipes from the past to the present. And Elodia Escudero Camelich, and, uh, I hope, let's see, this is February. Hopefully, it'll be available for next Christmas.

Susan: I love that. It's funny because when we're talking about culture, we're really talking about what ties us to where we belong and you started talking about pies because it was something you and your mom did. Then you talked about moving into salsas and moles and baguettes, because it reminded you of Mexico City, which is where you're from and I love that food can... The smell, the taste, the texture has a memory to it and it brings you back to a place, but it can also re-inspire us.

I know you often go to travels to get inspiration.

Aida: Mm hmm.

Susan: Where have you gone?

Aida: Well, we just got back. We were in Mexico. We went to Mexico City, of course, because I have a family, a bunch of cousins there. And then we went to Cuernavaca, which is outside. And then we went to a little town called Xochitltepec, where one of my cousins got married at a venue there. And a beautiful wedding.

And then we went back to Mexico City, and then we went to Oaxaca, and spent some time there, and then we went to Tulum and just sat on the beach for a week and did nothing.

Susan: What does your experimentation look like there? Are you just eating out all the time or just resting and recouping?

Aida: This trip was to go to some really fine restaurants and see what they have. I met my one of my sisters there and she made reservations at a place called Rosetta Mexico City. Fantastic. And then I made reservations at places in Oaxaca.

I went with two friends from Southern California, from Newport Beach, that traveled with us. About two thirds of the way of the trip and, uh, we went to a place called Casa Oaxaca. And I bought Alejandro Ruiz's book online before the trip, but I didn't have time to read it. So, we went to his restaurant twice. And, uh, we met some farmer's market vendor friends there who wanted to meet up with us.

So, it was kind of a cool trip because we met people, friends. I wanted to meet Alejandro, so I went to the bathroom and the kitchen was close by. I asked the security people, I go, "Is Alejandro here?" Like I knew him, but I didn't know him. And they said, "Oh, he's right there."

So he turned around and goes, "Oh, hi."

And they go, "Oh, this is Alejandro."

And I'm like, oh, I'm going to meet him. And he spoke, he was bilingual. And so he said, "I'm going to join you at your table."

So he came to our table and sat with us for a half hour. I was, like, shocked. He does farm to table and I told him that our friends were in the farmer's market and we were too and we supported our farmers.

And so he invited us to go down to his farm next January. And that's what we're going to do. So I'm already planning the trip for next year.

Susan: Again, the organic kismet of just stepping out and going with the flow. I'm just loving that inspiration.

Okay. So, without giving your secrets away out of that trip, what happened when you got home? What new thing happened when you got home and brought all that experience with you?

Aida: I have two friends from here, well, a friend from here who is also at the farmer's market. So she wants to go next January. She grows microgreens, organic microgreens. So I wrote Alejandro, I sent him a message and I said, "Oh, my friend, another friend from the farmer's market, we want to come down. What's your schedule for beginning of January?" And, uh, I, you know, explained what she does, more detail what I did.

He called me three minutes later on the phone. I couldn't believe it. He called because of the phone was all acting weird. So I wrote him back and he called him when he said, Yes, you're more than welcome. I can't wait to see you again, et cetera, et cetera. I read his book like that day. And so yesterday, when I experimented, I took some of his recipes and I played around with it.

I'm totally inspired by the trip and meeting him and, and the cuisine of Oaxaca is phenomenal. They do things a little differently. They utilize, uh, what they have. Another friend from the farmer's market, she is from Oaxaca. The tamales she grew up with does not have meat because they couldn't afford meat. So they do beans. So I've made, I kind of did what she told me last summer and then his recipe didn't have beans. I didn't have meat either. And that's what I made yesterday. So I did a spin off of what he did.

Susan: I love that. You know, just watching your face light up, I'm loving it because it's a sustained kind of passion. It's not a flash-in-the-pan passion. It's something that can sustain you, that excites you, that changes, that's new, that draws you back to the old country that, you know, but also adds new cultures and nuances, the local cities around, uh, your original inspiration of Mexico city also serve to inspire you.

And also being open to it, not just thinking that, Oh, I've landed on something that works and sells and then just getting kind of in a rut, not changing.

Aida: Yeah, that's why you have to experiment all the time because, you know, I do standard tamales, but I like to try different things. That fuels my passion. It keeps my mind going and my husband likes it because he gets to eat a lot.

Susan: I find that hard to believe, he's, like, skinny as a rail. I don't understand. I need that gene pool somewhere.

Also like the, just the leadership of creativity, they've done so many studies about how to create an atmosphere of creativity in workplaces for innovation purposes and otherwise. Part of it is just being very disciplined about setting aside time to play and I love that you have just automatically done that instinctively from out of your own creativity, just said, Nope, these two days, I'm just going to play. No limits, no judging, no parameters, wherever the wind's blowing, I'm going to try it and see. And if it works out great, I'll sell it. And if it doesn't, then Phil will eat it.

Aida: I did another experiment too. It was no recipe. I took yucca, which is a seed. They sell it in Mexico. It's a root. It's like a potato. And so I took yucca. I love yucca. And you generally boil it like a potato. And then you chill it and then you fry it. And it tastes so much better than a french fry. By far.

So then I mashed it up and made balls. Then I put Panko on it and so that, that was like eight o'clock at night last night. I said, "Hey, you want to try this?"

He's like, okay. So we compared the standard yucca with the balls and it's like, I don't know why I did that. I just wanted to do something different. I wasn't done experimenting for the day and I said, "Okay, that's it. Let's watch TV."

Nancy: I really appreciate how, you know, as you are telling your story about going down to Mexico, you just kind of followed your heart, followed your bliss, right? Is so important, like Susan was saying, having that creativity, and I just see this through-line of how creativity in your heart kind of led you from one thing to the next.

Aida: I'm very curious. My mom was really curious, too, and, uh, always want to find out why or try something different. I don't march to, you know, like standard. I always have to do a sidestep. I'm always questioning things. And food too, and what would people like, what's easy to create, what's a good price point, what's not. I would love to make filet mignon all day, but come on, who can make that? I wanted to do sculptures and then I, one day before I started the food business, I realized people would not be able to afford my $3,000 sculpture, because that's what I would sell it for.

But food, they can, because everyone has to eat every day. So that kind of helped my decision in doing the food business, too, when I was creating and stuff.

Susan: In speaking about cultural diversity for the area that you're in, is there a, a lot of Mexican food or niche food? They're actually being exposed to something, you know, cause I see you shaking your head, no.

Aida: Right.

Susan: They're being exposed to something they wouldn't normally have, they wouldn't know Mexico.

Aida: They don't know.

Susan: Or Oaxacan cuisine necessarily. So, what has been the response from the people that you're selling to who haven't been exposed to it except through you?

Aida: We sample, you know, so that, that is right there. They try it, and they like it, and they buy it. I'm not going to mention any names, but Mexican food type chains that I never went to because food was always better at home with mom. And to me it's like, uh, no, I'll never go there. So people are used maybe to that.

I mean, burritos are not even really a real true Mexican food, it's more Tex Mex or, you know, border-ish. To me, that's not real Mexican food. So I try to offer what's authentic and what I consider and know is authentic.

There's not a lot of Mexican places here. There's some, um, food trucks popping up, um, not restaurants and there's, like, no Chinese restaurants here. I'm dying. I want some good Chinese food, please.

Susan: Maybe that'll be your next trip for inspiration. I'll be looking online and seeing, uh, fusion, Mexican, French, Chinese.

Nancy: My gosh.

Aida: A lot of people are moving into this area from California, and some people from Texas, Arizona, so they know. They're looking for it and they, they find me and they're like, oh, thank God you're here. Thank God, we've been dying for some good tamales.

I'm like, here they are.

Nancy: Wow.

Susan: Speaking back to your curiosity thing, uh, you're creating curiosity in people who otherwise wouldn't have sought out that diversity. So you're using your food to create a curiosity in other people so that they're now exposed to a culture and a food and your business that they normally wouldn't have automatically sought out.

Nancy: And you've taken your, uh, members of your business community with you on trips.

Aida: I know. Isn't that cool? I'm just so happy about that.

Susan: So you're an educator too. You didn't lose that. So you've just been promoted into a new realm.

Aida: My very first job was a tour guide at Disneyland. That was my very first job at 18.

Nancy: Like Susan said, nothing is wasted.

Aida: No, nothing. So our booth at the farmer's market, I have like a sombrero, and I have, you know, like a piñata, to show my background. So they kind of know, Oh, it's kind of like Mexico. And then we have a picture of my grandfather with Frida Kahlo and so people always stop and look at that. And then the conversation starts and we give them a sample and they're like, Oh yeah, this is great.

So we design the booth so that it's very, um, very authentic and friendly.

Nancy: Well, you know, this has been a really nice conversation. I really want to thank you for sharing your experience with us. And I kind of want to review a few things because I really like some of the things you said. And I think these are things that a lot of us can learn from and just kind of keep in our back, the back of our mind.

And one thing that I really liked that you said, you said that you don't go backwards and that you always go forward. I love that, that perpetual, that forward motion is what gets us through hard times and you certainly have done that.

I love that you listened to someone who was the complete stranger who said that you need to start selling food and you did it. You had the time and space to do it and that you launched this whole new career. Oftentimes we don't listen when people are telling us what we're good at.

And the other thing that I appreciate about your journey is that you asked for help when you didn't know how to get into that farmer's market. You started asking people and you got an in. And that is so great because so many times we have these beliefs that we can't do it or we have to have it, but you just start asking and people are so willing to help.

Aida: I was scared when, you know, I started. I was scared to go to those camps and talk to people. I was by myself in the car and I was scared to go to the, I was scared the whole way, but I didn't show it. I just said, I got to do it. I'm doing this.

Nancy: Courage.

Susan: And thank you for admitting that because I think that, um, we try to be what we think we should be and we forget to be real and I think sometimes things don't come super easy. Sometimes you just have to say, what do I want most, and just kind of try it and allow yourself that and the vulnerability to just say, I'm scared, but I'm going to try it anyway. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. But at least I tried.

Aida: I asked a lot of questions. You know, where do I get insurance? Where do I find a kitchen? My knees were knocking. I was scared.

Nancy: Well, Aida, thank you so much. For all of our listeners, you can learn more about Aida, her name is spelled A I D A, and you can, uh, go to her websites, aidafoodcompany.com and you can also find her on Facebook.

So thank you so much. Really enjoyed chatting with you. And now I'm super hungry and I'm gonna go in the kitchen and make something to eat.

Susan: And if you're a member of A Squared, you're going to hear our bonus content and she's going to get me so riled up with some recipe that I, and all I have is a microwave tonight. I'm just telling you right now, have a little, uh, little patience. But, uh, our members are going to get some more information about Aida and her journey and maybe a recipe or two.

Aida: Why not? I'll share a recipe. Absolutely.

Nancy: All right, thanks everybody.

Aida: Thank you.