Hunt
Do you remember the childhood thrill of a good old-fashioned egg hunt? I have found that in the city, where you may not have a ton of nooks and crannies to hide plastic eggs, the adrenaline rush of grabbing as many eggs hiding in plain sight still never disappoints. A few months ago, I heard Nick explain how he names our ice cream flavors, and he said he hides Easter eggs in them — meaning there are hidden references and deep cuts in each name, often referencing a period in history or popular culture. This got me thinking about the hunt for meaning in all things.
Shortly after he shared this thought, I thought about how it applied to some of the conferences we were planning on attending. Nick was questioning the investment in time and money. He wasn’t convinced we’d get much from going to them, but it was his skepticism that motivated me to apply his Easter egg concept to our time at each conference. My thinking was, “I have to find at least one Easter egg of information while attending for it to be worth it.”
Sometimes we find ourselves in the company of others where we think we know everything, or resign ourselves to the idea that we probably won’t learn much because we know enough. It’s in these moments that we miss out on the Easter eggs hiding in plain sight and in the nooks and crannies. There are treasures all around us — we just have to find them.
Image: a slide of our new logos from our revised brand deck! We worked with the firm called MRC Brand Studio based in North Carolina and had an amazing experience. Ironically, we learned about them from another ice cream company based in North Carolina while attending a conference a couple of yers ago. 😆
Without actively hunting for an egg at these conferences, we would have missed out on some pretty impactful opportunities and connections. Recent finds include a $50,000 grant to refresh our brand as we head into our 10th year of business; new leads on cost-efficient printers for some of our store supplies; learning about tax credits for our business; and new consulting work. In the case of the grant, I would not have learned about the opportunity had I not been fully present in the conference breakout group that I had been assigned to. Through a conversation with someone making ice cream in New Hampshire, I learned there was a grant for dairy processors in the Northeast. I wasn’t sure if we were eligible, but she encouraged me to explore the opportunity. I did, and we ended up getting the grant. More recently, when attending the Dairy Summit, I sat in on a policy insights panel where the deputy commissioner from New York State Agriculture & Markets spoke. After the panel, I walked up to her to ask if she knew of any resources for non-dairy farmers who were processing dairy. My follow-up email led to her connecting me with the city’s Economic Development Center — a connection that I’m almost positive would not have come as easily had I not met a state leader at the conference.
Images: Pics from Easter Sunday at church, which has been such a supportive community to be apart of over the last 10 years.
We cannot discover the hidden gems that surround us if we are unwilling to engage with the people around us. And the people around us will likely be less open to giving if we do not also give. In order to find these treasures, we must maintain an inherent curiosity about the people we are sharing space with, commit to being present, and be unafraid of being generous with our own resources.
What happens when we don’t just write off a room because we think we know all there is to know? What happens when we humble ourselves to the fact that there’s always something to discover and learn? We load our baskets with new connections and new opportunities, that’s what.
Petrushka
Your Local Ice Cream Lady/Business & Life Coach