Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Venegas. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jennifer, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
Homeskillet Provisions was founded by Eric Venegas in 2022. As we have grown we always made a point to try to give back to our community. Eric believed that our path to success lay in lifting up our community around us. He was always the first person to leave packs of our seasonings in the food pantry at the Slow Pour Sunday Market, or leave extra seasonings at the Wimberly Center for the kids to use in there cooking classes. He also looked for ways to replace purchases we made regularly with products produced by other local vendors. Since his passing I have strived to live up to his legacy. I hope that as we grow we are able to give back even more to the community that has supported us and gave us so many great memories.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Homeskillet Provisions is a small batch seasoning company. We make our seasonings from fresh vegetables and whole spices that we dehydrate and blend ourselves. You can find us at local farmers markets or order our seasonings online. We can also be found at our shop at the Whistlestop Shops in Auburn, Ga. where in addition to our seasonings you can find a wide assortment of other locally made provisions
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think the success we have experienced so far can be attributed to our love of what we do. Even before we started Homeskillet we have always loved cooking for our friends and family. We took that love of feeding people and turned it into a business that let us help others create delicious food. We drew on the knowledge we gained working in the restaurant industry for well over a decade each. While neither of us worked in kitchens we had the opportunity to meet and learn from many amazing chefs over the years. For new business owners just starting out I recommend focusing on doing something you truly enjoy, creating something you are proud of, and connecting with your community. If you are genuine others will be more than happy to share their experience with you.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
I often find myself overwhelmed, running a small business is no joke! For me when I am at my wits end I make a list. What needs to be done today? What can someone else help you with? What can be done later? It can feel overwhelming, but when you break it all down and share your struggles with the people around you it feels more manageable. Even when you don’t think you have people around you who can help, ask another small business owner! Maybe they have already dealt with that major task that you don’t know how to start. In my experience people want to help if they can.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.homeskilletprovisions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeskilletprovisions.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeskilletprovisions.com
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
