My First Blog Entry

This is my first blog entry & I write the following words with a mild sense of apprehension mingled with a twirl of excitement! I suppose the apprehensive bit comes from the decision I’ve taken to document daily (or atleast every other day) my thoughts, feelings & experiences honestly without falling susceptible to indulging from time to time in the tempting trap of sprinkling a little sugar (organic golden caster sugar with a hint of cinnamon if possible) over the more bitter crumbs of reality!

My purpose with starting this blog is firstly to share my experience of spice – health benefits, storage tips, various usages, tantalizing recipes, etc. – but mainly to make a note of the daily trials and triumphs of being an entrepreneur in the retail sector. When I was very young I successfully scandalized an elderly relative by confessing that I was born to be my own boss & not to work for anybody else. My husband a.k.a my creative instigator, my best friend, my stress relief guru (apart from the times when he’s actually causing it), has stood by me & encouraged and inspired me with kindness and insightful suggestions from the commencement of Orgapod. Over the last four years, I have felt like giving up and throwing in the towel on several occasions; if not for his support and my own headstrong nature to persevere in the face of adversity, Orgapod might not still be in existence.

Like with the dawn of any New-Year, 2008 has brought with it a new set of goals, challenges to overcome, dreams and longings. Firstly, to get the Orgapod Chai range in a minimum of 150 retail outlets nation wide, secondly to attain break-even or more importantly, to generate enough income to pay myself a decent wage (that would be sweet) and thirdly to acquire sufficient product and brand recognition. But if I could sum it all up in one sentence – the dream for 2008 is to put an end to the bulk of financial worry so that when I spend time with my wonderful kids I can focus on them exclusively without letting any train of thought drift towards whether or not I will get the X account or be able to generate enough sales to keep the products listed with Y stores!

But its not all bad…I genuinely enjoy what I do. I love playing with spices – the intoxicating fragrances & colours are enough to put anyone in a good mood. Experimenting with new spice mixtures whether they be to season tea, chocolate or crisps has an amazingly relaxing effect on me (even when the end results of an experiment don’t come out quite as planned)! Each and every spice that I have ever come across from the humble black peppercorn to the more exotic and expensive saffron seem to have a personality of their own. Its quite extraordinary how a pinch of pepper & salt can perk up a simple dish or how a little turmeric thrown into a pot of cooking rice can give such vibrant and appetizing results!

Finally I’ld like to end by wishing all those budding entrepreneurs - those who are in business and those who are thinking of starting one - all the best & I hope you enjoy the ride however long or short lived!

To all of you out there who enjoy cooking with spices or are interested but have been reluctant thus far to give it a shot please get intouch with any questions, comments or anything else you may like to share on the subject.