Alexandra Buckley Voris and Maggie Jones Patton are the founders of the NY-based kids’ food company, Bitsy’s Brainfood.
After many years of working in education and non-profit, they got to a point where they realized that they had to solve some of the problems that they kept seeing over and over. They decided to go into the business of making the world better for everybody!
They wanted to create a food brand with products that were truly good for kids, not just “not bad for you”. In 2012, they developed a line of Smart Cookies. Following the success of their first products, the company just launched a line of organic fruit and vegetable cereals built around its core principles, that healthy bodies and healthy minds are connected, and learning to “eat smart” should be fun.
On the heels of their cereal launch success, Alexandra and Maggie share their “3 Things” (well, actually 4 things) with us:
Divert and Delay: One of the first jobs for each of us was as assistants. A very valuable learning experience on all fronts. However, it’s easy to get into the mindset of immediately saying yes to everything. We are admittedly optimists and saying no in general doesn’t come naturally to either of us. However, as our careers progressed, we realized that we didn’t always have to answer with yes or no, and that “let me think about that,” or “hmmm, that’s an interesting thought,” were also plausible responses. Whether you don’t have the answer right away, or something in your gut isn’t sitting quite right, don’t be afraid to “divert and delay” with an “I’ll get right back to you on that” answer.
Fake It till You Make It: First off, this has nothing to do with being fake, but everything to do with believing in yourself. Self-confidence and perseverance seem to go hand in hand, but it’s not always the case. Everyone has doubts and questions themselves from time to time. But being able to keep going and convince yourself and others and put those doubts behind you is key!
Love Is A Strategy: This is hands down our favorite self-coined expression for handling everything from business to life. Love Is a Strategy. Treating people with kindness whether employees, colleagues, bosses, clients, customers or what have you, makes a BIG difference.
Don’t Stress, Don’t Mess, Do Your Best: This came to the two of us later in life while we were being rerouted back over a bridge for about the third time. We were on our way to a very important meeting that we were becoming increasingly late for. The lesson here is not that it’s okay to be late, the opposite is true of course (the two of us actually freak out when we are late). But rather, that sometimes, even when you are doing your absolute best and not messing up a thing, there are situations that will arise which are beyond your control. Don’t stress, just power through, give it your best. Likelihood is… it will all work out. And always remember that sometimes your disability might be your opportunity, and look for a way to problem-solve to manage even sticky situations for a win.
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