Savor the Wild: From Food Tours to Novel Dining Experiences
Introduction
In this article, we will explore the journey of Angela Shen, the founder of Savor Seattle, as she transitions from running a successful food tour business to creating a new venture called Savor the Wild. Through her story, we will discuss the importance of staying true to your values, forming valuable partnerships, and listening to your instincts in business decisions. Join us as we delve into Angela’s entrepreneurial drive, her commitment to providing quality experiences, and her dedication to diversity and inclusion in her new venture.
Angela’s Journey with Savor Seattle
When Angela Shen made the difficult decision to sell her beloved food tour business, Savor Seattle, after pivoting to curated food boxes during the pandemic, she knew it was time for a change. Despite the emotional challenges, Angela’s entrepreneurial drive never wavered. After experimenting with a corporate job and taking some time off to travel, she decided to embark on a new venture: Savor the Wild tours. Let’s explore how Angela’s passion for adventure and inclusivity shaped her new business.
The Essence of Savor the Wild
Savor the Wild offers extraordinary dining experiences in the Washington wilderness, showcasing activities such as mushroom foraging and oyster shucking. Angela’s aim is to provide novel experiences that go beyond the traditional culinary adventures. By focusing on unique encounters with nature and food, Savor the Wild seeks to create lasting memories for its customers.
Embracing a New Mindset
With Savor the Wild, Angela adopted a new mindset focused on providing quality experiences rather than solely pursuing profits. While Savor Seattle catered to thousands of customers each year, Savor the Wild operates on a smaller scale, enabling Angela to offer a more personalized touch and establish deeper connections with her customers. This shift in perspective has brought Angela a renewed sense of fulfillment and joy.
A Solo Entrepreneurship
Unlike her previous venture, where Angela had a team of 30 to 35 members, Savor the Wild is a one-woman operation. Angela takes charge of everything, from finding locations and creating itineraries to leading the tours herself. This change allows her to have more control over the business and aligns with her desire for a flexible lifestyle that prioritizes quality time with family and other professional endeavors.
Identity, Pressure, and Personal Growth
After dedicating 17 years of her life to Savor Seattle, Angela felt her identity was deeply intertwined with the company. With Savor the Wild, she deliberately aims to separate her personal and professional lives, reducing stress and exhaustion. By doing so, she not only finds opportunities for personal growth but also sets an example for her children. She wants to prove to herself and her loved ones that she is capable of achieving more, beyond the success of a single business.
Diversity and Inclusion at the Core
As a minority entrepreneur who has encountered adversity, Angela understands the importance of creating a safe and inclusive space for others. She recognizes that she may not fit the typical image of a mushroom hunter, but she is determined to make Savor the Wild welcoming to people from all backgrounds. Angela’s commitment to diversity and inclusion reflects the values she established with Savor Seattle and continues to uphold in her new ventures.
Learning from Angela’s Journey
Angela’s journey offers valuable insights to other business owners. Some key takeaways include:
- Stay true to your values. Both Savor Seattle and Savor the Wild embody the spirit of adventure and inclusivity, showcasing Angela’s core values throughout her entrepreneurial ventures.
- Form valuable partnerships. Angela’s journey demonstrates the importance of finding trusted business partners who can guide you through difficult decisions and open doors to new opportunities.
- Listen to your instincts. Angela’s decision to sell Savor Seattle was driven by her intuition. Trusting your gut can lead to satisfying outcomes and pave the way for exciting ventures.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Angela Shen’s transition from Savor Seattle to Savor the Wild showcases the transformative power of entrepreneurial drive and the pursuit of personal fulfillment. Through her commitment to providing quality experiences and embracing diversity and inclusion, Angela has created a business that not only supports her own growth but also allows her customers to connect with nature and food in extraordinary ways. Her journey serves as a reminder to stay true to our values, seek valuable partnerships, and listen to our instincts when making important business decisions.
Additional Piece: Blending the Summary
Angela Shen’s journey from running Savor Seattle to establishing Savor the Wild is a testament to the power of following your entrepreneurial drive and seeking personal fulfillment. With Savor the Wild, Angela aims to provide unique and memorable dining experiences in the Washington wilderness, prioritizing quality over quantity.
As a solo entrepreneur, Angela takes charge of every aspect of her new business, allowing her to have more control and flexibility in her professional life. This change also enables her to focus on her personal growth, compartmentalizing her work from her personal life to reduce stress and exhaustion.
Through Savor the Wild, Angela continues to uphold the values of diversity and inclusion that she established with Savor Seattle. She strives to create a welcoming environment for all, regardless of their background, breaking the stereotype of what a mushroom hunter looks like and making it easier for others to enter this space with confidence.
Angela’s journey offers valuable lessons to other business owners. By staying true to your values, forming valuable partnerships, and listening to your instincts, you can make informed decisions that lead to satisfying outcomes. Angela’s story serves as inspiration for those embarking on their entrepreneurial journey.
In conclusion, Angela Shen’s transition from Savor Seattle to Savor the Wild demonstrates the importance of following your passion, embracing change, and staying true to your values. Through her commitment to providing quality experiences and fostering diversity and inclusion, Angela has created a business that not only brings joy to her own life but also offers unique and memorable adventures to her customers.
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The opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
When Angela Shen sold her food tour business, Savor Seattle, it was not an easy decision and caused many tears. After pivoting her business to curated food boxes during the pandemic, Angela wasn’t feeling challenged professionally or personally, so she decided it was time to move on.
But the entrepreneurial drive that made her successful with Savor Seattle never faded. After trying out a corporate job and taking some time to travel, she decided to start something new: Savor the wild tours. Their new business offers novel dining experiences in the local Washington wilderness, including mushroom foraging and oyster shucking.
“You should be a lifelong learner. If you’ve stopped doing it or you feel, ‘I know enough, I’m a pro at this,’ it’s not fun,” Angela said. “I’m having a lot more fun today than I have in years.”
At Savor Seattle, Angela had a team of 30 to 35 members who created and ran food tours with her. With her new business, she is a solo entrepreneur and does all the work herself: finding locations, creating itineraries and leading tours.
In creating a new business, Angela also adopted a new mindset: focusing less on success in terms of profits and more on providing quality experiences.
“It won’t be 30,000 [customers] a year like we did before, maybe a couple hundred, maybe even a thousand,” Angela said. “That personal touch and that impact that we have is so much deeper and it makes me happy. “That’s an indicator of success that’s never been part of the equation before.”
After owning and working at Savor Seattle for 17 years, Angela felt her identity was intertwined with the company’s identity. With Savor the Wild, she attempts to compartmentalize the work of her personal life to avoid stress and exhaustion. As a one-man operation, you can take tours on your own schedule, allowing you to spend more quality time with your family and work on other business projects, such as business consulting.
“I was lucky as an entrepreneur to have started a successful business early in my career, so now I have the privilege of not having all that pressure on me to say that my success in life is defined by this business,” Angela said. “I feel very proud of that, and my kids were able to see that, and I think now it’s about proving to them and to myself that I’m capable of more.”
In addition to Savor the Wild having a similar namesake, Angela maintains Savor Seattle’s values of Diversity and inclusion in their new ventures. she makes sure every customer feels welcome in every experience, no matter what they look like or where they come from.
“I don’t really look like your typical mushroom hunter. Most people I meet in the forest look very different,” Angela said. “As someone who is a minority and who had to deal with adversity to get to where I am today, and will continue to deal with it, I want to make it easier for others to enter this space and do so in a way that feels safe and welcoming “.
When debating important business decisions, other business owners can learn from Angela’s journey, including the following tips:
- Stay true to your values. While Savor the Wild offers different experiences than Savor Seattle, both companies foster a spirit of adventure and inclusivity. Represent the values of the business owner..
- Form valuable partnerships. Throughout her journey, Angela found trusted business partners who helped her make difficult business decisions and even connected her to the company that purchased Savor Seattle.
- Listen to your instinct. When discussing the sale of Savor Seattle, Angela listened to her hunch, which led to a satisfying decision that opened the doors to new opportunities.
Listen to the episode below to hear directly from Angela and Subscribe to Behind the review to learn more from new business owners and reviewers every Thursday. You can also consult our Episode 2021 with Angela.
Available in: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Seamstressand sound cloud.
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