Reinvention Room with Allison Hare

EP56: No Experience Required to Serve Your Community: Jenny Levison of Souper Jenny


Listen Later

[fusebox_track_player url="https://episodes.castos.com/5e3aa627bb42e8-95594950/Souper-Jenny-EP56-BTW.mp3" artist="Bright this Way with Allison Hare" title="No Experience Required To Serve Your Community: Jenny Levison of Souper Jenny" social_twitter="true" social_facebook="true" social_linkedin="true" social_pinterest="true" social_email="true" ]

Host Allison Hare talks to Jenny Levison, owner of beloved Atlanta restaurant Souper Jenny and the founder of the foundation The Zadie Project. They discuss serving your community, following your purpose and passion, adventures in entrepreneurship, healthy cooking, and more.

Episode Highlights:

  • Jenny grew up in Atlanta, but moved to LA with her mother when her parents got divorced, and that led her into acting.
  • As an actor, she always also worked in restaurants, making her way through management and eventually ending up in the kitchen for a friend’s restaurant.
  • Jenny and her husband at the time traveled around the world for 18 months, visiting 24 countries, and during that time she collected recipes from anyone she met, later realizing they were almost entirely soups.
  • Jenny founded The Zadie Project 3 years ago as a 501(c)3 after coming together with her whole Souper Jenny team and realizing she wanted to expand the ways she was serving the community in Atlanta.
  • Through The Zadie Project, they donate food from Souper Jenny to Title I schools, homeless shelters, and other at risk populations.
  • Jenny is dedicated to being intentional every day, even if that means being intentional about relaxing and watching Netflix.
  • The Zadie Project also holds a free drive-through grocery for those in need, especially with the effects of COVID-19.
  • Souper Jenny is lucky to have already been a take-out only restaurant so they have not had to close, but it’s been hard on the employees.
  • Jenny wants to open another location and is bidding to get into the airport.
  • Souper Jenny sells 3 cookbooks that you can buy on their website, or get other recipes off Jenny’s blog.
  • 3 Key Points

    1. If you’re driven to do something and you feel it is your purpose, then you don’t need experience to get started.
    2. COVID-19 has brought out so much kindness in people that perhaps we can make this a permanent change for the better.
    3. Franchising would mean not having your hands on every aspect of the business anymore, so deliberate, intentional growth is crucial.
    4. Tweetable Quotes:

      • "I look at the end like it’s already happened. All the things that you need to think about—how am I going to pay for it, how am I going to get time off work—all those things come later for me. I see that picture of what I want and everything else is secondary.” –Jenny Levison
      • “My purpose is just to know that I didn’t waste my time here. That I created something that people enjoy, it’s not gonna change the world, maybe, but I truly love what I do.” –Jenny Levison
      • Resources Mentioned:

        • Text me at 470.242.6311. Subscribe to this podcast, SHARE, and find me everywhere at Allison’s Linktree.
        • Subscribe to Allison’s blog, Sticky Notes
        • Order Souper Jenny
        • Souper Jenny Instagram
        • Buy Souper Jenny cookbooks
        • Jenny’s blog
        • Jenny’s TED Talk
        • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

          Be sure to rate, review, and follow this podcast on your player and also, connect with me IRL for more goodness and life-changing stuff.

          • Schedule a FREE podcast clarity call with me - Your future audience is out there. Talk to them!
          • Sign up for the free Reinvention Roadmap weekly email
          • AllisonHare.com
          • Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
          • DOWNLOAD the free podcast equipment guide- No guesswork, no google rabbit holes, start recording today
          • Reb3l Dance Fitness - Try it at home! Free month with this link.
          • Personal Brand - need help building yours? Schedule a call with me here and let's discuss.
          • Feedback and Contact:: [email protected]

          ...more
          View all episodesView all episodes
          Download on the App Store

          Reinvention Room with Allison HareBy Allison Hare

          • 4.9
          • 4.9
          • 4.9
          • 4.9
          • 4.9

          4.9

          99 ratings


          More shows like Reinvention Room with Allison Hare

          View all
          Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

          Hidden Brain

          43,572 Listeners

          The Moth by The Moth

          The Moth

          27,218 Listeners

          Up First from NPR by NPR

          Up First from NPR

          56,391 Listeners

          The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett by DOAC

          The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

          8,530 Listeners

          The Genius Life by Max Lugavere

          The Genius Life

          4,915 Listeners

          Call Her Daddy by Alex Cooper

          Call Her Daddy

          165,731 Listeners

          You Are Not Broken by Kelly Casperson, MD

          You Are Not Broken

          1,065 Listeners

          SmartLess by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett

          SmartLess

          58,262 Listeners

          We Can Do Hard Things by Treat Media and Glennon Doyle

          We Can Do Hard Things

          41,476 Listeners

          Pulling The Thread with Elise Loehnen by Elise Loehnen

          Pulling The Thread with Elise Loehnen

          1,089 Listeners

          The PoliticsGirl Podcast by Meidas Media Network, Leigh McGowan

          The PoliticsGirl Podcast

          4,338 Listeners

          The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

          The Mel Robbins Podcast

          20,478 Listeners

          ADHD Chatter by Alex Partridge

          ADHD Chatter

          261 Listeners

          Dare to Lead with Brené Brown by Vox Media Podcast Network

          Dare to Lead with Brené Brown

          316 Listeners