My Interview with Michael.

As I mentioned in the last couple blog entries, I was recently interviewed by blogger extraordinaire, Michael Sjostedt, last week for his great little blog.

He just posted our interview. I hope you'll click over and check it out-

INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL

Time flies when you're having fun, and I don't get to tell my little 'life reinvention story' as much anymore, but it's still kindof fun when I get a chance to reminisce on those 'startup days'.

I hope you enjoy.

Winter Weather Predictions.

Well, it looks like La Niña, sibling to El Niño, is in place for the coming winter season.

La Niña, a band of cooler-than-normal water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, is likely to bring some extreme winter weather to parts of the United States, according to the annual winter outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

I'm not sure if she had anything to do with the tremendous weather we've had here all year, but if so, she's more than welcome to stay as long as she'd like.

So according to this NYT piece, how does this bode for the kind of winter we can expect here in the Northeast? Should I expect long and lonely days in February and March here in the shop, with nothing much more to do than write dialog and stare out the window at the squalling snows? Here's what the wise weatherfolks have for us:

• Northeast and Mid-Atlantic: equal chances for above-, near-, or below-normal temperatures and precipitation. Winter weather for these regions is often driven not by La Niña but by weather patterns over the northern Atlantic Ocean and Arctic. These are often more short-term and are generally predictable only a week or so in advance. If enough cold air and moisture are in place, areas north of the Ohio Valley and into the Northeast could see above-average snow;

So there you have it. We can expect either above, near, or below normal temperatures and precipitation. How's that for covering your bet. We will get a week's notice of changes which should help.

I think I'll just stick to the gutsier weather prognosticators like fat birds and badgers, lots of acorns and berries, lingering leaves on the trees, pigs gathering sticks, and slow, fat, and fuzzy wollybear caterpillars.

It's New England after all, we have to be prepared for anything. Just today we've had freezing temps, warm sunshine, gusting winds, hail, and cold rain. And it's still early afternoon.

Oh good, the sun's back out.

Op Jim.

As you'll probably figure out by the tone of this and likely the next few blog posts, my interview with Mike Sjostedt last week has put me in a bit of an egocentric mood. The interview went well I think. After all, who doesn't like to talk about themselves for an hour. He wanted to know all about how I started. What drove me to leave the 'comforts' of cubicle life. Why ice cream. Hurdles, were you scared, etc. I won't give away too much of our conversation here just yet. We'll let Mike have the first crack at it. I expect he'll be posting our interview on his quitter-to-winner site any day now.

But in the meantime, there were a few questions he posed that got me thinking a bit deeper than my usual rants about those early days of Mt. Tom's when she was just a pup. One of those questions was 'Are you happier now than you were in engineering?' To which I answered, without hesitation, absolutely. Are there things I miss about having a 'normal' 9 to 5 job? Sure.

Like the 9 to 5 part.

I must say it's a very good thing it rarely feels like work, because I'm living proof that you never work as hard for someone else as you do for yourself. That's why I always describe owning your own business as a 'lifestyle'. It's great that I don't start my workday (at least the being the shop part) until 11 am, but I'm also usually here at 9 pm on a Tuesday night, among most others.

So herein lies the next big challenge in the life cycle of the small business owner, how to work 'on your business' more and 'in your business' less. The age old work/life balance thing. As the slower seasons start to settle in, I'm able to find a bit more time to step away from my batch freezer and do some of the 'non-dairy' things I like to do - photography, run, bike, eat, write. So just how does one keep a business running successfully while simultaneously managing to have a life?

Great question.

And one I've decided to make my primary project for the off-season.

Operation Jim.

I'm still sketching out the foundation of a plan to solve this worklife riddle. I've enlisted Michael Gerber, Bill Collier, and Timothy Ferriss via their bestselling books for some guidance. And although I'm pretty sure I won't end up with a 4 hour workweek or a franchise model that looks like McDonald's, I know I don't want to work as long and as hard as I have this summer.

If I were my Dad, I'd probably be saying, 'I miss fishing'.

So to answer one of Mike's probing questions, yes, I am happier than I was in engineering but I plan to be even happier, with the help of a few ideas I have for improving that work/life balance, not the least of which being, of course, empowering my great crew...

So I know it's a bit of a slippery slope. Let's face it, people like to see the owner around. I had someone the other day ask me if everything was o.k., because she hadn't seen me in the shop the last one or two times she'd been in for a cone. My simple response was, 'I wasn't here because things were going well actually'. As I'm sure any biz owner will concur, I didn't need to feel a twinge of guilt or defensiveness at that comment, but I couldn't help it.

Another unexpected challenge in the life of a small biz owner. Still beats TPR reports.

Thanks for listening, and feel free to offer any suggestions you might have.

Good ones will be rewarded handsomely. Well, icecreamly anyway.

How did I get here.

When I first started the Ice Cream Diaries just seven years and a few days ago, it was all about trying to capture and share the adventure of starting my own business. I'd just returned from what turned out to be nearly two years of amazing travel, reflection, catching up with friends and family throughout the U.S., and more so towards the end, trying to figure out where to steer the drifting boat that was my career. That slice of life between professions was sweet. I was just lucky, and perhaps thrifty enough to have been able to turn a definite low (getting laid off) into a rare opportunity to 'see the world'. I was an apartment-renting single person who'd lived below his means for most of his decade-long career, so when that window of free time opened up, away I went. 38 states, 14 national parks, and countless Motel 6's and sketchy campsites later, I returned to find one of my best buddies waiting for me, pink slip in hand himself.

'You up for another trip?'

'Sure, why not. What are you thinking?'

'How about Australia and New Zealand?'

Needless to say, that offer was too good to pass up. The funds were holding up ok, and I was feeling no pressure to return to the work force just yet. So away I went. We backpacked the entire east coast of Australia from Sydney to Cairns, stopping wherever we felt inclined along the way. After an unforgettable dive in the Great Barrier Reef, it was back to Sydney then over to New Zealand for a month of vagabonding in the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. A quick warm up in Hawaii on the way home and it was back to reality for me.

Of course, reality happily still came in the form of writing and a few shorter trips. One thing was becoming crystal clear, my old cubicle lifestyle just wasn't calling me, or if it was, I just wasn't answering the phone.

The next key moment during my metamorphosis came one morning while I was having breakfast with Dad a few months after my return from the lands of koalas and sheep.

'Hey Dad, what do you think about me starting my own ice cream shop?'

'Don't do it! You'll never have a life. You won't have a family. It's really hard work...'

He truly did his best to try to talk me out of it. This despite the fact that his professional life was all about ice cream - first as ice cream inventor with Hood then HoJo's, then with his own 'mom and pop' shops in eastern Mass. He knew first-hand how all-consuming it can be to work for yourself. Unable to extinguish my enthusiasm for the idea, he finally conceded, 'Well, if you find a good location, I'll help you get it started.'

That was all I needed.

My search was on.

I hunted all around the eastern part of Massachusetts, especially between Boston and the Cape Cod canal. Nothing. It turned out to be much tougher to find a town without already a good ice cream shop. And the ones that were for sale were just plain expensive and intimidating.

I never gave up, but I must admit, I was starting to contemplate a return to the corporate world.

Then I just happened to come out to western Massachusetts, Worthington to be exact, to visit an old friend. We drank wine and caught up in the backyard of her B&B. I casually mentioned my ice cream shop idea.

'My bakery guy has a candy store he's trying to sell. That might be a good spot for your ice cream shop.'

She made a call. I stopped in the next morning on my way home. As soon as I peered in the window, I just knew.

That was 7 years ago, and here I am.

What got me reminiscing is I'm being interviewed tomorrow for a great little blog called 'Quitter to Winner' , one that defines itself as 'a resource for those quitting their job for a career break, sabbatical, entrepreneurial venture, or new gig'. The first time I came across it, I thought, 'Hey, that's me!' Although I must admit, the quitting part was probably the one thing that wasn't a conscious choice I'd made during my life reinvention project that kicked off back in the spring of 2001.

So as I mentally prepare to tell my story, timed nicely with a few days of driving rain and a noticeable scarcity of customers, I think back to those exciting first days and months. Sure, Dad was right. Running an ice cream business is really hard work. It's a ton of hours and can be physically exhausting. But it's also been the most satisfying thing I've ever done, and I wouldn't trade a day of it for anything.

Well, maybe for a weekend off in July, but I'm working on that too.

So if I'm asked during the interview, what was the 'key moment for you'? I could recall that breakfast with Dad or describe that lack of enthusiasm I felt for returning to the engineering world, but neither would be exactly right. For me, it all comes back to my days at my 'big company job' at Lucent Technologies. Perhaps more specifically, one day. I was in a meeting with a bunch of other engineers as we discussed the latest quality numbers or shipping shortages or something like that. I never hugely minded 'working for the man', but I remember that day looking across the table at a guy probably 30 years my senior. He was scribbling into his little notebook just as I was, adding input to the meeting when his opinion was needed, drinking coffee and gnawing at a stale danish.

I remember thinking, that's me in 30 years.

Not unhappy, probably had a great family and a nice life. Fulfilled? Who was I to know. One thing I did know, I didn't want to be that guy. I knew there had to be more to the professional category my life. It was time to get out before whatever scrap of creativity and initiative I had left was gone.

The next day I put my resume on monster.com.

A few weeks later I had a job offer at an up-and-coming tech start-up.

And it would be that start-up, around eighteen months later, who would be responsible for the 'quitter' part of my equation.

I still believe it was that moment in that meeting that changed everything for me.

Isn't life funny like that.

Now you know a little more of the story.

Easthampton's first annual Studio Tour Day

Organized and hatched by the same folks that brought you last year's hugely successful BearFest, Easthampton City Arts now brings you the first annual Studio Tour Day. Scheduled to coincide with American Craft Week, the event will run this Saturday from 10 - 5. Check out the huge lineup of local artists and busineses that will be participating... Studio Tour Day Lineup. It's shaping up to be a can't miss event, and I hope you can check it out. You can pick up a complete map of participating artists, studios, and shops right here today at Mt. Tom's, no need to wait until Saturday.

This from the ECA website -

On Saturday, October 2, 2010, Easthampton City Arts hosts the first annual Easthampton Studio Tour Day, in celebration of the national event, American Craft Week. Visual artists, crafts people, performers and musicians around the city will be opening their doors and spilling out on to the streets with demonstratons, performances and studio sales.

Here at Mt. Tom's, we'll have a mini-sidwalk sale with a wide array of photo cards and prints from the local area, Mt. Tom's tie-dye T's at their lowest price of the year, and a few other surprises. And if you haven't seen it yet, stop in to check out Trace Meek's awesome photo show on the walls.

Should be a busy and fun day in Easthampton. Hope to see you then.

By the way, I realize it's been awful quiet around here these past few months. I've missed writing, but as things often go in the 'peak season', it's tough to sneak in much else besides ice cream making and keeping up with all the other demands of running the biz during the summer. I look forward to getting back to my ICD rantings, and although I'm right now trying to figure out where exactly the blog fits in the grand scheme of things, given the trend toward Facebook updates, Twitter, and the like. I do still enjoy writing, photography, and I fully appreciate being able to capture the mood of running a small biz, if for nothing else but my own posterity, so I expect the ICD will not become a victim of internet evolution just yet.

Thanks for listening. Nice to see you again. Hope you had your best summer yet.

Jim

Ice Cream Shop Shots for this weekend's ArtWalk.

Thought I'd share the short blurb to go with a show I just put together for the walls of the shop and this weekend's ArtWalk Easthampton. If you're out artwalking this weekend, I hope you'll swing by for a look.

Ice Cream Shop Memories.

Images by Jim Ingram

I’ve always held the firm belief that our best memories are not as much from big events, trips, or major milestones, but more often found in everyday moments of bliss. In this case, enjoying an ice cream cone on a hot summer day. These moments can come and go fast. I say best savor them while you’re in ‘em. This show is a snapshot of a few of those moments. I hope you enjoy.

And if you recognize someone, feel free to let me know, and the photo is yours when the show is over.

As you've probably noticed, my blogging time has taken a backseat to ice cream making lately. Been quite the summer for summertime weather, that's for sure. No complaints here. I suppose I could complain about working too much, but I can rest when the snow flies, as we ice cream type folks like to say. Hope you're enjoying yours and managing to stay cool. I look forward to returning to random ranting here on the ICD when things quiet down in here again..

And if you haven't yet, become a fan of Mt. Tom's over at Facebook to stay up to date on new flavors and other intriguing goings-on at your favorite scoop shop.

See you soon.

Get your R.O.C.K. CD's here.

I talked about these guys here recently when they had their CD Release Party at Flywheel a few weeks back. They're a local rock band for kids, but they have a fun sound that's cool even for 'grown-ups'.

Just wanted to make a mention here because we've got copies of their new CD for sale right here at the shop, by the front counter. Just ten bucks gets you 13 great songs. Of course, I'm still a little partial to the 'Jim, the ice cream man' song, but I must admit 'Cruisin' for a snoozin' has gotten stuck in my head a few times..

Here they are rockin' the kids' stage at the Green River Music Festival this past weekend..

Summer Theme Candy Shoot.

Since it's full-on high season for me right now (as you may have guessed by the scarcity of blog posts), as well as the fact that this hazy, hot, & humid weather has made for less than optimal photo lighting/sky conditions, I decided to satisfy my ever-present photography urges with a mini-photo shoot right here in my a.c.-cooled shop.

I figured it would also be a good way to show off some of the new candy we just brought in. You may notice a theme...

Gummy Starfish...

Regular favorite and perfect for your beach cooler, gummy killer sharks...

Chocolate seashells...

What would summer be without...Salt Water Taffy...

A little off-theme, but a new oldie to the shop (stay tuned, more flavors coming soon)...

Mike & Ike's, another recent addition...

Sour Toxic Waste candies, try one if you dare...

Jelly Bellies, ice cream shoppe mix...

And I just couldn't resist a shot of royal icing rose perfection. One of the fresh new trays made by retired cake decorating master, otherwise known as my Mom...

Hope you're enjoying this crazy hot summer. Stay cool, and see you soon.

jim

Mary & Peter's Cross-Country Adventure

Friends & Mt. Tom's regulars turned cross-country travelers, Mary and Peter (you may recognize Mary as Ms. Franke, Pepin schoolteacher), have embarked on a coast-to-coast adventure this summer. They left a little over a week ago. One of their last provisioning stops before hitting the road was the Mt. Tom's giftshop for a couple of swanky tees.

And in case you'd been wondering what the deal was with the big map of the U.S. tacked on the wall by the chocolate cabinet, it's actually a MaryPeter tracking chart. Before they left, they enthusiastically volunteered to take shots of themselves at various scenic or otherwise interesting spots along their journey. They've been sending me them ever since, courtesy of their Iphones...

Their latest, Grand Canyon...

Who knows where the next shot will come from.

By the way, if you ever feel inclined to shoot a shot of yourself, friend, or family member in some interesting travel locale and sporting their favorite Mt. Tom's tee, feel free to send along the image to jim@mttoms.com , and I'll be happy to display it proudly right here on the ICD blog. Who knows, I may even offer up a free cone...

My favorite to date, my friend Rick, from the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro...

Be a few months before my Mt. Tom's tee sees any place further than the Massachusetts border, so I'll just have to reminisce and live vicariously thru you all for now..

Stay cool and hope to see you soon.

Center Pepin Mural Rocks Mt. Tom's!

I was asked a long time ago if I 'minded' that Mt. Tom's be included in a new schoolyard mural being painted behind the Center Pepin school here in Easthampton. Of course, I thought it was a great idea. Little did I know we'd be featured so prominently in the finished product. I recently was tipped that the mural was done, and that I 'really should go check it out.'

Well, I finally got a chance to bike down with my camera, and my customer/friend was right, I definitely had to see it to believe it. Extremely cool.

Center Pepin rocks!



The center mural was done by Sabrina Herman, and the Center Pepin kiddos did the boxes all around it. It was organized and funded by the 'junior leadership club'. Will try to find out more info on that group and pass that along.

Here's a closer look...

Got a kick out of the 'Mt. Jim' part, a funny twist on my being called 'Tom' all the time...

Great job Center Pepp, and thanks for including your favorite local scoop shop. We here at Mt. Tom's are proud and sincerely humbled.

R.O.C.K. Cd Release Party

In case you haven't seen these guys yet, in a word, they're awesome. Rock music for kids, but cool enough for 'grown-ups' to enjoy too. Of course, I may be a little biased because one of their songs is called, 'Jim the ice cream man,' but these guys really are extremely talented musicians and they sound great. Kids love them. Their shows are fun, interactive, and wicked (sugar) high energy.

You can read all about them in this week's Valley Advocate cover story.

If you haven't gotten a chance to catch them yet (most of their gigs are sometime between breakfast and nap time), you definitely should head to their cd release party at Flywheel right here in Easthampton this weekend. 11 a.m. Sunday.

Did I mention there will be free Mt. Tom's homemade ice cream?

Just make sure the kiddos are wearing their dancing shoes...

Sights of Easthampton.

Had to lead with this one..

Took a little hike up to the top of Mt. Tom recently..

Just after I took the shot, a kite flyer (is that what they call them?) came floating into the frame..

Pretty cool. Can't say I'd ever do it, but it does look like fun..

A collection of shots from the 225th anniversary parade Saturday morning. Great fun had by all..

The Hot Buttered Elves float was definitely a crowd favorite..

This band definitely came to play. An extremely rare summer performance..

Union Street never looked so festive..

The Lloyd Cole Trio playing at the all-day concert event on Saturday. The Friday night concerts are nice, but it was awesome to hear some great local indie rock at the new bandshell by the Lower Mill Pond..

Among the many fun and family-friendly activities on Sunday was a 'vintage baseball' game. Here they are explaining the rules..

It was a great weekend of fun to commemorate Easthampton's 225th. Perfect weather, big crowds, few incidents. Congrats and thanks to the planning team, sponsors, and volunteers that made it all happen. BearFest last year, 225th this year, what can we do next year?...