EP 75: Leading from the Intersection of Culture, Identity, and Sustainability with Jeffrey Brown & Jennifer Chen

The Unburdened Leader

When you see a need or have a vision for something, what do you do? Especially when there is a lot going on in your life and in the world. Do you jump in and take action or do you get in your head with all the what-ifs and to-do lists so much so that you do not even start to explore or take action?

Many of us do both.

But there are folks who take action and do something that supports the greater good, even when it feels too hard and there are many, many unknowns.

They take risks, make hard decisions, and commit to their values with laser focus while leading with generosity, boundaries, and tenacity.

With so much unknown when the pandemic hit, it would have been easy for Jeffrey Brown and Jennifer Chen to keep their vision for a new business in their heads and wait until things were less chaotic.

But they did the opposite.

They dove in with their vision for a new business that represented so much more than the products they were creating but became a true extension of their DNA and values.

Three years ago, they started IZOLA, a bakery making sourdough bread, croissants, and rolls. And they have transformed from lowering orders from their window to a thriving community hub in San Diego.

Jeffrey Brown is a prolific business builder who is passionate about creating fully immersive experiences - from reimagining the bakery industry and serving hot from the oven sourdough and croissants resulting in San Diego's only 5-star bakery to telling Pulitzer-recognized stories through film and photography.

Jennifer Chen has a background in e-commerce. She has spent the last 20 years building multi-million dollar brands in the areas of merchandising, product development, and business development. Now as co-founder of IZOLA, Jennifer has been able to utilize this experience and apply it to a new industry.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How Jeffrey and Jennifer translated their love of bread into a way to connect with their community during COVID lockdowns
• How they infused IZOLA with their values as the business started to grow and how that impacts how their hire and lead their team
• Why they chose to use grassroots funding efforts rather than traditional methods of raising capital
• How therapy helps Jennifer and Jeffrey create boundaries between their relationship and their business and navigate conflict
• How their prior work experiences outside the food world have shaped IZOLA’s processes

Learn more about Jeffrey Brown and Jennifer Chen:

• IZOLA
• Instagram: @izolabakery
• Google

Learn more about Rebecca:

• rebeccaching.com
• Work With Rebecca
• Sign up for the weekly Unburdened Leader Email

Resources:

• EP 57: Toxic Proving, Gender Bias, and the Not-Enough Loop with Wendy Collie