Laura Zander of Jimmy Beans Wool shares a life lesson

Photo: Digiman Studio

I have had the privilege of listening to Laura Zander of Jimmy Beans Wool speak four times now, and each time I am so impressed with how down-to-earth this woman is. Her story is so inspirational. Laura and her husband Doug are software engineers who ditched the industry when it busted in 2000. They traded-in their San Francisco city lives for the quaint mountain town of Truckee, CA. By the means of fate, Laura stumbled into the yarn business and opened a tiny shop in Truckee. 13 years later, Laura and Doug are running a $7 million online retail business selling, yes, yarn.

Laura Zander has made yarn damn cool. I want to share one of her stories that really stuck with me, and has so many underlying messages in not just business but, in life.

Laura has a 5-year-old son named Huckleberry. Once upon a time, when Huckleberry was 2, Laura and Doug were boarding an airplane with him when the pilot walked by and caught Huck’s eye. Laura leaned over to her starry-eyed 2-year-old and whispered, “Hey, you should go ask the pilot if you can fly the plane.” Fly the plane? Really? Come on. “He is probably going to say no, that’s what he should say. BUT… what if he says yes?! Could you IMAGINE? You could fly a real-life airplane!” Huck looks over at the pilot excitedly, jumps down from his seat and makes his way to the front of the plane. The young boy speaks, “Can I fly the plane?” The pilot is stunned, and at a loss for words he says, “Sure.” Huck jumps into the pilot’s chair and goes crazy. Buttons, throddles, wheels, channels are all poked, prodded, and turned. The kid can hardly focus on what he is doing because he is so full of excitement. He is flying a real plane.

Many trips were taken after that, and each time, Huck prepares himself for a big-fat NO, and asks the pilot if he can fly the plane. Sometimes, the pilot will say yes! Sometimes, they say no and Huck understands, because after all, he was expecting it.

There was one occasion when Huck asked the pilot if he could fly the plane and the pilot replied, “I am sorry buddy, I can’t let you do that. BUT… I can let you under the plane to check out the cargo.” Huck looks over at his mom, and she says, “AWESOME! You never know what could be down there! There could be a whole circus down there, cotton candy, maybe even ice cream, and that would be way cooler than flying the plane! You never know!” Grinning ear-to-ear little Huck followed the pilot to the cargo.

You never know what kind of opportunities are out there if you don’t ask. And often, even a “no” will lead to an open door, if you are looking for it…a door that could be way cooler than the one you were originally trying to open.

Thank you for sharing your story, Laura.

Burger Who? Burger Me!!

Finally, the burger-goodness of Truckee, Calif. has been introduced to Reno. Burger Me is now located in the Northwest, in a facility that was once occupied by Tahoe Burger. Owners Mark Estee, The Spenella Family (Jim, Debra and son, Jordan), and Tom Farina proudly introduced their burger restaurant to Truckee, Calif during the summer of 2008. The all-natural, all-organic, and locally sourced burger joint was placed in an old garage-style building, which was formerly an organic supermarket. This community-minded restaurant will not compromise on ingredients. Receiving their produce from Habeger Produce, bread from Truckee Sourdough, and meats from Sierra Meat and Seafood, you can taste the freshness of their burgers and fries. It truly makes a difference.

Mark Estee was once the owner of Moody’s in Truckee, Calif and is now the owner of Campo Reno and Burger Me. Mark’s biggest influence with Burger Me is being the “food guru” and managing any major menu and product decisions. The Spenella Family consists of Debra, Jim and son Jordan Spenella. Debra is a real estate agent, Jim has been a general contractor for 35 years, and Jordan is the General Manager of Burger Me, Reno. Jordan was once a prep cook for Mark back in the day at Lone Eagle Grill. Tom Farina was the last partner to join the team and complete the puzzle. Tom is from Chicago, and was formerly the Food and Beverage Director at the South Lake Tahoe Hilton. Tom was excited to escape the corporate world and is now the General Manager of Burger Me, Truckee. This great team’s restaurant was featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, hosted by Guy Fieri in June of 2010.

On September 15, 2011, the doors of Burger Me, Reno opened. Burger Me prides itself on three things: the freshest food possible, being part of the community, and customer service. Burger Me is also assisted by The Abbi Agency for their marketing, public relations and social media. The Abbi Agency has been an integral part of Burger Me’s involvement with the community when it comes to reaching out through social media. For

example, Jim Spenella is assisting Lion and

the Lamb preschool in building a garden for the youngsters to enjoy- the build can be experienced via Facebook.  Pictures of families enjoying a meal together, kids chomping on chicken tenders, and businessmen on their lunch breaks biting into a bison burger is all shared through Facebook and Twitter.

The assistance of The Abbi Agency has allowed Mark, The Spenella’s, and Tom to focus on what they are really good at-running one of the best burger joints in town. Check out their Facebook page for insane pictures of their awesome burgers, and follow them on Twitter to get updated on the latest and greatest of the burger-goodness!