Happy to welcome freelance journalist, novelist, and dedicated foodie Tracey Ceurvels of The Busy Hedonist to the blog today.

At The Busy Hedonist Tracey shares delicious recipes (and wine pairings) along with stories about cooking, dining, and living in New York City, and beyond. She offers writing courses, restaurant recommendations, and weekly dinner plans.

If you’re looking for the best specialty food shops in New York City (think cheese, spices, chocolate, and more) Tracey created an app, NYC iFoodShop App, to show you the way.

Her book Sabrina Loves Soho is inspired by Tracey’s walks through NYC with her daughter.

Here’s Tracey …

Tell us about The Busy Hedonist. What does being a busy hedonist mean and how do you best love to share your philosophy with the world?

Being a busy hedonist is about enjoying life now; it’s about taking that trip you’ve always wanted to; eating at your favorite restaurant; cooking dinner and enjoying it with friends and loved ones.

What experiences have influenced your approach to cooking and life?

I’ve always been an adventurous soul—as a young person I wanted to travel and learn about new cultures, which included eating different foods. During high school I traveled to Japan for a sister city cultural exchange and to France, both of which had a major influence on me and my outlook on life and food. Although each culture is so different, each has a special reverence for food that I just love—there’s a definite enjoyment factor. French cuisine is celebratory and taken very seriously while Japanese cuisine is simple yet ritualistic and ceremonial. Both of these approaches toward food have worked their way into my life over the years.

What inspired you to create The Busy Hedonist Weekly Dinner Plans?  What’s included in the weekly plan?

I love to cook and when I had my daughter in 2008, there were some moments I thought I’d never cook dinner again. Before she came along, I loved figuring out what to make for dinner, shopping leisurely on a weekend day and spending hours in the kitchen. That was no longer possible once I had an infant in tow. Yet still I wanted to cook and to eat fresh, seasonal and non-processed food. So I devised a way to do so by planning out meals each week, along with a shopping list. I found that organization was important and having certain staples on hand made it easier to whip up a fresh dinner. Now I help other busy people, whether they’re moms or business owners. One of my customers is both, and she said that it’s a bit like Christmas when she opens up my recipes on Sunday morning. That was such a wonderful compliment.

Do you have a signature dish, that everyone always asks you to make?

I’d have to say bouillabaise, which is a French/Mediterranean seafood stew. I just love the ingredients in this dish: orange, saffron, white wine and tomato, plus the seafood, of course. It’s such a simple dish to make, but so elegant. And with a bottle of wine and a baguette, it’s a great meal. I once tried to woo an ex with this dish and it worked for a short time, though ultimately he loved the Italian version, which includes angel hair pasta, more than the French version, and this was just one of our differences.

What’s one of your favorite travel and food experiences?

It’s very hard to pick just one, so here are several: dining on the beach in Cannes with fireworks going off overhead; eating local food on the Amazon river in Peru; a restaurant in Paris that serves only one appetizer, one entree and one dessert—there are no choices but the food is impeccable; eating my way around Rome; an all truffle dinner in Assisi, Italy; eating fish tacos on the beach in Belize with great friends. There are so many!

You write for magazines, newspapers, fashion and lifestyle companies, and you’ve written your own children’s book Sabrina Loves Soho. What can we expect to see next?

I am working on a cookbook based on shopping at New York City’s specialty food stores. I am constantly amazed at the ingredients I come across and I am constantly inspired by my discoveries. I am also writing a second novel. The first one is now in the hands of movie producer who’d like to turn it into a movie. I also plan on doing more travel writing this year, so I’ll be heading to Paris, France, Tulum, Mexico and to a culinary festival in San Antonio, Texas.

How has creating your own business empowered you?

I love that each day I wake up I get to do exactly what I love doing, including cooking, writing, creating new recipes, exploring a new food shop or planning a trip somewhere to write about the food—and it’s something I’ve created for myself. The more I’ve stepped into “this is what I do and this is what I love doing” the more it’s all worked out. I’d love to tell other women (and men) that they, too, can create a career/lifestyle that they love.

What excites you most about the woman you’ve grown up to be and the possibilities ahead?

I love that I can be a good role model for my 5-year old daughter, that I can (hopefully) show her that can create what she loves in her life, too.

Tracey Ceurvels worked at several top Boston and NYC restaurants and hung up her apron to use her degree in journalism plus her love of food to write about her favorite subjects: traveling, cooking and dining. Her articles have appeared in many publications, including The Boston Globe,The New York Times City Section, The New York Daily News, Dean & Deluca’s Gourmet Food Blog, Hauteliving.com, The New York Sun, Relish, Time Out, Citysearch.com, Papermag.com, among other publications.

Tracey loves finding the best places to eat in NYC and around the world, plus cooking and creating recipes in her NYC kitchen, using the abundant ingredients she finds in NYC’s specialty food stores. In fact, she created an App: NYC iFoodShop—A food lover’s guide to shopping in NYC. Tracey was twice awarded fellowships in fiction from The Ragdale Foundation, where she worked on her novel, The Patisserie of Dreams. Originally from Boston, Tracey now lives in New York City. You can connect with her at The Busy Hedonist and on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

What do you do to embrace your busy hedonist and enjoy life right now? Comment below.

Very happy to welcome Business Storyteller Victoria Prozan to the Women Branching Out interview series.

I’ve been biz crushing on Victoria for about a year now, since I first heard her say, “Creativity is our superpower.” Music to my ears!

Victoria uses her own creative superpowers to help entrepreneurs brand their businesses and build beautiful customer experiences.

Here’s Victoria …

Tell us about you and your business. Who do you love to serve and why?

My turn-on in life is creative expression. Not simply my own, but diving into how others imagine, create, and communicate.  And to me, that is what being an entrepreneur is all about. To express our message and passion. My business focuses on two ways we can communicate our vision and value. Branding and Customer Experience.

I love to serve entrepreneurs who are in this business-building thing for the long haul. Those who understand that every day in business is an adventure that can best be measured, not only in profit, but in relationships and experiences. Ambitious women who know patience, persistence and self-acceptance are the foundation of success.

What is The Superluxe Naming Experience?

It’s my unique branding process based on my own personal creative methods. It’s a series of prep exercises to look at your business from both a creative and an analytical point of view. Then I use my brainstorming powers based on your homework, before we have our session. And then, when we are both ready to haul-branding-ass, we come together in a 90 minute session in which we create tons of names, tag lines and other branded language that will move your business to the next level. The goal is for you to walk away *on fire* about your business, brand and the future they will create for you.

What’s the biggest myth about brand names, tag lines, and product names that keeps entrepreneurs spinning their wheels?

There’s a lot of conventional knowledge out in cyberspace that says “yes, do this” or “no, no, no, never!” in regards to building your brand.  And while there are definitely smart practices and tried + true advice that needs to be considered, the most important part of branding is that it MUST turn you on first!

If your names, tag lines, websites, logo, copy etc. light you up every time you say, read, or introduce yourself, THAT is super powerful! There is nothing more irresistible than someone who is enthusiastic, right? So find that message, vision, raison d’être within your business, then build a brand around that! Ooh la la! 😉

One key piece of advice:
The more meaning you can pack into the fewest words, the more accessible your business becomes. Clarity is important, but over describing for fear of not getting your message across can dilute your power. Simple is harder than it looks because it means you need to edit, edit, edit. Sometimes we get overly attached to what we’ve created and editing it back can be painful. But when you can bring out the inner editor in yourself, your entire business will profit.

And don’t think of editing just in relation to words. Everything in your brand — visuals, images, copy, tag lines — keep pruning it back, season after season. Just like the trees and bushes in your yard. Getting rid of the riffraff allows room for new growth and ideas when they come up.

You’ve helped tons of entrepreneurs name their businesses, products, and services. How does it feel when you and the client create just the right name?

Delicious! Spine tingling! But, truth be told, it’s not always a lightening bolt kinda moment. We each have a different way of creating, processing and deciding.

So, I like to remind people when we do run into frustrations — an unavailable domain, words on the tip of our tongue that just don’t come on demand, whatever is blocking the entrance —  to breathe deep and remember getting to the finish line is a *when*, not an *if*. Creativity is not a linear process and those loops we sometimes have to run, are just as amazing and imaginative. I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason. Those blocks will lead you to your right branded language, without a doubt. Trust the creative process.

What is customer experience (CX) and why is it so important for online businesses to embrace it right alongside marketing and branding?

CX is a macro view of your business through the eyes of your customers (and potential customers). So branding is part of Customer Experience, but there’s so much more.

I’m looking to start a conversation online about the importance of quality and excellence as we produce our offerings and communicate with our audiences. And when I say quality and excellence, I *do not* mean perfectionism. No ma’am!

At the heart of good CX is seeing and acknowledging your customers, every step of the way. Knowing what they need before and better than they know themselves. Anticipating how you can make your business delight them at every turn.

Commerce online is evolving. I think most of us are burnt out on more, more, more. More content, whistles and bells in info products. More weeks, modules, hoops to jump through in group coaching. Simple is the new black. Being able to hone in on exactly what we need in the moment, digest it and move on to the next focus.

Strip down to the core value and knowledge you offer and then polish the hell out of that. Make what you offer accessible, engaging and mind blowingly great! Like Seth Godin says “Be remarkable!” Customers are sacred, act accordingly.

What brands are great examples of customer experience done just right?

Some of my favs these days are:

• Method. Never has soap made me so happy!
• Chipotle. “Life is Burritoful!” is the messaging on their receipts. Such a little detail, but it sums up my love for their brand, ethics and business model.
• Moo. Just got another round of business cards printed and every step was a delight.
• Mailchimp.  I love that cheeky monkey and his sassy messages.
• Zingerman’s. A small business in Ann Arbor, Michigan that does *everything* right. Seriously. They are my CX heroes. When I visit or order online, it’s like going to Disneyland. Sigh.

How has having your own business empowered you?

Where I once allowed others to define who I was, on a personal level, I now understand that I need to lead myself to success. I was waiting for permission to speak up and shine. And all that leads to is more waiting, doubts and frustration.

My mantra this last year has been “other people’s expectations are none of my business”. That is crazy liberating!

I’m more confident than I’ve even been. I no longer surround myself with negativity — my own or others’. I wear my ambitions proudly. I want to impact the world, in my own unique way. If someone doesn’t get it, puts it down or mumbles about it behind my back, no worries. My world keeps turning.

If you had to pick just one book from the resource lounge to be required reading for all business ladies, what would it be?

Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind rocked my world. Go read it now 🙂 It will give anyone lots of insights into the importance of stellar CX, in addition to tons of other important business insights. He lays out the future of business and how creativity is the key to making money. Hot stuff!

Finish this sentence. I believe…

I believe that we already have everything we need for success baked into who we are. Our job as entrepreneurs is to learn how to best showcase and communicate that value. Simple, but not at all easy, but we’re all up for the task!

Victoria Prozan is a Business Storyteller who helps entrepreneurs bring an honest voice to both their brand and customer experience. When you raise the bar on your own business, offering and brand, you eliminate the competition. Strip away the whistles and bells, stop trying to keep up with the Entrepreneurial Joneses and redirect that energy to making the your quality — in every way that can be measured — stellar. You can find Victoria at her website and on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Have any mind blowing customer experiences lately? What made them so good? Share below!

Very happy to have Tania Elfersy on the blog today!

Tania is the award-winning co-author and publisher of Purple Leaves, Red Cherries: A Gift for Mothers with Short Stories, Journal & Toolkit a gift book for new moms.

In 2010 Tania created her own publishing company Flower Cap Press and self-published the book, which has gone on to win four international book awards.

You can visit Purple Leaves, Red Cherries to watch a trailer for the book, download free chapters, and send an inspiring ecard to your favorite mom.

Welcome Tania

Tell us about your favorite part of the process of creating Purple Leaves, Red Cherries with your long-time friend Andrea Katzman.

The whole creative process was like a dream!

After six years as a stay-at-home mom, I felt very lucky to return to work and launch my self-publishing project with such a creative and supportive team.

Andrea (my co-author), Nomi Melul Ohad (the book’s illustrator), the graphic designers and editors, everyone who worked on the project was a talented mom who felt emotionally connected to the book. It was a wonderful working environment – very different from the corporate environment in which I used to work, pre-motherhood.

You used a collaborative approach to source many of the stories for the book. What did you learn about motherhood from all the stories that were submitted?

That motherhood is a disruptive wonder like no other on earth!

Perhaps I knew this deep down before I started working on the book, but when you bring together such a range of stories and emotions from so many women, the epic tale of motherhood spreads before you like an exquisite and very special tapestry, revealing sweet and bitter secrets.

In Purple Leaves, Red Cherries we couldn’t tell every woman’s story but we do offer a great view of the tapestry. We hope that when our readers look at the details, they’ll realize they’re not alone.

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How did the process of self-publishing the book empower you?

Like birth for the first time, when you discover and can appreciate your body for all its magic.

I had no experience in the publishing industry and the learning curve was huge, so when I held my own book for the first time, I certainly enjoyed an “I did it” feeling.

Then when I won my first book award, that feeling intensified!

What’s surprised you about becoming a self-publisher?

Just how hard, lonely and time-consuming marketing a book can be!

Even though I’ve won four book awards and the book has received a string of loving reviews – and I really enjoy marketing my own product – I still feel like I’m working very hard for every single sale.

I’ve been told by some industry experts that for a book like mine, it can take up to three years to reach a break though in the market. Luckily, I’m in for the long-run!

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How did your experience as a mom impact the vision you had for the book?

I’ll always remember that when I had my first child, I had little time for anything else apart from caring for my baby. There was so much learning, uncertainty and fatigue in those early months that it was hard for me to connect with the huge shifts occurring in my life.

From the start, my vision for the book was that it would be an inspirational tool to ease a woman’s journey through early motherhood.

In order for the book to succeed, I knew I had to make it accessible to new moms by offering bite-sized food for thought. No story in the book exceeds 140 words and the self-development exercises are short and sweet.

Hopefully, each time a new mom opens the book, she’ll have the time to read at least one short story.

The gift book includes journaling space for moms. Why do you think it’s important for new moms to express themselves in this way?

As new moms, we spend a lot of time thinking about what’s happening to our babies and what’s best for them. Yet, we don’t spend nearly enough time thinking about what’s happening to us and what would be best for us in motherhood.

Journaling is a great way to explore these questions and reflect on the huge changes we undergo as women. It helps us clarify our thoughts, leads us to constructive action and allows us to be creative – all very uplifting activities for new moms.

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What’s next for you and Purple Leaves, Red Cherries?

I’ve been working on additional products and services that will support new moms. The first to launch, in the second half of this year, is Motherhood & Me, a two part workshop that uses stories from the book to create dialogue around issues of motherhood. Rachael Ellison, the coach and organizational development consultant who founded REworking Parents, worked with me to create the workshop. It offers midwives, doulas, coaches and group facilitators a structured way to help new moms in their communities.

In addition, I’m working to secure a number of foreign rights agreements that will allow the book to be published in different languages. The book has already been translated into Hebrew and will be published in Israel within a few months. It’s very exciting!

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Tania Elfersy is the co-author and publisher of the award-winning gift book for new moms, Purple Leaves, Red Cherries: A Gift for Mothers with Short Stories, Journal & Toolkit. In 2004, Tania left her career in corporate marketing to become a stay-at-home mom. Six years later, then a mother of three young children, Tania had a vision of a book for mothers that became Purple Leaves, Red Cherries. She established Flower Cap Press and self-published the book (her first). In 2012, Purple Leaves, Red Cherries won four international book awards.

Every copy of Purple Leaves, Red Cherries purchased from the book’s website, allows $5 to be donated to Every Mother Counts, an organization that helps save moms lives through improved maternal health care. You can find out more about Tania and the book at Purple Leaves, Red Cherries and connect via Facebook and Twitter.

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Tania’s book helps new moms. If you’re planning to write a book someday (or already in the process) who will your book help?