Meet Sofi
Meet our Sales Associate, Sofi! She organizes our sales accounts and leads, corporate gift orders, AND represents Ground Up at markets + events. She truly does it all!
What has your experience with Ground Up been like?
I have really loved working at Ground Up! It's been really fun to incorporate aspects of past jobs that I loved and roll them all into one. With previous customer service and retail jobs, I enjoyed connecting with customers but found myself feeling exhausted from full days of customer servicing. Also while I lived in Nashville, I had the opportunity to work at Farmers Markets and I loved the community of working with Farmers and local vendors. Sadly, once I moved to Portland, I wasn't able to find any market positions. With Ground Up, I have the opportunity to make connections with customers, be on my feet and work with my hands, and also be part of a Farmers Market community again!
What is your role at Ground Up?
My role is technically Sales Assistant and Farmers Market rep but, during the busier months, you can find me mixing with the Production-B crew in the kitchen! With Ground Up, I have the opportunity to do so many types of different jobs under one job description.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
The days have a lot of variety which I love but, it also makes it hard to outline a typical workday. Generally, I start my mornings with a cup of coffee catching up on emails and answering wholesale inquiries. Then I check on our wholesale portals to chat with customers, confirm orders, and add more accounts to our Find Us in Stores page. After that, I follow up with customers about corporate client gifts, wholesale partnerships, and wholesale order information. The rest of the day is typically dedicated to working on projects, brainstorming new accounts and leads, prepping market supplies, meeting with Julie and the rest of the team, or pulling reports. Since every day looks a little bit different than the last, I always feel interested in the work I'm doing!
What do you like to do for fun?
I love to cook and bake to decompress. I'm not great at creating recipes on my own but I love to explore and try new recipes. Since quarantine began, I've really loved challenging myself in the kitchen and trying to create more intricate dishes. The most recent difficult dish I made during quarantine was homemade tonkatsu ramen. When I'm not cooking or baking, I also love to kickbox and be active through daily workouts, go on walks with my partner and dog, and explore all the amazing outdoor opportunities the Pacific Northwest has to offer.
What is your favorite Ground Up nut butter flavor + favorite way to enjoy it?
Ooo that's such a tough one! Currently, it's a tie between the Gingersnap and Salted Eggnog but, I also recently had the opportunity to try the Matcha, and I think that is the winner. As for how to enjoy it, I'm a big advocate for eating nut butter straight out of the jar. I also love eating it with apples, bananas, or in smoothies and shakes.
What is your favorite part of working at Ground Up?
I really love the people and company culture. It's really amazing to work with so many womxn who are such powerhouses while also having so much fun. I feel constantly challenged and simultaneously supported and believed in. Julie and Carolyn took a chance on me with this position and I'm really grateful they can see the potential that a person has but may not be able to see in themself yet.
