Slurprise

 

Slurprise

The Revelation that Led to Following a Dream

Everyone waits for that one moment when they realize what path they are meant to take in life. For Shannon Sloan, owner of Slurp food cart in Eugene, Oregon, she was lucky enough to have that moment and it has changed her life. “Throughout my college years, I thought opening a smoothie shop would be a good idea but I never thought I’d actually go through with it. I never had any desire to open my own business; I planned on graduating and getting a 9 to 5 desk job but when the future became the present and graduation day came and went, I realized that was the last thing I wanted to do. My partner, Jayme, asked me what my dream job would be, my answer: Slurp.”[1] Shannon took a jump of faith, opened a food cart, and has begun her journey to following her dream.

Shannon was born and raised in Hawaii and then moved to Eugene in 2007 to attend school at the University of Oregon. Although she loves living in Eugene, she misses numerous things about her home state and that emptiness is what gave her the idea to open a food cart; the intention was to bring a piece of her home to Eugene.

Slurp is unique, the owner is unique, and the products are unique. The food cart itself is unique, considering it mainly consists of freezers and there is no grill or stove. Slurp mainly sells smoothies and acai bowls. According to Shannon and Slurp’s website, “Açaí is a super fruit from Brazil that is rich in antioxidants, amino acids, omega fatty acids and is a natural energy booster. In order to ensure maximum nutritional benefits of this amazing little berry, we use pure organic açaí pulp straight from the Amazon. We blend a thick smoothie using the açaí pulp and other berries, pour it in a bowl, and top it with fresh bananas and gluten free granola.”[2]

When asked about her business, Shannon instantly becomes excited when and vividly talks about the creation of her smoothies at length. Shannon explained that her favorite job in Hawaii was working in a Smoothie shop. Her partner, Jayme Monroe, gave her the idea to create smoothies, and together they tested different combinations resulting in the delicious menu Slurp presents today. Shannon expressed how fun it was to work with Jayme to come up with the names for these smoothies: Tart Face, Kick starter, PB & Jenn, and even the Avery-body Loves Blueberries. Although these smoothies are sensational the way they are, Shannon states, “We worked hard to perfect our recipes but the best part about a smoothie is that the possibilities are endless which is why we encourage our customers to customize their smoothie any way they’d like!”[3]

The acai bowls, smoothies, determination, and creativity are the foundation of what has now become more than just a vision, but a reality. The experiences and influences that kick started Slurp make it what it is today, as well as reflect the dream that Shannon is working to live.

The food cart has been opened for almost a year now. There are very specific guidelines for having a food cart in Eugene, and that is what led Shannon to locating her cart in Kesey Square. [4]Jayme is currently attending graduate school which has exerted Shannon to handle the food cart, during operation hours, alone. 5 days a week starting at 9:30 in the morning, when Shannon prepares the food cart to open, until closing time at 2 in the afternoon, Shannon cooks, cleans, and sells the products all by herself. Shannon explains that the food cart is not quite where she wants it to be, financially, so to compensate she works another job after she closes down her food cart. Shannon mentioned how working during the winter was slow, but she perseveres because the summer is the prime season for the products she sells.

In addition, Shannon explains how she runs all of the social media for the business (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and the website) by herself. On top of operating the food cart alone during business hours, working an extra job, and having a life, it is truly amazing how she also handles the social media as well. Shannon’s daily routine embodies individual perseverance. Her partner helped her start the business and emotionally supports her through the hard work she endures by herself, but presently she sustains this business as an individual.

A food cart thrives off of creativity and to continue success, Shannon has continued to keep up her innovative techniques and dedication to bringing her Hawaiian culture to Eugene. Recently, she has added to new items to the menu: warm Cinnabons and Spam Musubi.

An article from the Huffington Post explains that Spam was introduced in Hawaii during World War II because getting fresh meat to the soldiers was difficult. Spam became an increasingly common ingredient in Hawaiian cuisine and that is how Spam Musubi (typically spam on white rice that is wrapped in seaweed) became a well-known dish.[5]

 

Spam Musubi shows how her products are pieces of Shannon’s home state, and as she works to maintain her food cart she will have no problem providing Hawaiian culture to the people of Eugene.

The future of Slurp looks bright. Shannon is determined to get the food cart to a place, financially, where she no longer has to work an extra job, at that point, as she states, “[is] when I will be living the dream”. Shannon mentioned that the next step to getting there is to improve the social media of the company.

Shannon continually spoke of how she loves Slurp she had that revelation because, without it, she probably would have been working a desk job somewhere instead of doing what she loves.

“Some days I still wonder how we got here, but I am thankful and love my job every single day and look forward to making you the best smoothie you’ve ever had!”[6]

Team Reflection: After completing the entire project, everyone in the team learned to use each other’s strengths and help each other improve our weaknesses. All of us became far more familiar with the various technological aspects of the project and we were forced to step out of our comfort zones. Throughout the project we experienced obstacles, but as a team we were able to work around them. Overall, the project was a realization that, in the real world, we have to cooperate with other people and have to blend ideas in order to succeed.