Today we’d like to introduce you to Lina Thomas.
Hi Lina, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
The most important factor behind my success is believing in the work that I do. The brand is just the outward label of whatever it is you do. Hello, my name is Lina Thomas and I’m the Proprietor of Jars of Joy.
There are lots of people going to mundane jobs every day because they feel they need the income to pay their bills, rather than doing what they believe in. Having a fulfilling job where you want to get out of bed and jump into every morning, is what I wanted for myself much more than the income it would bring. Interestingly enough, when you practice what you preach, the income seems to magically appear, and that lends credence to the whole project!
My husband, also being an entrepreneur, managed to take care of me and my young daughter for quite a while, but eventually as I started making friends and seeing how other people lived and worked, I realized I wanted to create my own path and occupation. Part of having a social life included inviting friends over for meals and going to other mostly Asian households for gatherings. As many of my friends wanted to eat Malaysian food I started to think that I could do something like this as an occupation.
With time, I realized that food could be a vehicle for me to interact not only with people in my city of Atlanta but with many more people across the country and even back in Malaysia. The unique types of sauces and foods native to my culture could be replicated here, and as I developed a following, I began to understand that being authentic to the tastes of my country was something that could earn a good deal of respect that made me feel wonderful about the work I was doing. Taking the time and using only the finest ingredients assured that Malaysians across the country would enjoy the products I made.
Getting my business going was a bit of a roller coaster, as it is for most businesses, I suppose. Learning about food is one thing, but even more of a challenge was the tech part of figuring out how to grow in a balanced and responsible way. I had the luxury of working from home and growing slowly which was advantageous, and even now, I’m not particularly interested in hiring others to work with me as I keep everything within arm’s length. My main advice to others trying to build a business is to take it easy and allow the business the time to grow organically. Of course, your own story should be about you and not what someone else is doing. Personally, I’m the turtle: slow and steady!
Perhaps the biggest advantage to living in a large metropolitan area like Atlanta is having the diversity of millions of other people all looking for their own niche in life. There is an area in town (Buford Highway) where several Asian grocery stores (Buford Farmers Market “My Favorite Store”) and restaurants compete for the dollars of the masses, and if you’re willing to put up with the traffic, you too can join the crowds that come from near and far to partake in their offerings. Honestly, there’s not a lot of great places to eat there, as the hectic lifestyle pushes people into here-and-now eating habits, so they can get back to catching up with what they’re doing.
My favorite food is the food I make for myself at home anyway, so I spend more time engaging in the review of the products on the shelves at the stores (Buford Farmers Market) and dabbling in a variety of product options which smaller cities just don’t have.
I moved to the U.S. about 16 years ago to marry my husband, and to be perfectly honest, at that time, I was not much of a cook. My background was in mechanical engineering and I worked for 15 years for a German company in Penang Malaysia which was rewarding but not really what I envisioned myself doing as a lifelong occupation.
A shout-out goes to my husband who never ceases to amaze me with so much love, encouragement, and support that he gives me. When things get rough he’s the one that continues to push me and let me know that it’s okay to hit the reset button and start over if you have to. I also want to shout out to my family in Malaysia as they are my biggest supporters throughout my culinary journey and are very proud of me and that makes me feel amazing.
Last but not least my 25-year-old daughter deserves a shout-out. I suppose in retrospect if I had one person to thank for my success, it would be my daughter as a driving force. Now that she is a young woman having her own life and success, I am grateful that these lessons of dedication have carried over.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There are lots of challenges for anyone stating up their own business, the primary issue being the allocation of funds into the proper channels to make sure you have a return on your investment which stays ahead of the ongoing investments in steady growth. Okay, now that you’ve moved on from basic economics 101, you can delve a bit deeper into what makes a business last. It’s joy! Being happy with what you do and not getting bored with the monotony of producing the same product on in to the future is really the key to staying ahead of the curve. As they say, find your passion, and follow it! With me, I was able to take my time with the process and avoid the pitfalls of many “in a hurry” upstarts by keeping it simple and allowing the business to grow organically. I mean what is the big hurry, and why is it we seem to think we will get there faster if we push the limits? Granted, there is a certain level of self-push you need to get things done every day. In the words of Dan Akroyd in the movie Ghost Busters,” You don’t know what it’s like out there in the real world…. you have to actually accomplish things!”
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My brand consists of a monthly menu which is posted online and tends to be seasonal with a varying assortment of Homemade Authentic Malaysian Cuisine of mainly sambals (sauces), pastes, cookies, cakes, pastries and kaya (coconut jam).
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
The books I tend to read are more along the lines of people, places, and sometimes ideas. As for apps, I spend most of my time with Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Sometimes I catch the Bert Show in the AM.
Contact Info:
- Email: lina6990@gmail.com
- Instagram: Jars of Joy by Lina Thomas / mrs.lina.thomas
- Facebook: Jars of Joy by Lina Thomas
- Youtube: 6990lina
- Other: TikTok: Jars of Joy by Lina Thomas / mrs.lina.thomas
Image Credits
Maria Allen Photography
