Wayne Herring
00:00:0000:00:58
Hey, Jen really great to be spending some time with you today. And for business builders, this is Jen Curian. Jen is a lot of things in business and life, which she'll get to talk about. But she is one of the co founders of wild for salmon in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. As well as a company called Pride of Bristol Bay, Susquehanna Tree Care, and they own an Airbnb, so lots of things going on in Jen's life, and much like the other videos and podcasts in this series we want to get to know Jen, so if you're a business builder who's considering joining our group this is your chance to get to know Jen and somebody who contributes a lot to our community life, and also Thank If you've just joined, then Jen's story today will help you know who she is and some of the things that she might be able to help you with. So Jen, thanks for showing up on Zoom today and thanks for spending this time with us and sharing your story. Yeah, thank you for having me. Yeah, you bet.
Wayne Herring
00:00:5800:01:10
So you've got the floor. Can you tell us a bit about you and business? And I'm sure I'll have some questions quickly. But yeah, let's get to know you and your world.
Jenn Kurian
00:01:1100:02:00
So I started my professional career as a went to school for elementary education and started out as a elementary teacher between kindergarten and fifth grade for about eight years. And as that was happening we went to Alaska that first year to commercial fish with a friend that Steve met in Idaho when he was working there for the summer. And I think the idea at that time was just to experience Alaska and just be in nature. That was the really cool part. We fished on the shore and did something called set netting. We had a great time, hard work. But at that time, the salmon prices were really low. So we weren't sure if we would be able to afford to come back the following year.
Jenn Kurian
00:02:0000:02:45
Hunt, a really good friend, got us started encouraged us to fish for his son, who had a driftnet boat. So the following summer, we decided to go fish for his son, Bryce, and Steve ended up, because of circumstances, running that boat for Bryce. So we brought some salmon home with us and realized that it wasn't something that was easily accessible here. And we share it with some friends we had a friend here in Bloomsburg that had his own farmer's market on his farm. And he encouraged us to bring it and sell the salmon. It didn't take long to sell that cooler salmon. Wow. And we realized that this was something that we could, bring back and offer to Bloomsburg and have this wonderful protein.
Jenn Kurian
00:02:4500:03:01
Each year we went back and we increased the volume of salmon that we brought back to Pennsylvania in small increments cause I was still teaching and Steve was still doing tree work and. Our customers just sort of started to grow naturally. Do
Wayne Herring
00:03:0100:03:21
you remember roughly, so I picture you, you're going to Alaska and now you're working on this boat, you're no longer doing the set netting from the beach, you're on the boat. And at what point did the two of you actually buy the boat, buy the license? Cause that was a key step along the way. Right.
Jenn Kurian
00:03:2200:03:48
Yeah. Year three, I think it was we committed to buying the boat from Bryce sort of making it our own business which required the permit and the boat and we fished on that boat for ten years. That boat was called the RJ, the fishing vessel RJ. Okay. Which we're told stands for Romeo and Juliet. Huh. So, there's a little love story even before this one started. So that was cool.
Jenn Kurian
00:03:4800:03:50
But we fished on that boat.
Wayne Herring
00:03:5100:04:23
And on that boat. And partially your business is still like this. You were fishing for salmon and you were wholesaling quite a bit of the catch. Right. But then you said you started to bring more and more back to Pennsylvania and you must have had to borrow money to buy the boat by the permit and all that. And then you came back here at some point, when did you start to name the Bloomsburg, the Pennsylvania based business? When did you name that Wild for Salmon? And when did that become a thing separate from the fishing in Alaska?
Jenn Kurian
00:04:2400:04:57
In 2004, vial for salmon officially started. Okay. And in 2001 we brought back maybe a cooler or two. Yeah. And then it was 500 pounds in 2002 and a thousand pounds in 2003. And we started these groups called buying clubs. And, and we were operating out of the garage of our home at that time with some chest freezers. So we had these groups called buying clubs where you'd have a leader and they'd sort of gather all their friends and we'd make one delivery to the leader's house.
Jenn Kurian
00:04:5700:06:02
And so we got to meet each customer face to face provide this seafood to them and see all the joy that everybody was. Experiencing and then sort of grew from there we did a few farmers markets at that time, maybe 3 or 4 and the buying clubs was the main thing and as we began to increase bringing the salmon back to Pennsylvania, the volume increased. We needed to find a space to work out of and We had freezer storage about a half hour away, so we'd have to go to the freezer storage, bring it to the house. Package it for the customer, take it to the customer, go back to the freezer storage, bring more to the house. And it was just sort of a logistical craziness. So in, in 2010, we bought a building on route 11 in Bloomsburg to work out of. And so that allowed us to have a retail store and. To be able to have the space to hold more salmon The wholesale customers that we have include like restaurants health food stores.
Jenn Kurian
00:06:0300:06:16
And we started with one delivery truck. To go to the farmer's markets, make those deliveries. Now we have two and we deliver to Delaware, Maryland, New York. Yeah, I
Wayne Herring
00:06:1600:07:08
I was like seeing the trucks on the road. It always makes me happy to see these really nicely decorated freezer panel trucks when I'm driving around and. You said 2010 ish is when you got the building, 20, and because Ava's, your daughter is 10, right? Correct. So I know that, so Kathy and I, my wife and I used to have a bunch of freezers in our garage, too, once upon a time. And it was for chicken and pork, it wasn't for salmon. But I know about when we interacted with Wildfirst Salmon because you came and delivered salmon and you were pregnant and we're about to, you know, have your child. And Kathy told me like, yeah, she came delivered all these boxes and she's like super pregnant. And we put all the salmon down in the freezer.
Wayne Herring
00:07:0900:07:51
And I want to say you delivered to our house that was in the subdivision, I think the first time. And we were serving our customers. So we were kind of like a buying club, Like what you're describing, right? And so 2013 and doing that and things have grown and I I've had the opportunity to work with you. I did as a farm when we were herrings greengrass farm, and then I've gotten the opportunity to serve you and see even the businesses. As a coach, and then to have you in business builders. And so all that has progressed. So you've got the retail store, you're making salmon burgers, manufacturing those things, and your boat is no longer the RJ, right?
Jenn Kurian
00:07:5200:08:09
Right. It's been 10 years since we built our new boat now because we built it when Ava was born. And of course the new boat is called the Ava Jean. So we went through that process of building the boat that Steve thought would be the most productive and it has served us well since then.
Wayne Herring
00:08:1000:08:28
Yeah, and this is not like a boat, like a rowboat, folks. Is it stainless steel? It's aluminum. Oh, it's aluminum. 32 feet shiny and made for being on the bay made for doing the job that you do round numbers. I want to say this past year, I remember it was 50 some million salmon returned to the bay. I don't know if that sounds right. Last year was
Jenn Kurian
00:08:2800:08:33
70 some million. This year was 50 something million. I'm not sure what the final number was.
Wayne Herring
00:08:3400:08:37
And y'all catch what, 10 million fish out of the 56 or
Jenn Kurian
00:08:3700:08:45
something? Well this year Steve caught I think 250,000 pounds ish. So Nice. Which is
Wayne Herring
00:08:4500:08:55
pounds. A fish, but pounds. Yeah. And I, I think I remember that the fish were between five and six pounds. It's 40, 50, 000 fish or something. Yes. The fishing period
Jenn Kurian
00:08:5500:09:06
is, it's about mid June till the end of July. So, a good six, seven weeks. And then, other than that, the boat is on dry dock for the remaining part of the year.
Wayne Herring
00:09:0700:10:20
I knew you were a teacher, and I don't think it really clicked with me, though, how much that made sense. Like, seasonally being able to have summers off and then go fish and do that. One of the things that I find to be interesting about you and Steve working together, you have a family, you have two children, and the two of you are very intentional parents, you're working to create this. you have a house that's sort of a farm, horses, places where your kids can be rough and tumble and run around and you've got hound dogs and Steve will send me videos where y'all have been out coon hunting and you live this very intentional life to give them opportunities to see things. So there was a period of time where you. Really weren't going to Alaska fishing, but now you have this kind of thriving business in Bloomsburg and that business doesn't shut down for the time that Steve is fishing, like your teaching job did. So you weren't on the boat in Alaska, but you as a mom then have to prepare for your husband to be gone and you get to be the one who's. Kind of the crap hits the fan at the business.
Wayne Herring
00:10:2000:10:31
Oftentimes you're taking the calls, and now you're active business owner. Whereas you had kind of a period of time where you weren't, right? It's an interesting, that whole seasonal thing. It is
Jenn Kurian
00:10:3100:11:09
really interesting. Yeah, it's sort of take on different roles while Steve's gone. And then sort of absorb those things that he was... in charge of while he's gone and then when he comes back we just balance it all back out again. He's very big picture creative, you know, drive kind of guy and I'm sort of the steady, get through the, make it happen, get, through each piece and so it's interesting to feel the shift. And then, be aware and know that it's going to shift back. So it's a good challenge.
Wayne Herring
00:11:1000:11:50
Yeah. And today's world, 2023 world, you know, Wild for Salmon is still there. The boat, Curian Fisheries, I think is what you call that when Steve goes and fishes. And of course, you've had the kids there now. Last year, 2022, you went and fished a bit and showed the kids, this is where dad goes and let's actually get a fish out of the net. And they got to participate. Which is, wow, what a unique experience that you have. And I know you got a renovation going on to that building that you bought all those years ago, and it's going to be beautiful, and we've been looking at pictures and drawings and renderings in your business builders group.
Wayne Herring
00:11:5000:11:54
paint a picture of your business world and what that looks like. Yeah, so,
Jenn Kurian
00:11:5400:12:40
So Wild for Salmon exists, and Pride of Bristol Bay, the other, the salmon business that we purchased From from the West Coast has buying clubs and also an online store but it is still only sockeye salmon. A lot of that is big deliveries. to buying clubs on the west coast or a few now on the east coast as well. So it runs similar and parallel, but not necessarily the same. And then we have Susquehanna tree care luckily we have a location right next to Wild for Salmon. And so, so those guys are contained there. And then we have an Airbnb that we purchased about four years ago. we purchased a property four years ago that was just beautiful.
Jenn Kurian
00:12:4000:13:08
And it was very near our home. So it was easy in that regard, but it was an old Sears and Roebuck house, and it's right along an old railroad bed it's beautiful location. It just was a very rundown and. Not well taken care of. So we remodeled that and made it an Airbnb about two years ago. And it's been doing really well. It's booked almost every weekend, all through the year. So.
Jenn Kurian
00:13:0800:13:20
That's been a different kind of thing, but fun and, you know, it's great to have people see why people come to our area to to do different things. But
Wayne Herring
00:13:2000:13:37
The value you're in and where you live is is kind of stunning. So, so you got to get all those businesses going and then you, Are very into or do quite a bit of horse riding. What do they call the chasing? Like as though you're like a hunting, what you've been doing like a fox chase.
Jenn Kurian
00:13:3700:13:56
Yeah. Well, we do hunter pace. Yeah. So not very many, but it's really fun. So it's like a trail ride through the woods with a few jumps. And my daughter Ava does for each competition and. Hunter riding. And so they're cool animals.
Jenn Kurian
00:13:5700:13:57
We like to enjoy those.
Wayne Herring
00:13:5900:14:17
And you mentioned the guy in Idaho and if I, and that was one of Steve's mentors. And if I remember right, he passed away, but weren't you all out there this summer? So Steve's gone for this long period of time, but then you two try to create these very intentional family trips out West sometimes, like maybe before or
Jenn Kurian
00:14:1700:14:58
after. Right. yeah. So Hunt did pass away, Steve's mentor last fall but they had a celebration of life in the spring for him. So we made some time to go out and be with the family and did some mountain lion hunting and it's sort of being an opportunist like when those things arise, like being ready to make it happen. We were in Maine for a few days. We went camping on a lake this winter and took our own hounds and chased some bobcat. Did some ice fishing so we really appreciate the nature and just being out in that space.
Jenn Kurian
00:14:5900:15:03
And so whenever there's an opportunity it's... We usually
Wayne Herring
00:15:0300:15:49
take it. We've hit on a lot of things here today, how the business started and it has a really unique story and you sell seafood with a story and salmon with a story. That's one of the things I think is powerful about your brand, going all the way back to those family farmers markets, it's high quality and People really connect with it. So you've got that, and then you have this intentional life of travel and being ready to go, I think there's a lot of people who. Are getting ready to build businesses or they are, and they would like to have freedom. Oftentimes people, if you ask them, why are they trying to start a business, it's because they say they want fulfillment, freedom, and finances. And, it sounds to me like you've. Got those things.
Wayne Herring
00:15:4900:16:13
I don't mean like you're done, you're finished, and lots of employees want to help and everything and grace of God and all these things have created a lot of that. I think sometimes folks. say they want freedom, but then, maybe they get stuck or they get so focused on finances, they forget about how they were going to try to do some of those things intentionally. And, they just never do them. Do you have anything to share? How do you do that? How do you live this intentional life?
Jenn Kurian
00:16:1400:16:49
I know that having the right people in the right seats makes it a lot easier. So we have found a good balance, because of the structure that we have in each business, so we have gotten to the point where Steve can be away for a week hunting in Alaska, we can be anywhere really, with technology and things like that, but it's a little bit easier now, I think knowing that there are people there that understand your vision and are working towards the same goal it feels a lot better. Over the course of years, you do all these things to make it happen.
Wayne Herring
00:16:4900:17:41
One thing is, you probably don't see how exceptional it is, what you do and what you are working on together, and you're, you're humble folks, but it's exceptional, and it's probably hard to see that, but what you said there about, you know, Over the years, you've worked to have the right people in the right seats, for sure. And I know that, that has been kind of a hard one. It's been a journey. And you said time. Like, it's time has gone past. You've stuck with, pretty much the same thing. there's certain things that the salmon, thankfully to this point, come back every year. And every year since you two went set and heading on the beach, you figured it out as a family to get Steve there, to go catch those fish and those fish and that bay, that energy.
Wayne Herring
00:17:4100:18:42
Kind of fuels this whole thing, but you have these pillars in your season that you make sure those things happen and then you take diligent effort multiplied by time then yields some of the fruits and the things you're harvesting, like being able to spend time with your. Kids and create those things. So it's a remarkable story and the journey is not complete. So you've been in the business builders group. I've worked with you and Steve for a while. It was really partially how, why invited you into the group, you said to me one day, Hey I, I like when we do this work because I often just, learn things and I'm exposed to things and I want to make sure I keep doing that. And I said to you, I think if you join this group, which you're in our Friday group and they are women business builders and y'all allow me in there. Which is interesting because sometimes we talk about hair and I got nothing to talk about with hair but I love it and I learn a lot.
Wayne Herring
00:18:4300:18:53
So you're in that group, your valuable member. If you were to share with somebody who is joining, how are you using that group? How are you learning? What are you getting out of it? What advice would you give?
Jenn Kurian
00:18:5400:20:04
So I I really appreciate that group a lot. Carving that time out each week for my own growth is important. And I think that has made me do that. First and foremost, and then the community of the group it's really powerful you can feel the trust, you can feel the camaraderie and I've only been in the group since May and it's. very welcoming and just great women. The ideas that sort of people share every week, it's comforting to know that people are going through the same things you're going through with your business. And then it's really cool to see how they work through them because all those different ideas give you other ways to work through those tough things. Also the technology that we've been talking about as the group's gone on recordings and personal assistance and the ai has been really eyeopening for me and really helpful to realize that those things are out there and how they could be helpful for me or the business.
Jenn Kurian
00:20:0400:20:12
so those have been really cool and it's just great to see the success of Each one of them as well. You feel like you're part of their business too, a little bit, and it's fun.
Wayne Herring
00:20:1300:21:00
Yeah, because of the way you each show up for each other and put that time in your calendar, then, in, in a sense, you do each own a little bit of each other's success. And I, and I think you can take joy in. Watching what other people are doing and what they're creating in the world. And I'm fortunate as a leader of this group, that the people that we have are, are givers, like they're givers. They certainly get to take that's part of it. They get benefit, but they're givers and it's not a game of. Like, comparison or ego, you all are coming to the group realizing that you're running your own race. And if somebody else is lifted up, it doesn't take anything away from you.
Wayne Herring
00:21:0000:21:13
Right? Like, all boats can rise is a good analogy for you know, somebody who has a boat and has fish, thanks for showing up today and, and thanks for sharing your story and thanks for being a business builder. I appreciate you problem.
