We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Vicky Nguyen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Vicky, appreciate you joining us today. Any thoughts around creating more inclusive workplaces?

Working in the Corporate World, I realized how much employees were attached to their job titles such as CEO, executives, managers, team leads, etc. Some took advantage of how they treated others based on their job title and some were afraid to be fully themselves because of someone’s title. As a business owner, I wanted the work environment to different and never wanted anyone to be excluded or left out…creating a space that felt like family and community. It’s impactful because human beings yearn to feel connected and a part of something bigger than themselves.

I try to include fun and team bonding in everything we do at Yummmm!Bar whether its dinner where I make meals for the team, play ridiculous and memorable games, massages for the team, do volunteer work, etc. I also love making lunch for the sales team so they have some healthy fuel for working at events or markets. It’s all about the memorable experiences

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Yummmm!Bar started because I used to eat a lot of store-bought bars that I thought were healthy, but when I actually checked the label, they were not healthy.  I had never read ingredients before, only the front of the “pretty” packaging.  And it turns out that the packaging is trying to sell me, not give me the full truth.

I worked and traveled a lot and I ate store-bought bars all the time:

💫 On the go

💫 Between meetings

💫 At the airport

💫 On the way to the gym

Then I craved more sugar or more salt, and they never kept me full or satisfied. So I tried buying healthier bars…but I couldn’t pretend that they tasted any good. That’s when I decided to make my own bars, researching ingredients that actually tasted good AND were good for me.

I needed bars that didn’t compromise in any of these categories:

💫 Tasty

💫 Functional

💫 Healthy

When I made my first bar, I let my sister try it. She never liked many things I made, so it gave me a boost of confidence that she was genuinely impressed! Then I started giving it out to coworkers, and one suggested that I start a business or a side hustle.
I started selling it to my co-workers at the time, but there was always something that held me back from going all in.  I could say it was because I…

💫 Had a full time job.

💫 Started teaching yoga.

💫 Traveled a lot for work.

But it was mainly because of FEAR.

Eventually I got into selling at farmers markets. I thought I’d be able to serve more people like me…but it ended up being so much more!

Kids really enjoyed the bars and grew up eating them, and parents felt good about their kids eating it, too.

I even had a teacher come to the farmers market because she saw her kids at the playground eating Yummmm!Bars. She was so curious that she came to the farmers market and bought some!

💫Yummmm!Bar is for community.

💫Yummmm!Bar is for teaching younger generations the importance of eating healthy

💫Yummmm!Bar is for reading ingredients and labels and know what is (or isn’t) nourishing your body.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My YummmmBar Instagram account got hacked in August of 2023. This story isn’t just about online security. It’s about the softer side of resilience, the power of community, and the importance of knowing when to take a step back.

Challenges may come our way, but they often hold hidden lessons and opportunities for growth. Sometimes, letting go and allowing things to be is the best course of action.

And never underestimate the support and empathy you can find in unexpected places, especially online.
Losing Our Instagram Account Felt Like A Hard Loss.
To be transparent, this hit hard for me because one of the intentions of Yummmm!Bar was to create a space for community.

It was never about the number of followers; Instagram was a place that held memories and milestones from the beginning of Yummmm!Bar.

-Memories captured at the farmers’ markets + events
-Kids growing up with Yummmm!Bar snacks,
-Real connections that were made in the last 5 years…

The photographic evidence of this community was all gone in a matter of moments.

Through the lost of the account, I also gained something else…

Perspective.

Lesson #1: I needed to take a break from it all, even though it hurt.

My body was already telling me to take a break; I felt like I was running on empty.

It was so nice to take a break from it all, even though it hurts so much to think about all the content that got put into it, the time, the milestones, and everything.

But this also gave me a way of elevating and up leveling myself and the business.

Lesson #2: There is a reason outside our understanding.

We don’t always see the full picture in the moment. Sometimes we have to let go and just let it be.

I could have easily just freaked out and dwelled in the loss. It was not a fun space to be in, so I acknowledged that and then moved on.

Lesson #3: Cultivate a support system.

Being able to share about this experience, and receiving an incredible amount of support has been a true gift. I hope that my experience will be able to help you or others stay protected, too.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Treat everyone like family. I know as a manager and leader, I set the tone for the culture of the business and the people who is involved.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yummmmbar.com/
• Instagram: @yummmmbar
• Facebook: yummmmbar
• Linkedin: yummmmbar
• Yelp: yummmmbar

Image Credits
Selfie photoshoot image is by Photographer Madison Truscan Other photoshoot images is by Photographer Zo’e Cole