Welcome to THE BALANCE PROJECT: a series of relevant and refreshingly candid interviews featuring inspiring and accomplished women talking about balance. I’ve always been curious about how women I admire manage the tragically glorified “doing it all” craze. So I asked them. As I suspected, no one really does “it all.” Everyone’s making sacrifices somewhere. And that should make us all feel a little better. I hope the conversation will be steered toward that reality rather than toward the flawed and dangerous assumption that we should try—or even want to try—to perfectly do “it all.”

By the way, looking for THE BALANCE PROJECT novel that was inspired by these interviews? It’s here.

No. 145: Yukimi Momose, Co-Founder of MOMO Dressing

Age: 39
Where I live:
 Queens, NY
Job: Co-Founder of MOMO Dressing

LINE_P20160222_194212520Have you changed jobs or adjusted anything in your career to have more balance?
I used to work for a restaurant as a full-time chef to make financial “balance” when my husband and I started MOMO dressing.

Do you think having “it all” is realistic or overrated and why?
I think that it is realistic because I grew up watching my mother work full time for a company, do housework, and raise three kids until she retired. That makes me think having “it all” is realistic and it is life.

What part of “balance” are you getting better at?
The “balance” of the relationship between my husband and me is getting better at work and home after we decided to work separately. We used to do everything together ( like 24/7 for 365 days) but after awhile, we figured out that we have different ways, skills, and abilities, so we decided to work separately. He does operations. I work in the kitchen on production. Since then our relationship is getting stronger and better.

Do you have a favorite time management tool, hack, or other strategy you use that helps you achieve balance that you would recommend to others?
I enjoy driving to the suburbs for farmers markets where we sell our salad dressings. Seeing trees, rivers, and blue sky always fills me up. Of course, no cellphone while I drive.

If you had one extra hour in each day and you couldn’t work or be with your family, how would you spend that hour?
Dancing hip-hop!!

What do you wish you’d known when you were 20?
Being myself and trying to do everything that I was interested in even though some people said not to do so.

What do you hope to know by time you’re 60?
I hope to know if it was true what I’ve believed and done for our business and my life now.

What part of your home life do you wish you could outsource?
Changing the water for our two turtles.

Whose job do you wish you had?
Anthony Bourdain from “The Layover” on The Travel Channel. I wish I could travel all over the world to try different foods and experience cultural history.

Favorite books?
Cookbooks.

What are you reading right now?
Dictionary of condiments.

Biggest vices…
Food? Eating ice cream from Ice & Vice.
Website? Tasting Table.

How many hours do you generally sleep at night during the week?
6.

What do you read every morning?
Email and Umami News (a Japanese web letter about the food business).

Do you have a personal motto or favorite saying?
Where there is a will, there is a way. And… Good fortune and happiness will come to the home of those who smile.

FB_IMG_1456188289224About Yukimi:
I was born and raised in the countryside of Japan. I grew up watching my parents and grandparents farming vegetables and rice and making a lot of foods from scratch with all of the ingredients from our own vegetable fields. I was told by my family about how important it is to appreciate what we eat and have from the earth.

I started my career by working in a school as a dietitian/cook. After I came to the United States, I worked for Japanese restaurants and an American restaurant. I learned a lot of different cuisines with different cultures behind them. One day, I went to a local farmers market, and it made me realize what my family had told me: how important it is to make foods from scratch and to appreciate the earth. When my husband and I started MOMO dressing, we decided to use local vegetables and fruit to make dressings from scratch as my family does.

Find out more about Yukimi:
www.momodressing.com
Facebook: MOMOdressing
Instagram: MOMOdressing

WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT WORK-LIFE BALANCE? CHECK OUT MY NOVEL THE BALANCE PROJECT!

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