by Erin DeMarco '04, February 2014
Kim Osterhoudt is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
Jams by Kim, which provides all natural artisanal Jams to consumers. In April 2010, Ms. Osterhoudt won the Emerging Entrepreneur Award from the Central Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. In October 2011, the Intersect Fund named Kim Osterhoudt 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year. In April 2012, Kim was one of the top 5 finalists in the IFEL Business Plan competition. Kim graduated from Rutgers Business School’s Entrepreneurship Pioneers Initiative in December 2012. Prior to becoming the CEO of Jams by Kim, Ms. Osterhoudt worked at Prudential Financial, Inc., as the Director of Community Resources in the Local Initiatives umbrella of the Prudential Foundation. Before that, she was the Director of Learning Operations in Corporate Human Resources, and Director of Customer Communications in the Individual Life Insurance business. Prior to joining Prudential in 1997, Ms. Osterhoudt held several positions in the healthcare industry. Ms. Osterhoudt is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and she serves on several nonprofit boards including, the Edmund L. Houston Foundation and The Intersect Fund. She has a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Rutgers Graduate School of Management in Newark, NJ, and a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. Ms. Osterhoudt has a 26 year-old daughter Sara, who is a case manager for a local social services organization.
How and why did you start your business, Jams by Kim?
I started the business in 2009, after being laid off. A friend from grad school asked me what I really wanted to do with my life and I reached into my bag and handed him a jar of jam. He'd been the recipient of my jams on many previous occasions! He encouraged me to pursue making jam as a business, and gave me a contact at the local small business development center. I used the center as a resource, took a couple of classes, and it was the perfect thing for me to be doing, and the perfect time. It was springtime in New Jersey, the Garden State, the farmers markets were overflowing with fresh produce and I started the business. The timing was right for me. My daughter was in her last year of college, and my responsibilities and commitments were relatively minimal for the first time in a long time. So, I took a giant leap into becoming an entrepreneur. Now I wouldn't go back for a million bucks!
Why jam?
I've always made jam. I made my first jam at 12 years old. My grandfather had a big garden and a grape arbor. He grew grapes and made wine, and he also grew tomatoes, apples. In my formative years my mom canned everything - peaches, pears, apples. Canning was a regular part of my life. I always liked to cook and I particularly liked jams and jellies. When I was younger it was always my hostess gift, my holiday gift, even up to my days at Holy Cross. I would go home in the summer, make jam and bring it back. My friends and I were notorious for going to a party and stopping at the 24 hour store on the way home to get a loaf of bread so we could have toast and jam when we got home. I always enjoyed making jams and people enjoyed eating them. And, that's really what it is today. When people taste my jams they enjoy them and that makes me feel fabulous - better than any sort of corporate performance appraisal that I ever received! I love the beauty of fresh produce and I am in awe of the aroma of jam bubbling away in the kitchen. It’s intoxicating in my kitchen when I’m making jam.
What scared you the most when you started the business?
The fact that there were no guarantees. I always considered myself a salary and benefits girl. I loved getting a salary and seeing the money go direct deposit into my account. I had great benefits in my corporate life! Starting my own business was really taking a leap of faith. But, I thought that if I worked half as hard for myself as I worked for other companies and other bosses, I would be successful.
What has been your greatest success since you started your business?
I recently received a phone call from the New York/New Jersey NFL Super Bowl Host Committee. As you know, the Super Bowl was recently held in New Jersey. The Committee found my website, and told me that they were interested in including my jams in the gift baskets for the NFL owners. I sent them samples of my blueberry lemon jam and cranberry chutney, along with some crackers, and they chose my blueberry lemon jam to include in the baskets. They ordered 38 jars. (I learned that there are 32 teams, but 38 owners!) I was thrilled! I received a fair amount of local media press, and I'm hopeful because I want Jams by Kim to be known on a national level, and I think this was a step in the right direction.
What has been your greatest challenge?
The biggest challenge for me was feeling alone at the beginning. I believe in my product, absolutely, but as an entrepreneur there's a certain feeling of being all on your own. In the corporate world, there are so many professional organizations to join but not so many for those starting out on their own. I was really fortunate to have some organizations that really helped me, though. I joined the National Association for Women Business Owners (NAWBO), New Jersey Chapter, and they have been wonderful. To have a cadre of other women business owners that I can call and network with, to talk to about problems and challenges was the best thing for me. NAWBO has really helped me to grow. They have an annual business plan competition that I won back in 2010 and the organization continues to support me.
Are you a one-woman shop or do you have other employees to help you?
I hired my first employee in 2011. She's part-time and helps me prepare the fruits and veggies in the kitchen. I met her at my local gym, she's a retired food scientist, and she had been canning for years. She's a tremendous help to me in kitchen. In the summer I hire college students to help sell at farmers markets. So, I'm not a one -woman shop, but I do everything, and as business grows I hope to hire even more staff.
Currently, I rent a commercial kitchen, and am hopeful to move into a larger co-op commercial kitchen later this year. I'm so excited about it because commercial kitchens are hard to find and expensive, and I'm eager to make an investment into a kitchen in which I'll be able to produce my product.
In addition to making and selling jams, I also do "Jam Sessions" for kids and adult groups. I bring them in and teach them how to make jams. There's a whole cultural, historical aspect to making jam. Most kids have no idea how jam is made. I make jam the same way my grandmother did! It's amazing to me to see the kids as they make the jams! I've done other sessions with adults, and have prepared an entire dinner, using some of the savory jams in my collection. I enjoy sharing this knowledge as much as making the jam.
What is your most popular product?
It's hard to say. On the savory side, my roasted garlic and sweet onion jam has been the most popular flavor. On the fruity side, the Bartlett pear jam, or the blueberry lemon that the NFL selected. In 2009 I started out with six flavors and now I have 25! I would love to have 100. I think I am going to turn some into a "flavor of the month." At any particular time, there are ~16 flavors available.
From where do you source your ingredients?
Mostly from local farmers markets! It's local produce and they're the best! I don't use imported ingredients.
Who are your biggest customers?
My customers are foodies and specialty food purchasers who care about where their food comes from, what is in it and how it’s made. I also sell my jams in a few small specialty food and wine shops, and I'm adding more of those as time goes on, but my biggest sales come from farmers markets, other than holiday sales. My website produces a lot of sales, and November and December are my biggest sale months of the year, always, particularly for holiday gifts.
Where's the most interesting place you've shipped jam?
I shipped jam to a fellow Holy Cross alumnus in Manila, in the Philippines.
You talk about growing your business, how do you advertise?
I do everything I can do. I know a lot more about social media now! I can still remember when I joined Facebook, my daughter couldn't believe it. I use Facebook and Twitter. I'm not an expert on using them, but I do as much as I can. I also produce a monthly newsletter that has 1,000 subscribers. Beyond that, it is word of mouth. My friends and family are great salespeople and wonderful promoters of my product.
If you had to start all over again would you do anything differently?
I wish I had realized earlier in my career the value of being able to go to work every day and really love what you do. I transform produce into a product that my customers love, and they let me know it.
To what would you attribute your success?
I grew up in a very small, predominantly African American community in New Jersey. I went to Holy Cross and had a very different experience. At Holy Cross, and through my Jesuit education, I learned about giving back and doing things that you really love, embracing diversity and learning about all different kinds of people and backgrounds. I've learned to carry that as a part of my life. It doesn't matter what people look like or where they're from, and that is something that serves me very well in the business world. My customers are as diverse as the world. At Holy Cross I was involved in SPUD, I was a Girl Scout, and a Girl Scout leader, and now today, when I do Jam Sessions, it's about broadening horizons and sharing experiences. I hope to inspire others to do what they love and follow their passions and make their work something they really love to do. Also, I grew up watching my grandfather, mom and other family members work hard and take the time to do their work to the best of their ability. Getting it right the first time made a big impression on me as a young child, and that work ethic grounded me and has stayed with me.
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about starting his/her own business?
Find someone who is doing something similar to what you want to do. Volunteer there, or work part time, and make sure that you love it, love it all. Or, make sure that what you love about it far exceeds the parts that you don’t love. I would absolutely encourage people, as people encouraged me. You can be a business owner. Just work at it and learn the business before you take a giant leap.
Having my own business has been an absolute pleasure. I love it. It's hard work - I'm up early and up late, but I'm doing what I feel like I’m supposed to be doing at this point in my life.
To learn more about Jams by Kim, visit http://www.jamsbykim.com and search for Jams by Kim on Facebook and Twitter.
Erin DeMarco '04, is Co-Chair of the HCAA Communications Committee
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