Beyond the Boardroom Sofie Burt Global Heart fair trade in Sonoma
By Rosie Padilla
Did you always picture yourself staying in Sonoma County? No, definitely not. I feel like there is something about kids who were born in kind of like an idyllic place. And so, I always imagined as soon as I turned 18 I would leave. I would be gone. But I was already working here [at Global Heart] and I liked it, and I wasn’t sure where I would move to. And then I met my now-husband when I was 19, and he was also born and raised here. I can now appreciate where I live so much more than I ever could have when I was younger. What do you love about Sonoma? It’s so beautiful here. There is a reason why it’s a tourist destination and, obviously, tourists are the reason why this business is successful. So I feel like I am here to stay. As long as I can afford it, I would love to stay here. It’s amazing. What’s it like working all day with your spouse? We just are in such a good place in our relationship that work is work and then we try not to talk about it at home. But if we do, we are like—OK, we are going to set up a work meeting. We will go out to dinner or go out for drinks, and we will talk about work. Then we talk about it and we solve things. We have been together for 16 years—married for six. But I feel like it’s just gotten better in the last couple of years. And everyone is just like, “You work with your husband, and you guys don’t want to kill each other?” Nope, definitely not. It’s ideal and I think that’s the reason why it’s so enjoyable to be at work these days. . Name a favorite fair-trade travel destination. I have spent the most time in India. I’d say over the course of two trips, I have spent about three and half weeks there—all the way from up near the border by Pakistan, down to the southern tip of Kerala. And India is a place; India is intense. India is hard. The first time I went it was really hard, the second time it was easier. S ofie Burt, the owner of Global Heart, a fair-trade storefront in Sonoma, began her journey at the shop in 2005, as a 17-year-old sales associate in charge of making creative displays. Back then the store was called Baksheesh; it opened in 1997 by original owners Candi Horton and Brian Smucker. The couple took Burt under their wing and she worked her way up to manager and, eventually, to become owner of the re-dubbed Global Heart in 2013. Burt, now 35, recalls the challenging road she faced as a first-time business owner—she remembers being so enthralled in every facet of Global Heart that it almost became too much for her to handle. “I wanted to touch everything and be in every aspect and spend as much time fixing and taking care of things,” she says. “There were times I would work like 16 days in a row.” Through trial and error, however, Burt was able to reevaluate and now warns that just because one is a business owner doesn’t necessarily mean all you are is your business. Now Burt and her husband prioritize their well-being along with the success of their business. If you would like to check out the vast amount of fair-trade goods at Global Heart, visit globalheartfairtrade.com or head to 423 First St. W., Sonoma.
70 NorthBaybiz
January 2024
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