{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Her Seat At The Table","title":"Simone Saleh Lawson and Noelle Saleh on Family Business, Motherhood, and Building FigMINT Farms","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3632,"description":"Sara Abernethy sits down with Noelle and Simone, the sisters behind Sassool, for a conversation about growing up in their family restaurant, navigating leadership with their father, and building new experiences through FigMINT Farms. They also get candid about motherhood, maternity leave, and how family, work, and ambition all collide in real life.We discuss how the sisters divide responsibilities, how they expanded from one location to two, and why their newest creative outlet is a series of immersive dinners in the pines.\n🥰 JOIN OUR PATREON COMMUNITY🥰: https://bit.ly/4fL5Ra9\n\nKey topics\nIn this episode, Sara Abernethy talks with Noelle and Simone about what it means to run a family business together while maintaining sibling roles, respect, and clear boundaries.\nThey share how they grew up in Raleigh, went through Catholic school, and spent childhood weekends working in the family store packing spices, bread, and pita by hand.\nThe sisters explain why Sassool became a natural fit after college, combining entrepreneurship, hospitality, Lebanese culture, and their father’s influence as a businessman.\nThey break down the hard part of family ownership: communication, feedback, and learning how to separate “dad” from “boss” while still honoring his vision.\nNoelle and Simone describe how they divided the business by strengths, with one focused on operations and managers, and the other handling social media, public-facing work, and events.\nThey talk about opening the Cary location in 2015, the long search for the right second site, and the non-negotiables they used when choosing a location, including being near neighborhoods and anchor retailers like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s.\nThe conversation turns to motherhood, including maternity leave, returning to work gradually, daycare decisions, and the emotional whiplash of wanting to be fully present at home while still feeling the need to contribute at work.\nThey explain how FigMINT Farms began as a personal project and...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/6lyeuQ0b2fb_iJpBoCFpZfv6vFIDvGl1c3g49jBbRQ8/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8yZDAx/YzhmZjZhYzQ3NWRk/ZDUxNTE1MTUwM2Y1/NWVkNC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}