Full Transcript

Sari:
Welcome to your Food Business Success. This podcast is for early stage entrepreneurs in the packaged food industry ready to finally turn that delicious idea into reality. I'm your host Sari Kimbell. I have guided hundreds of food brand founders to success as an industry expert and business coach, and it's gotta be fun. In this podcast, I share with you mindset tools to become a true entrepreneur and run your business like a boss, interviews with industry experts to help you understand the business you are actually in, and food founder journeys so you can learn what worked and didn't work, and not feel so alone in your own journey. Now, let's jump in!

Hello, and welcome back to the podcast. All right, this one's a really fun one for me, really special. I know so many of you out there are Cottage Food businesses. And so this one is especially applicable for you because we are talking with two of Food Business Success members who joined and have launched their Cottage Food business, just so fun. And I cannot wait for them to share their story with you. We are going to talk to Stacie of Cassavaberry and Lauren with Royall Cookie Co. Before I jump into the interview, I just wanted to give you this food for thought that if you are thinking about launching a business, if everybody tells you, your products are amazing, they love your food, right, your salsa, your cookies, your bread mixes, your jams, whatever it is, I really want you to think about going after that dream in 2023. And how I'm supporting you this year as we wrap up the year is by offering a special workshop that's only inside Food Business Success. In this workshop, I'm going to help you define your goals for 2023 and then we're going to tap into your future self. Because when we can get into that place when we're in our future self mode, and I'm going to teach you strategies for this, it makes the journey, the path so much clearer. It like lights up the path, right? I just got this vision of like, I feel like there's movies or something where it's like ding, ding, ding, right? It's just like lights the path up and it makes it so much easier for you. I've been doing a lot of work around future self and I've mentioned it a little bit recently, and I offered a little bit in the Hard Times Ahead call. But we're really going to dig into just future self work. And it really makes the journey just so much more fun. And it takes a lot of the pressure off, and the stress, and the anxiety when we can tap into our future self. So this workshop is going to be on December 14th and originally, I literally am changing this intro the week before but originally, I was only going to make this available to members inside Food Business Success. And as I thought about it more and I was actually at a coaching conference, and I was getting really excited getting reinvigorated and inspired for 2023, I actually have decided that I'm going to open up this workshop to all of you whether you're inside Food Business Success or not, for a really low fee of 19 bucks. That's it. So if you want to get onto this 90 minute call where we're going to lay out your goals and lay out a strategy for how we're going to tap into your future self to achieve those goals and have fun doing it, like make it the easiest possible path for you. Go to foodbizsuccess.com/future and you can get registered whether you're inside Food Business Success or not. That said, I want to just tell you that I've made some decisions this past weekend about doing a little bit of restructuring and some changes are ahead. So for your purposes now, if you have been thinking about getting inside Food Business Success, you're wondering if that is the place for you to really get the support, and the accountability, and the tools, and the knowledge to feel more confident launching or scaling, growing your small packaged food business, you definitely want to get in before the end of the year. I'm actually going to be closing Food Business Success on December 22nd. So that will be the last time you can get in for 2022. And so why not go ahead and get in now? I have just put together the December schedule and it's awesome. We're actually bringing in for our VIP call, we're bringing in my bookkeeper who I recommend to a lot of folks because she knows this industry and she's going to talk to everybody about getting ready for tax time. So that's going to be awesome and then we have our group calls as well as the Future Self workshop, right, to Go Back in 2023. And you get all of that inside Food Business Success. And this is going to be the last time most likely, don't hold me completely to it, I'm still working it out. But that you will be able to have lifetime access to this. So it's going to change a little bit, still want to keep it really accessible and affordable for everybody. That's really my mission with Food Business Success when you are bootstrapping and just getting started, I really want to be that scaffolding to really help you get there, right? To not spend a lot of extra money or, you know, I've literally saved people hundreds, thousands of dollars reviewing their labels before they go to print. Because going to print when it's not FDA compliant or something's not correct on there, that's a big deal and that's wasted money like let's not do that. And I want you to have the most success, the most quickly, no wasting time here. We're just going to get you ready to launch or ready to get to the next level. And you can do it all where you're not feeling so in a vacuum, where you're feeling so alone and isolated and wondering, is this the right thing? Is this the right thing? Which confusion generally leads to procrastination, right? So do consider getting inside Food Business Success, just do it now. Join us in. We have one last call this coming week that this podcast comes out for November and then we have our December calls, it's going to close on December 22nd. It's not going to reopen again until later like end of January. So don't miss this opportunity to get in at the lowest price. Get it for life. Just get all the things right now before I do some some reworking for the New Year. And just to circle it back around to the future self workshop, when you go after a goal like launching or growing your packaged food business to the next level, you have to become a different version of yourself. You have to become somebody who does that. And right now, you don't know how to do that, right? And so that's why it's so important that we do tap into your future self because he or she, you, know how to do this. And especially when you have the right coach and mentor and expertise like your little advisory circle, then you can get there so much faster. Let's Go Big in 2023! This is the perfect time to get started. All right, I do want to get to this interview. I'm so excited for you to hear this with Lauren and Stacie. Let's go.

Welcome, ladies.

Stacie:
Thank you, Sari

Lauren:
It's great to be here.

Sari:
It's so fun. Yeah. So let's see, Stacie you wrote a great, I already read your intro you guys wrote for me. So Stacie is the owner and creator Stacie's Kitchen. She authored a plant-based recipe ebook, which I have, it's great. And she launched a brand of packaged foods called Cassavaberry. And Cassavaberry is a line of easy to make gluten-free grain-free vegan mixes and she has tortillas, three flavors of cookies, waffles and more under development. And both of these brands are under Cottage Food right now. And then Lauren wrote that she's always enjoyed baking but never really considered pursuing a culinary career until the stress of her day job affected her health. The end of 2021, she made a decision to walk away from 17 years, almost 17 years in the law enforcement and securities industries and started Royall Cookie Co. and she's Cottage Foods specializing in, i love this, exceptionally soft baked cookies. And she aims to create a global cookie empire and envisions employee centered business that puts people over profit. So good. I will add though, I think we should go people and profit.

Lauren:
But certainly not sacrificing people for profit like so many businesses do.

Sari:
Well, welcome to you both. All right. And I'm fortunate that both of these women are also in Colorado, which is really fun for me. So I work with people all over the US, but had the honor to meet Stacie and go to her farmers market. And I'm sure Lauren, we'll meet in person soon. All right, so let's jump in. Stacie, why don't you tell us, I'll have you kick us off, so tell us a little bit more about your business like how you chose your product, when did you decide to do it. Just tell us a little bit more about the background.

Stacie:
So it kind of started with my health journey back in 2004, I was trying to heal my body through food. And fast forward to 2018, I went plant based to further heal my body. And then in 2019, I decided to work on a recipe ebook because I missed foods that I used to eat, warm foods. So you see a lot of salads when I went plant based and in Colorado, it's so cool to eat salad in the winter. So I started working on my recipe ebook and a couple years later, so in October 21, I got really serious last year to finish my ebook. And then I thought, well I want to do something else but I don't want to open up a restaurant because that sounded so overwhelming to me. So I thought, well, I've heard of the Cottage Food law, maybe I can make something out of my kitchen. So I started creating my tortilla mix and I wrote up a questionnaire and I gave it to friends to sample and adjust, to mail me back the results and let me know how it went and I took my Cottage Food safety class. And then that safety Cottage Food class, I learned about the Cottage Food Facebook group, and Sari was posting about Food Business Success and I was very intrigued. Like, I need help. I don't know what I'm doing and so it just went from there.

Sari:
That's awesome. And so you launched this summer, you did your first, you did two farmers markets, right?

Stacie:
I did. So I launched my ebook in May 2022, this year, and I had a friend that was cheerleading me on and she said what are your tortilla mix is going to be ready because I'd like to buy some for teachers guests. And I was like, I don't know. And my husband says, yeah, there'll be ready. I'm like, okay.

Sari:
That seems like a deadline, right?

Stacie:
That's right. So as soon as I launched my ebook, I took like two breaths, and I went, okay, I need to work on my tortilla mixes now and get those out to my friends so she could give them as gifts. And then in June, you know, I'd really never had gone to farmers markets before. I know, it's sad, you know, eating plant based and not doing that. But I think, oh, I want to go one at a time and get away and then it would be over. So I thought, well, you know, hearing from you about doing markets and like, I really need to do a farmers market, but I'm not ready. But I really need to do one and I have this internal battle of, you know, I'm an introvert and just putting myself out there. So I signed up for one and I had a deadline of the end of July for that to start. And then if that wasn't all stressful on my introverted self, I sign up for another market. That's really three days after that. So I had two and you know, I didn't do everything perfect. Like you say, you know, just get it out there. Because I'm like to have everything perfect and perfectionist labels and things. And that's what I did. I just put it out there. And thankfully, I've been making my own labels. So I've changed them like 45 times but it's okay. Like, I did what I needed to do at the right time. You know, for me and my journey.

Sari:
Love that. Well, you probably learned something, if you didn't know already a little external deadline, expectation. Probably a good thing, right?

Stacie:
It was a good thing, I'd probably still be procrastinating.

Sari:
Lauren, how about you? Tell us a bit about the history of Royall Cookie Co.?

Lauren:
Well, it started with a charity bake sale back in 2017. The place that I was working at the time participated in an annual corporate food drive for a food bank that was in the same business park that we were in. And so my company decided to do a bake sale to raise money. And I went looking online and I found some cookie recipes that I thought looked good and try them and they were very, very popular at the bake sale. But they weren't quite there. And so I started tweaking the recipes. And I started changing them and finding my own way of doing them. And of course, I'm bringing the cookies to people at work here, try these here, try these ones, try these ones. And pretty soon I found that I had customers at my work, my co-workers and my friends and family who wanted to buy the cookies. So I was just kind of doing it real small time, part time, on the side for a couple of years. And then it became too much trying to work full time and trying to do the cookies on the side. And so I put it aside for a couple of years. But in 2021, I got a promotion at the beginning of the year. But I thought it was going to be really great but it wasn't really great. My stress levels were through the roof, I did not enjoy what I was doing. I felt like my health was suffering because of it. And I knew I needed to change. So I did some thinking and some soul searching. And I started asking myself, well, what do I really want to do? What do I like to do? What do I enjoy? And the answer to that was that I enjoy being a maker in so many different ways. I mean, I do all kinds of arts and crafts, stuff. And I enjoy cooking and baking and just making things with my hands and having a tangible result as opposed to like sitting at a computer all day. And so then I started thinking, okay, well, what are my marketable skills in the area of being a maker. And the cookies was one of the first things that came to mind. Because I had had such a cult like following at my job that it seemed like, you know, this has got to be a good product that's going to work. So I put in my notice at work. My last day was December 30th of 2021, which was, if I needed a bigger sign that I needed to leave that job, I could have had it because that was the day of the marshal fire. So for people who are not from Colorado, this was a historic, suburban, a wildfire destroyed over a 1000 homes. And we were less than a mile away from the fire. It was impacting our business, we ended up getting evacuated. It was a crazy last day. And that just seemed to be the icing on that cake that, you know, I definitely wanted to leave and not come back. So the plan had been for me to take January off to just kind of rest and recover and destress and take care of myself. And then February, I was going to start my business. But by the end of January, I felt worse than I did at the beginning of January. And so I ended up having to see to my health for several months before I could even seriously started thinking about starting my business. And so I did that, I focused on myself, I focused on getting myself well. And so I officially opened my doors on July 18th of this year 2022. Started my business at that point. And it's gone actually pretty well so far. I mean, it's only been a few months but I'm, and I'm not obviously where I plan to be when I started. I'm several months behind where I plan to be. But that's part of being a business owner is pivoting, right?

Sari:
Make the plan, rip up the plan.

Lauren:
Right, you know, man plans and God laughs. Is that the same? I think so. And even my opening was delayed because I got COVID at the end of June and into the beginning of July. So I had to push it off for a few weeks, just to make sure that I was recovered and it was safe for me to make the food for people.

Sari:
So fun. And so you launched. How did you launched? Mainly online or doing, I know you do some deliveries and you've done some pop ups?

Lauren:
Yes. So I started online, kind of using Facebook as my primary vehicle of marketing and getting my business out there and naturally most of my first customers were family and friends. But I started posting, excuse me, on some of the community Facebook groups around here and just saying, you know, hey, I just opened my home-based bakery and I make these great cookies and I started to get a few orders. But it wasn't until I participated in my first market that things really started to take off.

Sari:
Yeah, tell more about that.

Lauren:
We have a local coffee house here. And they were doing a full pop up market, the last weekend of every month for the fall. And it was not terribly expensive and it was very flexible. It was one of those markets where, you know, it was three days, and you could be there all three days, or you could not be there all three days, you could come late, close early, whatever worked for you. So it seemed very approachable as a first market. And like, Stacie, I'm an introvert. So like the idea of doing a market, I'm like, oh, I'd rather not. But, okay. But I knew I needed to do something to get myself out there more. So I signed up for it and I went to the market. And the first day, it went okay, but it didn't go as well as I had hoped. Like in my mind, I'm like, I'm gonna go, and I'm gonna sell out, and it's gonna be awesome. And I sold a little less than half of what I brought with me that first day. And it was after that, that I came back. And I posted on the Food Business Success Facebook group asking people, you know, what do you consider a successful market? How do you measure that? And I got a couple of good responses, including from you Sari, about deciding ahead of time how you're going to measure it, and looking at the things that you can control. Like, you can't control how many people buy from me but you can control whether you offer a sample to everybody who comes up to your table, or whether you just greet everybody who walks by your table or things like that. So that's what I did, I went back the next day and I went back with a positive attitude. I'm like, okay, I'm just going to talk to people and I'm just going to tell them about my cookies. And I'm gonna get them engaged, and we'll see what happens. And the second day of the market, I did sell out. So that was so exciting to feel like I had, you know, I did more successful than the first day and I did what I'd wanted to do, I didn't want to have any excess product so. And that also positioned me to have a much bigger month than what I had the previous month. So that made me more excited to do more markets. So I've done a couple and they've gone very, very well.

Sari:
How did you handle that, Stacie? I mean, you did multiple markets, and I'm sure you had some really good days and some not so good days, like how did you kind of manage your expectations or show up at the markets, even if they weren't?

Stacie:
I honestly didn't have an expectation other than just show up and do my best. And, you know, it was hard, you know, tortilla mix and people are trying to understand it. So I feel like just educating people. You know, we weren't sampling tortillas at that moment. So they couldn't actually taste them but just showing up and talking to everybody. And no, I just, I never had an expectation. And I never thought, well, that didn't go well. I thought well, that was great. You know, I showed up and I did good. And yay, my first one is done. And then my second one's done and kind of I just got unnecessarily better and yeah, you know, with the summer ending and school started, but you know, I'm just so grateful for all the customers that purchase from me, and hopefully that my product changed their lives and made their lives easier. And it was tasty.

Sari:
I mean, what is it like? Expectations are basically the root of all suffering, right? So going in with high intentions and low attachment. So why did, I mean, both of you could just, you know, share your recipes or make your mix for other people, give it away, make it for yourself, your family, you know, same with your cookies. Why did you feel compelled to go after entrepreneurship to like, because you can have the most amazing product, but there's a lot of people who don't necessarily want to start a business, right? That's like a whole other thing. So Lauren, we'll start with you. Why did you actually want to be an entrepreneur and pursue this because it's not easy?

Lauren:
Well, from my very first conventional job, I don't call it a real job. I call it a conventional job. I don't like the term real because that makes it sound like what we're doing isn't a real job. And believe me, it's work. So from my very first conventional job, I just felt like it wasn't for me, it didn't fit. It was a bit like wearing to left shoes, right? Like, it might be better than being barefoot but it rubs in all the wrong places and it just does not fit. So, you know, entrepreneurship is something that, you know, I guess I've been doing for a long time. I mean, my first business was in middle school selling ice cream to my classmates after school. I had a craft business, you know, in early high school and I used that to get the money to switch from glasses to contact lenses because I really wanted, you know, I didn't want to be the geek with the glasses going into high school. And I tried a Multi Level Marketing business when I was in my, you know, early to mid 20s. First looking for extra money, and then, you know, looking for the dream of self employment. And I also started a health coaching business in my early 30s, because I'm also a certified health coach. So I did that, too. So it's always been something that I've wanted to do and tried to do in several different iterations. It just feels right to me to be in control of my own destiny, to be able to make the big decisions. There's been so many times in my various jobs where I feel like I can see what's happening and what needs to happen. And that's not what the higher ups are doing. But they're not listening to the little people. So, you know, to be able to have that control and to decide how my business fits in with my life, how my business fits in with my health, and to be able to create a more holistic life by being the one in the driver's seat. I think that's really the big thing for me.

Sari:
So how do you manage? How do you overcome challenges? Like what have been some of your initial challenges? And how, because I think that's where people struggle the most when they go from a conventional job to entrepreneurship, is like, now it's all on you, right? Like, there's nobody else to blame. There's no boss that's telling you what to do. You're both the boss and the employee. And sometimes we're terrible at both, right? When we're doing doing our own thing. So what's an example of a challenge or a couple things that come up? And how have you been able to overcome those?

Lauren:
Well, I would say one of the challenges has been in finding the information that I need to get my business set up properly, and to make sure that I had everything covered that I needed to. And that really came down to finding my resources. So, you know, Food Business Success is absolutely one of those resources. All of the great technical information about, you know, how to set up your business legally, and you know, what you need for your taxes and all that kind of stuff. But also helped through like my local small business development center, and their consultants and their classes that they have. I found some online sources, you know, local government pages and things like that. And so it's really just being open to researching and finding those really valuable resources and coming back to those resources again, and again. Because most of them, if they're a good resource, they are a good resource for a lot of things, not just one thing.

Sari:
I remember, I was gonna say, really quick, I remember when we were talking on Facebook, I don't remember which group it was in. But you were asking me some questions. And then you were like, I just signed up, I just went for.

Lauren:
I was signed up for an SPDC class at the same time. And so I was like, well, I don't know if it's, you know, the right time for me to sign up for Food Business Success, you know, that might just be too much on my plate and like, but you know, if I don't want to, like, if the SPDC is telling me one thing, and Food Business Success tells me something different. Like, I want to have the opportunity to figure those things out and have those discussions to, I don't just want to like, roll with the SPDC thing, and then come back and find out from Sari that like, oh my gosh, I should have been doing something very different because it's a food business, not normal business.

Sari:
Yeah, because they're different.

Lauren:
And I'm one of those people, I hate being in limbo. I hate it. So I usually can't stay there very long and eventually I just, I go with my gut. I'm like, okay, let's just do it. And I did. So I signed up. And here we are.

Sari:
I would extract two things from that is that, that I've noticed from you and you just joined I think in August or something like that. So it hasn't been too long, early September, but resourcefulness like you, you know, using the resources of insider Fuel group and the calls but just asking lots of questions and utilizing the group and the community and you're clearly doing that and other other ways too. And then also just making decisions like just, you know, I see you just like okay, I'm gonna make a decision, let's go, right? Like not like to be in limbo and a lot of people sit in indecision for a long time, was yeah.

Lauren:
And you can't, you can't be paralyzed with indecision. You've got to just, you know, sometimes you have to make it a really long logical decision. And sometimes it's about your gut. And sometimes it's a bit of both. And you got to know which is which?

Sari:
Well, let me ask Stacie the same question. So why become an entrepreneur? You have your ebook, and you're doing some other things, too. But what's the call of entrepreneurship for you?

Stacie:
So when my kids were little, my second son was born, I wanted to stay home with him but I couldn't afford to not have a job. So I thought, well, I'll just do childcare. Why not? I can stay home with him. And so I started that having no idea what I was doing and took some classes that were helpful. And then began networking with other people that were, you know, doing the same thing, other childcare providers, family childcare providers and, you know, it always helps to connect with people doing the same thing. So you can bounce ideas off, and so you're not alone. And so then I did that for eight and a half years, and I closed my business. And after I closed it, I'm like, had this internal desire to want to own my business again and I didn't realize that, that it was that burning desire, because like Lauren, I would try different businesses, multilevel marketing, just trying different things, and nothing worked. And I took a financial coaching class and then a psychology of eating coach class, and just trying different things. And then I realized I really want something of my own to do. And then after changing my diet and I thought, well, you know, other people would want, you know, some recipes too. Everybody says, you should write an ebook. And so I was like, okay, I'm gonna do it. And then, you know, when I was working on my ebook, and then I decided to launch a food business, I didn't even like think twice. I just kept taking one foot in front of the other and just going ahead.

Sari:
Battling the perfectionism all along the way, right?

Stacie:
Yes, very much.

Sari:
I love it. And it's interesting both of you both have kind of health coaching and working through health. I think that's pretty common actually in food businesses, probably like 70% of people are doing it because they've overcome a challenge of their own. And they want to help people in some way through food. And you know, for Lauren, it's not like your cookies are gluten-free or anything like that. But they're like, it's like a celebration, right? It's like pleasure through food.

Lauren:
Right. But they're also not gluten-free yet. I have big plans for gluten-free and like keto and all kinds of lifestyle varieties down the road.

Sari:
I see a partnership here maybe. Stacie helping you some recipe development. I love it. All right. Stacie, I love that, I didn't know you have some of the background. I think it's easy for people to say, well, I'm not really a natural entrepreneur. And maybe that's just my own story. But then when I look back, I can find places where I have done it before. And I think it's really helpful to borrow from your past and say, where have I been kind of entrepreneurial in the past, even though I don't know the food industries, specifically. But I love that you borrowed from that. So I know you had it. You've had a couple challenges but one of your big challenges was the name. Do you want to tell us a little bit about how you overcame that and some of the difficulties there?

Stacie:
Yeah. So I came up with Stacie's Kitchen from my business name. And when I chose that name, I didn't, I hadn't found you or found any of the other classes that I took outside of Food Business Success. And I registered my LLC and got my bank account and did everything under that name, registered it under the Colorado and then under your guidance and another class that I took, you know, they we're talking about trademarking and how you can have a name very similar to somebody else's name out there. And so there was Stacie's tortillas and Stacie's pita chips or snack foods, and I learned that I couldn't use that name. And so I had to choose another name. And researching my trademark database, there's a lot of names. And my husband and I, we went through like two pages of ideas of trying to come up with a name. And it was kind of exhausting, honestly, to piece together a couple of different names, and anything that we wanted was already taken. So just having words come into your brain and piece them together, just driving down the road, and like coming up with ideas just, I don't know, it was kind of crazy. So that was one day, I was going to have a massage and I woke up that morning, and just writing down names and researching the database and like, oh, my gosh, this is so exhausting. This has to stop this internal battle in my brain. So then I went to my massage therapists who I've known forever, and I told her what I was trying to do. And so she started thinking of names. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna relax, take a deep breath, lay down, sure enough, my brain was just going, going, going, going, going. And then Cassavaberry just popped into my brain. I was like, okay, not a, that's a made up name, I can use that, it's not descriptive of my products. And I'm, it's a made up name. So it kind of, there's a play on like that fruit and a vegetable, because our last name is Barry. So it just that, I told a couple of people on this one, I like that. I like that too. So just went with it.

Sari:
Went with it. I love it, and all the things are available. So just don't give up. And you're so good about bringing these issues to the group and talking through it and just, like not giving up, right? Like I gotta change the name, it sucks. Sure, you were disappointed. It's literally your name.

Stacie:
Yes, it was very disappointing and very challenging. But I'm so grateful for the Food Business community to be able to talk to you and talk to other food business members and, you know, get ideas and help. Because I've never done this before, I had no idea I needed to do any of this stuff. So it's been a blessing.

Sari:
Tell me about, Lauren, what's been one of your biggest successes, something you're the most proud of since you launched?

Lauren:
Well, I've had a couple of really successful markets. And I mean, even just signing up for the first market was kind of a big win for me because again, I'm an introvert, and, you know, I'm sitting there telling myself, oh, I don't really want to do markets. But it's, it's, it's made such a big difference in my business. And it really, I mean, the difference in my monthly sales from my first couple of months, you know, to the first month when I did that first market, hugely different. I mean, it was my biggest month so far by a lot. And then, you know, this month, I did two markets this month, and I'm about to have my, you know, October, today's the last day, but you know, this will be my first month of over $1,000 in revenue for the month, which is, that's a lot of cookies. And, you know, so to get there and to get there that quickly and doing and getting there by doing something that made me uncomfortable. To me, that was a really big win because I pushed outside of my comfort zone. And I got a lot back for my business for doing that.

Sari:
How do you think that's changed you as a person? Like let's just say, you know, six months from now, you're just like, I'm done with this. Like, what, what, what things will you take away? Or what are you proud of how you showed up?

Lauren:
Well, one of my favorite quotes is fortune favors the bold, and it's from the Aeneid. And, you know, I think that, you know, I've just had another opportunity to prove in my own life that that's true, that when you take risks and you put yourself out there, that's when big, good magical things happen. And if you play it safe all the time, which is my natural inclination to play it very, very safe, and to stay in my comfort zone. You know, do you that kind of magic and that big stuff doesn't happen usually. So if you want to have a big, you know, a big life, you have to be able to take big leaps.

Sari:
And I want to just give you a shout out too, you're officially a Badass, and that you completed a Badass 30. So you did 30 days showing up and doing your rules, how did that change you?

Lauren:
It really got me thinking about consistency in my business. And just in my life in general, and I know that I'm somebody who tends to thrive off of routine, and that kind of consistency. But at the same time jumping into my business, I kind of felt a little all over the place to start with. And so it's really kind of taught me to set some rules and to set some expectations and to set some structure to my business, so that I'm working on the things that are going to move my business consistently. You know, one of the things I started doing is I've started setting aside time every week on Monday morning to do planning, and I wasn't doing that before it was like, yeah, well, I know what I'm doing. I know what, what I need to get done this week, but to actually sit down and like look at my previous week sales. And to look at what I have coming up this week, and what are my goals? What do I need to focus on? What are my big tasks, it's been really helpful. And I think that's also helped move my business. You don't always get the results of that right away but if you're doing the right things over and over and over again, you will eventually see the results.

Sari:
And I don't remember all of your rules. But it's like if you, you know, showing up one day or showing up three days, it's not about whether you did it one day or not. It's like the compound effect of 30 days or, you know, five weeks or eight weeks of planning every Monday, like that's where you start to see changes in your business. I just want to shout out and celebrate you for doing that. It's a big, not an easy thing and you had some failed at the beginning.

Lauren:
Uh huh. I did. And you know, I wouldn't have even tried it if you hadn't posted it on the Facebook Group. So that was a good challenge to me to, you know, when I saw that like, okay, let's do this. And, and I did, I had to make some tweaks to my rules, because I had to learn to think about some of these rules in different ways. Like, you know, one of my rules was that, you know, every dayI was supposed to do something for my business for at least an hour every single day. And I had some days that I was sick and I wasn't feeling well. And so in my mind, it was just like, well, there's literally nothing I can do, I'm sick. And you're like, yeah, but you know, you could listen to a podcast, or you could, you know, watch one of your Food Business Success videos, or you could, you know, brainstorm some ideas. And it was like, hmm, there are things I could do. Okay, but I hadn't thought about it that way. It was just like, well, I can't be downstairs baking in the kitchen. So I guess that's it for today.

Sari:
Stacie, what about you? What are you most successful out? What are you celebrating? And you been doing this for a little bit longer?

Stacie:
Yeah, May on the ebook. And I launched at the farmers market yet just 10 days after Lauren launched. So we're kind of on the same path. So I feel like just putting my eBook out there. That was huge for me, like a big win. And doing the farmers market just because of my introvert self like that internal battle of I don't want to but I should. And it was just back and forth in my brain.

Sari:
And we launched the website too.

Stacie:
Oh, yes, launched the website two months after my first farmers market. So not everything has been launched at once. You know, it's all in Stacie's timing, and it's good, even though I feel like I should have had it sooner. I think it was great.

Sari:
Why should it have waited? I like to turn it around and say why, you know, it's easy to be like it should have been at the same time, I should have launched then. But why is it better that you launched?

Stacie:
Just feel like it was, I don't know if it was divine timing, it was it, the time was right when it was right for me. And I couldn't have physically accomplished it any sooner. And I feel like I there were lessons learned, you know, I didn't have a business card either. And I don't know, I just felt like I learned more around it even though I was working on my website. It wasn't launched live but just tweaking different things and I don't know it just there's all these lessons that I've learned throughout this whole journey and you just take those little lessons even though they're tiny ones here and there and, you know, just like the small things are the big things.

Sari:
And I think you made some recipe tweaks. You add a new products. You were changing labels, you were changing ingredients, we had to figure that whole thing out. So I think it's, you were able to play with it that summer. And, you know, there's no pressure, like the only pressure you're fixing, most people aren't demanding, like where's the website, right? But you, you are able to play and experiment and change things and realize, oh, that, you know, that size isn't, maybe I should do a different size, or, you know, you were playing with all that stuff. So it's a lot easier to set up a website two months later, when you have an idea, when you're like much more clear on the products and the messaging, and the size, and the price and all of that stuff.

Stacie:
Yes. Because of finding out what you want, you first find out what you don't want.

Absolutely, a lot of times, it seems like contrast, fixing, and sorting.

Yeah, and same with making decisions crazy mode where I'm like, I don't know what to do. And my husband's always saying, just do something and then you'll figure it out if you wanted it or not.

Sari:
Yeah, exactly. Most decisions like this that we're talking about don't have like huge negative consequences. So just try something and then you'll be like, oh, I hate that, or I don't like this part of it, I'm gonna tweak it's kind of like, choose your own adventure thing. But nothing happens when you just sit there staring at the ways you could go, which is two. Love it. And I want to address because you guys are both brought up, and I'm an introvert, or I would consider a more of an introvert. I really think you guys tell me if you agree with this. But I think when you go, when you go do hard things like a farmers market where it's out of your comfort zone, I think it's about if you make it about other people and the product itself and that the value that you're offering, then it's like, to me, that's what gets me out of my comfort zone, like I'm willing to go risk and willing to go talk to people and show up, right? Like for me, I believe in my product and my programs so much I'm willing to put myself out there because it's not about me. And what people are gonna think about me, it's like, if I hadn't posted on that Cottage Food group, right? I never would have met you Stacie. And I think Lauren, you probably found me the same way, right? So I use that in my introverted self was like, I don't know, I don't want people to judge me or say something, right? So what, do you think that's about right for you guys as you've gone out and done farmers market outside of your comfort zone?

Stacie:
I totally agree with that statement. Yes.

Sari:
About your product and the value that you're giving out, like, you know, people are going to pick that tortilla mix home and those cookies, and they're gonna love them, and it's gonna solve a problem.

Lauren:
If you're thinking about yourself, I mean that's where the insecurities start to creep in. Because you know, you interact with a customer and then you're like, you know, you're thinking about what you said, and you're like, oh, my gosh, I must have sounded like a complete idiot when I was talking like, I should have said this instead. Or why didn't I say that? And that's when you start doubting yourself, and then it makes the interactions much, much harder. So anything that gets the focus kind of away from yourself, I think is good for people who do tend to be a little more introverted or a little more insecure.

Stacie:
And that's the same as for social media as well, right? People are like, I want to put myself out there. It's like, not about you. It's about you helping people, finding the right people that need your product. Let's talk about the future. Stacie, what? Look ahead, tell me what, next year this time, we're in 2023 a while, but tell me about Cassavaberry.

I see myself still doing farmers markets. I would really like to be in a commercial kitchen so I can ship interstate because right now Cottage Food prevents me from shipping interstate. I've had lots of requests for outside of Colorado. So I would like to do that. But other than that, I really haven't set any big goals other than create new mixes.

Sari:
Yeah, keep trying new products. How many products do you think do you want to have?

Stacie:
I don't know, maybe it's four or five. It's just my mind keeps adding creative, creative in the kitchen, like making things with my hands like Lauren said. So just what else could I make? Or what else do other people want to have? So that's where my peanut butter chip one chip cookie mix came from, because people asked, hey, do you have something without chocolate? Well, how about peanut butter? Like, okay, we can do that.

Sari:
That's easy enough. Yeah, sustain? Sounds like you really enjoy the creativity part of it.

Stacie:
Yes, it's very much just like my ebook. You know, what else can I make with this? Or, you know, how can I make this plant based or, and I just finding different plant based items that I didn't even know existed to incorporate at making a recipe or something that was like a normal food with meat. And yeah.

Sari:
So what do you see are some of the challenges than to and and I just want to emphasize that there's, there's no like one recipe for success, like I love it, that you both have kind of different future goals, because you can do this business any way you want. And you get to decide what success is. And you get to create a business that moves really fast or move slower or stays a certain size or gets bigger, right, that fits in with your lifestyle, that gives you time with your kids and your husband and all the activities you like to do so. I love it that especially with cottage food, that opportunity that you can create a business at a at a slower pace if you want. And yeah, take your time and that there's no expectation of like, I need to be an all national stores and on Amazon and all the things but. So that said, if you're in a commercial kitchen, you want to ship out of states, you want to have more mixes, what are some of the challenges that you think are gonna come up?

Stacie:
Definitely a time issue. You know, being in a Commissary Kitchen, you'll have certain hours to work and so definitely getting my schedule tweaked and be consistent, you know, these are my mix making days and not just run up to the computer and print some labels and think like, I have time right now make some mixes and then make some mixes later on in the afternoon. I mean, I definitely have to plan, plan, plan plan.

Sari:
Well, that's so good like that. We know if we have those obstacles like okay, I'm gonna have to figure out my timing and my planning. And I think for you, and I probably see as an obstacle is just, you love being a creative person, right? But we can only create so much if we're not selling. And we sort of get a backlog of products, but all the things, right? So it's kind of putting up like building up your sales hat and confidence in that area. And so, how you see that, how to overcome that?

Stacie:
Yeah, I think I definitely need to draw a line at mixes or slow down, so I can focus on what I have. And you know, doing that better, making more videos, doing social media and trying to share ideas what to do with the tortillas, not just a taco, just a fajita, I can do different things. So getting more creative on that piece.

Sari:
And I love that, you know, inside Food Business Success with our membership, with Fuel. Like, I feel like a commercial kitchen like we got to there, we're going to support you on how to find the kitchen and how to work in the kitchen because it is a little bit different going and working in this big scale machinery, you know, timing and all of that stuff. So I'd love it. So we're gonna support you and all of that.

Stacie:
And so grateful for the support to, you know, because a commercial kitchen does seem overwhelming and oh my gosh, but I'm grateful for your support and Food Business Fuel members, you know that the ones that are in a commercial kitchen and I can share their expertise.

Sari:
What about you Lauren, in your intro, you have big plans? A cookie empire?

Lauren:
Yeah, I don't know that I'm gonna have my empire a year from now, but I certainly am very focused on growing my business. In a year, you know, I would certainly like to be working in a commercial kitchen, whether it's my own facility or in a Commissary Kitchen. You know, I want my business to be profitable enough that it has essentially replaced my previous salary that I had, so that I can make sure that my family and I are still living comfortably as I continue to grow the business. And I just, you know, I want to, I want it to keep getting bigger and better and offering more products and being able to reach more customers, which, again, being in a commercial kitchen, like Stacie was saying, that means that we would be able to ship cookies elsewhere because I also have had interest from people outside of my state in my products. And I'm looking forward to serving those customers when I can.

Sari:
Right, next level. And we talked a little bit, we broke that down on a call, what did you get out of that conversation? As far as I know, you were like, I'm ready to go into commercial kitchen. And then we just kind of talked about it. But tell me a little bit more about that.

Lauren:
Well, I mean, that the big boom, in my business that has happened in the last, you know, month to maybe six weeks. It has left me feeling like oh my gosh, I've got to get into commercial kitchen as soon as I possibly can. You know, I live in a small 1200 square foot townhome, I have the tiniest little kitchen, it's not very efficient. I don't even like cooking meals in there. So it doesn't take much before I feel like I've really kind of reached my daily capacity for making cookies in that kitchen. You know, again, I also have a family too, and you know, they like to eat, they like to use the kitchen. So I can't also keep it just for myself all the time either, I have to be able to clear out so that they can do what they need to do as well. So you know very much I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm never going to be able to grow my business beyond this if I don't get into a commercial kitchen. And that's not necessarily true. Certainly, there are benefits to being in a commercial kitchen. And it does provide additional opportunities for selling and greater efficiencies that you can take advantage of and producing your products. But it's also really expensive. And so, you know, that's something that, you know, if your sales aren't really high enough to justify that expense yet, it's a great idea but maybe not quite the right time. And so that really kind of got me to refocus on what else I can do to make it more efficient, so that I can increase my production capacity in my existing space. And so one of the things I did is I went out and I bought a second freezer for my garage to give me some more space for my products because I make the cookie dough and then I freeze it until I'm ready to bake it when someone places an order. So having extra space for the cookie dough that allows me to kind of get ahead of the game a little bit and it makes it more efficient. So that was an option. I really started looking at even like the basic stuff, like how many cookies can I fit on a cookie tray when I put it in the oven? Can I fit more on a tray, so I can cook more at once? And the answer was actually, yes, I could fit more on that tray. But it like never even occurred to me before that. So it was a really nice refocusing that got me to question things that I was sort of taking for granted that like, this is all the space I have and this is all the capacity I have. And that's where I'm at. And that wasn't necessarily true. There were some small tweaks that can obviously make a difference.

Sari:
I think, yeah, when we see it, we're like, this is the only solution unless it's either this and it's terrible. And it doesn't work or it's got a commercial kitchen. And we just wanted to look at the facts, right? So that's why we did a number breakdown, we looked at profit, and how much, how many cookies you have to sell in order to pay for a kitchen, right?And the trade offs there. And, and so I love it that when you can look at that it kind of opens you up to like, let me find some interim solutions because we're not saying never, we're not saying, you know, we talked about maybe that's more of a Q1 or Q2 thing, like let's get through the Holidays, let's not add one more complication in there. And then I love that you thought about these efficiency thing, like you come up with some good temporary solutions for now.

Lauren:
And I'm still rolling some ideas around in my head too because, I mean, just even like dry good storage is an issue in my tiny little townhome. But I've got some ideas that I'm assessing and trying to figure out well, is that doable or not? But there are clearly still some choices. And it's not just you know, do or die. I must get in that commercial kitchen right now. I would definitely love to do that next year but it doesn't have to happen now.

Sari:
So good. So what challenges, in addition to the kitchen, do you think you foresee coming up or obstacles next year?

Lauren:
Well, just continuing to grow consistent sales. Obviously this time of year, the Holidays is a big time for baked goods. So I'm enjoying some very robust sales at the moment. But I don't necessarily think that that is going to continue to carry on. You know, I first see January being kind of a slow month, all those people on their New Year's diets and everything. So, and if I want to move into a commercial kitchen, then one of the things I'm going to have to be able to do is to get my sales more consistent to know that I can, you know, expect a certain amount of sales every month, with some variation, but a certain amount. So that's a lot to do with marketing and continuing to grow my, my customer base, and continuing to get my existing customers to be repeat customers. So there's a big marketing piece that I need to focus on there. Like I said, figuring out how I can be more efficient and continue to scale up my business, in my existing space before I'm ready for that commercial kitchen. Which, you know, there's going to be a lot, I think, a lot of advice from other people who are doing similar things. And those are going to give me some great ideas on how I can increase my own efficiency. And of course, just experimenting as well. And then just, for me, you know, if there's anything that I've learned this year, it's that my health really has to come first even before my business. And one of the great things about you Sari that I really appreciate is your holistic approach to coaching that you don't like expect people to kill themselves trying to run their business. You don't want people to kill themselves trying to run their business. If I don't take care of my health, you know, the whole house of cards comes down. So just continuing to learn how to juggle my growing business, with taking care of myself, setting healthy boundaries, focusing on mindset. So I'm not, you know, feeling overwhelmed or stressed, managing imposter syndrome that's crept in a few times. And just, you know, making sure that I'm doing all of this in a sustainable way. Because it's, it's great if you can, you know, if you can make this big business big for a period of time, but if you can only do that for a month before you burn yourself out. It's not really any good. So definitely want to make sure it's something that I can continue to do long term.

Lauren:
Managing impostor syndrome that's crept in a few times. And just, you know, making sure that I'm doing all of this in a sustainable way. Because it's great if you can, you know, if you can make this big business big for a period of time, but if you can only do that for a month before you burn yourself out, it's not really any good. So definitely want to make sure it's something that I can continue to do long term.

Sari:
Yes, so good. Anything to add to that, Stacie? I thought you're nodding your head.

Stacie:
Yes, definitely. Help comes firstbecause if we are down on the couch, you know, we can't go to the markets, we can't make things. Yeah, and then the rest of the household suffers as well. Meaning definitely needed to take care of yourself.

Sari:
And it's such an opportunity when you start, especially a Cottage Food business because there's less investment. I mean, I work with some people that are coming in, guns blazing, and they're gonna put up a lot of money and investment. And there's a lot of pressure to make it work like this has to, this has to be beating my family in three months, you know, this path. And that's just so much pressure on your business. And I do think, you know, internally and your mindset and your health and all of that can really suffer. And so setting up your business sustainably from the beginning, creating great habits, mindset tools, help manage it now, because I hope everybody listening can hear that the problems don't stop. Never, they never stop. The challenges don't stop, you know, think about pre launch where you were like, oh, if I can just get this launched, everything will be great, right? You were working through all the problems of getting launched. But my point in like, having you look ahead and talk about challenges is just for everybody to see, like we're always gonna go after something new. And we need to celebrate, I launched and I've had these successes. But I think part of being an entrepreneur is that you always want to go after some new goal. And then there's this new obstacle, part of the process. It's not a problem. Problem. Well, let's, um, tell me a little bit, you guys each gave me a sentence, a piece of advice for someone just starting out. So Lauren, I'll start with you. And then we'll wrap up with Stacie. So what was your piece of advice for somebody just starting out Cottage Food or are in a commercial kitchen?

Lauren:
I've heard this quote attributed to a number of different people. So I don't know who originally said it. But start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. Don't wait until you feel completely ready. Don't wait until everything's perfect. Just start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can because you can always, you know, start small and take a few little steps and slowly build it bigger. That's the great thing about Cottage Food in particular,

Sari:
You're never going to be ready, right? I just want to be ready, I just want to be sure it's gonna work. I'm on 100% guarantee. You know, before you're gonna start, some problems will come up and you know, you just can't, you can't be 100% ready. And I think borrowing, I really encourage people to borrow their confidence from other things, right, just like we talked about earlier, like, oh, I have done this in some ways. Or I can see, you know, in my other jobs, how I was a good boss and did good planning or like I made projects happen, right, that you got things done. Borrow from your past experience. And Stacy, what about you?

Stacie:
I love that, Lauren, that was beautiful. So my piece of advice, you know, the Cottage Food is great, too, you know, just get your foot wet, you know, and just step out there and see if this is even doable. But my advice would be to find somebody to talk to a business owner or find a podcast to listen to or find a class to take. It's so helpful. Even if you think you know all the information, there might be just one nugget that you'll take away from and that it will pivot and you know, shift your mind and everything else. So just like finding a biz food business coach, that is huge. I mean, you could find a business coach, but they won't know the ins and outs of the food industry and the different requirements for that. So that was huge and finding you.

Sari:
Yeah, thank you for sharing that. And I think both of you do a really great job. I mean, you only get out of programs and groups. I think sometimes people are hesitant to join programs because they're like, Well, I didn't really get much out out of it, or I start things and I don't finish them. But you guys are both a really good example of like using those groups using the program to full capacity, right? Like, you only get out as much as you put in. So you can come to the calls, ask your questions, post in our private group, like get feedback, contribute to others. And I think you both have really gotten a lot out of it, right? I can't force you to get, I can't come to your house. Do this, right? That's the hardest part about being in business for yourself. There's nobody there to hold you accountable. Do you think sometimes groups like this, people, like myself can help with some of that accountability too, right, we pay we pay attention. Well, thank you both so much for joining me. We're recording this on Halloween, but it'll come out here in a couple of weeks. And I'm really excited for people to hear your story and be inspired. I, I want people who have this dream and this little nudge to go for it. Because ultimately, you're gonna end up better and better humans just because you took this journey. Thank you both for sharing your journey and your experiences with all of us. Really appreciate it.

Lauren:
Thanks for having us.

Stacie:
Yes, thank you, Cindy, for having us. It was an honor to be here.

Sari:
I love this conversation so much. It was so fun to bring on Lauren and Stacie and hear their experience. It's one thing for me to tell you all the things that we do inside Food Business Success, and all of the amazing foodpreneurs that are in there and all of the cool things that they're doing. And it's a whole other thing for you to hear it directly from them. So if this resonates with you, if you're like, yeah, I do want support. I do want to be able to skip the line, go faster, make fewer mistakes, and I just want to feel like I'm part of a community. Then what are you waiting for? Come on, come join us inside Food Business Success, it is the best value out there. And you can join us on our next Fuel group coaching call very soon. Or just get yourself registered for that Go Big in 2023, Tap Into Your Future Self workshop. It's at foodbizsuccess.com/future. And it's just 19 bucks, and I'll see you on December 14th. All right, until next time, have an amazing week.

The smartest thing you can do as an entrepreneur is to invest in a who to help you with the how, to speed up your journey and help you skip the line. When you are ready for more support and accountability to finally get this thing done. You can work with me in two ways. Get me all to yourself with one on one business coaching or join Food Business Success which includes membership inside Fuel, our community of food business founders that includes monthly live group coaching calls and so much more. It's one of my favorite places to hang out and I would love to see you there. Go to foodbizsuccess.com to start your journey towards your own Food Business Success.