Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Robert Benish, Founder of Benish's Bakery, located in Kansas City, MO, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Mine is an actual artisan bakery. I developed a trio of biscotti and first began selling them in 2007. They are made with white chocolate baked in (which gives them both crispness and superior dunkability), only natural ingredients, and deep, rich flavors. Now, I also bake a citron brioche weekly, but Bob's Biscotti is my main business. I'm an authorized vendor of Nordstrom Specialty Coffee Bars and am in stores from border to border, coast to coast.
Tell us about yourself
I was a fine amateur baker who had wanted to start a bakery for years. I decided biscotti could be and should be wonderful - crisp but easy to nibble, delicious dunked, and on its own. It took over a year to find a basic recipe to work with and then create the trio. What keeps me dedicated to my baking is knowing that I make so many people happy with my baked goods, and I make baristas happy by not disappointing their customers.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment is staying flexible enough to take a trio of artisan biscotti from their Kansas City home to a small and growing national audience. With the help of my suppliers, graphic artist, and staff, we created a line of biscotti ready to travel. Learning to listen and lean on the advice of others without straying from your original true line is always a challenge.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Realizing you are the least important person in your business is a constant challenge. First, come the customers - both the ones who consume my baked goods and the retailers who buy and offer them for sale. Next, come my employees, then the vendors I buy from, and finally me. If I keep everyone else happy, I'll be happy too.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Listen to your customers. They may not always be right, but you need to listen. I used to say you start a business with equal parts of arrogance and stupidity. Remember to balance your arrogance with the understanding of your own fallibility. And as a chocolatier once said to me, "Always show them your best."
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.benishsbakery.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bobs.Biscotti.Benishs.Bakery
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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