Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Beth Richardson, Owner of Spotz Gelato, located in Georgetown, KY, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I own Spotz Gelato in Kentucky. Spotz has six brick-and-mortar locations throughout the state and also has eight mobile units. Our customers are people that appreciate hand-crafted small-batch gelato and sorbet made from locally sourced ingredients. Spotz has been in business for over ten years.

Tell us about yourself

I am a self-taught gelato maker who comes from a long line of wonderful southern cooks. I have always had a passion for creating great foods. As a hobby farmer, I started making gelato about twelve years ago in my home kitchen from ingredients I grew in the gardens on my farm. I began taking my gelato to family events and potlucks. One too many people encouraged me to sell my gelato, and Spotz was born! I started with one food truck and grew to a fleet of 8 mobile units. About four years ago, the first Spotz store opened. There are now 6 Spotz stores. All of Spotz Gelato’s recipes are my own. I love the creative process of recipe development and store design, paired with the marketing and financial aspects of running the business. It is truly the best of both worlds!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

The last few years have been quite difficult for many businesses, but the restaurant industry was hit particularly hard by COVID. My biggest accomplishment is not just surviving COVID closures but being able to open new locations during that time. Spotz was able to pivot quickly from focusing on in-person store sales focus to delivery and curbside options. Our public event calendar was suddenly empty, but through marketing efforts, we were able to grow our private event calendar as soon as restrictions were relaxed.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

The most difficult part of owning and operating my business is staffing. We are staffed almost exclusively by part-time high school and college-aged students. We lose our employees as they graduate from school and go off to college or on to their careers. Some may return the following summer, but we are constantly hiring and training as our employees age out of their positions. In addition, most of our staff members are very active with their schools in athletics and/or organizations, so we have to be very flexible with their work schedules. This leads us to have a lot of extra people on our store rosters to make certain we are able to fill the needed shifts.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

The advice I would offer to someone starting a business would be as follows:

  1. Count your own pennies. Be sure you have your finger on the pulse of your income and expenses. Are you actually making money? In what areas can you trim costs to make yourself more profitable? How can you better reach your target customer?
  2. Hire the best management and support staff you can afford as soon as you are able. It is very difficult to run a business solely on your own if you want to grow. Discover the tasks that you don’t excel at or don’t enjoy and find someone to help in those areas. Whether it be a regular W-2 employee or a virtual contractor, know your skills and weakness and fill in the gaps with someone who is great where you are weak.
  3. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it! If owning a business were easy, everyone would do it. It is a lot of hard work and long hours before you make a dime. Take time to enjoy every step of the process and savor the small victories every day. Pretty soon, the victories will far outweigh the struggles. That is true success!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.spotzgelato.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpotzGelato/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spotzgelato/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/spotzgelato
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-campbell-richardson-72290956/

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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