Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kathie Armstrong, owner of Kathie's Bakery, located in Brooklyn Park, MN, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My customers are anyone who wants clean, delicious homemade food that they can get from a mix. I am trying to make life a little easier for those who are already so busy or who just want to save some time. I am trying to help provide a way for better, cleaner delicious food.
Tell us about yourself
My inspiration is to help people who don’t feel comfortable baking or just don’t have the time to do it. My job is to help make lives a little easier by providing some treats for themselves, family, and friends. I think that baking food can become a whole family experience. It is not just in the eating of food but also in its making. I truly believe traditions and happiness can be made around the making and eating of delicious food.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
There are so many things that are wonderful for me, but the biggest accomplishment is in the fact that I am building this company to leave to the charity cherryave.org that does such good for little orphans and the poor in Guatemala. I am driven to leave them a company of worth so that it will continue to make a difference to many families for years to come long after I am gone.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
I honestly don't know the answer to that...…possibly not knowing what you don't know as the business grows and the learning curves that come with that. I am a one-woman show, and I just turned 65 yesterday, and I am not up on all the technology. Social media etc.....yes, that would be my most difficult is learning technology as it continues to grow and change constantly.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Don't quit, don't listen to the naysayers, believe in yourself totally because you have everything it takes to succeed, try to spend as little as possible, learn to do things with very little, keep your overhead as low as possible. It is the expenses that kill business. Do as much yourself as humanly possible be able to ask for help and knowledge from as many people and or groups as you can; people are pots of gold. Experience is the best teacher, and it is all around us. Learn from others' mistakes and successes.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
It is like they say....do what you love so that you would do it even if you didn't get paid. If you do that, you will be successful because you will keep going and going.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://kathiesbakery.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kathies-Bakery-110018783716839/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathiesbakery/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathie-armstrong-a4ba989/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.