Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Rebecca Bloom, Owner of Piedaho, located in Hailey, ID, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Piedaho is a family-owned bakery bringing award-winning pies from the beautiful mountains of Idaho to your table. We use the best fruit and ingredients we can find to ensure the highest quality, best-tasting pie you’ve ever had. Each pie is handmade and uniquely decorated to make sure it looks as good as it tastes. These pies are true works of art, pie art, and we are one of the only places you can actually buy the pies you see on Instagram! We offer new flavors of pies each week based on seasonal availability. We push the boundaries on flavor and design while not sacrificing quality.
Our customers are a mix of foodies looking for the best and most creative version of pie as well as those nostalgic for their grandmother’s dessert. Pie lovers are a special breed, and if you hook them, they are hooked for life!
Tell us about yourself
I am a classically French-trained chef who did a million different things before landing here. I have always loved cooking and baking for the creative outlet and food’s ability to bring people together. Pie is the personification of that for me. It has to be shared… well, my husband may not agree when I make his favorite, but usually, pie is shared. I love that you can sit down with anyone, share a slice of pie, talk about anything, and leave feeling loved and heard. That is what motivates me every day to make beautiful pies.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Our biggest accomplishment right now is opening our first brick-and-mortar store in Boise. We can now share our pies in a different way with our customers. But truly, my biggest accomplishment was having my at the time ten-year-old son request my strawberry rhubarb pie for his birthday and then eating it wrapped in a towel on the floor of his bedroom. Major mom and business win!
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The hardest thing is that you are the business, managing all the little things that have nothing to do with making pie. Shipping, ordering, supply chain issues, staff, managing personalities. The business grows beyond the kitchen, and for me, that has been the hardest thing.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Find one thing you are passionate about and truly love because if you don’t love it the most, no one else will.
- Practice, practice, practice. I have made so many pies now that I am able to call myself an expert. I feel completely confident about my product.
- Ask for help when you need it. I am lucky to work with my husband, who is amazing at the things I am not. You may know how to make something or sell something, but business has so many facets, and sometimes someone else has that kernel to help you accomplish your goals.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://piedaho.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/piedahobakery
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piedahobakery/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-bloom-2188312/
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.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.