Being Part of Something Special - Special Kneads & Treats
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Michael Kohler, CEO, and co-founder of Special Kneads and Treats, Inc., located in Lawrenceville, GA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Special Kneads and Treats operates based on Christian family-oriented ideals driven from over 30 years of cake decorating and baking experience. We believe that EVERY child should have a birthday cake on their special day. Special Kneads and Treats, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a core mission to ensure that any child in our community that has a birthday whose family cannot afford a birthday cake receives one FREE from us.
We work primarily with local food cooperative ministries, Foster Care, and DFCS to get these cakes into the hands of those in need. One of our major programs is connecting individuals with disabilities to a rewarding profession while providing valuable work experience and training. Our core is a focus on special needs adults receiving self-confidence, a sense of value, and the opportunity to enjoy success and socialization. Sharing the love of Jesus Christ through caring, serving, equipping, and educating, we cater to the aforementioned groups.
Tell us about yourself
My wife Tempa and I started working towards this mission around 2008 as we have a special needs son that was born back in 1990. We discovered, along with other parents, that once our child was going to turn 22 that there would no longer be any county supported programs and began to wonder what he would do for a sense of empowerment and inclusion in a job force that really does not focus on individuals with varying disabilities. It was truly a marriage made by God when we started focusing on providing children that are less fortunate who could not afford a simple birthday cake with one that was prepared and completed by others that could be categorized as less fortunate. Every day we get to experience pure joy in the faces and lives of those we serve as well as those that get to work in our environment on some of the tasks that most would say are quick and easy. Yet they are a challenge to someone with limited motor skills, hearing, vision, and other types of disabilities. Our special needs staff are amazing individuals who inspire me every day to do more and not overlook the small things that make a difference.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
As a nonprofit, we do not truly own the business, but I would say that our largest accomplishment thus far is that we have 28 amazing individuals with some type of disability working alongside us every week. Overcoming hurdles such as being a fully blind person working in a kitchen bakery environment has been very rewarding. It has helped us expand our capabilities by embracing some very challenging opportunities. We are poised for further growth and expansion and prayerfully awaiting the opportunities to put the remaining 119 currently on a waitlist that just want a chance to work.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
While our challenges typically revolve around how best to accommodate for the wide variety of disabilities on a first-come, first-served basis. I would say one of the hardest things we have faced recently for the business would be some of the supply chain issues and making sure that our raw ingredients are able to be procured on a regular basis, closely followed, of course, by trying to maintain all your typical monthly expenses.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
For me, I would say give it all to God. However, the first thing I would say to someone looking to start a business is to make sure that what you are truly passionate about creating is impactful and needed in your community. Many of us have something we really enjoy doing, but is there truly a need for it in your area.
Second, I would strongly encourage them to make sure and check all the legal requirements, permits, fees, and other regulations surrounding what you will be doing to ensure there are no hidden pitfalls that could potentially damage or destroy them before they get off the ground.
The third thing would be to prepare yourself for the potential of amazing growth by being open to change, outside views, and criticism of what you are doing as there are so many people that are ready to tell you how you should run your business and in some cases, there are nuggets of wisdom hidden in those interactions.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
In closing, I would encourage all business owners facing shortages in staffing needs to think outside the box and turn an eye to the special needs community for potential employees as they are some of the most amazingly dedicated, proud, and capable employees you will ever have. They take pride in some of the smaller tasks that many of our workforce today feel are tedious and monotonous. By embracing special needs employment, the positive message sent to your community will definitely have an impact on your client base and new customers.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://specialkneadsandtreats.square.site/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpecialKneadsAndTreatsInc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/specialkneads_/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpecialKneads_
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/special-kneads-and-treats-inc/
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.
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