Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jennie Groff, Part Owner and CEO of Stroopies, Inc., located in Lancaster, PA, USA.

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

I am part owner of Stroopies, Inc. Stroopies was founded in 2008 to provide meaningful employment for resettled refugee women starting over in Lancaster, PA. We make Dutch Stroopwafels (Stroopies as we call them), a cinnamon waffle with homemade caramel in the center, best rewarmed on top of your hot beverage. We sell our Stroopies at our brick-and-mortar store, The Lancaster Sweet Shoppe on Duke St., in Lancaster City, and wholesale to coffee shops and grocery stores all over the US. We also have an online store.

Currently, at the Lancaster Sweet Shoppe (where we make our gluten-free line) and at our distribution working center, the women make approximately 15,000 Stroopies each week! We also love to make fresh Stroopies on-site at festivals, so customers are able to buy fresh warm Stroopies and prepackaged products to enjoy later!

Tell us about yourself

Since I was a little girl, I have always had an interest in business! My first business was selling pre-bottled drinks to the workers on my family's dairy farm when I was 12! As I have grown older, I have become intrigued with how business can help to solve social issues. In our Lancaster city neighborhood, where our family has lived for the last 23 years, there have been a lot of resettled refugee families that have moved in from around the world, having to flee their beloved homelands because of war. I noticed that for the mothers of these families that it was harder to learn a new language and not be isolated in their new home. When the opportunity presented itself to start making Stroopies with these women, I was really excited!

My husband's family has been making homemade chocolates in the Lancaster area for many years, so they were a big part of our story, allowing us to use their facility and equipment as we were product testing and launching our social enterprise at Stroopies, Inc.! The 15 beautiful women on our team from Syria, Sudan, Congo, Nepal, Burma, and Eritrea motivate me each and every day to do what I do. Their resilience, courage, and ability to keep going inspire me and I feel truly privileged to use our business at Stroopies to pass along blessings to them.

We do a paid English program as part of the women's work day and team-building field trips to build a community and work culture of care for each other. Our goal is simple, to help the women move up at Stroopies to be managers and mentors to others that are newly coming or for the women to use our company as a launch pad to spring into other careers that they are passionate about as they get re-established.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

It is hard to put into words how it feels to watch the seed of an idea that we had bloomed into a social enterprise that is producing beautiful fruit for the women on our team! Our city of Lancaster has been our biggest cheerleader, and many, many people had shared our delicious Stroopie with friends, given them as gifts, and come along to encourage us when we needed an extra boost of courage to take the next step! We are poised and ready for new growth opportunities at Stroopies and excited to grow so that we can have more impact on resettled refugee women in our city of Lancaster!

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

I often tell people that owning a business is not for the faint of heart. The grit and the labor of love that has been offered through the years have to be noted. Businesses are not launched without this. Especially at the beginning... this is just part of the recipe.

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

  1. Ask lots of questions and learn from others that are just a couple of steps ahead of where you are!
  2. Consider using your business to help solve social issues! The private sector holds incredible power to help people through the offering of a good job.
  3. Don't be afraid to try things, capitalize on the things that are working, and learn from the things that didn't work out as hoped.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.stroopies.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelancasterstroopieco
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lancasterstroopieco/

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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