The speaker, Janie Deacon, shares her journey from overcoming addiction at the age of 25 to becoming a successful baker and business owner. She started baking as a way to cope with her early sobriety and to connect with people. Her bakery, which specializes in pie crust cookies, grew significantly after she took the product to street fairs, where it was well-received. The cookies' unique, scalable nature allowed her to expand her business beyond New York City to other parts of the country.
Deacon emphasizes the importance of hiring individuals who are excited about their work, willing to be part of a team, and share her joy in baking and selling cookies. She notes that people who have overcome adversity tend to be the hardest workers and the best team members. After two years of operation, her bakery has grown to employ 15 people across two locations and is planning to hire for a third.
Deacon also shares her gratitude for her life and the journey she has been on, stating that she feels like she is constantly learning and growing. She expresses a hope to continue feeling this way and to continue expanding her business in both retail and e-commerce.
1. The speaker, Janie Deacon, has a passion for baking and turned it into a successful career.
2. Janie became sober at the age of 25, after struggling with addiction.
3. She initially faced fear and paralysis when trying to enter the workforce and decide on a career.
4. Janie's bakery, Jamie's Life-Changing Baked Goods, started in 2017 and has been fully operational since then.
5. In an average month, the bakery sells between 30,000 to 45,000 cookies.
6. The bakery is known for its pie crust cookies, which are handmade and sold in various flavors.
7. The pie crust cookie is made with a flaky pie crust bottom, pie filling in the middle, and a buttery streusel top.
8. The bakery's top four flavors are pecan chocolate, Triple Berry, and apple.
9. The bakery had a record-breaking sales year, with over $1.3 million in sales during their busiest season.
10. Janie was previously a superintendent living in the East Village, where she started baking as a form of self-care and therapy.
11. Janie's bakery was inspired by a customer who asked her if she could buy a cake.
12. The pie crust cookie was invented in 2017 and became popular at street fairs.
13. The bakery faced challenges in its early years, with long working hours and financial struggles.
14. The bakery has since scaled its business and now has 15 employees across two locations.
15. Janie is hiring for a third location and aims to continue growing the business.
16. The bakery is known for its retail expansion in New York City and its e-commerce side.
17. Janie believes that people who have overcome adversity are the hardest workers and the best people to be around.
18. Janie feels grateful for her life and career, describing her work as like playing dress-up.