Well, most of my childhood was spent in Minnesota with my two older brothers and two eccentric parents. They are some of the best people this world ever made. My mom is the nicest person that I have ever met. I am not just saying that because she is my mom, it is actually true. My dad is eccentric. He is always telling me about new technology. It is interesting now, but wasn't in my youth. We used to joke that the worst punishment was getting a lecture from dad. I truly am really proud and thankful for my family. Their example has made me a better person.

My dad had been a successful salesman, and since people keep comparing me to him, I thought I could do that too. After college, I went on two sales interviews and landed the second one. I was hired to sell Yellowpage advertising. It turned out that I was quite good at it. I worked hard and won several awards and even broke records. So, I decided to make a career of it.

I was living in St. Paul, MN when I met my husband. We dated for a few months, not seriously, then he moved to Oregon for a job. I wished him well and we did not talk for months. Then, one day, I realized that I actually like that guy. So, I emailed him. He told me that he missed me too and then, on a chance, I up and moved to Oregon. It was a crazy move to make, but it just felt right. Well, 9 months later we were married. Now we have two amazing little girls. They make me smile every morning, and I am so thankful for my family!

I worked through both pregnancies and after 3 months of maternity leave, I was back to work. I was in sales and really good at my job, so it was hard not to keep working. I was ranked the number 1 rep out of 400 on my last pregnancy. I do love sales and find the challenge of it fulfilling.

In my sales career, I had some struggles selling products that did not always work the way they were supposed to. It was frustrating to not properly represent a product or service. I always thought that if I could have my own product and have true conviction and confidence in it, I would be an even better sales person. However, I am usually quite busy and the idea of creating my own product was not something that I had time for.

In October 2012, my 6 year old daughter asked to make cookies with me. This seemed like a GREAT idea, so I went to the grocery store to buy some mix and make them. I stared at the $1 bags of mix and thought that this did not teach her anything and that those cookies probably do not taste good. So, while at the store, I pulled up a recipe on my phone and spent $40 on ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies. We came home, made 30 cookies (I ate ½ of them and the rest of the chocolate chips), and spent a good 2 hours prepping, cleaning and taming my children. It was not the fun bonding experience I had hoped for.

I thought it would be great to have a kit with all the ingredients measured out, so we could make homemade cookies without all the mess and excess product. Plus, I did not want 30 cookies! I scoured the internet and grocery stores for some sort of baking kit. This product did not exist. I was frustrated.

On a whim, I texted my ambitious and bright neighbor and said “you still looking at starting businesses? I have an idea,” she said “sure”, came over, we talked and decided to make it happen. I was nervous about working with her, because I really did not know her that well, but I really want the product to exist and I thought she could make it happen. I was right. And the bonus is that as I have gotten to know her, I have learned she is an amazing human being, great mom, smart, and best of all, a great friend.

I never thought that I would be the type of person to own my own business, but here I am, and I find it fulfilling. I like being able to make my product the best, and I like selling it. I actually look forward to demo days when I stand at the grocery store and bake homemade cookies for people. I get amazing feedback and smile every time a family picks up a kit, because I know they will have great memories from using it.

Scratch & Grain Baking Co. has given me a lot of pride in myself and what I have been able to accomplish, an amazing friend and business partner, and the ability to finally be fully convicted in my product.