The Rural Entrepreneur’s Gold

Jill Blashack Strahan - Founder of Tastefully Simple shares personal loss, great success, almost closing the doors back to success.

Jill Blashack Strahan used to put together gift baskets and sell them in her Minnesota town as an active rural entrepreneur.  She started small and it got bigger and bigger, but it wasn't working as she'd hoped and she decided to close the business.  She was asked if she would still like to host a booth at a local event selling individually some of the spices, mixes, and sauces she had put in her baskets.  The event was a roaring success. Strahan was a busy mom who didn't love to cook and liked anything that would make it easier.  She knew of other moms just like her.  Even for moms who did love to cook, time was of the essence and you couldn't buy more time, but if you can buy products that make cooking take less time and you can still love it.    She wasn't a fan of home party sales, but she knew she would be a fan if the party involved demonstrating and eating food and at the same time solving a problem that many moms have and she believed it would work. That to her sounded like a home party she'd love to attend.  With $36,000 of her own money and an SBA loan, she created a home party plan business called Tastefully Simple from a shed that had no running water and no bathrooms.  She created a business plan and set out to sell a curated list of delicious easy to use mixes, sauces, spices, and an amazing easy beer bread mix.  She was absolutely right!  People loved it.  Within 6 years the company was bringing in over $113 million a year.    She credits the devastating loss of her brother from a house fire when she was 26 for inspiring her to start this business.  Just three years into starting the business, tragedy struck again and again.  She was devastated multiple times and yet she found the strength to carry on and shine through it all.  The company kept growing and growing. Things got rough for several years and money was pouring out the door with year after year losses.  She was told to let it go and close the doors.  She kept fighting and has brought the company back to profits again.  How she fought back the naysayers who told her to quit and was more than ready when COVID hit and her business was needed more than ever.  I love this story and I loved getting to know Jill as a person and as an amazing rural entrepreneur.  I sincerely hope you do too.  I feel like I've gained a sister and a wonderful friend in doing this interview.  Thank you, Jill. If you'd like more information about the delicious Tastefully Simple products or their entrepreneurial development program go to the Tastefully Simple website.    [https://www.tastefullysimple.com/] The podcast host Krysti Mikkonen is the owner of Rural Gold, [https://www.ruralgold.com/] a business located in rural South Dakota offering website development and coaching services for small to medium-sized businesses, with a special place in her heart for rural ones.  She also offers coaching services to entrepreneurs and difference makers individually and in a group called The Gold Miners [https://the-gold-miners.mykajabi.com/].

Jordan Phillips Young entrepreneur who's family cancer story inspired Cozys for a Cure & a deal with Walmart

Jordan Phillips is more than a cross-country runner.  She's also more than a sister, daughter of a cancer survivor and high school senior.  And she's more than a heck of an eloquent speaker.  Jordan is an entrepreneur who at 12 years old had a product she created selling in over 2000 Walmart Stores across the country. In today’s episode of The Rural Entrepreneur’s Gold, you’re going to meet an incredibly inspiring, impressive, and articulate young lady. Phillips shares with us the story of her journey through her mom’s cancer, how it impacted her family, and how it led her to raise over $120,000 to date that started with a sewing machine she got in kindergarten. We hear stories of how cancer patients are doing in treatment, but sometimes we forget to ask those around them.  Jordan shares how she learned of her mom's cancer, how she coped, and what helped her and her family.  Her family didn't just make it through, they grew. They grew in their love, their communication, and their joy.  While everyone was going through a difficult time, they intentionally made joy. From there we move to the how and why behind her decision to start making Cozys for the Cure.  It's a pretty incredible journey from making these gifts with her sewing machine to selling them in Walmart.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.  If you're interested in buying a coffee cozy or a microwave cozy for your bowl, go to the Cozys for a Cure Website.  [https://cozysforthecure.bigcartel.com/]The podcast host Krysti Mikkonen is the owner of Rural Gold, [https://www.ruralgold.com/] a business located in rural South Dakota offering website development and coaching services for small to medium-sized businesses, with a special place in her heart for rural ones.  She also offers coaching services to entrepreneurs and difference makers individually and in a group called The Gold Miners [https://the-gold-miners.mykajabi.com/]. https://cozysforthecure.bigcartel.com/

Cheesecake Ninja - Why Greg Franklin getting fired is the best thing to happen

In today's episode of the rural entrepreneurs, gold, you're going to meet Greg Franklin, also known by some as the cheesecake ninja in his rural town of Perryville, Missouri, a town of about 8500. Greg is going to share how this guy, who didn't really bake took an odd interest in cheesecake from a mere Facebook post. After trying many different recipes, multiple online sales, and many direct sale door knocks and failing miserably multiple times, he kept at it.  He would try various recipes and techniques and persistently tried selling online and to other businesses.  Slowly but surely he was having some good success on this side gig. It was working. His hobby brought him joy and a nice added bonus income.  His "real" job gave him security with benefits, but he didn't love it.  That's ok though because he could keep that for security and his side job brought him joy and he loved that people loved what he made.  Then one day at his real job things changed and he got fired.  Ironically, he was fired on National Cheesecake Day.   Those around him encouraged him to open a bakery.  This was his chance and they believed he could make this work.  You'll hear how Greg turned that interest into a full-time business. The ups, downs, tips, and suggestions he has for starting a business. I love this story of perseverance patience, persistence, hard work, and humility. I hope you like it too. If you'd like more information about the Cheesecake Ninja, you can check it out and assassinate you cravings here. [https://thecheesecakeninja.com/] Feel free visit him and be sure to tell him where you heard about his amazing cheesecakes! The podcast host Krysti Mikkonen is the owner of Rural Gold, [https://www.ruralgold.com/] a business located in rural South Dakota offering website development and coaching services for small to medium-sized businesses, with a special place in her heart for rural ones.  She also offers coaching services to entrepreneurs and difference makers individually and in a group called The Gold Miners [https://the-gold-miners.mykajabi.com/].

Mitch Reed - Cardboard Confessional from HS class project to book

Meet Mitch Reed. He's a high school superintendent that saw a cool public project in Brookings, South Dakota. It was an interactive art display on Main Street where people walking by could read a deep thought-provoking question, "What's one thing you want to do before you die".  People were encouraged to write their answers on a big chalkboard for all the world to see.   He couldn't stop thinking about it and thought this would be a good sociology class project.  It became so much more than anyone could have imagined.  It was inspiring, thought-provoking, and life-changing.  The project, which had kids answering that first question found in Brookings,  but other great questions the class came up with.  The entire school was brought in to participate and encouraged to put their answers anonymously into a box.  The project was turned into a book called Cardboard Confessionals.  In the book, Reed shares the seven deep questions he asked the students of his school. The first question was, What is one thing you want to do before you die. While one might expect from a bunch of kids answers like jump off a cliff, buy a sports car, or win a million dollars, the answers were impressive and changed his life forever. Hear how this journey made Mr. Reed a better father, a better husband, a better teacher, a better leader, a better coach, and an all-around better person. You'll get a glimpse of how this project not only changed him, but he firmly believes saved lives. If you find yourself inspired by this podcast episode, go get the book that tells more stories of the project and what inspiring answers he witnessed. If you thought our future would be bleak based on your perception of today’s young people, you’ll come away with a whole new perspective. Dare I say, you’ll be downright proud. If you’d like more information on the book you can check out the website MitchReedSpeaks.com [https://www.mitchreedspeaks.com/]. If you’d like to purchase the book you can find it in several local book stores and gift shops in South Dakota or go to Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/Cardboard-Confessionals-Mitch-Reed/dp/0692997237]. The podcast host Krysti Mikkonen is the owner of Rural Gold, [https://www.ruralgold.com/] a business located in rural South Dakota offering website development and coaching services for small to medium-sized businesses, with a special place in her heart for rural ones.  She also offers coaching services to entrepreneurs and difference makers individually and in a group called The Gold Miners [https://the-gold-miners.mykajabi.com/].

Dot's Pretzels - An accidental entrepreneur with Dot & Randy Henke

In today's episode of the rural entrepreneurs, gold, we're going to hear a story of how some businesses aren't planned.  This is a journey of an accidental entrepreneur.  Sometimes ideas just happen when you least expect them, at any age, and at any time in your life.   Dorothy Henke shares the journey of Dot's Pretzels and its surprise arrival and the growth to success over the last 10 years.  Her husband Randy also chimed in bringing his fun side-bar comments and his perspective on this unexpected ride they've been on.  It's a pretty impressive success story from small-town America. They share how you don't have to move to the big city to find success.  You'll hear how Dorothy went from trying to retire from her job in the insurance industry to working harder than ever on a job that just appeared because she said yes to doing a favor. The tenacity and willingness to give their product away any chance they could was one of the best ideas to market their great pretzels.  Almost every time someone tasted the pretzels, they were wowed and looking to find out how they could get more.  It still amazes them where they are today.  You can tell they enjoy reminiscing about how they got where they are today.  It's amazing, that even though you think you don't know anything about running a bakery, marketing, sales, and more could build a business to 400 employees and 3 facilities.  Dot's pretzels is headquartered in Velva, North Dakota,  a small town with a population of about 1400 people proving success can truly happen anywhere.  They have additional bakeries in Goodyear, Arizona, and Edgerton camp. If by the end, you didn't get enough and you want more information, you can go to the Dot's Pretzels website [https://dotspretzels.com/]. Be sure to look them up and follow their amazing journey on your favorite social media channel.   And. next time you're lounging around or out and about with your bag of Dot's Pretzels, or eating a delicious Dot's candy bar, take a picture and tag Dot's on one of their social channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Linked-In The podcast host Krysti Mikkonen is the owner of Rural Gold, [https://www.ruralgold.com/] a business located in rural South Dakota offering website development and coaching services for small to medium-sized businesses, with a special place in her heart for rural ones.  She also offers coaching services to entrepreneurs and difference makers individually and in a group called The Gold Miners [https://the-gold-miners.mykajabi.com/].