Freedom to Fail

This week's episode is my Year One episode with Amy Lund! She's seen massive growth and constantly had lines wrapped around the corner for her incredible sweet rolls from The Dough Lady. She knows a thing or two because she's seen a thing or two. And with all that experience, she was kind enough to talk to us about what she did when she launched and everything she would do in the first year if she were to restart today.
Some of the important action items for growth she discusses are:

• How to create a personal relationship with your customers to build brand loyalty
• The importance of creating easily replicable processes in order to manage labor costs and your time expense (your most valuable asset)

To learn specifically how she would do this, as well as many other amazing tips, listen to this episode now!
Also, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you can get immediate access to our new episodes as soon as they are released.

NOTE: This episode was recorded in May 2022 before the #utahcookiewars began. We stand behind Dirty Dough and Crave and the right to an open and competitive market. Cookies aren't meant to be divisive, they're meant to bring people together. Hopefully, we can get back to that as soon as possible and move away from silencing any newcomers.
And now back to the episode summary:
This week's Freedom to Fail episode is the second part of my interview with Bennett Maxwell. In this Year One segment we discuss what Bennett would do to get his business up and running if he were to start his cookie business from scratch again. Some of the things that he discusses the importance of are:

• Knowing your numbers (how to find out what your COGS should be)
• Creating a board of advisors (where to find them and who to look for)

There are plenty of other great tips for all you future entrepreneurs, so if you're looking to start a business then this the episode for you!
Also, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you can get immediate access to our new episodes as soon as they are released.

NOTE: This episode was recorded in May 2022 before the #utahcookiewars began. We stand behind Dirty Dough and Crave and the right to an open and competitive market. Cookies aren't meant to be divisive, they're meant to bring people together. Hopefully, we can get back to that as soon as possible and move away from silencing any newcomers.
And now back to the episode summary:
Anybody that knows me knows that I love baking. And I especially love baking cookies! Nothing beats coming up with a brand-new recipe myself and taste-testing it multiple times until I find the perfect flavor and consistency. Sometimes I don't have time to bake my own but still need to satisfy my sweet tooth, and that's where Dirty Dough comes in.
Dirty Dough is the world's newest cookie company, and they are absolutely amazing! Bennett Maxwell is the owner, and he has sold over 100 franchises of his company by focusing on what's on the inside. Their cookies are stuffed with delicious fillings (try the raspberry pop tart), but he also is passionate about focusing on what's going on inside of us as humans and helping the mental health pandemic that we are currently facing.
This episode was so much fun since I was in my element talking about baking. Bennett is an amazing guy, with an amazing business, and the cookies are delicious too! Hear more about Dirty Dough and his story in this week's episode of Freedom to Fail.
PS. If you're an entrepreneur or love learning business specifics, stay tuned next week for a new episode of Year One with Bennett, where he goes into the details of everything he would do in the first year if he started his business from scratch now.
LINKS
Episode Page
Freedom to Fail IG: Click Here
Dirty Dough Website: Click Here
Dirty Dough IG: Click Here
Bennett's IG: Click Here

What's the best part of Christmas morning? I guess I should clarify and say the best part of Christmas morning after presents. The clear and obvious answer to me is the food! In my family we always have delicious Christmas breakfasts. And one of the Christmas staples for many people are cinnamon rolls. They are delicious.
Amy Lund grew up baking with her mom. In her mom's words, "If you can read you can cook." She took that literally and starting baking as a child with her family, and really loved it. After her husband and her got married in 2020 they were looking for another way to make some money, and after flirting with the idea of salsa and the risks (botulism is bad), she started selling her extremely popular cinnamon rolls out of her house.
These days, she has a rotating menu of sweets rolls (blueberry lemon and fruity pebbles are the best combos) and actually was able to quit her job at the end of 2021 and start spending all her time on The Dough Lady. If you want to hear more of her story, or drool from how good all her baked goods sound, this is the episode for you!
LINKS
Episode Page: Click HereThe Dough Lady IG: Click Here
The Dough Lady Website: Click Here
Song - Addicted To You (Alexa Kate Henry): Click Here

Isaac Parkinson has been a really good friend of mine for over 10 years now. AND he was the original (and better, I might add) host of Freedom to Fail with me when I started on this journey a few years ago. Unfortunately for all of us who tune into this podcast, the company he started with a friend called SkinGrip started doing really well, and he needed to focus all of his time there, so he could no longer be my co-host.
That was 4 years ago, and now SkinGrip has thousands of reviews on Amazon, has a dedicated and passionate following, and has really grown to be an amazing company. This is what Isaac has been working on for years, and his success is well-deserved. One of his big beliefs is to work hard for at least 5 years to see if something will be successful, and I'm really happy that he has followed through on that to build something incredible.
Even with all that success, however, there have been bumps along the way - like when he had tens of thousands of units of product seized by the FDA. It hasn't been all smooth sailing, but he's always bounced back to find success in the face of challenges from the environment or that he unknowingly created (like the FDA incident). Find out what happened with that story, and a whole lot more, on this week's episode of Freedom to Fail!
SkinGrip Website: Click Here