Where it all began!

As a serial entrepreneur, I was looking for another business to start in the spring of 2018. My daughter was graduating from Auburn University in Auburn, AL, at the time, and my son was preparing to leave for his first year at NYU Shanghai. While moving her from Auburn back to Nebraska, her friend offered to make us breakfast before we got on the road. In addition to breakfast, he brought back some donuts from a local donut shop. Considering I have an aversion to sugar and am not a morning person, this wasn't appealing to me at the time. They were absolutely amazing! I couldn't get over the fact that we did not know about this donut shop during the four years she was there.

Fast forward a few months. Her friend texted me that the donut shop was for sale. I immediately shot down the idea for several reasons. I was not going to move to Alabama. I knew the bakery industry was labor intensive, grueling, and required mornings and SUGAR! No, thank you. God was telling me to do this. I don't know why, but I listened. As time passed, I called the owner. We visited, and before I knew it, I flew back to Auburn to see his business up close. I still wasn't convinced that this was the type of business I wanted to get into. After all, my experience with baking was limited to what I learned from my Czechoslovakian grandmother. Nothing professional. After months and months of flying to and from Auburn, thinking, analyzing, and visualizing, I decided to put in an offer, but not for his business. I was only interested in his main recipe and his equipment. I planned to recreate the entire thing and Elizabethtize it. I had all the equipment moved to Nebraska and put in a storage unit, where it sat for a year while I figured out what in the world I was going to do with this business idea.

I had no help. No partner to help me run it. I was going to fly solo and jump. Ironically enough, my son decided to come home from Shanghai in December 2018. (great timing, I think, with COVID hitting months later) He came on to help open and operate the business with me. The rest is history until COVID mandates hit two days after I opened to the public. I was forced to close down and retrain an entire staff to a concept unknown to the industry at the time. All I could do was pray. During this time, I was also dealing with my mother, who was in the ICU for five months. (not covid) taking care of her home and her finances. Then I had a house fire in June, was displaced for six months, and officing out of an apartment closet. I honestly thought the business was doomed.

On the contrary, Omaha showed up by the masses! Supporting local, supporting my new little donut shop. The challenges have not gotten easier, but the business is still here. After seeing the support, I wanted to share more of the journey of courage, perseverance, and faith. My new book, From Scratch, inspires you to incorporate each ingredient into your own recipe for happiness and success in business! I love my customers, staff, and community! I am excited to serve Omaha for years to come!