This Halloween, we’re taking you inside Columbus’s viral goth bakery—Bite This—where the bagels are skull-shaped, the playlists are heavy metal, and the owner, Annie Dixon, is redefining what it means to build a brand with bite.
In this raw and wildly fun conversation, Annie opens up about her journey from elder emo to entrepreneur — including the dark humor, brutal honesty, and radical self-acceptance that fuel her success.
You’ll hear:
- How Annie built Bite This, the goth bakery everyone’s lining up for
- The story behind her viral Skull “Reapers” and bagel bombs
- The truth about addiction, recovery, and rebuilding your life
- The business lessons she’s learning while scaling a cult favorite
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a creative, or just someone who loves a good comeback story — this one’s got layers. (Like a killer brownie.)
Connect with Annie:
Bite This: https://www.bitethisbyannie.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bitethisbyannie/
Connect with Keri:
Watch this episode: https://www.kericroft.com/podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekericroftshow
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:03):
Hey there, you beautiful badass, badass, bad.
Welcome to the Carrie CroftShow.
I'm your host, Carrie Croft.
Delivering you stories that getyou pumped up and feeling like
the unstoppable savage that youare.
So grab your coffee, put on yourgame face, and let's do this
thing, baby.
(00:26):
Avena Women's Care is acollective of 40-plus providers
that have been serving CentralOhio communities with
comprehensive women's healthcare for decades.
They meet women where they arein every phase of life.
From fertility services tomenopause care, annual checkups
to 3D mammography, Avenaprovides robust services for
all.
(00:46):
So for the highest level ofindividualized women's health
care, there's one name toremember: Avena Women's Care.
Go to www.avenawomen's care.comto request an appointment.
Be sure to tell them Carrie sentyou.
Ready to elevate your self-caregame?
Boscow Beauty Bar is a modernmed spa offering everything from
cosmetic injectables, lasers andmicroneedling to medical-grade
(01:10):
facials and skincare.
Conveniently located inClintonville, Grandview, Powell,
and Easton, making self-care apriority has never been easier.
Use code CROFT for$25 off yourfirst visit.
Hey Ohio! Thinking aboutsmoother, brighter skin?
Well, fall is the perfect timefor laser treatments.
With less sun and coolerweather, your skin heals
(01:33):
beautifully and you'll beglowing just in time for the
holidays, honey.
And here's the best part (01:37):
if you're a first-time client,
mention the Carrie Croft Showfor$100 off your first purchase.
Call today and book your falllaser treatment with the experts
at Donaldson.
Annie Dixon, welcome to theCarrie Croft Show.
Thank you for having me.
It's my pleasure.
It's my pleasure to have you.
So just so we can let the peopleat home know how you and I ended
(02:00):
up here.
Um, Miss Amy Joe Hamilton.
She's the connector.
She is.
She's so great.
So Amy Joe has been working withme in the B lab and she has been
connecting with Annie and someother people.
And so I reached out immediatelybecause I'm like, I need to know
who this entrepreneur is.
It has this incredible bakerycalled Bite This, and it has all
goth vibes.
(02:21):
So I just, I'm just happy you'rehere.
We can kind of like peel backwhat you're doing and who you
are and have a little fun.
SPEAKER_00 (02:27):
Yeah.
Thanks so much for having me.
And shout out to Amy Joe,because she's the bomb.
SPEAKER_01 (02:31):
She is the bomb, isn't she?
She's really cool.
You know, I love when someone isjust like the anti-gatekeeper.
You literally know they just arethere to improve the atmosphere,
help other people, and they justwant to have a good experience
and bring people together.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:46):
Yeah.
She's one of my classmates thatshe's in my direct like team,
but we hit it off really quick.
And it's like, yeah, everybodyjust help each other out and
let's see how many connectionswe can make through the whole
process.
Yeah.
They're great.
SPEAKER_01 (03:01):
So bite this.
You already have a little, Idon't know if you have goth
vibes.
You have like a hot, not afraidto like get tatted up and like
dye your hair.
Like you have a cool vibe goingon.
Thanks.
But it says goth bakery.
SPEAKER_00 (03:14):
It it does say goth bakery, but I feel like we have
to use that term loosely thesedays because there are the
people that are like, you're notgoth.
SPEAKER_01 (03:23):
You're so mid.
You're not goth.
I'll show you goth.
SPEAKER_00 (03:27):
Can we curse on here?
So I don't, you know, it's like,okay, maybe that's the broadest
term to describe it, but it'snot just like we're not just
wearing our platform boots andwearing like white face makeup.
You know, like it's all black.
It's not your typical like pinkcovered in sprinkles bakery.
We play heavy metal all thetime.
(03:47):
Like truly, it's just Annie in abakery.
SPEAKER_01 (03:52):
Yeah.
So you just always been sort ofinto metal and goth, and like
that's how you grew up.
SPEAKER_00 (03:59):
It is how I'm definitely an emo kid.
I'm an el elder emo.
And I was the black sheep in allthroughout middle school and
high school.
Like I was the kid listening tolike Tori Amos and Nine Inch
Nails while all my classmateswere listening to Lil Wayne, you
know?
Um, and I grew up in like thesuper preppy, like old money
(04:22):
town.
And I just did I stuck out likea sore thumb.
Like I was just the weird kid.
And it was hard being that, butalso like trying to fit in at
the same time.
And so finally, as I grew up andgot older, I realized, fuck
this, dude.
Like, I don't want to be likeany of you.
(04:44):
I'm I love the things that Ilove.
I always wanted to be tattooedand you know, artsy and all
that.
And so as I got older, I justdove headfirst into all those
things that I always reallyloved and then made sure that I
was loud and proud about it.
SPEAKER_01 (05:01):
Were you depressed growing up that because you
didn't fit in, or how did thatwork?
SPEAKER_00 (05:04):
Like, yeah, I definitely went through like
huge depressive episodes, andnot to get too heavy with it,
but you know, a couple attemptshere and there as a teenager,
and um my mom struggled withdepression as well.
Um, so it was something that,you know, I was on a United
Presence, and then um, you know,once high school was over and I
(05:29):
graduated, moved out on my own,and started kind of like coming
into myself.
I um had gotten off of the medsand everything for a long time.
Um, and now right back on it.
SPEAKER_01 (05:45):
You're like, this is no fun.
Let's get right back on.
SPEAKER_00 (05:48):
Dude, I'm uh I'm sure if you've scrolled through
my social media, I'm super openabout mental health and
sobriety.
And it's just like you gothrough seasons in your life,
and it's like totally fine ifyou need a little help to just
get through the big sad.
And I'm very open about that,like with the stress of owning a
(06:10):
business and all that itentails.
SPEAKER_01 (06:13):
Yeah.
Let's talk about the sobriety.
What was your your vice?
SPEAKER_00 (06:17):
Uh, wine.
SPEAKER_01 (06:18):
Really?
unknown (06:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (06:19):
So would you say you're an alcoholic?
SPEAKER_00 (06:21):
Oh, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (06:21):
Okay.
Yeah.
What was your when did you justdecide like, okay, this is it?
I can't do this anymore.
SPEAKER_00 (06:26):
I have been sober for three, it was three years in
July.
Um, and I knew for a long timethat I had a problem, but I kept
trying to like moderate or cutback.
And, you know, when you'redrinking so heavily, the people
that you're around are alsodrinking heavily, and they don't
(06:49):
want to admit that they've got aproblem.
So all the people that I talkedto about it were like, no, you
don't, you're fine.
You just need to cut back alittle bit.
And I was like, not physicallyable to do that.
I'm definitely a Pringles canwhen it comes to alcohol.
Like once you pop, the fun don'tstop until I'm fucking blacked
out or whatever.
(07:09):
And so um, my husband wasstationed in England for a
little bit, and my son and Iwent over there to live with him
for the summer, and you know,drinking culture in the UK is
crazy.
They there is no limits on daytime that you it's acceptable to
(07:30):
drink.
So I just went balls to thewalls.
And I ended up staying, I wouldalways stay up later than the
boys, drinking on my own.
And then I ended up trying to goup to bed one night and fell on
the stairs, and I like knockedmyself out, bled all over the
(07:50):
stairs, um, and woke up I don'tknow how much longer later, and
just kind of stumbled my way tothe bed.
Um, but surprisingly, thatwasn't the rock bottom moment.
I kept drinking, came home andwas sober for a little bit, and
then had these like bits ofsobriety where I'd go for a long
(08:15):
time and then try to moderateagain.
And the second that I got backon it, I realized there's no
fucking way that I could, youknow, limit my alcohol intake.
Um, and so finally I woke up onJuly 2nd three years ago, and I
was like, I cannot feel likethis anymore.
Like, I cannot be hungover.
I've started my business, it'skind of taking off.
(08:38):
I can't do this.
And I just cold turkey.
SPEAKER_01 (08:41):
And the wine buzz, the wine hangover, man.
Dude.
How how much were you drinking,do you think, at your at your
peak per day?
SPEAKER_00 (08:48):
Probably three bottles a night.
unknown (08:51):
Jesus.
SPEAKER_01 (08:52):
Yeah, and it's it's crazy how it gets to that,
right?
Because in like in yourrationale, and it's like, well,
one bottle is only like threeglasses, and then you're like,
oh, it's just a bottle, and nextnext thing you know, you're
three bottles of deep.
You're gonna kill yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (09:06):
Yeah.
I would for a long time I drinklike a box, and I'd go through
like three boxes a week.
Because you're not like, andthen I switched to the bottles
thinking, like, oh, that'll helpme moderate.
But then it was like, no, I'lljust get six bottles at a time,
and it'll last two days, andthen I'll go back to the store.
SPEAKER_01 (09:26):
How um how old was your son when you were in when
the the time that you fell?
SPEAKER_00 (09:31):
So he just turned 10, so he would have been seven.
SPEAKER_01 (09:34):
Okay, and what a gift for him.
SPEAKER_00 (09:37):
Yeah.
And he still remembers like thecrazy drinking nights.
And I mean, it wasn't anythinglike he's in danger, but you
know, we'd be out in somebody'sgarage till wee hours of the
night drinking and smoking andwhatever.
And uh my husband got sober withme the exact same time.
(09:57):
Um, because I think he knew thatI wouldn't be able to do it if
he was drinking.
Um so yeah, I mean, I think heis very grateful for two parents
that don't drink at all.
SPEAKER_01 (10:10):
What an incredible thing for you guys to do
together.
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (10:14):
It was good.
SPEAKER_01 (10:15):
That's amazing.
It had to be so helpful for yourrelationship too.
Like to be able to, I mean, hardprobably too, yeah, in moments,
because dealing with sobriety orsomething like that on your own
is hard enough.
And then having to manage bothof your cravings and rationale.
And did you guys go to therapyor how did you do it?
SPEAKER_00 (10:32):
No, um, it was cold turkey for both of us.
And I think um we probablyshould have gone to therapy like
right at the beginning.
Um, but with how, you know,adamant I am about mental
health, it's hindsight lookingback, definitely.
We should have gone straight totherapy and worked out any
(10:54):
issues that we had had from thepast because with alcohol,
you're essentially just numbingall of your feelings and
emotions and not talking throughthings in a healthy way.
So it would be, you know, asmall problem happens and we
don't talk about it, and it likejust grows into this huge thing
and finally boils over, and thenit's just this big fight.
(11:15):
Um, so immediately, even withoutgoing to therapy and having
somebody to talk to, we foundhealthier ways to communicate
with each other.
And the longer that we've beensober, the healthier and the
better that has gotten for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
When you have a craving, because you probably
still get them, right?
Where you're like, and I knowmaybe like when red wine season
comes around, like the air getsa little bit cooler or there's a
fireplace or whatever, how doyou do you just like play the
tape where you're like, what'sthis gonna look like?
SPEAKER_00 (11:46):
And then you Yes, I think that's definitely like the
uh best coping mechanism for anyalcoholic or anybody in recovery
is like, how do I how's thisgonna be in the morning if I
choose to drink?
Um but now I feel like for me mycravings will come.
(12:12):
And it's only been a coupletimes that it's been like
really, really bad, where I'mlike, I and it was last year
during like a super depressiveepisode that I was like, I'm
fuck it, I'm just gonna drink.
My husband was gone on a rockclimbing trip, I was by myself,
my son was at mymother-in-law's.
I was like, nobody would know.
Nobody would know if I picked upa bottle on the way home and
(12:34):
just got shit faced tonight.
Um but I play the tape forward,I know I'm gonna feel like
garbage, I'd be throwing awaythree years of super hard work,
but also I have so many peoplethat I would disappoint.
And I think that more thananything else, knowing that so
(12:54):
many people look up to me andyou know, see me as a whatever
you want to call it, amotivation or something, I could
not live with myself if I letthose people down.
SPEAKER_01 (13:11):
You know, you taking to social media on TikTok and
Instagram and talking, becauseyou know, it's it's really cool
because it's like on one hand,you're like, okay, you have this
bakery, but it's also edgy.
And so it's like this whole vibeand brand.
But how has that impacted yoursobriety and like how many
people probably come to youlike, oh my God, me too?
SPEAKER_00 (13:32):
Yeah.
All the time.
Uh and those are the people thatI think about when a craving
hits, because it's like, no, Ican't.
Like anytime, and I didn't do itquite all quite as often anymore
as I did in the beginning,because obviously the
beginning's super hard, right?
Um, but now when I share aboutit, each time I talk about my
(13:54):
sobriety, I have 10, 12, 15people either come through the
shop because they're shopping,come to me at the market, see me
at Target or whatever, and thankme for being so open and
vulnerable about it because it'snot something that people talk
about a lot.
It's becoming more so.
(14:15):
Um, but it's a hard thing totalk about, right?
And, you know, I think I I'm notgonna take responsibility for
other people's sobriety.
They did that work on their own,but I always said from the
beginning if I could motivate orencourage one person to put down
the bottle, it would be worthbeing uncomfortable for a couple
(14:36):
minutes.
And I know that it's been waymore than that.
SPEAKER_01 (14:40):
Oh, I guarantee it has.
That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (14:42):
Thank you.
Yeah, I'll continue sharingbecause it's it's I mean, it's
it's really it's funny.
SPEAKER_01 (14:48):
It's like no matter what, this is just my opinion,
but no matter what you'rebuilding in terms of the
business, it's really the storyunderneath it that draws people
in.
Yeah.
And so I think like that's onlyso much more powerful for you to
be continuing to tell that storyno matter what you're doing.
Yeah.
Whether it's baking or you endedup doing something different,
(15:10):
like it's that's reallypowerful.
It really is.
I love it.
Thank you.
Um so speaking of the bakery, soclearly you love to bake.
SPEAKER_00 (15:18):
Yeah, a little.
SPEAKER_01 (15:19):
And so you baked with your grandma, you grew up
baking, you're good at it, andyou're like, oh, let's open up a
shop.
SPEAKER_00 (15:26):
Uh in in the nutshell, I guess.
Um I struggled with food a lotwhen I was younger.
I was a very overweight kid.
Um, and I feel like growing upin the South, it's kind of hard
to like learn great eatinghabits.
(15:49):
Um, so if we're going back tothe beginning, I um yes, had all
those really awesome memorieswith my grandparents, with my
grandma, uh, and learned how tocook, learned how to bake with
them.
Um over ate, like it was my job.
And then in 2013, uh I hadgastric bypass and lost a ton of
(16:15):
weight.
Um, I wanted to be healthy inorder to bring a child into the
world.
That was like my main goal islike I don't want to set my kid
up with the same habits that Ihad because I can't learn how to
eat properly.
Um and so maybe a year and ahalf into that, I'd lost a ton
of weight.
I kind of started having I hadto relearn how to eat, right?
(16:39):
Um and while I did that, I alsowas adamant about not losing all
the things that I reallyenjoyed.
So I m started baking again.
My husband was deployed, and Ineeded somewhere to or something
to do with all these things thatI baked.
(16:59):
Um and so I would start givingthem away.
And I gave away sea saltchocolate chip cookies and
brownies to my neighbors and myfriends, and it just
authentically grew into thislike, oh, well, you know, we're
having a birthday party, let'sask Annie to do the cake, or
we're having a cookout, let'shave Annie bring brownies or
bring dessert.
Um, and so finally I was like,some my friends encouraged me.
(17:24):
They were like, you should likeyou could probably do something
with this.
I was like, nah, it's fine.
Like I loved being astay-at-home mom.
Yeah, I did.
Um and but I said to the my 500followers at the time, I was
like, hey, would you guys likeif I opened a shop, would you
(17:45):
come?
And it was a resounding yes.
Um, but obviously I didn't havethe means to do it at the time,
so I just started sharingrecipes and stuff on Instagram,
and um, I made charcuterieboards for a long time and sold
those.
So yeah, it was like this veryauthentic like growth to where
(18:08):
it is now.
Nothing was ever really likeforced, it just kind of
happened.
How much weight did you lose?
A hundred and thirty pounds?
That's just that's a wholedifferent life.
Yeah, for sure.
And I'm very like, I'm very nodiet culture now.
(18:30):
Um, which seems kind of weird topreach about being in the
position I'm in, but I am superbody positive.
No matter what size you are,this was the right journey for
me.
Um, I couldn't keep up with myhusband.
I couldn't do the things that Ireally wanted to do.
Um, and once I started getting alittle bit of energy, that's
(18:51):
just when like I hit the fuckingground running and I couldn't
stop doing what I was doing.
Um, but I'm really like in theshop, it's like you don't talk
about how many calories you'reconsuming with this brownie or
this cookie.
I don't want ever want people tothink like that because what
(19:11):
I've learned from it is that Ican eat whatever I want, right?
Everything in moderation, exceptfor alcohol, that's a no.
Right.
Um, but yeah, it's just likeI've learned the habits that are
good for me and where I need tobe in my life.
Um, and I just want to encourageeverybody to do the same for
(19:32):
themselves, whether it's youneed a little treat, come get a
fucking cookie, dude.
SPEAKER_01 (19:37):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:38):
I'm not gonna tell you not to eat it.
And if anybody in line behindyou is bitching about the amount
of calories in it, I'm gonnatell them to shut the fuck up.
And I do it all the time.
SPEAKER_01 (19:45):
Do you?
Yeah.
Good.
Yeah.
You're kind of like you havelike the soup Nazi vibe, but
only like a bite this vibe, likewhere it's like you could tell
somebody what's up.
You're like, this ain't yourgrandma's bakery.
Right.
Okay, this is an edgy bakeryhere that we got going on.
What's your favorite thing tomake?
unknown (19:59):
Oh.
SPEAKER_01 (20:00):
The bagel thing I was reading about, I'm like, oh,
what in the hell is this?
SPEAKER_00 (20:04):
It's uh the I love the bagel bombs, they're great.
They're definitely the thingthat put me on the map.
Like, once I stopped, I stoppedmaking charcuterie boards
because I was like, oh shit,nobody's gonna come in and buy a
fucking cheese tray, like allthe time.
Um, so my goal was let's findsomething that you want to come
(20:24):
in to see me every day on yourway to work or whatever.
And so the bagel bomb was born,and um, I put that on the
internet and it just fuckingtook off.
Um, so I'd say that's probablywhat put me on the map.
Um, my favorite thing to makeit's like you know, asking the
(20:46):
chef their favorite dish.
It's so hard because it changesall the time.
Yeah.
I would say right now I'm in abig like cookie brownie phase.
I'm always in a cookie browniephase, but I love coming up with
super weird combinations for anykind of baked good.
SPEAKER_01 (21:01):
So, what's your vision right now?
Like, what do you want this tomanifest into?
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
It's such a loaded question.
Um so where I'm at Amy Joe inour uh Goldman Sachs class, our
whole goal for the class is tofigure out what our growth
opportunity is, where we want togo, what we want to do.
And mine was very quick tofigure out because I've been
(21:32):
busting at the seams in thespace I'm in for at least six
months.
It's a 670 square foot space.
It's very small.
We've got a line that goes outthe door and down the block.
SPEAKER_01 (21:43):
Which is really cool, though.
SPEAKER_00 (21:44):
It's awesome, and I'm super grateful for it.
But with the viral virality ofthe business comes the negatives
to it.
Right, correct.
Right.
Um, and so people get mad at mefor sure all the time because
they're like, they're fuckingsold out by 12 o'clock every
day, and it's reallydiscouraging.
I can't get anything that Iwant.
I'm like, I'm trying, I promise.
(22:05):
That's so great.
It's great.
Oh no, it really is.
It's a good problem to have, butI just need more space.
So the goal is expand, whetherthat be the space that I'm in or
going to a new space.
Um, I fucking love Clintonville.
I really don't want to leave,but I need triple the amount of
(22:25):
space that I have.
SPEAKER_01 (22:26):
So would you leave would you would you open up a
second space or would you needto leave here and then just have
one bigger space that's onebigger space.
SPEAKER_00 (22:34):
I something that I have been advised from plenty of
people in the service industrythat I value their opinions a
lot is don't grow too fast andstay as small as you can for as
long as you can.
And I know that staying smallisn't an option for me.
(22:57):
Um but I I think that thespecialness wears off when you
have like five locations, youknow, like bite this is so
special.
And it's not just a bakery, it'ssuch a community, and I don't
think that we would have thesame vibe as with two or three
(23:20):
locations as we do with one.
SPEAKER_01 (23:24):
You I disagree.
Really?
Oh yeah, I totally disagree.
I think with your um, and thisis my humble opinion, yeah.
I think that's up to you.
Yeah.
Right.
So I mean, there there'sdifferent ways to slice this.
Okay, if you went and franchisedbite this willy-nilly and just
kind of like threw it to thewolves, yes, the brand would get
(23:45):
diluted and it would lose what'sspecial.
Having three locations in thecity of Columbus, while there
are a lot of logistics there, alot of growing pains, that is
very much well within yourcontrol to own that brand.
SPEAKER_00 (24:01):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (24:01):
I I absolutely think that you could do that.
I'm not saying do it tomorrow,but don't sell yourself short.
Okay.
And I would argue with thatperson to say stay as small as
you can for as long as you can,honey.
And then I mean, I mean, there'sa balance there, right?
Like for sure.
You know, I think you have areally cool, like what I love
about it.
(24:22):
I mean, after sitting here withyou, obviously I really like
you, and I can totally see likeI want to do, how can I help?
How can I, who can I like?
I'm like, I fucking love you.
Like I you have that, right?
Thank you.
But cut out the emotional part,looking at it from a business
perspective.
This is very much different interms of a bakery.
Like a bakery is very sweet andairy and and no cussing and
(24:47):
Sunday morning donuts andsprinkles, and like you have
cornered something.
I'm not saying that there'snothing else out there.
I don't know.
I haven't researched.
I when I think of this in mybrain, it's very original and
it's very authentically you.
And so you absolutely canharness that in a c a handful of
locations and crush the shit outof it.
SPEAKER_00 (25:08):
Maybe I maybe I do sell myself short a little bit.
I think probably because I getnervy.
SPEAKER_01 (25:14):
Well, here's the thing, you know, that I will
argue to anyone, I don't carewho they are.
No one knows.
Like there, like, so so we canall like there can be two
things.
You could stay tight in the budand stay with one location and
be great and be super authentic,right?
But you could also go down.
There's no wrong.
Right.
The only thing that you'd bewrong in is like stopping.
(25:35):
Right.
So it's all really what feelsgood in your intuition and what
you think you're capable ofdoing.
Stress and inflammation take atoll on your body and your
wellness.
Relax, restore, and rejuvenateat Panacea Luxury Spa Boutique.
Book any service of$100 or moreand enjoy two hours in our
luxury amenities.
(25:56):
Unwind in our Himalayan saltsaunas, recharge in our wet
retreat space with a eucalyptussteam room, hot hydrotherapy
pool, and cold plunge.
Then drift into deep relaxationwith our hanging loungers.
What's your panacea?
We'll help you find it.
Who says you need a specialoccasion to feel like a celeb?
(26:18):
I mean, stress is real, life isbusy, and your scalp?
Yeah, it deserves some love too.
That's where Headspace by MiaSantiago comes in.
Treat yourself or someone whodeserves it to a luxurious scalp
treatment and a killer blowoutor cut because nothing says main
character energy, honey, like afresh style from celebrity
stylist Mia and her team.
(26:39):
And because we love a good deal,mention the Carrie Croft show
and get 20% off your service orany gift card for somebody in
your life that you love.
Headspace by Mia Santiago,because great hair days
shouldn't be rare.
SPEAKER_00 (26:54):
My like long-term vision would be another
location, but I'm not thinkingin Columbus.
Um, but I have to do a lot ofresearch on that.
My husband thinks I'm crazy.
SPEAKER_01 (27:06):
Well, so that but the thing about it is, going
back to what you just said, it'sa lot easier for you to control
from here.
Right.
So if I would like my opinion onthat would be, yeah, you do
another one here.
Yeah.
Because you can drive there,because you you have control.
And it really is like when yougo out of market, yeah, it's a
(27:28):
whole nother game.
Right.
Not that you couldn't crush itin Nashville or like wherever.
Yeah, for sure.
But like replicate it here inyour home base.
Figure out how to do it.
Prove to yourself that, oh wait,hold on.
I just did a second one, andguess what?
The brand is even it's bangingeven more than ever.
You know, and then okay, nowmaybe, maybe we can step out.
SPEAKER_00 (27:47):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:48):
I would definitely experiment in in this market.
SPEAKER_00 (27:50):
Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (27:51):
Just for your insanity.
SPEAKER_00 (27:53):
Yeah.
And I probably do get reallylike I I just go fucking huge
with everything in my brain.
And I think probably that's whyI'm just like, no, fuck having
multiple locations in Columbus.
Let's go to Salem,Massachusetts.
Like, I just I think I probablygo a little like far-fetched
(28:14):
with things first, and then Ihave to reel myself in.
Um, so yeah, no, I don'tdisagree that it could it could
be special.
I just worry about like two, Idon't know, you know, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:27):
There's all kinds of worries.
Yeah.
You don't strike me as someonethough that would let the the
brand or the culture um take aback seat.
Absolutely.
You know, especially with ahandful of locations.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (28:38):
I'm so I I've even said, you know, there's people
from all over the world thatwant me to franchise or
whatever.
And I'm like, fuck no, I'm notdoing that because I would have
to be hands-on with everything.
The art, the way that it looks.
Like it's so much, and I'm nottalking like it's just like me
(29:01):
in a nutshell, like everythingabout this business is Annie.
Nobody else can do it.
It wouldn't be able to bereplicated by another person.
Um, so I would I would beadamant about like you can run
it, but I'm going to doliterally everything.
(29:23):
But that's franchise model.
Yeah.
Is it?
SPEAKER_01 (29:28):
Have somebody run it.
So basically the franchise modelis you, it's it's like people
call it like a business in abox.
So you if you want total controlover the brand and the way it
looks, you basically, andthere's a lot of upfront work
that goes into building thefranchise, but then you sell it
to someone and they have to doeverything the way that you have
(29:51):
it written.
Now, I mean, that's easier saidthan done, right?
So when you have a hundredlocations, 500 locations, like
things can get lost, right?
I don't necessarily know thatfranchise.
Would be the way I would go withyou.
But yeah, I mean, I coulddefinitely see with a couple
locations.
One in UA, maybe.
SPEAKER_00 (30:08):
Okay.
Right next to my house.
You think I fit in UpperErlington?
SPEAKER_01 (30:12):
No, that's what's amazing.
That's what I would love aboutit.
SPEAKER_00 (30:15):
I don't, I think they'd be pissed off.
SPEAKER_01 (30:16):
No, I don't think so.
There's a lot of cool people inUA.
SPEAKER_00 (30:18):
Really?
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (30:19):
Don't sleep on UA.
Okay.
And I'm telling you, you wouldcrush it in UA.
SPEAKER_00 (30:24):
I don't I haven't looked honestly at any other
area of town yet because I wasoh I was adamant about
Clintonville when I opened thisone.
It's a great fit.
It's just wonky.
Mm-hmm.
It's so fucking weird.
Eclectic and I love it.
Yeah.
Um, so yeah, I I'm I haven'tlooked at anywhere else yet.
SPEAKER_01 (30:43):
So what are you trying to do?
Like what where are the gaps orwhat are the like puzzles you're
trying to solve right now whereyou're like, man, I wish I could
increase sales here, or I wishwe could like I Amy had
mentioned something about OhioState tailgates, like that you
were trying to like get maybemore like what's the sports
ball?
SPEAKER_00 (31:03):
It's the thing of my existence.
Is it?
Yes, I fucking hate it.
I mean, uh don't get don't killme.
No.
Um it's like and I think manysmall business owners would
agree with me when it comes tofootball season.
Uh you die on Saturdays.
It's such a hurdle to try andovercome because of the nuts,
(31:26):
right?
Um if there's noon game, you'redead all day.
If there's three o'clock game,you're dead at noon.
Like finding ways, and thisisn't my number one hurdle, but
it's definitely something thatI'm working on is like, how can
we get people in the door?
Because no matter how dedicatedor how gung ho my fan base or
(31:49):
clientele is, sports comes on,and you know, everybody knows
the whole city is dead.
So we started doing these sportsball catering packages, uh,
which I need to push more, butum we're it's like you know, a
pre-sale kind of thing.
You get like mini reapers shapedlike skulls or stuff with like
(32:10):
buffalo chicken, stuff likethat, cookies, brownies, and
snack mix um to pick up and justgo take to your tailgate or
wherever you are.
Um, and we are thinking aboutdoing like on the Michigan game
day, um, because we know we'regonna be, there's not a soul is
gonna come into that building onthe Michigan game day.
(32:31):
Um so we're gonna open at like 6a.m.
and close at noon, have coffeeand all sorts of fun treats,
probably sausage, biscuits, andgravy like from scratch that you
can come get and like tailgatebefore you go sit down and watch
the game.
Um so we're always trying tofind shit like that to do that's
like, you know, it it we may besuper exciting, but what can we
(32:55):
throw in that's gonna like makepeople get out of bed, come to
see us before they go doanything else?
Yeah.
It's always a struggle.
SPEAKER_01 (33:03):
Do you do like scarlet and gray stuff?
SPEAKER_00 (33:09):
No, I do Buckeye steamed things.
SPEAKER_01 (33:12):
So you refuse?
SPEAKER_00 (33:13):
I don't I wouldn't say so.
Zane is my manager and love him.
He's been with me for threeyears.
He was my first employee.
And he is probably the oneperson that can tell me things
that I and my husband that I'lllisten to.
Um so for this like monster mashtailgate thing that we're doing,
I was like, Can we haveballoons?
Because I'm vibes and whimsy allthe time.
(33:35):
Like, I don't, I don't care.
I'm like, I don't care how muchit costs, let's just get
balloons.
And I was like, we can haveblack and gray balloons, right?
And he's like, What if we putsome red balloons in there?
And I was like, no, God.
And then a little while later, Iwas like, fine, we can do it.
It's fine.
I just like it's not my thing,you know?
(33:55):
And I I don't like to bend tofit other people's expectations
or you know, whatever.
SPEAKER_01 (34:03):
I totally I mean, listen, I have mad respect for
that.
SPEAKER_00 (34:06):
I'll do it, but I'm not gonna be happy about it.
SPEAKER_01 (34:09):
Yeah, you know.
I mean, can't we do like askelet, like a brutist skeleton?
Like, you know, can't you likebend like mix the worlds where
you're like appealing to thatcrazy ass Ohio State fan, but
still feeling a little bit.
SPEAKER_00 (34:22):
So what I'll do is I'll instead of be getting like
instead of getting like superOhio State about it, I lean
heavy into the Buckeye.
SPEAKER_01 (34:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:32):
Cause, you know, everybody fucking loves a
buckeye.
Yeah.
Um, so we do a lot of, and I'm apeanut butter addict.
Um, so anything that we can dothat's like Buckeye esque or
buckeye themed, like we'll throwit out there.
We've got puppy chow bars, we'vegot like um uh I can't say this
(34:53):
word without getting like sued.
Um peanut butter cup brownies.
Oh yeah, right?
Peanut butter cup brownies.
Um we do all sorts of stuff, andit's very like Ohio State,
right?
But it's not Ohio.
SPEAKER_01 (35:11):
Yeah.
So what is your biggest hurdlethen if you had to pick one
right now?
SPEAKER_00 (35:14):
Oh, right now.
Your biggest I mean I've I havemassive growing pains right now.
Um honestly the space is thebiggest thing.
Uh that's been our problem forsix months and will continue to
be our problem until I can findthe dollar bucks to do it.
Um, and that's what I'm workingon the most is number one, where
(35:38):
do I go?
How much square footage do Ineed?
Because if I just doubled myspace, we'd get into it and
already be outgrown today.
Like if I went to 1200 squarefeet today, I would be done with
it in two months.
What do you need?
Like 25?
I would say probably 25, maybethree.
So I'm kind of trying to likecalculate my cost per square
foot and figure out like whatwhat is the best size for me to
(36:02):
be able to be where I need tobe, but also grow into because
it's not stopping anytime soon.
SPEAKER_01 (36:08):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:08):
Um, it's just gonna get bigger and bigger.
So I'd love to have space forcake classes and supper clubs
and all these fun things that Ihave in my like manic brain that
I want to be able to offer to mycustomers.
But uh right now we just there'sno fucking way.
SPEAKER_01 (36:26):
Are you like scouring with like an uh broker?
SPEAKER_00 (36:29):
I have a realtor that I've talked to.
Um, but I'm waiting to getthrough this class and get all
of my like finances like superin order to take to the bank.
Um, I did an SBA loan when Iopened up this um spot, and I'm
able to like still pull fromthat, but it's not a ton, right?
(36:53):
Like this is gonna be$500,000minimum, probably, of a
renovation because you've got toupdate equipment, hoods, like
and commercial kitchen equipmentis not cheap cheap.
So, really honestly, money, Iguess, is my biggest hurdle.
It's like figuring out thesmartest way to do it and also
still be like within my means, Iguess.
(37:16):
Like how big can I get withoutgoing bankrupt?
Yeah, right.
Which I, you know, it's scary tothink about.
SPEAKER_01 (37:24):
No, it's really scary.
I mean,$500,000 is not Trumpchange.
Right.
No.
So you gotta make sure it'sgonna support that.
SPEAKER_00 (37:31):
For sure.
And so I just, yeah, that's thebiggest thing.
It's like I know for sure thatmy personally, my biggest thing
that I need to get a grasp on isnumbers.
It's always been my number onething that I struggle with.
I haven't looked at a cash flowor a balance statement since the
day that I started until lastmonth when I started this class.
(37:53):
Um, so I'm really putting in thework right now to figure it all
out so that I can see for myselfwhat are we capable of?
What's our projections?
Where do we want to be in fiveyears?
Like I've I've realized veryquickly how big this can be.
(38:14):
And I don't think there's reallya limit on it.
I think it can be as big as Iwant it to be because I don't
there may be one or two otheralternative subculture goth
bakeries in the United States,but there's only one you.
There's only one me.
And it's I think just takenover.
SPEAKER_01 (38:34):
Yeah.
I mean, and it can be as big asyou want it to be.
I'd love to hear you say that.
Um it's funny, I just startedthis new email, like weekly
email, where I kind of pulltogether all of everything
happening in the B lab world andwhat I'm doing.
And one of the things I talkedabout on Friday was financial
literacy and just building SOSand like how important it is to
(39:00):
check yourself on the numbers.
Like you want to bake, you wantto be with people, you want to
do your thing.
And like when you say numbers,it's like, well, I don't like
the numbers or I'm not good atthe numbers.
That's everyone's defaultanswer.
And so we ignore them.
It's like anything else, right?
That we don't want to deal with.
Yeah.
And it is so, so important toput things in place.
(39:21):
And I'm so happy to hear yousaying you're doing that because
you're doing it at a time whereit's somewhat manageable.
And what we always did was, youknow, first of all, any kind of
financial, any kind of creditcard swipe, any kind of expense
was always classed and it wastransparent and owned.
So you couldn't like sneak, andthat may not be a thing now, but
(39:44):
like as you grow, hiring abookkeeper outside that is not a
part, not an employee.
Um, we would talk to her.
I probably talk to her like, Imean, every week, but on a
monthly basis, you talk aboutanomalies, you talk about
trends, you talk about what'scoming, you talk about things
that you need, you know, askbetter questions.
(40:05):
Yeah.
And then you obviously have youraccountant that helps you with
how do you like look like youmade the least amount of money
as possible, right?
For taxes, and then any kind offuture proofing, any kind of you
know, smart shit like retirementand all that, and then always
having a baseline of cash.
SPEAKER_00 (40:21):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (40:22):
There is like there is a number that we never went
under, not a dollar.
And those are like kind of likethe fencing or the policing,
where it's like, okay, it's notfun.
No, but when you get in thatrhythm and you kind of have
those rails, it's freeing.
SPEAKER_00 (40:39):
Yes.
Yeah.
I'd say even just within weeksof paying more attention to
this.
I mean, I was I hadn't paidmyself in three fucking years.
Because I always just rolled itall right back in.
Um I started reading myclassmates suggested this to me,
(41:00):
reading the book Profit First byMike something.
Um but even just with the class,I'm just like, uh there's no
reason why I shouldn't be payingmyself.
Um and so, you know, supertransparent moment there, but I
just like I was so blackoutfocused on growth that I just
(41:20):
rolled every penny right backinto it.
And uh I do a lot of work.
SPEAKER_01 (41:25):
Oh, for sure.
But I but I feel you on thattoo.
SPEAKER_00 (41:28):
Yeah, it's just totally like I worried so much
about you know not having enoughcoffers to be able to buy the
new oven or whatever that I ameventually going to need, right?
Like something's alwaysbreaking, something needs
maintenance at all times.
So I just like would squirreleverything away so that I made
(41:50):
sure I could cover those things.
SPEAKER_01 (41:53):
So yeah, and I think I wouldn't say that's a bad
thing.
No.
I think I think, you know, yeah,carving out something, but
you're reinvesting in yourself.
Yes.
So it's you know, like I don'tknow.
I kind of have a a very flexiblefeel on that because I also,
like, even as I'm buildingeverything I'm building now,
like I don't necessarily paymyself.
I'll do like something on theside, like let's say I'll um pay
(42:16):
for my spa or something.
I'll do like little things.
I won't, I don't take a salary,I don't take a pay check.
I'd rather pay like and reinvestand do the things and then you
know that you're playing thelong game.
Right.
For sure.
But there is fear.
Yeah.
There you have to fight thescarcity mindset of like, oh my
God, do I have any money left?
Yeah.
What's happening?
What's what's going on?
(42:37):
Well, I personally love that Iknow about you now.
I didn't know.
I just didn't know.
And now I do.
And I'm gonna make sureeverybody else knows.
Well, thank you.
In my orbit, not that you needit, it doesn't sound like you
need the help.
SPEAKER_00 (42:49):
Oh man.
SPEAKER_01 (42:50):
You gotta lie, you gotta line out to freaking high
street.
SPEAKER_00 (42:53):
But you know what?
I worry all the time that itcould just go away tomorrow.
I think everybody worries that.
Yeah.
So it's like always trying tostay relevant within our means,
right?
It's not like, you know, we'retrying to be trendy or anything,
but it's, you know, what newexciting thing can we throw out
next?
(43:13):
Um, what can we put on the menunext month that is gonna be what
people want, you know?
Um, but yeah, it's all it'ssuper fun.
I love what I do.
I wouldn't trade it foranything.
If it all just went awaytomorrow, I'd still be cooking,
baking at home, and sharing iton the internet with everybody.
SPEAKER_01 (43:31):
So one more quick one more business question.
Have you talked about or toanyone or have you thought about
like any kind of like consumerpackaged goods where you like
package it and sell it to like aWhole Foods or a like you know,
outside of I mean it wouldn't betomorrow.
SPEAKER_00 (43:48):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (43:48):
But kind of like the Jenny's model where you know she
has the shop, the shop.
Yo, shout out shout out to thequeen.
And then next thing you know,they're going into you know the
fruit that your grocer'sfreezer.
SPEAKER_00 (43:59):
Yeah, um, I would say um Ginny has been a huge
inspiration for me within mybusiness for sure, because I
kind of like started my wholemodel off of the Ginny's vibe,
like rotating monthly menu, andwe're keeping it fun and we're
keeping it smart, and um it's weit's like crazy to say that I
(44:20):
know her and can say I can talkto her about advice and all that
shit.
It's wild, but anyway.
Um, yes, I've thought about it.
Um, I think again, it comes downto space.
I'd need like a fucking factoryin order to do some of the
things to be able to create itin bulk, but also I'm very, and
(44:44):
I'm sure she can help me a lotwith this too, is like I'm so
adamant about quality overquantity.
Um, so I if I was gonna do it,it would have to be done well
and right, just like you know,anything else that I do, and
that I would rather make a smallamount and do it really fucking
(45:05):
well than make a huge amount andit be subpar.
SPEAKER_01 (45:10):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (45:11):
So I'm not opposed to it by any means.
And I think my husband would benumber one, be like, you gotta
get pub grub on the shelf statbecause it's the most addicting,
snacky, crunchy thing.
Um, but I need a whole assemblyline process to be able to do
it.
SPEAKER_01 (45:26):
I think it's I think it could be in your future,
you're just like, there's somethere's some steps that you need
to take to get there.
But I can see I can totally seethat for you as well.
Yeah, there's hurdles.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (45:36):
And I'm not I'm not opposed to it by any means, but
yeah, it's just like it's gottahave the Annie stamp of
approval.
Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (45:43):
Right, which it should be.
SPEAKER_00 (45:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (45:45):
Well, I'm so excited for you.
Thank you.
This is amazing and the sky isthe limit.
And I just can't wait to watch.
I can't wait to just kind ofwatch and support and see how
this all unfolds for you, Annie.
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Oh my god, of course.
This was fun.
Of course.
SPEAKER_00 (45:56):
I love doing shit like this.
SPEAKER_01 (45:57):
Well, you know what?
Come back anytime.
We're gonna come see you too, bythe way.
I gotta come see your shop.
Hell yeah.
You know?
Come.
I want you to cuss at me andlike whatever.
I I want to wait, I want to getpissed and wait in line for two
hours and then you're it's notlike that.
SPEAKER_00 (46:08):
It's not like that.
We're like so, I'm so likepeople meet me and they're like,
you're so nice.
You are nice.
I'm I'm yeah, I wasn't, I wasn'tever trying to make you think
that I was mean.
You're just you.
Yeah, I'm just I tell you how itis.
SPEAKER_01 (46:20):
Yes, you know, like listen, honey, we need more of
that in the world.
SPEAKER_00 (46:24):
I'm gonna try.
I'm gonna stay this way forever.
I'm there's no helping.
SPEAKER_01 (46:28):
Oh hey, listen, don't go changing.
SPEAKER_00 (46:31):
I'm not.
I promise you that.
SPEAKER_01 (46:33):
If you're still out there following your girl,
follow me on YouTube, Spotify,Apple, or wherever you get your
podcast.
And until next time, get yourass to bite this.
Get there early, get the bagel,whatever it is.
Bites.
Is that what they are?
Bagel bombs.
Bagel bombs.
SPEAKER_00 (46:47):
They're officially transitioning to reapers because
they're all gonna be shaped likeskulls.
SPEAKER_01 (46:51):
Reapers.
Become a creep.
Become a creep.
This is what we call um Annie'sfans.
And then also the pub pub grub,pub grub, pub grub.
Just just get to bite this andlet me know how it goes.
And keep moving, baby.
Hey there, you beautiful badass, badass, bad.
Welcome to the Carrie CroftShow.
I'm your host, Carrie Croft.
Delivering you stories that getyou pumped up and feeling like
the unstoppable savage that youare.
So grab your coffee, put on yourgame face, and let's do this
thing, baby.
(00:26):
Avena Women's Care is acollective of 40-plus providers
that have been serving CentralOhio communities with
comprehensive women's healthcare for decades.
They meet women where they arein every phase of life.
From fertility services tomenopause care, annual checkups
to 3D mammography, Avenaprovides robust services for
all.
(00:46):
So for the highest level ofindividualized women's health
care, there's one name toremember: Avena Women's Care.
Go to www.avenawomen's care.comto request an appointment.
Be sure to tell them Carrie sentyou.
Ready to elevate your self-caregame?
Boscow Beauty Bar is a modernmed spa offering everything from
cosmetic injectables, lasers andmicroneedling to medical-grade
(01:10):
facials and skincare.
Conveniently located inClintonville, Grandview, Powell,
and Easton, making self-care apriority has never been easier.
Use code CROFT for$25 off yourfirst visit.
Hey Ohio! Thinking aboutsmoother, brighter skin?
Well, fall is the perfect timefor laser treatments.
With less sun and coolerweather, your skin heals
(01:33):
beautifully and you'll beglowing just in time for the
holidays, honey.
And here's the best part (01:37):
if you're a first-time client,
mention the Carrie Croft Showfor$100 off your first purchase.
Call today and book your falllaser treatment with the experts
at Donaldson.
Annie Dixon, welcome to theCarrie Croft Show.
Thank you for having me.
It's my pleasure.
It's my pleasure to have you.
So just so we can let the peopleat home know how you and I ended
(02:00):
up here.
Um, Miss Amy Joe Hamilton.
She's the connector.
She is.
She's so great.
So Amy Joe has been working withme in the B lab and she has been
connecting with Annie and someother people.
And so I reached out immediatelybecause I'm like, I need to know
who this entrepreneur is.
It has this incredible bakerycalled Bite This, and it has all
goth vibes.
(02:21):
So I just, I'm just happy you'rehere.
We can kind of like peel backwhat you're doing and who you
are and have a little fun.
SPEAKER_00 (02:27):
Yeah.
Thanks so much for having me.
And shout out to Amy Joe,because she's the bomb.
SPEAKER_01 (02:31):
She is the bomb, isn't she?
She's really cool.
You know, I love when someone isjust like the anti-gatekeeper.
You literally know they just arethere to improve the atmosphere,
help other people, and they justwant to have a good experience
and bring people together.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:46):
Yeah.
She's one of my classmates thatshe's in my direct like team,
but we hit it off really quick.
And it's like, yeah, everybodyjust help each other out and
let's see how many connectionswe can make through the whole
process.
Yeah.
They're great.
SPEAKER_01 (03:01):
So bite this.
You already have a little, Idon't know if you have goth
vibes.
You have like a hot, not afraidto like get tatted up and like
dye your hair.
Like you have a cool vibe goingon.
Thanks.
But it says goth bakery.
SPEAKER_00 (03:14):
It it does say goth bakery, but I feel like we have
to use that term loosely thesedays because there are the
people that are like, you're notgoth.
SPEAKER_01 (03:23):
You're so mid.
You're not goth.
I'll show you goth.
SPEAKER_00 (03:27):
Can we curse on here?
So I don't, you know, it's like,okay, maybe that's the broadest
term to describe it, but it'snot just like we're not just
wearing our platform boots andwearing like white face makeup.
You know, like it's all black.
It's not your typical like pinkcovered in sprinkles bakery.
We play heavy metal all thetime.
(03:47):
Like truly, it's just Annie in abakery.
SPEAKER_01 (03:52):
Yeah.
So you just always been sort ofinto metal and goth, and like
that's how you grew up.
SPEAKER_00 (03:59):
It is how I'm definitely an emo kid.
I'm an el elder emo.
And I was the black sheep in allthroughout middle school and
high school.
Like I was the kid listening tolike Tori Amos and Nine Inch
Nails while all my classmateswere listening to Lil Wayne, you
know?
Um, and I grew up in like thesuper preppy, like old money
(04:22):
town.
And I just did I stuck out likea sore thumb.
Like I was just the weird kid.
And it was hard being that, butalso like trying to fit in at
the same time.
And so finally, as I grew up andgot older, I realized, fuck
this, dude.
Like, I don't want to be likeany of you.
(04:44):
I'm I love the things that Ilove.
I always wanted to be tattooedand you know, artsy and all
that.
And so as I got older, I justdove headfirst into all those
things that I always reallyloved and then made sure that I
was loud and proud about it.
SPEAKER_01 (05:01):
Were you depressed growing up that because you
didn't fit in, or how did thatwork?
SPEAKER_00 (05:04):
Like, yeah, I definitely went through like
huge depressive episodes, andnot to get too heavy with it,
but you know, a couple attemptshere and there as a teenager,
and um my mom struggled withdepression as well.
Um, so it was something that,you know, I was on a United
Presence, and then um, you know,once high school was over and I
(05:29):
graduated, moved out on my own,and started kind of like coming
into myself.
I um had gotten off of the medsand everything for a long time.
Um, and now right back on it.
SPEAKER_01 (05:45):
You're like, this is no fun.
Let's get right back on.
SPEAKER_00 (05:48):
Dude, I'm uh I'm sure if you've scrolled through
my social media, I'm super openabout mental health and
sobriety.
And it's just like you gothrough seasons in your life,
and it's like totally fine ifyou need a little help to just
get through the big sad.
And I'm very open about that,like with the stress of owning a
(06:10):
business and all that itentails.
SPEAKER_01 (06:13):
Yeah.
Let's talk about the sobriety.
What was your your vice?
SPEAKER_00 (06:17):
Uh, wine.
SPEAKER_01 (06:18):
Really?
unknown (06:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (06:19):
So would you say you're an alcoholic?
SPEAKER_00 (06:21):
Oh, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (06:21):
Okay.
Yeah.
What was your when did you justdecide like, okay, this is it?
I can't do this anymore.
SPEAKER_00 (06:26):
I have been sober for three, it was three years in
July.
Um, and I knew for a long timethat I had a problem, but I kept
trying to like moderate or cutback.
And, you know, when you'redrinking so heavily, the people
that you're around are alsodrinking heavily, and they don't
(06:49):
want to admit that they've got aproblem.
So all the people that I talkedto about it were like, no, you
don't, you're fine.
You just need to cut back alittle bit.
And I was like, not physicallyable to do that.
I'm definitely a Pringles canwhen it comes to alcohol.
Like once you pop, the fun don'tstop until I'm fucking blacked
out or whatever.
(07:09):
And so um, my husband wasstationed in England for a
little bit, and my son and Iwent over there to live with him
for the summer, and you know,drinking culture in the UK is
crazy.
They there is no limits on daytime that you it's acceptable to
(07:30):
drink.
So I just went balls to thewalls.
And I ended up staying, I wouldalways stay up later than the
boys, drinking on my own.
And then I ended up trying to goup to bed one night and fell on
the stairs, and I like knockedmyself out, bled all over the
(07:50):
stairs, um, and woke up I don'tknow how much longer later, and
just kind of stumbled my way tothe bed.
Um, but surprisingly, thatwasn't the rock bottom moment.
I kept drinking, came home andwas sober for a little bit, and
then had these like bits ofsobriety where I'd go for a long
(08:15):
time and then try to moderateagain.
And the second that I got backon it, I realized there's no
fucking way that I could, youknow, limit my alcohol intake.
Um, and so finally I woke up onJuly 2nd three years ago, and I
was like, I cannot feel likethis anymore.
Like, I cannot be hungover.
I've started my business, it'skind of taking off.
(08:38):
I can't do this.
And I just cold turkey.
SPEAKER_01 (08:41):
And the wine buzz, the wine hangover, man.
Dude.
How how much were you drinking,do you think, at your at your
peak per day?
SPEAKER_00 (08:48):
Probably three bottles a night.
unknown (08:51):
Jesus.
SPEAKER_01 (08:52):
Yeah, and it's it's crazy how it gets to that,
right?
Because in like in yourrationale, and it's like, well,
one bottle is only like threeglasses, and then you're like,
oh, it's just a bottle, and nextnext thing you know, you're
three bottles of deep.
You're gonna kill yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (09:06):
Yeah.
I would for a long time I drinklike a box, and I'd go through
like three boxes a week.
Because you're not like, andthen I switched to the bottles
thinking, like, oh, that'll helpme moderate.
But then it was like, no, I'lljust get six bottles at a time,
and it'll last two days, andthen I'll go back to the store.
SPEAKER_01 (09:26):
How um how old was your son when you were in when
the the time that you fell?
SPEAKER_00 (09:31):
So he just turned 10, so he would have been seven.
SPEAKER_01 (09:34):
Okay, and what a gift for him.
SPEAKER_00 (09:37):
Yeah.
And he still remembers like thecrazy drinking nights.
And I mean, it wasn't anythinglike he's in danger, but you
know, we'd be out in somebody'sgarage till wee hours of the
night drinking and smoking andwhatever.
And uh my husband got sober withme the exact same time.
(09:57):
Um, because I think he knew thatI wouldn't be able to do it if
he was drinking.
Um so yeah, I mean, I think heis very grateful for two parents
that don't drink at all.
SPEAKER_01 (10:10):
What an incredible thing for you guys to do
together.
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (10:14):
It was good.
SPEAKER_01 (10:15):
That's amazing.
It had to be so helpful for yourrelationship too.
Like to be able to, I mean, hardprobably too, yeah, in moments,
because dealing with sobriety orsomething like that on your own
is hard enough.
And then having to manage bothof your cravings and rationale.
And did you guys go to therapyor how did you do it?
SPEAKER_00 (10:32):
No, um, it was cold turkey for both of us.
And I think um we probablyshould have gone to therapy like
right at the beginning.
Um, but with how, you know,adamant I am about mental
health, it's hindsight lookingback, definitely.
We should have gone straight totherapy and worked out any
(10:54):
issues that we had had from thepast because with alcohol,
you're essentially just numbingall of your feelings and
emotions and not talking throughthings in a healthy way.
So it would be, you know, asmall problem happens and we
don't talk about it, and it likejust grows into this huge thing
and finally boils over, and thenit's just this big fight.
(11:15):
Um, so immediately, even withoutgoing to therapy and having
somebody to talk to, we foundhealthier ways to communicate
with each other.
And the longer that we've beensober, the healthier and the
better that has gotten for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
When you have a craving, because you probably
still get them, right?
Where you're like, and I knowmaybe like when red wine season
comes around, like the air getsa little bit cooler or there's a
fireplace or whatever, how doyou do you just like play the
tape where you're like, what'sthis gonna look like?
SPEAKER_00 (11:46):
And then you Yes, I think that's definitely like the
uh best coping mechanism for anyalcoholic or anybody in recovery
is like, how do I how's thisgonna be in the morning if I
choose to drink?
Um but now I feel like for me mycravings will come.
(12:12):
And it's only been a coupletimes that it's been like
really, really bad, where I'mlike, I and it was last year
during like a super depressiveepisode that I was like, I'm
fuck it, I'm just gonna drink.
My husband was gone on a rockclimbing trip, I was by myself,
my son was at mymother-in-law's.
I was like, nobody would know.
Nobody would know if I picked upa bottle on the way home and
(12:34):
just got shit faced tonight.
Um but I play the tape forward,I know I'm gonna feel like
garbage, I'd be throwing awaythree years of super hard work,
but also I have so many peoplethat I would disappoint.
And I think that more thananything else, knowing that so
(12:54):
many people look up to me andyou know, see me as a whatever
you want to call it, amotivation or something, I could
not live with myself if I letthose people down.
SPEAKER_01 (13:11):
You know, you taking to social media on TikTok and
Instagram and talking, becauseyou know, it's it's really cool
because it's like on one hand,you're like, okay, you have this
bakery, but it's also edgy.
And so it's like this whole vibeand brand.
But how has that impacted yoursobriety and like how many
people probably come to youlike, oh my God, me too?
SPEAKER_00 (13:32):
Yeah.
All the time.
Uh and those are the people thatI think about when a craving
hits, because it's like, no, Ican't.
Like anytime, and I didn't do itquite all quite as often anymore
as I did in the beginning,because obviously the
beginning's super hard, right?
Um, but now when I share aboutit, each time I talk about my
(13:54):
sobriety, I have 10, 12, 15people either come through the
shop because they're shopping,come to me at the market, see me
at Target or whatever, and thankme for being so open and
vulnerable about it because it'snot something that people talk
about a lot.
It's becoming more so.
(14:15):
Um, but it's a hard thing totalk about, right?
And, you know, I think I I'm notgonna take responsibility for
other people's sobriety.
They did that work on their own,but I always said from the
beginning if I could motivate orencourage one person to put down
the bottle, it would be worthbeing uncomfortable for a couple
(14:36):
minutes.
And I know that it's been waymore than that.
SPEAKER_01 (14:40):
Oh, I guarantee it has.
That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (14:42):
Thank you.
Yeah, I'll continue sharingbecause it's it's I mean, it's
it's really it's funny.
SPEAKER_01 (14:48):
It's like no matter what, this is just my opinion,
but no matter what you'rebuilding in terms of the
business, it's really the storyunderneath it that draws people
in.
Yeah.
And so I think like that's onlyso much more powerful for you to
be continuing to tell that storyno matter what you're doing.
Yeah.
Whether it's baking or you endedup doing something different,
(15:10):
like it's that's reallypowerful.
It really is.
I love it.
Thank you.
Um so speaking of the bakery, soclearly you love to bake.
SPEAKER_00 (15:18):
Yeah, a little.
SPEAKER_01 (15:19):
And so you baked with your grandma, you grew up
baking, you're good at it, andyou're like, oh, let's open up a
shop.
SPEAKER_00 (15:26):
Uh in in the nutshell, I guess.
Um I struggled with food a lotwhen I was younger.
I was a very overweight kid.
Um, and I feel like growing upin the South, it's kind of hard
to like learn great eatinghabits.
(15:49):
Um, so if we're going back tothe beginning, I um yes, had all
those really awesome memorieswith my grandparents, with my
grandma, uh, and learned how tocook, learned how to bake with
them.
Um over ate, like it was my job.
And then in 2013, uh I hadgastric bypass and lost a ton of
(16:15):
weight.
Um, I wanted to be healthy inorder to bring a child into the
world.
That was like my main goal islike I don't want to set my kid
up with the same habits that Ihad because I can't learn how to
eat properly.
Um and so maybe a year and ahalf into that, I'd lost a ton
of weight.
I kind of started having I hadto relearn how to eat, right?
(16:39):
Um and while I did that, I alsowas adamant about not losing all
the things that I reallyenjoyed.
So I m started baking again.
My husband was deployed, and Ineeded somewhere to or something
to do with all these things thatI baked.
(16:59):
Um and so I would start givingthem away.
And I gave away sea saltchocolate chip cookies and
brownies to my neighbors and myfriends, and it just
authentically grew into thislike, oh, well, you know, we're
having a birthday party, let'sask Annie to do the cake, or
we're having a cookout, let'shave Annie bring brownies or
bring dessert.
Um, and so finally I was like,some my friends encouraged me.
(17:24):
They were like, you should likeyou could probably do something
with this.
I was like, nah, it's fine.
Like I loved being astay-at-home mom.
Yeah, I did.
Um and but I said to the my 500followers at the time, I was
like, hey, would you guys likeif I opened a shop, would you
(17:45):
come?
And it was a resounding yes.
Um, but obviously I didn't havethe means to do it at the time,
so I just started sharingrecipes and stuff on Instagram,
and um, I made charcuterieboards for a long time and sold
those.
So yeah, it was like this veryauthentic like growth to where
(18:08):
it is now.
Nothing was ever really likeforced, it just kind of
happened.
How much weight did you lose?
A hundred and thirty pounds?
That's just that's a wholedifferent life.
Yeah, for sure.
And I'm very like, I'm very nodiet culture now.
(18:30):
Um, which seems kind of weird topreach about being in the
position I'm in, but I am superbody positive.
No matter what size you are,this was the right journey for
me.
Um, I couldn't keep up with myhusband.
I couldn't do the things that Ireally wanted to do.
Um, and once I started getting alittle bit of energy, that's
(18:51):
just when like I hit the fuckingground running and I couldn't
stop doing what I was doing.
Um, but I'm really like in theshop, it's like you don't talk
about how many calories you'reconsuming with this brownie or
this cookie.
I don't want ever want people tothink like that because what
(19:11):
I've learned from it is that Ican eat whatever I want, right?
Everything in moderation, exceptfor alcohol, that's a no.
Right.
Um, but yeah, it's just likeI've learned the habits that are
good for me and where I need tobe in my life.
Um, and I just want to encourageeverybody to do the same for
(19:32):
themselves, whether it's youneed a little treat, come get a
fucking cookie, dude.
SPEAKER_01 (19:37):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:38):
I'm not gonna tell you not to eat it.
And if anybody in line behindyou is bitching about the amount
of calories in it, I'm gonnatell them to shut the fuck up.
And I do it all the time.
SPEAKER_01 (19:45):
Do you?
Yeah.
Good.
Yeah.
You're kind of like you havelike the soup Nazi vibe, but
only like a bite this vibe, likewhere it's like you could tell
somebody what's up.
You're like, this ain't yourgrandma's bakery.
Right.
Okay, this is an edgy bakeryhere that we got going on.
What's your favorite thing tomake?
unknown (19:59):
Oh.
SPEAKER_01 (20:00):
The bagel thing I was reading about, I'm like, oh,
what in the hell is this?
SPEAKER_00 (20:04):
It's uh the I love the bagel bombs, they're great.
They're definitely the thingthat put me on the map.
Like, once I stopped, I stoppedmaking charcuterie boards
because I was like, oh shit,nobody's gonna come in and buy a
fucking cheese tray, like allthe time.
Um, so my goal was let's findsomething that you want to come
(20:24):
in to see me every day on yourway to work or whatever.
And so the bagel bomb was born,and um, I put that on the
internet and it just fuckingtook off.
Um, so I'd say that's probablywhat put me on the map.
Um, my favorite thing to makeit's like you know, asking the
(20:46):
chef their favorite dish.
It's so hard because it changesall the time.
Yeah.
I would say right now I'm in abig like cookie brownie phase.
I'm always in a cookie browniephase, but I love coming up with
super weird combinations for anykind of baked good.
SPEAKER_01 (21:01):
So, what's your vision right now?
Like, what do you want this tomanifest into?
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
It's such a loaded question.
Um so where I'm at Amy Joe inour uh Goldman Sachs class, our
whole goal for the class is tofigure out what our growth
opportunity is, where we want togo, what we want to do.
And mine was very quick tofigure out because I've been
(21:32):
busting at the seams in thespace I'm in for at least six
months.
It's a 670 square foot space.
It's very small.
We've got a line that goes outthe door and down the block.
SPEAKER_01 (21:43):
Which is really cool, though.
SPEAKER_00 (21:44):
It's awesome, and I'm super grateful for it.
But with the viral virality ofthe business comes the negatives
to it.
Right, correct.
Right.
Um, and so people get mad at mefor sure all the time because
they're like, they're fuckingsold out by 12 o'clock every
day, and it's reallydiscouraging.
I can't get anything that Iwant.
I'm like, I'm trying, I promise.
(22:05):
That's so great.
It's great.
Oh no, it really is.
It's a good problem to have, butI just need more space.
So the goal is expand, whetherthat be the space that I'm in or
going to a new space.
Um, I fucking love Clintonville.
I really don't want to leave,but I need triple the amount of
(22:25):
space that I have.
SPEAKER_01 (22:26):
So would you leave would you would you open up a
second space or would you needto leave here and then just have
one bigger space that's onebigger space.
SPEAKER_00 (22:34):
I something that I have been advised from plenty of
people in the service industrythat I value their opinions a
lot is don't grow too fast andstay as small as you can for as
long as you can.
And I know that staying smallisn't an option for me.
(22:57):
Um but I I think that thespecialness wears off when you
have like five locations, youknow, like bite this is so
special.
And it's not just a bakery, it'ssuch a community, and I don't
think that we would have thesame vibe as with two or three
(23:20):
locations as we do with one.
SPEAKER_01 (23:24):
You I disagree.
Really?
Oh yeah, I totally disagree.
I think with your um, and thisis my humble opinion, yeah.
I think that's up to you.
Yeah.
Right.
So I mean, there there'sdifferent ways to slice this.
Okay, if you went and franchisedbite this willy-nilly and just
kind of like threw it to thewolves, yes, the brand would get
(23:45):
diluted and it would lose what'sspecial.
Having three locations in thecity of Columbus, while there
are a lot of logistics there, alot of growing pains, that is
very much well within yourcontrol to own that brand.
SPEAKER_00 (24:01):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (24:01):
I I absolutely think that you could do that.
I'm not saying do it tomorrow,but don't sell yourself short.
Okay.
And I would argue with thatperson to say stay as small as
you can for as long as you can,honey.
And then I mean, I mean, there'sa balance there, right?
Like for sure.
You know, I think you have areally cool, like what I love
about it.
(24:22):
I mean, after sitting here withyou, obviously I really like
you, and I can totally see likeI want to do, how can I help?
How can I, who can I like?
I'm like, I fucking love you.
Like I you have that, right?
Thank you.
But cut out the emotional part,looking at it from a business
perspective.
This is very much different interms of a bakery.
Like a bakery is very sweet andairy and and no cussing and
(24:47):
Sunday morning donuts andsprinkles, and like you have
cornered something.
I'm not saying that there'snothing else out there.
I don't know.
I haven't researched.
I when I think of this in mybrain, it's very original and
it's very authentically you.
And so you absolutely canharness that in a c a handful of
locations and crush the shit outof it.
SPEAKER_00 (25:08):
Maybe I maybe I do sell myself short a little bit.
I think probably because I getnervy.
SPEAKER_01 (25:14):
Well, here's the thing, you know, that I will
argue to anyone, I don't carewho they are.
No one knows.
Like there, like, so so we canall like there can be two
things.
You could stay tight in the budand stay with one location and
be great and be super authentic,right?
But you could also go down.
There's no wrong.
Right.
The only thing that you'd bewrong in is like stopping.
(25:35):
Right.
So it's all really what feelsgood in your intuition and what
you think you're capable ofdoing.
Stress and inflammation take atoll on your body and your
wellness.
Relax, restore, and rejuvenateat Panacea Luxury Spa Boutique.
Book any service of$100 or moreand enjoy two hours in our
luxury amenities.
(25:56):
Unwind in our Himalayan saltsaunas, recharge in our wet
retreat space with a eucalyptussteam room, hot hydrotherapy
pool, and cold plunge.
Then drift into deep relaxationwith our hanging loungers.
What's your panacea?
We'll help you find it.
Who says you need a specialoccasion to feel like a celeb?
(26:18):
I mean, stress is real, life isbusy, and your scalp?
Yeah, it deserves some love too.
That's where Headspace by MiaSantiago comes in.
Treat yourself or someone whodeserves it to a luxurious scalp
treatment and a killer blowoutor cut because nothing says main
character energy, honey, like afresh style from celebrity
stylist Mia and her team.
(26:39):
And because we love a good deal,mention the Carrie Croft show
and get 20% off your service orany gift card for somebody in
your life that you love.
Headspace by Mia Santiago,because great hair days
shouldn't be rare.
SPEAKER_00 (26:54):
My like long-term vision would be another
location, but I'm not thinkingin Columbus.
Um, but I have to do a lot ofresearch on that.
My husband thinks I'm crazy.
SPEAKER_01 (27:06):
Well, so that but the thing about it is, going
back to what you just said, it'sa lot easier for you to control
from here.
Right.
So if I would like my opinion onthat would be, yeah, you do
another one here.
Yeah.
Because you can drive there,because you you have control.
And it really is like when yougo out of market, yeah, it's a
(27:28):
whole nother game.
Right.
Not that you couldn't crush itin Nashville or like wherever.
Yeah, for sure.
But like replicate it here inyour home base.
Figure out how to do it.
Prove to yourself that, oh wait,hold on.
I just did a second one, andguess what?
The brand is even it's bangingeven more than ever.
You know, and then okay, nowmaybe, maybe we can step out.
SPEAKER_00 (27:47):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:48):
I would definitely experiment in in this market.
SPEAKER_00 (27:50):
Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (27:51):
Just for your insanity.
SPEAKER_00 (27:53):
Yeah.
And I probably do get reallylike I I just go fucking huge
with everything in my brain.
And I think probably that's whyI'm just like, no, fuck having
multiple locations in Columbus.
Let's go to Salem,Massachusetts.
Like, I just I think I probablygo a little like far-fetched
(28:14):
with things first, and then Ihave to reel myself in.
Um, so yeah, no, I don'tdisagree that it could it could
be special.
I just worry about like two, Idon't know, you know, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:27):
There's all kinds of worries.
Yeah.
You don't strike me as someonethough that would let the the
brand or the culture um take aback seat.
Absolutely.
You know, especially with ahandful of locations.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (28:38):
I'm so I I've even said, you know, there's people
from all over the world thatwant me to franchise or
whatever.
And I'm like, fuck no, I'm notdoing that because I would have
to be hands-on with everything.
The art, the way that it looks.
Like it's so much, and I'm nottalking like it's just like me
(29:01):
in a nutshell, like everythingabout this business is Annie.
Nobody else can do it.
It wouldn't be able to bereplicated by another person.
Um, so I would I would beadamant about like you can run
it, but I'm going to doliterally everything.
(29:23):
But that's franchise model.
Yeah.
Is it?
SPEAKER_01 (29:28):
Have somebody run it.
So basically the franchise modelis you, it's it's like people
call it like a business in abox.
So you if you want total controlover the brand and the way it
looks, you basically, andthere's a lot of upfront work
that goes into building thefranchise, but then you sell it
to someone and they have to doeverything the way that you have
(29:51):
it written.
Now, I mean, that's easier saidthan done, right?
So when you have a hundredlocations, 500 locations, like
things can get lost, right?
I don't necessarily know thatfranchise.
Would be the way I would go withyou.
But yeah, I mean, I coulddefinitely see with a couple
locations.
One in UA, maybe.
SPEAKER_00 (30:08):
Okay.
Right next to my house.
You think I fit in UpperErlington?
SPEAKER_01 (30:12):
No, that's what's amazing.
That's what I would love aboutit.
SPEAKER_00 (30:15):
I don't, I think they'd be pissed off.
SPEAKER_01 (30:16):
No, I don't think so.
There's a lot of cool people inUA.
SPEAKER_00 (30:18):
Really?
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (30:19):
Don't sleep on UA.
Okay.
And I'm telling you, you wouldcrush it in UA.
SPEAKER_00 (30:24):
I don't I haven't looked honestly at any other
area of town yet because I wasoh I was adamant about
Clintonville when I opened thisone.
It's a great fit.
It's just wonky.
Mm-hmm.
It's so fucking weird.
Eclectic and I love it.
Yeah.
Um, so yeah, I I'm I haven'tlooked at anywhere else yet.
SPEAKER_01 (30:43):
So what are you trying to do?
Like what where are the gaps orwhat are the like puzzles you're
trying to solve right now whereyou're like, man, I wish I could
increase sales here, or I wishwe could like I Amy had
mentioned something about OhioState tailgates, like that you
were trying to like get maybemore like what's the sports
ball?
SPEAKER_00 (31:03):
It's the thing of my existence.
Is it?
Yes, I fucking hate it.
I mean, uh don't get don't killme.
No.
Um it's like and I think manysmall business owners would
agree with me when it comes tofootball season.
Uh you die on Saturdays.
It's such a hurdle to try andovercome because of the nuts,
(31:26):
right?
Um if there's noon game, you'redead all day.
If there's three o'clock game,you're dead at noon.
Like finding ways, and thisisn't my number one hurdle, but
it's definitely something thatI'm working on is like, how can
we get people in the door?
Because no matter how dedicatedor how gung ho my fan base or
(31:49):
clientele is, sports comes on,and you know, everybody knows
the whole city is dead.
So we started doing these sportsball catering packages, uh,
which I need to push more, butum we're it's like you know, a
pre-sale kind of thing.
You get like mini reapers shapedlike skulls or stuff with like
(32:10):
buffalo chicken, stuff likethat, cookies, brownies, and
snack mix um to pick up and justgo take to your tailgate or
wherever you are.
Um, and we are thinking aboutdoing like on the Michigan game
day, um, because we know we'regonna be, there's not a soul is
gonna come into that building onthe Michigan game day.
(32:31):
Um so we're gonna open at like 6a.m.
and close at noon, have coffeeand all sorts of fun treats,
probably sausage, biscuits, andgravy like from scratch that you
can come get and like tailgatebefore you go sit down and watch
the game.
Um so we're always trying tofind shit like that to do that's
like, you know, it it we may besuper exciting, but what can we
(32:55):
throw in that's gonna like makepeople get out of bed, come to
see us before they go doanything else?
Yeah.
It's always a struggle.
SPEAKER_01 (33:03):
Do you do like scarlet and gray stuff?
SPEAKER_00 (33:09):
No, I do Buckeye steamed things.
SPEAKER_01 (33:12):
So you refuse?
SPEAKER_00 (33:13):
I don't I wouldn't say so.
Zane is my manager and love him.
He's been with me for threeyears.
He was my first employee.
And he is probably the oneperson that can tell me things
that I and my husband that I'lllisten to.
Um so for this like monster mashtailgate thing that we're doing,
I was like, Can we haveballoons?
Because I'm vibes and whimsy allthe time.
(33:35):
Like, I don't, I don't care.
I'm like, I don't care how muchit costs, let's just get
balloons.
And I was like, we can haveblack and gray balloons, right?
And he's like, What if we putsome red balloons in there?
And I was like, no, God.
And then a little while later, Iwas like, fine, we can do it.
It's fine.
I just like it's not my thing,you know?
(33:55):
And I I don't like to bend tofit other people's expectations
or you know, whatever.
SPEAKER_01 (34:03):
I totally I mean, listen, I have mad respect for
that.
SPEAKER_00 (34:06):
I'll do it, but I'm not gonna be happy about it.
SPEAKER_01 (34:09):
Yeah, you know.
I mean, can't we do like askelet, like a brutist skeleton?
Like, you know, can't you likebend like mix the worlds where
you're like appealing to thatcrazy ass Ohio State fan, but
still feeling a little bit.
SPEAKER_00 (34:22):
So what I'll do is I'll instead of be getting like
instead of getting like superOhio State about it, I lean
heavy into the Buckeye.
SPEAKER_01 (34:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:32):
Cause, you know, everybody fucking loves a
buckeye.
Yeah.
Um, so we do a lot of, and I'm apeanut butter addict.
Um, so anything that we can dothat's like Buckeye esque or
buckeye themed, like we'll throwit out there.
We've got puppy chow bars, we'vegot like um uh I can't say this
(34:53):
word without getting like sued.
Um peanut butter cup brownies.
Oh yeah, right?
Peanut butter cup brownies.
Um we do all sorts of stuff, andit's very like Ohio State,
right?
But it's not Ohio.
SPEAKER_01 (35:11):
Yeah.
So what is your biggest hurdlethen if you had to pick one
right now?
SPEAKER_00 (35:14):
Oh, right now.
Your biggest I mean I've I havemassive growing pains right now.
Um honestly the space is thebiggest thing.
Uh that's been our problem forsix months and will continue to
be our problem until I can findthe dollar bucks to do it.
Um, and that's what I'm workingon the most is number one, where
(35:38):
do I go?
How much square footage do Ineed?
Because if I just doubled myspace, we'd get into it and
already be outgrown today.
Like if I went to 1200 squarefeet today, I would be done with
it in two months.
What do you need?
Like 25?
I would say probably 25, maybethree.
So I'm kind of trying to likecalculate my cost per square
foot and figure out like whatwhat is the best size for me to
(36:02):
be able to be where I need tobe, but also grow into because
it's not stopping anytime soon.
SPEAKER_01 (36:08):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:08):
Um, it's just gonna get bigger and bigger.
So I'd love to have space forcake classes and supper clubs
and all these fun things that Ihave in my like manic brain that
I want to be able to offer to mycustomers.
But uh right now we just there'sno fucking way.
SPEAKER_01 (36:26):
Are you like scouring with like an uh broker?
SPEAKER_00 (36:29):
I have a realtor that I've talked to.
Um, but I'm waiting to getthrough this class and get all
of my like finances like superin order to take to the bank.
Um, I did an SBA loan when Iopened up this um spot, and I'm
able to like still pull fromthat, but it's not a ton, right?
(36:53):
Like this is gonna be$500,000minimum, probably, of a
renovation because you've got toupdate equipment, hoods, like
and commercial kitchen equipmentis not cheap cheap.
So, really honestly, money, Iguess, is my biggest hurdle.
It's like figuring out thesmartest way to do it and also
still be like within my means, Iguess.
(37:16):
Like how big can I get withoutgoing bankrupt?
Yeah, right.
Which I, you know, it's scary tothink about.
SPEAKER_01 (37:24):
No, it's really scary.
I mean,$500,000 is not Trumpchange.
Right.
No.
So you gotta make sure it'sgonna support that.
SPEAKER_00 (37:31):
For sure.
And so I just, yeah, that's thebiggest thing.
It's like I know for sure thatmy personally, my biggest thing
that I need to get a grasp on isnumbers.
It's always been my number onething that I struggle with.
I haven't looked at a cash flowor a balance statement since the
day that I started until lastmonth when I started this class.
(37:53):
Um, so I'm really putting in thework right now to figure it all
out so that I can see for myselfwhat are we capable of?
What's our projections?
Where do we want to be in fiveyears?
Like I've I've realized veryquickly how big this can be.
(38:14):
And I don't think there's reallya limit on it.
I think it can be as big as Iwant it to be because I don't
there may be one or two otheralternative subculture goth
bakeries in the United States,but there's only one you.
There's only one me.
And it's I think just takenover.
SPEAKER_01 (38:34):
Yeah.
I mean, and it can be as big asyou want it to be.
I'd love to hear you say that.
Um it's funny, I just startedthis new email, like weekly
email, where I kind of pulltogether all of everything
happening in the B lab world andwhat I'm doing.
And one of the things I talkedabout on Friday was financial
literacy and just building SOSand like how important it is to
(39:00):
check yourself on the numbers.
Like you want to bake, you wantto be with people, you want to
do your thing.
And like when you say numbers,it's like, well, I don't like
the numbers or I'm not good atthe numbers.
That's everyone's defaultanswer.
And so we ignore them.
It's like anything else, right?
That we don't want to deal with.
Yeah.
And it is so, so important toput things in place.
(39:21):
And I'm so happy to hear yousaying you're doing that because
you're doing it at a time whereit's somewhat manageable.
And what we always did was, youknow, first of all, any kind of
financial, any kind of creditcard swipe, any kind of expense
was always classed and it wastransparent and owned.
So you couldn't like sneak, andthat may not be a thing now, but
(39:44):
like as you grow, hiring abookkeeper outside that is not a
part, not an employee.
Um, we would talk to her.
I probably talk to her like, Imean, every week, but on a
monthly basis, you talk aboutanomalies, you talk about
trends, you talk about what'scoming, you talk about things
that you need, you know, askbetter questions.
(40:05):
Yeah.
And then you obviously have youraccountant that helps you with
how do you like look like youmade the least amount of money
as possible, right?
For taxes, and then any kind offuture proofing, any kind of you
know, smart shit like retirementand all that, and then always
having a baseline of cash.
SPEAKER_00 (40:21):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (40:22):
There is like there is a number that we never went
under, not a dollar.
And those are like kind of likethe fencing or the policing,
where it's like, okay, it's notfun.
No, but when you get in thatrhythm and you kind of have
those rails, it's freeing.
SPEAKER_00 (40:39):
Yes.
Yeah.
I'd say even just within weeksof paying more attention to
this.
I mean, I was I hadn't paidmyself in three fucking years.
Because I always just rolled itall right back in.
Um I started reading myclassmates suggested this to me,
(41:00):
reading the book Profit First byMike something.
Um but even just with the class,I'm just like, uh there's no
reason why I shouldn't be payingmyself.
Um and so, you know, supertransparent moment there, but I
just like I was so blackoutfocused on growth that I just
(41:20):
rolled every penny right backinto it.
And uh I do a lot of work.
SPEAKER_01 (41:25):
Oh, for sure.
But I but I feel you on thattoo.
SPEAKER_00 (41:28):
Yeah, it's just totally like I worried so much
about you know not having enoughcoffers to be able to buy the
new oven or whatever that I ameventually going to need, right?
Like something's alwaysbreaking, something needs
maintenance at all times.
So I just like would squirreleverything away so that I made
(41:50):
sure I could cover those things.
SPEAKER_01 (41:53):
So yeah, and I think I wouldn't say that's a bad
thing.
No.
I think I think, you know, yeah,carving out something, but
you're reinvesting in yourself.
Yes.
So it's you know, like I don'tknow.
I kind of have a a very flexiblefeel on that because I also,
like, even as I'm buildingeverything I'm building now,
like I don't necessarily paymyself.
I'll do like something on theside, like let's say I'll um pay
(42:16):
for my spa or something.
I'll do like little things.
I won't, I don't take a salary,I don't take a pay check.
I'd rather pay like and reinvestand do the things and then you
know that you're playing thelong game.
Right.
For sure.
But there is fear.
Yeah.
There you have to fight thescarcity mindset of like, oh my
God, do I have any money left?
Yeah.
What's happening?
What's what's going on?
(42:37):
Well, I personally love that Iknow about you now.
I didn't know.
I just didn't know.
And now I do.
And I'm gonna make sureeverybody else knows.
Well, thank you.
In my orbit, not that you needit, it doesn't sound like you
need the help.
SPEAKER_00 (42:49):
Oh man.
SPEAKER_01 (42:50):
You gotta lie, you gotta line out to freaking high
street.
SPEAKER_00 (42:53):
But you know what?
I worry all the time that itcould just go away tomorrow.
I think everybody worries that.
Yeah.
So it's like always trying tostay relevant within our means,
right?
It's not like, you know, we'retrying to be trendy or anything,
but it's, you know, what newexciting thing can we throw out
next?
(43:13):
Um, what can we put on the menunext month that is gonna be what
people want, you know?
Um, but yeah, it's all it'ssuper fun.
I love what I do.
I wouldn't trade it foranything.
If it all just went awaytomorrow, I'd still be cooking,
baking at home, and sharing iton the internet with everybody.
SPEAKER_01 (43:31):
So one more quick one more business question.
Have you talked about or toanyone or have you thought about
like any kind of like consumerpackaged goods where you like
package it and sell it to like aWhole Foods or a like you know,
outside of I mean it wouldn't betomorrow.
SPEAKER_00 (43:48):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (43:48):
But kind of like the Jenny's model where you know she
has the shop, the shop.
Yo, shout out shout out to thequeen.
And then next thing you know,they're going into you know the
fruit that your grocer'sfreezer.
SPEAKER_00 (43:59):
Yeah, um, I would say um Ginny has been a huge
inspiration for me within mybusiness for sure, because I
kind of like started my wholemodel off of the Ginny's vibe,
like rotating monthly menu, andwe're keeping it fun and we're
keeping it smart, and um it's weit's like crazy to say that I
(44:20):
know her and can say I can talkto her about advice and all that
shit.
It's wild, but anyway.
Um, yes, I've thought about it.
Um, I think again, it comes downto space.
I'd need like a fucking factoryin order to do some of the
things to be able to create itin bulk, but also I'm very, and
(44:44):
I'm sure she can help me a lotwith this too, is like I'm so
adamant about quality overquantity.
Um, so I if I was gonna do it,it would have to be done well
and right, just like you know,anything else that I do, and
that I would rather make a smallamount and do it really fucking
(45:05):
well than make a huge amount andit be subpar.
SPEAKER_01 (45:10):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (45:11):
So I'm not opposed to it by any means.
And I think my husband would benumber one, be like, you gotta
get pub grub on the shelf statbecause it's the most addicting,
snacky, crunchy thing.
Um, but I need a whole assemblyline process to be able to do
it.
SPEAKER_01 (45:26):
I think it's I think it could be in your future,
you're just like, there's somethere's some steps that you need
to take to get there.
But I can see I can totally seethat for you as well.
Yeah, there's hurdles.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (45:36):
And I'm not I'm not opposed to it by any means, but
yeah, it's just like it's gottahave the Annie stamp of
approval.
Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (45:43):
Right, which it should be.
SPEAKER_00 (45:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (45:45):
Well, I'm so excited for you.
Thank you.
This is amazing and the sky isthe limit.
And I just can't wait to watch.
I can't wait to just kind ofwatch and support and see how
this all unfolds for you, Annie.
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Oh my god, of course.
This was fun.
Of course.
SPEAKER_00 (45:56):
I love doing shit like this.
SPEAKER_01 (45:57):
Well, you know what?
Come back anytime.
We're gonna come see you too, bythe way.
I gotta come see your shop.
Hell yeah.
You know?
Come.
I want you to cuss at me andlike whatever.
I I want to wait, I want to getpissed and wait in line for two
hours and then you're it's notlike that.
SPEAKER_00 (46:08):
It's not like that.
We're like so, I'm so likepeople meet me and they're like,
you're so nice.
You are nice.
I'm I'm yeah, I wasn't, I wasn'tever trying to make you think
that I was mean.
You're just you.
Yeah, I'm just I tell you how itis.
SPEAKER_01 (46:20):
Yes, you know, like listen, honey, we need more of
that in the world.
SPEAKER_00 (46:24):
I'm gonna try.
I'm gonna stay this way forever.
I'm there's no helping.
SPEAKER_01 (46:28):
Oh hey, listen, don't go changing.
SPEAKER_00 (46:31):
I'm not.
I promise you that.
SPEAKER_01 (46:33):
If you're still out there following your girl,
follow me on YouTube, Spotify,Apple, or wherever you get your
podcast.
And until next time, get yourass to bite this.
Get there early, get the bagel,whatever it is.
Bites.
Is that what they are?
Bagel bombs.
Bagel bombs.
SPEAKER_00 (46:47):
They're officially transitioning to reapers because
they're all gonna be shaped likeskulls.
SPEAKER_01 (46:51):
Reapers.
Become a creep.
Become a creep.
This is what we call um Annie'sfans.
And then also the pub pub grub,pub grub, pub grub.
Just just get to bite this andlet me know how it goes.
And keep moving, baby.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.