Tiffany Hill of Apple Valley, CA runs three businesses: her cottage food business called The Pink Crumbb, a paid membership community called Think Pink Bakers, and a bakery packaging business called Pink Design Co. Tiffany’s growth trajectory as a cottage food entrepreneur is simply remarkable! With 300,000+ Instagram followers, it’s hard to believe that just 2 years ago, she nearly gave up on her fledgling cottage food business when she struggled to make sales and had minimal profits. But just a few months later, she was consistently making thousands of dollars per month, and today she primar ..read more

Mark Elvidge and his wife Gail started their business, Vermont Nut Free Chocolates, back in 1998. At the time, they were the very first U.S. chocolate company to be completely nut-free. They also chose to focus solely on e-commerce at a time when selling food online was very uncommon. Back then, Vermont was one of the only states that had a cottage food law, and they ran their small business from home for the first year and a half. They quickly grew and moved into a commercial facility, and they’ve expanded into larger facilities 4 times since then! Vermont Nut Free Chocolates are sold in over ..read more

Michelle Dukes lives in Penfield, NY, and sells jumbo muffins and cookies with her cottage food business, The Cookie Cutters. Although Michelle has thousands of Facebook followers and has sold many thousands of baked goods over the past 13 years, she doesn’t run her business to make a large profit or to become a brick-and-mortar someday. Rather, her business is primarily a social and creative outlet for her, and most importantly, she focuses on having fun with it. In this episode, you will hear how her business has changed significantly over time and what she’s learned along the way. What You ..read more

Shupan Abraham of Lawrenceville, GA sells custom cakes, cupcakes, and other treats with her cottage food business, Cakes By Shupan. Shupan has been selling her cakes since 2006, but her business didn’t truly take off until a decade later when she invested in a coach, which changed everything! Her business is now thriving, and in this episode, she shares what she’s learned about putting herself out there and marketing her business effectively. What You’ll Learn How to transition your hobby into a business Why early challenges are essential for business growth How pricing evolves over time and ..read more

David Bock lives in Altadena, California, and sells honey with his cottage food business, Buzzed Honeys. David was one of the very first people to sell honey under California’s cottage food law. He’s been running his business for over a decade now and he now does beekeeping full-time. David has a multifaceted business. He specializes in rescuing honeybees and now manages 60 hives, and he helps others start their own hives as well.  In this episode, you’ll hear how his previous career as a TV show writer inspired his jump into beekeeping, plus local marketing tips that helped him build an ..read more

Jessi Deily of Helena, MT sells macarons and custom-decorated meringue cookies with her cottage food business, Colby Jack Rabbit. After struggling for years to make significant money selling her artwork, she started putting her artistic creativity into baked goods which sold like crazy! Once you see her custom meringue cookies, you’ll understand why they’ve caught people’s interest on social media. She now has 140k+ followers on TikTok and goes viral on a semi-regular basis! In this episode, you’ll hear some of her social media strategies and how starting a cottage food business enabled her to ..read more

Eric & Denise Steilberger of Ocala, FL sell fudge with their cottage food business, Fudge de Fûge. I’m excited to finally have a fudge business on the show! I’ve always thought that fudge only sells well during the holidays, but Eric and Denise have proven me wrong. They sell fudge all year long, and they sell a LOT of fudge to their loyal customers! In this episode, you’re going to love hearing their very unique story, as well as the lessons they learned over decades of experience in the food industry. What You’ll Learn How they sell fudge all year round, even in a hot climate Why it’s i ..read more

Kristyn Suemnick lives in Murrieta, CA and sells organic sourdough bread with her cottage food bakery, Old Oak Sourdough. Kristyn had long struggled with gluten intolerance and had not eaten gluten for many years, but once she discovered authentic sourdough bread in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, everything changed. She made sourdough bread for just her family for over a year and a half, but once she decided to start selling it, her business took off and she hasn’t been able to keep up with demand since! In this episode, you’ll hear how Kristyn’s love for sourdough has turned into a th ..read more

Megan Shonka lives in Papillion, NE and sells baked goods with her cottage food business, Happy Mango Bakery. Megan has always been an entrepreneur at heart, but it wasn’t until the pandemic hit in 2020 that she finally decided to start her own business. Although she sells baked goods from her home, her real focus is on building community, and that mission has kept her going despite many struggles along the way. Megan is now in the process of expanding into her own brick-and-mortar bakery, and in this episode, she candidly shares the many sacrifices and successes that have gotten her to this p ..read more

Denae Spiering lives in Bridgeville, DE and sells baked goods with her cottage food business, The Sugar Shack. Denae started her bakery almost a decade ago, and she has now grown it to the point where she has an impressive storefront on her property and has many regular customers. But it wasn’t a smooth ride to get to this point. In 2016, she stopped her business for a year and a half due to work, and then in 2018, when she had her sights set on a storefront, she broke her hip and shut down her bakery for almost 2 years. Shortly after the pandemic began in 2020, she refocused on her longtime d ..read more