Dee Davis (01:07)
Good morning and welcome to the Management Under Construction podcast. I'm your host, Dee Davis, and I'm here today with Sandra Gonzales of Sandra's Sweet Rolls and Sandra's Street Tacos. I fumbled that the first time. I fumbled that.
Sandra Gonzalez (01:21)
You're not the only one.
Dee Davis (01:25)
Okay,
so today we are going to talk about entrepreneurship and how Sandra moved from doing a side gig to doing a thriving business. the relationship between Sandra and I and how she got here, confession here, she's my best friend. We've known each other for about 10 years.
We met just bartering some things in the community and then we became running partners and now we're pretty much inseparable. She's my business buddy, she's my best friend and she has done a variety of businesses over the years as a stay-home mom and she has turned some of those into thriving businesses. Welcome to the show Sandra.
Sandra Gonzalez (02:09)
Thank you, thank you. I loved how you messed up on the Sandra's Street tacos. Everyone does it. They do the Sandra's Sweet Roll, Sandra's Sweet Tacos, what? Sweet Tacos, what? Everybody does it. So I loved it,
Dee Davis (02:15)
you
So
tell us a little bit more about yourself and your businesses.
Sandra Gonzalez (02:26)
like you said, I would stay at home. Mom for about 19 years ish got two kids, I homeschool them. well, I homeschooled one of them. He has since graduated and I'm currently homeschooling the other one. I just started Sandra's sweet rolls, to make some money.
I was in kind of a crummy marriage, wanted to get out of that and needed to have an income. And because I hadn't worked in so long, I knew that if I went out to the workforce, I'm going to end up working at McDonald's for, 20 bucks an hour. And we all know in San Diego, that ain't going to pay the bills. I knew I needed to do something different. And I've always had a really good business brain to, do some of these little side gigs and make them work.
So that's kind of just how it started and that's where I am. And now I have a thriving business that pays a full-time income and lets me be a single mom to my kids.
Dee Davis (03:20)
That's so awesome. know so many people are so intrigued when I share your story with them about how you grew this little, you know, pop-up vendor business really into something that you're supporting your family with. You've done so many different kinds of businesses and there's probably some I don't even know about. I know you've done things like, grown and sold vegetables out of your garden. You've done large volume.
Sandra Gonzalez (03:28)
Thank
Dee Davis (03:45)
Honey business where you would buy honey in bulk and resell that repackage it and resell it books cloth diaper business how did you decide which of these? Businesses that you've done and that you've experienced that you wanted to scale
Sandra Gonzalez (04:02)
So I have done a bunch of things. Most of them were just to kind of make extra money to pay for field trips or whatever, extra things that I needed.
prior to COVID, had done Instacart, Amazon Flex, things that I could take my kids with me if I needed to. And those were good moneymakers up through COVID. Then things changed, the pay changed, all of that. So they quit making me money. it quit being worth it. And I have always had enough business sense to know when it was time to get out of something,
It's just something that I've always been able to figure out. And so I remember in December of 2020, I was sitting around and I was writing out my goals for the new year. And I'm like, I need a business. need something to make a certain amount of money because that certain amount of money would allow me to get a divorce, which is what I really wanted and support my kids.
and I'm like, what can I do that will make this amount of money every month? And I had a novelty business, which I do love still, all the sarcastic, smart assy stuff printed on whatever you want it on. It was awesome, but not everyone needs a t-shirt every single week, I need something that's consumable, something that people will have to buy over and over.
What am I good at? Well, I've been a stay at home mom for like 20 years, so I can cook. And I was really good at baking breads. And so I kind of thought, okay, at the markets that I go to for this novelty business, whose booth is selling all the things? And it's always the food, always the food, because people will buy food no matter what. mean, COVID, the world shut down.
And we now have DoorDash and Uber Eats and like all these things, food, people want their food. So I'm thinking, okay, it's gotta be food. I bake. Now I started thinking, I could do like those artisan breads. People love those. But then I started thinking, okay, but I need to be able to scale it to a point where I can make enough money. I can only put so many loaves of bread in the oven.
which means unless I want to bake them six days in advance and have them stale, I can only make X amount, which is going to make me X amount of money. So I'm like, that won't work. Cookies aren't my thing. Somehow I just thought cinnamon rolls. And I'm like, who in the heck doesn't love cinnamon rolls? I was probably craving them at the time. I don't know, but I thought of them. And then I just had to think, well, what's going to make them different from anyone else's cinnamon rolls?
or from Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, why would people buy mine? And that's how I came up with flavors. I've got to make them unique. I've got to make different flavored ones. And I will tell you, I have yet to find anyone who makes them the way that I do. People put different toppings and flavors on top, but they don't do it the way I do it. And so sure enough, I just kind of started practicing and I remember a friend of mine, I made her come over all the time and eat them and she kept complaining she was gonna get fat.
And I was like, try them, try this flavor, try them. And then I went and I sold them and people loved them. So that's kind of how that all came about. And just sitting down one day trying to decide on my goals for the new year and that I needed to make a certain amount of money to achieve the goal. And it just spiraled from there.
Dee Davis (07:22)
That's quite a story and for anybody who hasn't had Sandra's Sweet Rolls, they are very unique because she creates all these seasonal flavors and the flavors are in like the filling in the wrap of the cinnamon roll, not
in the frosting on the top, which makes them very unique and very different. And she changes them with the seasons. So there's certain summer flavors and fall flavors and Christmas flavors and things like that. And she's had a lot of fun over the years coming up with the different ones. And yeah, I might've been one of those taste testers in the early days.
I remember when you first started out and we talk about this periodically,
you were making a few dozen sweet rolls at the beginning and thinking, my gosh, this is so hard and it's taking so much time. And now you're doing hundreds at a time and you're doing events that last for days and days. And in the month of December in particular, you do an event that lasts the entire month. It goes from the very beginning of December all the way right up until Christmas Eve. How do you feel now looking back
on where you started. How does that make you feel compared to where you are now?
Sandra Gonzalez (08:35)
proud of course. I remember making like two dozen or three dozen cinnamon rolls the first time and was like, my gosh, this is so many. I've never made this many, now I don't even bother baking if I'm not going to make, eight to 10 dozen, at a time. I'm proud of it and I'm proud of what I've built. But honestly, when I think about it, I'm just amazed.
It's a cinnamon roll, you know? I sit and think about it and I'm like, it is just a cinnamon roll. And the fact that it can support me and my kids in San Diego, I mean, it really does. It just blows my mind sometimes. And it just proves that it doesn't matter. you don't need some kind of amazing idea, something that's so out of this world to make something a business.
You just need to have something people want and people want food. these events that I do that like December is coming up in a couple of weeks. I do sit back and I look and I'm thinking we will be baking thousands of cinnamon rolls.
in December, thousands it's exciting. It's exciting to see the growth, the skill, you have to get better. I was really good at making one or two dozen cinnamon rolls. And when you scale up, it is different. I've had to teach an employee how to make them, which is kind of hard too, because I'm letting go of
of my third child. I'm giving it to someone else here, do her justice. I don't know, you know, there is a little bit of that. And she has, she's been amazing. it's exciting. But it's kind of amazing to just think about how far I have come. with cinnamon rolls
Dee Davis (10:10)
Yeah, it's very exciting. And for any of you haven't caught on yet, she doesn't have a brick and mortar location. So all of her sales are pop-up events. So farmers markets, she does fair type events.
Sandra Gonzalez (10:19)
Mm-hmm.
Dee Davis (10:24)
sells at baseball fields, at workplaces all different kinds of community events, pumpkin patches and holiday craft fairs and things like that. it's a lot of work. I know because I've done it with her a few occasions. she'll cook everything in advance and then, there's tables and shades and
Sandra Gonzalez (10:34)
Yeah.
Dee Davis (10:43)
lights and sometimes she sells them hot in the winter time and so then you have to have stuff to heat them up with and all that and we're just talking about the cinnamon roll business we haven't even really hit on the taco business yet but I remember at the very beginning of this you and I were on a walk one day and
Sandra Gonzalez (10:56)
What?
Dee Davis (11:04)
I was talking about launching Yellowstone Professional Education and that piece of my business and you were talking about launching the Sweet Roll business and we were talking about the fear of success and I put it that way because that's the fear of failure is something that I think that everybody understands is what if nobody wants what I'm baking or selling or what if they don't like it or what if people have something negative to say or critical
something about what I'm doing because whether it's your any kind of business that you start, whether it's you're selling a product or a service, it's you, it's part of you. Like you said, it's a bit of a third child. So that fear of not just rejection, but of success is a real thing. So what do you have to say about the fear of success?
Sandra Gonzalez (11:42)
Yeah. Yep.
It is, and I kind of think I remember that conversation. It is huge. And I don't think people think about it. They do think about the fear of failure. And I hear that all the time, what if you don't make enough money at your events or all the what ifs and, you're going to just fail. But for me, it is the fear of success.
As I said, I was trying to get a divorce. This was what started the whole thing. I was done. It was quite an abusive relationship. And for the longest time, I was not good enough, ever. so when things would start going well, I found I would sabotage, would cancel an event or something. not because I'm afraid I'm going to fail.
I was going out of what my brain thought I was. My brain thought I was like at this level. And if I continued the way I was going, I was going to get up to here. And my brain was like, we're not up there though. We're not that good. We can't be that successful. it took a while. it's still something I fight with, it's okay to be super successful and it's okay to.
make it bigger and do better. And, there are times when I still want to sabotage myself, because I'm not down here anymore, but I may not be where I want to be. And so that fear of success, that fear that things can't stay the same, they have to change, which means I have to change, which means my life has to change. And even though it's all going to be good things.
It's still scary. Nobody likes change. that has been a big struggle just believing that I'm good enough to have something successful and that I can be successful.
Dee Davis (13:32)
Well, and I think as women, we have a tendency to do that to ourselves a little bit more than our male counterparts do. The self-sabotage that you're talking about, the fear of success, there's that saying, what if I fail? And the counter to that is, what if you succeed? And you and I have said that to each other many times, because every entrepreneur goes through this in some way.
Sandra Gonzalez (13:52)
Yes.
Dee Davis (13:57)
at some point has a sleepless night, has a day where they think, my goodness, I can't do this. Nobody's gonna hire me. Nobody's gonna buy my sweet rolls And when you have a business that is a consumable like yours, that's perishable on top of it, it's a very unique challenge that is light years different.
Sandra Gonzalez (14:15)
Yep.
Dee Davis (14:19)
from my businesses. My businesses are completely different. They're service based. So nothing is perishable. it's called an evergreen service, right? it's valid today or it's valid in five years, you have to.
purchase the ingredients, make the products and sell them immediately, or you have to throw them away, give them away, sell them at a deep discount to get rid of them. So that provides a very different perspective. And I know you and I have talked about different strategies over the years, even with some of my other more consumable products, like books that I write and sell, we still can't play on that same level playing field.
Sandra Gonzalez (14:58)
Right.
Dee Davis (15:00)
because
they're very different products. So it's been a very interesting adventure for me to watch what you've gone through and learn from you about how different businesses are completely different.
So if you're out there thinking about starting a business of some kind or thinking about taking a side gig that you've got going on and turning it into a profitable self-supporting business, you have to think about a lot of these things that Sandra's talking about. what is the demand? How am I going to sell it? Do I need a brick and mortar location? Can I do it in a pop-up or virtually? How much profit can I make? How much can I actually produce? Those kinds of things matter.
Sandra Gonzalez (15:40)
Yeah, absolutely. And I think a lot of people don't think about all of that and you really need to, you may be the best underwater basket weaver on the planet, but how many people want, that? I see it all the time when I do events, It's not that their products aren't great.
Dee Davis (15:40)
And.
Sandra Gonzalez (15:59)
but nobody wants it. Nobody needs doilies, crocheted doilies anymore. That used to be a thing when my grandma was around. It's not anymore. you have to take your talents and make it into something that people really want. And there's a lot that goes into the thinking behind the business besides just, I'm just going to go sell this stuff. And if you're going to be smart and you want to really make money, you really have to think about those things.
Dee Davis (16:03)
you
Yeah, and I think that's probably one of the differentiators between the side gig and the self-supporting business is, you you can crochet doilies if that's what makes you happy, and maybe you can sell some and make a little bit of money and great, if that's all you need it to do. But if you need a profitable business, you've got to look at it a different way. In scaling your business, how did you learn to do that as you went along in your journey?
Sandra Gonzalez (16:31)
Mm-hmm.
Trial and error, lots of error. For me, because I'm a food vendor, essence, so wherever there's community events. But the thing is, not all of them are profitable at all. And there are events, I've mentioned it to you, whined and cried about them, they seem like amazing events with tens of thousands of people.
And I make $2. I don't know. and so you just kind of have to just get out there and figure it out and do it and try it. I have learned for myself, the bigger is not always the better. but it can't be the small little mom and pop things either. Those don't work for me. but I would never know that if I hadn't gone out there and just failed at some of them.
Once I find those events, then I'm able to really make them better and scale up in that I can do more of those, or I can go longer. Like the pumpkin patch, the first time I went to that, I went for one weekend. then the next year I was like, this is a great event. I'm going to scale up. I'm going to, go for the whole month. and then the year after that, it was a month and a half, the entire time they were open.
the same with my December event. The first time I went, it was five days. and I had not made that many rolls because it's a very popular event. So I was making hundreds of roles in those five days. And I just thought I could do more. I could do more, but then I had to hire an employee to help because I couldn't do it on my own.
and so then the next year it was two weeks instead of five days. And then now, it's from the first through the 23rd every single day. And last year we added the tacos with the cinnamon rolls. I think I also put a money, a dollar in my head and I was like, okay, how do I reach that? to scale up, you just have to figure out how I'm going to reach it. how am going to do it? somehow it works out when you really want it.
it'll work out. lots of error. ⁓
Dee Davis (18:45)
Yeah.
Trial and error, and I remember you doing
a lot of research. So finding different events in this particular case it's not unlike being a podcaster where you have to find your audience. Where are my people? Where are they gathering? Where are they going to find my product? You had to find your audience and your audience isn't always where you think it's gonna be. Like you're saying, I do remember a couple of really big events I remember telling you, this event is
Sandra Gonzalez (18:52)
No.
No.
Dee Davis (19:14)
huge. There's tens of thousands of people that show up. You went and signed up for the event and you went and you sold almost nothing. ⁓ Part of it is how much competition is in the area. So in your particular case, if you're at an event that you have five other people selling sweets and you don't have enough people have to choose now between yours and four other vendors, you're only going to get a percentage of that foot traffic.
Sandra Gonzalez (19:21)
Nope.
Dee Davis (19:40)
Same thing could go for any business. If you're going out and you're marketing where you don't have a lot of competition, the odds of you selling are much, much higher. Whereas if you're out there and you're trying to scream into a crowd, it's much harder to sell your product.
Sandra Gonzalez (19:58)
Absolutely. when I was doing some of the research and part of it came from a little bit of error, but I sell cinnamon rolls, which are typically an American classic type dessert. There are certain neighborhoods, certain areas where it's, much more multicultural. They don't sell well. It's not what people want. It's not what they're used to. so you kind of do have to really know your audience.
when you're doing street fairs, massive street fairs, you've got tons of other vendors and they want something on a stick that they can walk around with. they don't want a container with the cinnamon roll. So you really not only have to know the audience, but yeah, the event and what is it that people, if I'm going to the event, what is it that I'm going to buy? If it's in a hot summer, I am not buying a hot cinnamon roll. so you really just have to do that kind of research and know.
Where your people are. And once you find your people, I can go to events, the pumpkin patch. There are other sweet vendors and I always do well still because pumpkin patches are very sentimental. very classic, very American. And my cinnamon rolls fit into that vibe. Christmas, everyone thinks about waking up on Christmas morning with cinnamon rolls.
it's out of every Hallmark movie. So my December event, there are other sweet vendors there, but I always do amazing. You just got to find your people and find your community
Dee Davis (21:23)
Well, and to be frank, any kind of a sweet anywhere where there's lots of kids, you're gonna be more likely to do well. And I've noticed that a lot of the events that you tend to do very well at, the kids are more or less your audience. Yes, the adults like the sweet rolls too. And of course the adults are paying the bills, but.
Sandra Gonzalez (21:36)
Yeah.
Right.
Dee Davis (21:42)
the kids see a sweet roll they know what it is your logo looks like a sweet roll every kid in the world knows what that is and you know mom mom i want a sweet roll in fact we marketed that mara meets sandra sweet rolls i wrote a book about sandra sweet rolls
Sandra Gonzalez (21:45)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Dee Davis (21:58)
a couple of years ago, I approached Sandra and I said, hey, I really want to write this children's book series and I need a guinea pig for my first book. And I asked her if I could use her business as a, initial launching of this book series, Mara Meets.
Sandra Gonzalez (21:59)
You
Dee Davis (22:16)
And it's all about Sandra and her business and the little five-year-old girl Mara, who's based on my twin granddaughters, meet Sandra at an event and they invent a new sweet roll flavor together. They have a little baking adventure. And it's all completely hand illustrated by my very good friend, Nancy Poinsot. She's a professional artist. And I just wanted to ask you, what kind of impact did that have on how you viewed yourself and your business and your success?
Sandra Gonzalez (22:32)
You
Dee Davis (22:44)
to have a book written about you.
Sandra Gonzalez (22:47)
I'm not gonna pretend like it wasn't flattering. Like hell yes it was. I mean, someone wants to write a book about me but it was really cool. I put it out at different events and stuff and it never fails to get attention. the kids do love looking at it and you know, I've had many ask, can we do that too? they wanna come and make the sweet roll. So, you know, I have to tell them no,
And so it's been really fun. And people are always like, wow, somebody wrote a book about you? It's amazing. It's really cool. I really enjoyed having it and showing people. And because then I think it also gives a little bit of credibility. Not that people don't look at me and think that I'm credible, but now there's a book
How many food vendors have a book written about them? Not many.
Dee Davis (23:30)
and we'll mention this again
later, but just in case you also did not know this, in the back of the book, which is available on Amazon, Mara Meat Sandra Sweet Rolls, is available on Amazon. In the back of the book, there's information about how you can order your own. I gotta show this picture. I love this picture. I took this picture when we were baking one night.
late night baking at one of the events.
And you can order them in the continental United States. You can have them delivered right to your house. So if you're hankering for a sweet roll after all this sweet roll conversation, you can definitely do that. And the information on how to order is in the back of the book.
one other thing I wanted to mention is that your business is a bit of a family business. Your son and your daughter both help working the business or the business as it were when you do the tacos and sometimes you'll do them separately, sometimes you do them together.
And you're very customer facing. You like to be there to meet with the customers, talk to the customers, answer their questions and be very involved. I remember once working with you at an event where this really rude customer, I just was mortified. I sometimes I'm amazed because I don't do that kind of working with the public. I just remember this really rude lady.
Sandra Gonzalez (24:46)
Yeah.
Thank you.
Dee Davis (24:53)
loudly
disclaiming after taking one bite that she didn't like your product which is the polar opposite reaction that most people have. And I've had hundreds of your sweet rolls myself. They're very, very good. And you dealt with it really, really well. What is your philosophy on dealing with badly behaved members of the public?
Sandra Gonzalez (25:13)
I know exactly what you're talking about because it was last year and it was the first person that's ever behaved like that. I have been very blessed. I'm in my fourth year of business with the sweet rolls. And I know I talk about that a lot more than I have the tacos. The tacos are like the side gig to the sweet rolls. but I can count on one hand, how many people have been rude.
And honestly, one guy was tired of waiting for his coffee. He ordered just coffee. He didn't and everyone else in front of him had ordered rolls. He had to wait his turn and he was grumpy. another person was trying to get a free cinnamon roll and came and said that, last week she bought one. and it was old and I was like, well, which one was it? And she had no idea. she didn't even know what she got. So, there are people like that.
This lady was special. She launched that cinnamon roll at me. And I will tell you that my philosophy is not what I really want to do. She was really nasty. she wanted it heated up.
And in December, I don't heat them up. sell them pre-packaged.
she was not happy that I told her no.
But honestly, what I do is I just appease them. if it's something like the grumpy guy with his coffee, I apologize. I know we just have to take care of everyone in front of you. I will hurry up I'm trying to appease them with her. I gave her her money back.
because I don't want to deal with her. It's just easier to not deal with them. it was embarrassing to me too. those are the kinds of people that aren't rational and you don't want to escalate it.
So I just gave her money back and got her out of there because nothing positive is going to come out of it.
Now, I say that when it's to me. If it were to you when you were there, or if it were to my kids who do work with me or my employee who works with me, I do not tolerate people being rude to them. And I will not. We did have a guy...
come by that had a fit with the parking at the event last year, the same event. If you want to be rude to me, it's one thing, but you're not going to treat my employees and my help that way. it's my name on the business, literally.
Sandra Sweetrolls, it is my name on the business. Take up your issues with me.
Dee Davis (27:25)
Yeah, I think a lot of business owners fear having bad reviews or...
The negative Nellies tend to be the loudest. And I know I've had other friends that own businesses tell me some of their stories with a unreasonable customer. yes, when you're talking about giving somebody money back for a single sweet roll, that's kind of one thing. If you're selling higher dollar items and people are demanding refunds or deep discounts,
Sandra Gonzalez (27:33)
loudest.
Dee Davis (27:56)
large ticket items that's a little bit different. anytime you put yourself out there whether it's your brand, your name, your business, your book, your podcast, whatever you're selling or pushing out there there's always going to be somebody who doesn't like it and that's okay. We talk about this a lot in my authors groups and podcasters groups where when you're putting yourself out there there's always going to be
Sandra Gonzalez (28:13)
Right. Yeah.
Dee Davis (28:22)
somebody who has something negative to say and they're not going to be your customer. And that's really the point is that those are not your people. When you're out there trying to find your people to market your product, to take your product to market, those people are not your people. So you don't need to worry about those people is the overall message. Those people forget about them and move on.
Sandra Gonzalez (28:42)
Absolutely.
Yeah,
Dee Davis (28:47)
And that's
Sandra Gonzalez (28:47)
absolutely.
Dee Davis (28:48)
the best practice there. What do you like most about being self-employed?
Sandra Gonzalez (28:52)
I love the work life balance. I still homeschool my daughter. I'm still very involved in things that they do. She has some classes, different things. And I love that I can work when I want or need to work, but I can also have the time to be with them. I can have the time for
whatever it is, I think we were just talking about it this morning what do you do when you have a nine to five and you need to make a doctor's appointment? how do you work that out? I don't have to really worry about that. And it's just been, very nice. and then I can work when I need to work, and make the money that I need to make. that's, I think my favorite part about being self-employed.
And then of course, I've not had a real job for 21 years. I don't know that I'm employable at this point to have someone else tell me what to do all the time.
Dee Davis (29:45)
You're
You're about to find out because her business is very seasonal. the first quarter of the year is very, very quiet. And so she's taken a class and she's going to be taking a job, a J.O.B. for somebody else the first quarter of the year. Continuing to work her business, but to help fill in some of those seasonal gaps.
which is something that people with seasonal businesses very often have to do. What do you like the least about being self-employed?
Sandra Gonzalez (30:14)
the irregular income. it's a love and hate. sometimes I love that I have all the power to make all the decisions. But sometimes I really just want someone else to tell me what to do. There are moments when I don't want to have to make the decision. I don't want to have to, find the next event. can somebody just tell me what to do?
when you're exhausted, I find that that tends to be when those things come up. But, I would probably have to say finding the events and knowing whether or not they're going to be profitable is the one thing that I dislike the most because you never know, I don't so much anymore. But in the past, I would really second guess myself with every event because
As we talked about, have to buy all of the things prior And I have to make everything I have to pay for the event, and some of those fees are pretty darn expensive. just having to put that out there and the hopes, it's probably one of my least favorite things that in social media, which I totally suck at.
Dee Davis (31:17)
Well, and there's licenses and permits and insurance and all these things that go along with pretty much any business that you do. If you start doing it any volume, you have to consider all those kinds of things. And those are sunk costs that you're going to face every year, regardless of whether you make any money. So some of those kinds of things that you don't have to think about if you're working for somebody else, it's great. But I go through the same thing.
There's days, sometimes even a whole week where I'll just think, can't somebody else do this stuff? Especially when it's something you don't want to do. I don't enjoy social media. a lot of the stuff that you see me post, I do write those myself, but I have a social media manager that handles all that stuff for me. She makes it pretty. She makes sure that my...
stuff is all formatted correctly and has good pictures that go with it and then schedules it out on social media and when is it going to post and how often is it going to post and she handles all that stuff for me. I would be toast without a social media manager. And so that's another cost as you start to grow and you start to scale any business in order to continue to grow, you have to start putting more things into it.
I had to hire an accountant at one point, a bookkeeper to start keeping my monthly books. Right now, I think you're keeping your own books, right?
Sandra Gonzalez (32:41)
I am. Yeah.
Dee Davis (32:42)
Yeah, and so all those kinds of things is you're looking at starting a business, whatever kind of business that is that you're thinking about starting. You have to think about all those things, and sometimes it very much pays to delegate those things and to pay for somebody else to do those things. When you're just starting out, I was my own bookkeeper for the first couple of years before I finally said I can't do this anymore. I need to hire somebody. You have to start spending your time more wisely.
How can I best spend my time? There's lots of personal accounting that happens, especially in your kind of business where you have an event, you've got credit cards coming in, cash coming in, how much should you spend? How much should you earn? All that stuff has to be kept track of. you and I have had these conversations many times. did you do well at this event last year or did you not do well? And you're keeping track of all that stuff.
There's a lot of organizational skills that go along with being an entrepreneur, keeping track of things that are relevant to your business and even the weather can be relevant to some businesses like yours in particular.
Sandra Gonzalez (33:47)
Absolutely. Yeah. I know one of these days I keep saying I'm going to hire all these people. The first person is going to be the social media person though. That's for sure. Because it's the thing that I least enjoy doing.
Dee Davis (34:00)
unfortunately in business these days, you have to be on social media. That's really how you find your people and connect with your audience. So like it or not, we all have to have our social media people, whether that's you or someone that you hire. Do you find it difficult to stay motivated? And if so, how do you overcome that?
Sandra Gonzalez (34:22)
of course, yeah. today, it's all cloudy and cold and, you just want to stay home and snuggle up and eat soup. And then to know that you have like all the things, the back end with all the bookkeeping and things like that, that you need to get done. Or if you have an event and it's just the weather is not cooperate anything or sometimes you're just tired.
yes, I find that there are times when I'm just like no just no but those darn kids like to eat and they like to eat a lot and They like having a roof over their heads and I am always cold So I like to have electricity so I can have heaters So those things motivate me enough to get my butt out there and to work But all joking aside really it's
the kids and the responsibilities and stuff. I don't have a full-time job or even a part-time job as backup for when I don't want to go and do this. This is it. This is the business. We all have our moments when we're less excited and less motivated, but you just got to do it. Sometimes you just got to pull up the big girl panties and get your butt out there.
Dee Davis (35:31)
Yeah, being a single parent can definitely be a huge motivator. know way, way back in the day when I got divorced and found myself being a single parent. That was a huge motivator for me to grow in my career and I wasn't working for myself at that time. I was working for somebody else, but yeah, to get that next job to get that higher paying job to climb that ladder.
to get the next promotion was a huge motivation to take care of my kids and make sure that they had what they needed growing up. I think whether you're a mom or a dad, that's going to be true. That kids are a huge motivator. A lot of people want to start their own business and I get asked lots of questions like this from people all the time. I want to start my own business, but what if I don't get enough work?
What if I don't make enough money to support my family? I'm uncomfortable giving up that steady paycheck. All those kinds of arguments, the insurance, whatever benefits you might get from regular employer. What do you have to say to those people?
Sandra Gonzalez (36:35)
I would say don't quit your day job at first. you need to pay the bills and when you're starting a business, it's not always going to pay the bills. Dolly Parton has this song nine to five. Well, most people have heard of it. Well, she went and recreated it not too long ago she's kind of redone the wording and it's five to nine. And she talks all about doing what it is you love and hustling.
after your nine to five. And I love it. And I listen to it like all the time. I love Dolly. We all love Dolly. Who doesn't love her? I would say don't just up and quit. I have met people who just completely quit and will go and get a food truck and go into debt. And then it's not panning out the way that they thought. But,
build it up. if you really, really want it, I got to a place where I just had it as a little part-time side gig. And then when my ex and I split, it had to become full-time and it had to pay the bills. and I didn't have a choice in that, which part of me is glad that I didn't have that choice because it forced me to build it. but
At the same time, I did have some money in the bank that I could fall back on. You don't ever want to just not have anything to fall back on. And then, if you want it enough, you're going to get out there and you're going to build it you're going to make it work. you just have to want it enough and you have to understand. it's not all going to be sunshine and roses. there are going to be days when you're not motivated, when everyone you have to meet and talk to and work with sucks.
When having to make the accounts balance, it's not working there's going to be those days, but the rewards have to be big enough. the rewards for me is that I still in essence, I am a stay at home, mom, my kids either go with me to work or I'm here with them. And that is motivation enough to make it work.
It's bigger than all of the crap that might come with owning your own business. So that would be my suggestion. Make sure you have some money to fall back on as you build it though. That's so important.
Dee Davis (38:46)
Yeah, there's definitely philosophies out there in business that say just go all in head first and just keep going and don't give yourself something to fall back on. Everybody's risk profile is a little different. That doesn't meet my risk profile. I definitely when I started my business. Had money saved up.
even as you're continuing to grow your business and scale your business, my business now is probably five times the size of what it started. And it's been very successful, but I still save money because there's always going to be lean times. There's always going to be hiccups. You're going to finish one project and not have the next one started yet. Or maybe you get sick or you have a family member that needs some help. Something's going to happen.
to where your priority needs to be somewhere else for a minute and you need that financial backing. That fits more my risk profile. And I think for those of you out there who are thinking of starting a consulting gig like I have, that's always my advice to anybody starting a consulting gig is make sure you have three, four months of enough money to get by on in the bank at all times because
there's going to be hiccups, there's gonna be thin spots, and you wanna make sure that you outlast it. Most consultants don't last more than a few years, and this is usually why. They'll get a gig or two, and they go out and they do it, and then they have nothing to fill the gap, and they freak out, and they just go take another regular job. So it pays to save, for sure.
Everybody always wants to know whether professional bakers eat their own baked goods, do they?
Sandra Gonzalez (40:28)
You know, I eat all my baked goods. Do I eat my cinnamon rolls anymore? Not as much. I spent a lot of time eating those cinnamon rolls and perfecting those recipes. I do eat the new flavors when I come out with the new flavors and every now and then, it just smells really good. Let me have one. But not so much do I eat the cinnamon rolls anymore.
I bake all the time. I'm always baking something in my kitchen and I do eat all of that,
Dee Davis (40:52)
it's fatigue, right? It's like working at McDonald's after a while, you're going to get sick of McDonald's. I'm sure Jared got sick of Subway at some point
Sandra Gonzalez (41:00)
I know people are always telling me your house must smell amazing. it's got a permanent cinnamon roll smell to it. it's in the walls.
Dee Davis (41:08)
It's great as a novelty for the rest of us.
When you first started this journey, what kinds of things do you wish you would have known or that somebody would have told you?
Sandra Gonzalez (41:17)
I thought about this question it's easy to say, I wish I would have known the great events, which ones were the best, but that's just trial and error. You're never going to know. which ones are great and which ones aren't and you'll find your rhythm eventually. And there's some growth that needs to happen along that path. But I think what I wish I would have known is that
It would work out. think just a lot of that self doubt that I had in the beginning as to whether or not I could do this, whether or not it would pay, whether or not, I'd be able to support the kids and myself. I think have some of that doubt been erased, which I don't even know if somebody could have told me that that's probably something that was completely in my head. I think it would have made things a lot.
more joyful, just that path. But then again, I don't know. I don't know if someone would have told me, you probably told me how many times, this is great. You're going to do great. You're going to be amazing. And I was like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. know? And so it may have not been something that someone could have really told me. But I think had I just realized that if I work it, if I do the work,
And I stick to it because I think that's a big thing in business. Some people just don't stick with it. Everything will be okay. Somehow, I don't know, the bank account ends up working out every month. I don't know how. Sometimes I think magically money appears. But it just always works out because you just stick to it. And so I think had I known that in the beginning, it would have just made things a lot more fun.
Dee Davis (42:50)
I bet if you would have had that knowledge upfront though that you wouldn't have turned out to be the person that you are at the end of the journey because you develop as a person along the way and that friction and that doubt and those ups and downs and stress, it's all part of the entrepreneurial journey that every single one of us has to go through.
I've had people ask me, have you had a lot of sleepless nights? And I always answer, I had one. I had one. It was the very first night. And after that, I never had another one. Now, does that mean I didn't have doubts or fears or stress along the way? No, absolutely not. But that's part of.
building up that resiliency as an entrepreneur and building up that confidence as you go and as you grow, did I imagine that I could go from being a, $20,000 a year side gig to a six figure profit business? No, you set out with a specific dollar amount in mind that you wanted to make. I just,
wanted to be successful enough. And I didn't really even know. I didn't have a number attached to that in my head. But I'm a hard worker. And I wanted to succeed. And so what that means for you, for me, for all the listeners out there, is going to be a little bit different for all of you. Is there any advice that you would want to give to somebody that's got a side gig and wants to turn it into a business like yours?
Sandra Gonzalez (44:28)
Work, do all the work you can. in the beginning, I was doing 16 to 20 events a month. And when you think of events, I mean, that is a lot. I know you think, working 16 days a month, it's not a big deal. But when it comes to food vending, it's a lot because I you had to add in an extra day for all of those events of me baking. So I was really working, 30 to 40.
days a month just to make those events. But I was hustling. And when you do that, you learn what's going to work and what's not going to work. And then you can tweak. Now, I don't work all that much. I don't work in January, February and most of March now because my busiest season of events that I've found that work the best and pay for January, February, March.
is October through December. I'm able to pick and choose now, but only because I hustled my behind off in the beginning. Like you have got to put in the work. There are no courses and Dee, you know, I love to buy all the courses, all the courses that are out there. I will buy them. Just tell me, hey, here's a course that will help you get from zero to a hundred thousand and I will buy it.
But there is no course out there that is going to get you to success except for the hard work, the hustle that you are just going to have to put in the time. And that's my advice. Just know you're going to have to just suck it up and do it. And then after your first year, you can pick and choose, So I don't know if that's been the same with you where you took whatever clients came your way and then now you can pick and choose. But for my kind of business, you take
everything and then you get to pick and choose.
Dee Davis (46:17)
Well, and I think that's true for most entrepreneurs, especially, you you've got a product base, I've got a client base. I absolutely took whoever came to my door in the very beginning. And yes, I've, I've fired clients. These days, I can say no, thank you. I can say, I don't really want to do that kind of work. I get to be more choosy because I did the hard work. I think the overall message here.
is that there's no easy button. There's absolutely no easy button. And it is hustle and it's hard work and it's worth it. I think we agree on that, that it's absolutely worth it. I always say if you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong. And I still believe that. Not every day is fun. Not every day is a party, believe me. I have days that I just wanna bang my head against my desk.
There's tasks that I have to do Some of the technology problems that we had today, just trying to get this episode recorded makes me want to bang my head against my desk. There's challenges, but it's worth it a hundred percent. So how can people best reach out to you, Sandra?
Sandra Gonzalez (47:25)
Well, you can find my website, sandrasweetrolls.com. I'm also on Facebook at Sandra Sweet Rolls and Instagram, Sandra Sweet Rolls. Keep it simple.
Dee Davis (47:37)
And you can always find her information the back of the Mara Meets Sandra's Sweet Rolls book available on Amazon. Her contact information is back there and she does ship in the continental United States.
Thank you so much, Sandra, for joining us today and dealing with all of our tech problems that we've had. We appreciate your stick-to-itiveness. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you next time.
Sandra Gonzalez (48:04)
Alright, bye.
