We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danielle Key a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Danielle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

This question seemed fitting since I am currently writing this at JFK waiting for my flight to Spain. Vacation is one of the biggest reasons as to why I started Almond Dust. As a solo mom, I was tired of missing every holiday with my Daughter and working every weekend. I love baking but was getting so burned out in the hotel industry I had to figure out a way to do what I love while being able to spend time with my family. This is how Almond Dust Patisserie was born.
I built vacation time into my business plan. I give myself 3 weeks in the summer to travel internationally. Vacations are such a vital part of staying motivated throughout the year. Most of my flavors and recipes are inspired by travel. The key to being able to take a vacation as a small business owner is to have someone you trust to take over while you are away. Have it known from the beginning and start training your employee so you both feel confident while you are away. For me, this person is my mom. She takes over deliveries and prep so I can truly disconnect while I am away. I met one of my biggest customers while on vacation. I also met my box designer and supplier while on vacation. Vacations are transformative, they have a way of opening new opportunities.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Almond Dust Patisserie is a made from scratch bakery specializing in wholesale macarons. Prior to Almond Dust, I was working as a program manager for an international travel company. I spent 5 years eating my way across the world, taking every cooking and baking class along the way. In 2018, I decided to change careers and enrolled at The French Pastry School in Chicago. After graduation, I moved to Charleston to work in a hotel where I found myself making French macarons 8 hours a day, almost everyday, for 2.5 years. I noticed that there was such a high demand for macarons, it was impossible to keep them stocked. COVID hit and everything closed down so I started baking macarons at home for personal orders. This is when I realized I could make a business out of it. I got my first wholesale account a few weeks later then a second and third right after that. I told myself I could leave the hotel when I doubled my income. That was my safety net. I spent 6 months working 2 full time jobs until I was in a good enough financial position to focus on Almond Dust full time. We have grown to 11 restaurants and flower shops in Charleston. I take pride in using only fresh ingredients, I do not use any flavor extracts in my macarons. And I pull flavor inspiration from my travels to make unique flavor combinations.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth has been the best source of new clients. One chef will talk to another chef and it goes from there. In one year, we went from 3 partnerships to 11.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I mention this in the “about me” section.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.almonddust.com
• Instagram: Almonddustpatisserie

Image Credits
@Christinaleighphotos @flowerpowerpoppy