We recently connected with Alison Gutwaks and have shared our conversation below.

Alison, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, one thing many business owners consider is donating a percentage of sales or profits to an organization or cause. We’d love to hear your thoughts and the story behind how and why you chose the cause or organization you donate to.

When I started working for myself, I decided to donate 10% of my profits every year to charity. It became overwhelming to see such a large sum of money coming out of my bank account every year for one or two organizations. So, I decided to give to a different charity every month. This helps with bookkeeping and gives me the opportunity to give to 12 different worthy organizations each year. I publicize them on my social media and email lists so my followers and clients can be introduced to a new charity. It also makes it transparent to whom I am giving each month, which will hopefully give them an extra positive boost in knowing that they are not only ordering food for themselves but also giving a portion to my charity of choice.

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

Since I was young, I have always loved to cook. I read cookbooks and watched the Food Network all the time. I worked for a catering company and made cakes for people in my community. For my birthdays, I got kitchen tools and cookbooks. My mom never kicked me out of her kitchen, even after I had failed recipes, wasted ingredients, set things on fire, and cut my hand and had to get stitches. She always allowed me back in and gave me room to experiment.

Wherever I was in the world, I always found a way to learn more about cooking. I lived in Israel for a year and sold soups. In college, I worked as an assistant to a woman who gave cooking classes once a week.

After college, I was in a program for my master’s in nutrition. I took a leave to make money and afford my life in New York. While I was working, I found myself with nights free and decided to go to culinary school at night.

What made me different from my peers was that I kept kosher. So, here I was, a kosher chef in a non-kosher culinary school, unable to taste anything. I was featured in the Wall Street Journal that year because of my unique experience.

Straight out of culinary school, I was hired for my specialty: taking non-kosher food and transforming it into something kosher. During that time, my husband and I both lost our jobs. To make ends meet, I gave cooking classes and made food for people. I realized that this was my true passion: working as a personal chef and cooking class instructor. It also gave me the flexibility I wanted and the ability to take on recipe development jobs for lots of companies, write food articles, and work on my blog.

We moved from New Jersey to Ohio, and there I started my company, AliBabka. I gave it one year to see if it was something worth pursuing, and here we are nine years later. I have a successful business that keeps growing!

I love cooking and the creativity of it. I love making people happy through my food, and I love helping people ease the stress in their lives with home-cooked meals ready to go! I have lots of clients throughout Ohio, travel with clients all over the world, and I also happen to be kosher.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The feedback I get the most is that my food is delicious and creative and my customer service is amazing! I get back to people in a timely manner and I always try to have a smile on my face.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I got married very young and then divorced. During that time I was in school for my masters in nutrition. My life was turned so upside down when I got divorced that I had to take a leave from school. I had to make money and make sure I could support myself. I took a 9-5 admin job. I was also trying to build up my self esteem and find myself again. I took some of the money I had from my wedding and went to culinary school. I never went back for nutrition, but this is really where I want to be in life now.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.alibabka.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alibabka/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alibabkablog
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonbarnett/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/alibabka

Image Credits
Amy Ann Photography