We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Allison Sampson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Allison below.

Allison, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the decision of whether to donate a percentage of sales to an organization or cause – we’d love to hear the backstory of how you thought through this.

Every quarter, my company, Cheese & Thank You, donates 20% of sales to local charities in Colorado Springs, CO, which is my hometown that I moved back to in 2018. The first charity I donated to was The Restoration Woodshop at Mountain Springs Church; they make furniture for foster kids! I allowed my fellow coworker, also an RN, Brent Stoltzfus, to pick out the charity since he was my first paying customer ever! Last quarter, I made a donation to The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region since I am a huge animal lover. This next quarter will be TESSA, a local organization that helps victims and their children suffering from sexual and physical abuse by offering confidential support, resources, counseling, and safety. This is near and dear to me, as I have experienced abuse as a child.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi, my name is Allison Sampson. I am a Registered Nurse by day (14 years!) and gourmet cheeseball maker by night. At present, I have 33 different flavors, with more on the way! Most people have either never had a cheeseball, or only had basic, boring ones around the holidays. Quite simply, cheeseballs are an orb of spreadable cheeses with delicious mix-ins, often spread on crackers or crudité. They are covered in a variety of ways, depending on if the cheeseball is savory or sweet: nuts, cheese, sprinkles, candy, herbs, coconut, bacon, chocolate chips, candy, cookie crumbles, pretzels, breadcrumbs, dried fruit, pomegranate, etc. The cheeseball is a retro appetizer that, allegedly, was first created in 1880 by a farmer in Massachusetts for President Jefferson that was 1,235 pounds (holy lactose, Batman!). They gained in popularity in the 1950s and fizzled out by the 1980s. I aim to make them have a comeback by making them more interesting, scrumptious, and to be enjoyed for any occasion, not just the holidays. Bias noted, but I think they are the best thing since sliced cheese, and once people try them, they are pleasantly cheesed (love me some puns)! Also, fun fact, and if you couldn’t already tell, my favorite food group is cheese, and it should be yours too!

My company’s name is punny and a little cheesy… Cheese & Thank You was a brand I imagined many years ago and is a play on the words, “Please and thank you.” My logo has an owl on it as an ode to my late Aunt Barbara who loved owls. Also, I always kept her in mind as I started my business because she was a muse of sorts. Not only did I admire that she was a strong, independent businesswoman, but she was such a wonderful example to me growing up.

It was important to have a company with a mission, too. I always had the dream of the “thank you” portion of my business as a way to give back. What sets me apart from some businesses, and what I am most proud of, is that 20% of profits go to charitable causes in Colorado Springs, CO, and surrounding areas.

I’d like people to know that if you have a good idea, or want to create something, you can! I took the leap of starting my business in February of 2024 as a way to help myself do something fun, creative, unique, delicious, and fill my free time with contributing to the greater good in the world. In all honesty, I also needed a hobby besides watching Netflix or mindlessly scrolling social media for hours.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new customers for my business is word of mouth, so far! It means so much to have people reach out to me who say things like, “I was a party and tried your Crab Rangoon cheeseball and it was out of this world!” I am working diligently to build my brand on social media, as I am a newbie at it. I am learning a ton and enjoying the journey!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Humble brag, but I feel my company, Cheese & Thank You, oozes the tenacity and resilience I adopted as a child. There were constant struggles growing up that I had to overcome: poverty, homelessness, alcoholism, and abuse at the hands of my stepfather. I refused to live in such a negative, controlling environment, and left when I was sixteen. Through the help of many kind friends and their families, I was finally free to not only live happily, but without limits! I realized I had all the opportunities in the world, so I worked fulltime at a wonderful insurance office and went to college. I paid for it myself. I walked to work and school. I made it happen. Fast forward, and I eventually became a nurse, a homeowner, married the most talented artist, Dan, and I have the best pet kids you could ever ask for. What still lingered however, was that I was afraid to start my company. Much like my mom who was crippled by fear that overshadowed her talents as a chef, I had the false belief that I couldn’t possibly run my own food business or have the skills to do so. So, I didn’t, for many, many years.

Thankfully, this fear of the unknown shifted. If I learned anything from the pandemic (and my nursing career), it is that we get one chance at life and that time is truly fleeting. All of us get the same opportunity to spend our minutes wisely every 24 hours. We all have ample opportunity to conquer goals and dreams, and live a full life, before our health, a disability, or death stops us. So, earlier this year, I had the epiphany that I do have what it takes to create Cheese & Thank You, and that we all have what it takes, if we dig deep. I just had to do it. I made the conscious decision to stop being a perpetual excuse-generator for why I couldn’t or shouldn’t do my own business and decided to find what was stopping me. It was the fear of failure. Then, I had to define what failure means to me. Failure was: never even trying to create a business, making excuses as to how a business wouldn’t work, merely talking about this “dream” I had, but never actually taking steps to do it, convincing myself that I don’t have time for a business, and believing I needed millions of dollars to run a business. The failure noise had to stop! What if it all worked out, much like the rest of my life’s journey? Today, thankfully, I can say I am no longer afraid. I am not only a nurse, but a proud, dedicated, capable small business owner! I did it and I am doing it! Tenacity and resilience wins every time.

Notice to everyone: do not let fear of the unknown be the reason you didn’t do the thing you wanted to because, after all, you don’t want to be known as an excuse-generator, do you?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cheeseandthankyou.com (coming soon!)
• Instagram: @cheeseandthankyouCOS
• Facebook: Cheesetastic Orbs

Image Credits

Allison Sampson, BSN, RN & Owner of Cheese & Thank You