We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Zitting recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I’ve always had “regular jobs,” and when Louise’s Granola Co was started, I was working full-time in a hospital during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. When I’m my most confident self (which takes a lot of self-work to be when you battle with perfectionism, haha), I know that I was highly valuable in most of my previous work settings as an employee. I am highly dependable and adaptable in the work setting. I’m willing and optimistic and I can learn quickly. I show up, and I take initiative, and I work really, really hard. I am just not one of those people who can compartmentalize and give “75%” at work so that I don’t get burned out and such. I give it my all. I always have this quote in my head, “half measures availed us nothing.” All of these things that I am are great attributes to find in an employee. I would venture to say for most jobs, if you find a candidate with these traits, they can learn the work even with little experience.

At the same time, though, I feel like in many of my work settings I was giving more than was always compensated or acknowledged. (And ya know, I’m learning that some of that is on me. We need to work on work: life boundaries for our own mental health, right?) It seems like in many of my work settings, the people who work hard and give it their 100% always get pushed to give more like 125% to make up for those giving the 75%. This is something I identified about myself – that I was willing to put in the work no matter what. And I think that this makes me a good person to own a business instead of work for one. Not that I won’t work for another company in my life – but being a business owner is great because if I’m working SO HARD, it’s for my own benefit! It’s for my own business. That feels pretty good.

As far as being “happy” as a business owner – I mean, I am fulfilled by it. It is really hard, though. It takes a lot. You have to care more and work weird hours and be willing to do things off the clock and not get paid for things and put out fires.

Everything is about perspective to me, though. I’ve been working since I was 15 and 1/2 years old (it’s what you do when you come from a big fam). I know what it is like to have a full-time job, to work 3 part-time jobs while going to school, to be unemployed and looking for work desperately, etc… Sometimes I think about the great things about “just being employed,” like clocking in and out, leaving work at work, PTO, great coworkers, not carrying the weight of it all. But then I remember who I am. I carry it all, anyway. I think I was meant to be a business owner, or at least work for a start up or small business that really invests in me and what I have to give.

Amanda , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am one of a three-part trio team that is Louise’s Granola Company. We are Amanda, Leona, and Joe.

Louise’s Granola all started in our mom’s (Louise) kitchen ~30 years ago. Louise now has seven kids – and Louise’s Granola started as a way for her to love on her kiddos. This granola is the best. It’s a classic, “go-to” granola and it became a daily in Louise’s household. There just isn’t fresh, classic granola that you want to continue to purchase and make a household staple like this out there – trust us, we have looked.

Granola days in Louise’s house and neighborhood were beloved for the sweet and nutty scent and the great snacking. Louise started her granola as a way to feed those in her home, but eventually the granola left the household by way of friends and friends of friends, neighbors, and extended family who all grew to love “Louise’s granola.”

Now, Amanda and Leona (two of those seven children) along with Amanda’s husband Joe (and Louise’s son-in-law) are out to make this granola more accessible to all – because we believe that it is the best daily granola. With Amanda’s background in food and nutrition (she is a registered dietitian), Leona’s communications and marketing/PR degree, and Joe’s engineering mind and skills as ‘master of all things spreadsheet’, the trio make a perfect team for Louise’s Granola food business.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Leona and I are sisters who grew up as best pals, and Joe is my husband! So this such family business. Louise is my and Leona’s mom, and she is the best of the best.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

We do manufacture our own product! We bought and learned to make Louise’s Granola from Louise herself in her own kitchen. Louise’s Granola bakes weekly batches of our granola, so it is typically very fresh!

I (Amanda) have a background as a Registered Dietitian, so much of my schooling was food science-related. Because of this, I was somewhat familiar with the process of production in a kitchen. However, I did not know all of the things you have to do to get there! You need so many licenses and permits and have to take the ServSafe exam, it’s a lot of work before the work just to get into manufacturing. Not to mention finding a kitchen space that is licensed to rent space out of.

One of the biggest lessons we have learned about being small business owners that manufacture their own product is to “ask for forgiveness not permission.” There isn’t really a manual or even a good list of things to do to start a food-based business. You kind of just have to jump in and see how it goes!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.louisesgranola.com
• Instagram: @louisesgranola
• Facebook: Louise’s Granola
• Linkedin: Louise’s Granola Company, LLC

Image Credits
Tyler Scifres, Amanda Zitting