We recently connected with Amber Hinkson and have shared our conversation below.

Amber, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?

We love being a family business. Mandi and I were both stay-at-home moms for the majority of our kids lives. Trying to jump back into the workforce after that is very difficult. There aren’t many opportunities when you have years long employment gaps. We were able to build a business off of our passions, and employ ourselves. Having a stake in the success of the business makes you work harder and put your all into your craft. Also we are best friends so it’s a very relaxed, fun, and understanding environment. We can trust each other and share responsibilities.

Amber, 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?

We have both always loved to cook and bake. When I graduated college I was looking for a job and ended up working at a small bakery. When I was looking for more employees I made a Facebook post asking if any of my friends were looking for a job and Mandi responded quickly. She started working with me a few days after. After working together for about 6 months we knew we were ready for something bigger. We wanted to branch out and be able to express ourselves and bake more unique items. We felt a bit stifled in the environment we were in. We both have very independent outlooks on life and wanted to build something for ourselves that we could potentially pass on to our children, or at least be examples to them of hard working women.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Mandi and I both were in the punk rock scene in Bell County for several years. We had a lot of mutual friends, went to the same concerts, and eventually Mandi met and married my best friend. And I in turn met and am currently planning my wedding to her best friend. And now WE are best friends.

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

There have been several pivots for me, personally. But it was definitely a leap of faith for both of us to decide we were ready to jump into running our own business. It’s scary and uncertain, especially when you weigh it against the security of working for someone else. But we believe the personal and professional pros will outweigh the cons by far.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Instagram.com/weird_doughs_bakery
• Facebook: Facebook.com/weirddoughstx