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

Britt, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Along with taking care of clients, taking care of our team is one of the most important things we can do as leaders. Looking back on your journey, did you have a boss that was really great? Maybe you can tell us about that boss and what made them a wonderful person to work for?

I had an amazing boss when I was in my early twenties, and though I liked her and was grateful she was my boss I didn’t fully appreciate how wonderful she was until I had other supervisors. She was clear and direct in her communication. She had faith in my abilities and constantly told me so. She was incredibly fair with her feedback, both positive and negative.
Most importantly, you knew she cared about you. Her critiques were delivered with kindness and good intent. She was never snarky, she never gossiped, and she was trusted by all of her colleagues.
When I was only a few months into the job I received upsetting medical news while I was at the office. I was told I needed to schedule a surgical procedure as soon as possible. Our office policy required advance notice for time off (though I’m sure there were exceptions for emergencies, and I just couldn’t think that clearly) and went to her office to ask her how I should proceed. She mirrored my dry, professional approach to conversation, but as I turned to leave, she asked if I was okay. I burst into tears, and she asked if she could give me a hug and then offered to sit with me in her office or let me have her office to myself for a bit. I so appreciated her combination of professionalism and acknowledgement of my emotions.
When I encounter new issues with my employees I often think about how she would handle the situation. I’m constantly grateful that she was an early influence in my professional life and seek to emulate her in many ways.

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?

I own a dedicated gluten-free bakery. We make baked goods that are indistinguishable from standard gluten-filled baked goods. For most of us that are gluten-free it is a restriction we will have to follow for the rest of our lives, and when I received my diagnosis in 2009, the gluten-free landscape was bleak. Pre-packaged items were dense, crumbly, sandy, and tasteless. Everything lacked flavor and there were few to no options in restaurants. Fortunately, I loved to cook and bake prior to my diagnosis, so I was determined to learn how to make baked goods that were just as good as “the real thing.” Eventually, after lots of trial and error, I was back to being the designated cake baker for birthdays and celebrations! People who were gluten eaters loved my baked goods and they could eat anything they wanted, so I thought it might thrill the people who were gluten-free. I opened a stand at the Kirkwood Farmer’s Market to see if there was enough demand to sustain a bakery and outgrew the demand in a single season.
I opened my brick-and-mortar shop in November of 2019 with an amazing amount of support from the community. Gluten-free clients were delighted to have a full range of products that were both delicious and safe to consume.

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

Since we opened our doors in November 2019, we were very nervous when we had to close our doors shortly thereafter for the COVID-19 lockdown. We had to create an online retail solution to accommodate the sudden demand for pre-orders and curbside pick-ups. We quickly shifted from an in-person only ordering system to directing the majority of our orders online. It totally shifted our day-to-day operations and the way we managed our staff and time.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

We are so fortunate that word of mouth is our only form of advertising at the moment! We really believe in our product. We make sure our taste testers can eat gluten so they can compare things to standard baked goods. We use very high-quality ingredients, and we maintain small-batch baking to ensure the integrity of the recipes.
We also listen to customer feedback, and they know it! Our customers love our product, our customer service, and are confident in recommending us to their wider circle.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brittsbakehouse.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittsbakehouse/
• Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/BrittsBakehouse
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/britt-s-bakehouse-a-gluten-free-bakery-kirkwood?osq=britts+bakehouse

Image Credits
Britt Royal