We were lucky to catch up with Elise Barrus recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Elise, thanks for joining us today. 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.

I value animal sanctuaries and rescues and have great admiration for those who run them. I am friends with a few sanctuary owners and see the passion and the heartbreak that goes into running them. In addition to showing people that food doesn’t have to include animal products to be amazingly delicious, I also desire to contribute financially to those who are saving animals on the front lines. I know that fundraising is difficult and a lot of times rescues and sanctuaries have to use money out of their own pocket.

I created some products specifically for Ritzy Rescue Ranch in Tooele UT. I have jumbo pig chocolates and a pig cinnamon roll and 30% of sales of those items go to that sanctuary. I am also working with Wasatch Wanderers in Utah to create some products for them and desire to grow this part of my business to help several more. Also, every year Ritzy Rescue Ranch and Wasatch Wanderers hold two big fundraising events – one for Easter and one for Halloween! I have a booth there and donate 30% of my sales from that.

Elise, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My mom has always made chocolates for Christmas and so one year I decided to make them vegan so that I could still enjoy them. My friend tried them and told me they are so good I had to sell them! I have added a lot of flavors since then but I still use many of my mom’s delicious candy recipes. In fact, every month I have new chocolate flavors and have a chocolate subscription box as well! I love this product because people can get my chocolates at a discount and they have the opportunity to try all my monthly flavors as soon as they come out. I also ship the chocolates all over the US! My top flavors include cookie butter, peanut butter cup, Ore, chocolate creme and Cherry Amaretto.

My parents also developed a cinnamon roll recipe that was so delicious it won awards. They tweaked it to make it vegan for me and spent hours teaching me their techniques and tricks to making the best cinnamon rolls. My parents actually make theirs vegan now because they said they can hardly tell a difference. My parents gave me the basic roll recipe and I have used it to make several new flavors that I’m really proud of. My most popular roll is the Cookie Butter Cinnamon Roll. It is a classic that I keep around because it is so good it needs to stay! I also have several other flavors that rotate throughout the year, like Butterscotch Bourbon, Pumpkin Spice, and Peach Cobbler.

I’ve been told by countless (non veg) people who have tried my treats that they just cannot believe they are vegan. I have heard, “NO WAY!” and “That blows my mind!!” And many vegans tell me my treats remind them of things they had in childhood but have missed since going vegan. This brings me a lot of joy. I think people can be turned off by vegan food for whatever reason, and so I take pride in the fact that my vegan rolls took second in Best of State last year and see that as a huge accomplishment for a small vegan business.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Many times I suffer from overthinking, too many ideas, chasing shiny objects, wanting to give up, lack of motivation, etc! It seems like I”m always trying new productivity methods and apps, or always on the hunt for the next best productivity hack and I often feel like I’m spinning my wheels – working very hard but not going anywhere. Very recently I discovered Brendon Burchard. I’ve been watching his YouTube videos and listening to his podcast. I’ve followed a few of his suggestions and have noticed a huge change in my thinking and productivity. He is so good at getting you to focus on the important things and he’s made me realize I can’t just wing this. I need to have a plan for my day and my objectives. I can’t just show up to work with no idea what I’m working towards. I am going to sign up for his courses and read his books as well. I am so happy to have stumbled upon his YouTube channel one day and I highly recommend him for anyone.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Many might think that cinnamon rolls, while time consuming, aren’t that hard or complicated. And for your every day rolls that may be true. But to get them to the level my parents have made them has required a ton of learning and practice. My mom has been making them for over 50 years. When I started learning it was so frustrating. There are several techniques my parents have learned over the years that have resulted in world class rolls. Not to mention so many factors that can mess the dough up. My mom has been doing it for so long that she has forgotten a lot of the things she had to overcome and so many times I was on my own doing the research and trying to figure out what went wrong.

I spent months practicing and throwing out batches or giving them away. I’ve never wanted to just have some cinnamon rolls on my menu; I have always wanted to have rolls that people lose their minds over! So while the rolls I were making were ok, I knew they weren’t what they could be. I was an inch away from giving up completely at more than one point. Several people (including my parents) asked me why I didn’t just give up and focus on chocolates since the rolls were making me crazy and stressed.

But whenever I thought about giving up I felt a deep dread and I knew I would regret it so I kept on. Obviously after many hours of continued practice I got the result I wanted and since then I rarely make a bad batch of dough. I feel a sense of accomplishment now that I can whip out batch after batch of rolls but I haven’t forgotten how hard I worked to get here! I think I tend to be hard on myself and forget that I’m not just going to be an expert at something instantly. It definitely takes hard work to achieve great results and this process humbled me for sure.
I’m taking the lessons I learned from this experience to my next challenges in building my business. I have to remember that it takes work to become an expert!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sweetvbakery.com/
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