We recently connected with Jackie Huebbe and have shared our conversation below.
Jackie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I’ve always loved baking. In middle school and high school, I loved taking food related classes, and experimenting in our kitchen at home. When it came time to pick a career, I wanted to bake, but my parents (who were both blue collar trades workers) talked me into pursuing a desk job instead. I ended up getting a my degree in graphic communications and photography, but never really loved where I landed with it. I spent a lot of time in cubicles being miserable, wishing I was baking in kitchens instead.
Finally, after about 10 years of trying my best to fit into that world, I decided to enroll in culinary school and start working evenings and weekends in cafes and bakeries. I learned a lot about what I loved doing, and a lot about what I didn’t love. I paid close attention to how things worked in the industry, and built my business as I was learning from others.
In 2012, I officially started my business, and things moved pretty quickly from there. My emphasis has always been on doing things the right way, and not taking shortcuts or using cheap and/or artificial ingredients. There wasn’t anyone else doing what I wanted to when I started, and there still isn’t, more than 10 years later.
Jackie, 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?
I own SugarBot Sweet Shop and SugarBot Creamery, both located in St. Charles, MO. SugarBot Sweet Shop came first, and is a full service bakery that offers custom sugar cookies, cakes, and more. We offer a full line of baked goods for walk in customers on the weekends as well.
SugarBot Creamery started with my desire to save a local business that had gone under (Little O’s Old Time Soda Fountain). After buying it, I realized that the reason it was failing was because they hadn’t been doing things the way they should be done, just like I saw when I worked for others in my bakery career. My husband, Mark, and I worked hard to remodel the original space and develop a line of products that we were proud to call our own. As a result of that work, we rebranded the shop to SugarBot Creamery, and later moved the business to a larger space we purchased that is now the Creamery’s permanent home.
For both businesses, the biggest thing that sets us apart is quality and ingredients. We specialize in “childhood favorites, better than you remember them” at both spaces. It’s important to me that things are being done the right way so that our crew and our clients can stay excited about the work we’re doing.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I absolutely adore books. Because my working hours tend to be long, and heavily rely on hands-on work, I’m thankful for audiobooks. I listen every chance I get, and can get through a book a day on production days. I listen at 1.75 – 2x speed, which helps a lot. I’ll listen to everything from business books to thrillers to romance novels to literary fiction, and everything in between. I average anywhere from 250-300 books a year.
I love learning about other perspectives through books, and feel that even fiction books can help folks find their own leadership styles and teach management lessons.
All that said, my favorite business books I’ve read (in no particular order) are:
– Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen
– Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
– The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future by Ryder Carroll
– Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam M. Grant
– Mr. Smith Goes to Prison: What My Year Behind Bars Taught Me About America’s Prison Crisis by Jeff Smith
– Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Word of mouth has always been the biggest one for us. I believe that your current customers have way more sway than any AdWord or marketing campaign you’ll ever run. It’s all in how folks are treated and how well you’re able to communicate what you do clearly and efficiently, and then hold to that when it’s time to deliver.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sugarbotsweetshop.com / www.sugarbotcreamery.com
- Instagram: @sugarbotsweetshop / @sugarbotcreamery
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiehuebbe/
Image Credits
Jackie Huebbe, SugarBot Sweet Shop