Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jasmin Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jasmin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

If I were starting over, I would write everything down.

I’d start with the not so fun but essential part of creating something that’s can easily be scaled. Knowing the yields of all my recipes, knowing how long each element of a pastry or dessert takes. Having clear and precise instructions with photos of what the end product should look like. Taking that information and properly pricing everything out. When I first began my business I dove head in creating recipes and products, taking samples to coffee shops, and committing myself to events. The more momentum that I built the harder it was to make time to get organized on the back end. Having the foresight to set myself up, so there wasn’t any guess work involved once I began to bring on employees. Creating procedures for myself and taking note of how well that did or didn’t flow.

Having record of every idea, every possible contact, and keeping those bonds fresh.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I credit my grandma first and foremost for sharing her love for food with me. Every summer I was blessed enough to be able to fly to Germany and spend 3 months with my grandparents. I cherish those summers that were filled with berry picking, grilling fish, baking cakes with my grandma and making pizza with my aunt.

When I was 10 I went with my step dad to work. He at the time was a chef at a Hotel in Phoenix. I’ll never forget walking into my first commercial kitchen. After that I knew that in one form or another this was my calling.

At Suss Pastries (Suss meaning sweet in German), we began by highlighting Southwestern flavors.
Before I branched on my own I worked at property where their brand was all about embracing local ingredients & creators. Seeing that and also how rare it was especially in pastry I was inspired by the lack of options there were to experience our surroundings through food. Suss was built out of 2 core roots that I identified in my life. My childhood in Germany and my adulthood in Arizona (it wasn’t until I became a young adult that I began to appreciate the beauty of Arizona).

Over the years I’ve felt a lot of pride in the community that Suss Pastries has built, that even with all the ups and downs people still support us and still want to purchase items from us. We’ve manage to outlive the Pop-tart trend. We make Fruit Pockets that were inspired by pop-tarts, however with a more flair and with unique south western flavors.

I’m extremely warmed and touched by the ladies that have worked with me at Suss. My biggest goal with Suss has been to create a space for people to feel comfortable being themselves. The kitchen as always been a space that I’ve felt safest in and to spread that is my real mission. I want to inspire others to follow their passions and to create the life that suits them. Something that I’m still learning while juggling the responsibilities of owning and running a business.

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

I’ve always had a blind confidence or ambition that this is what I’m suppose to be doing. I felt it through my body for years before quitting my full-time job to pursue a business of my own. People warned me about the grind, the determination it takes to operate your own business, all the moving parts that come with it.

You don’t know until you know. There’s nothing that can prepare you for the journey it is to build a business from the ground up. I began my business in my apartment while working a full-time job. That meant working overnight, popping up at the Farmer’s Market, and getting to work for a 300 person plate up. The crazy thing, that was easy. I was exhausted yes, but I was excited about building something and seeing people interact with my creations fueled me.

The first year of operating full-time as a business owner was tough, long hours, little sleep, learning how to manage time when you have no time. moving in & out of shared kitchen spaces, but rocking that shit cause this is what I wanted! I knew it was going to be hard.

It wasn’t until year 2 (I’m totally estimating on the time, cause the last 4 years have been a blur), when I began bringing in more employees. Things were getting busy. I built my business on wholesale, so it’s not just a large inventory, but its adding delivery, still trying to market with smaller events and custom orders. Anyways I was already burnt out, but adding that element of being responsible for others as well as delegating and trying to enforce quality control was hard. I agreed to a horrible deal with the owner of the kitchen space I was using. Initially I thought it was a great space, we had the option of having walk-in customers. However, he was taking 15% of our sales on top of rent. Which slowly started killing me.
At the time I was working 70-80 hour weeks, although I over hired and wasn’t able to pay myself.

There were plenty of times that I wanted to give in, that I just wanted to walk away. I hated not having a life, feeling like I didn’t even know who I was anymore. I felt completely lost. After breaking down a few times, I realized something had to give. Something had to change. I began reducing the amount of items we were producing, along with the amount of extra events we were doing, I was able to get a partner to help share the responsibilities and very slowly things began to get better. Even when things were getting better I wanted to run away. But I stuck with it. Having the extra support of a partner and friend has really been a life saver. Having someone that believes in what we are doing and has the ability to think and analyze over every detail, every procedure, and every opportunity has made it so much more sustainable. Every time a customer shared kind words about something we made, or one of my co-workers mentioned that they enjoyed coming into work it really helped me fight through.

There’s still moments where I feel overwhelmed, I feel like I’ve become much more sensitive, to stress. But, I’m beginning to find the joy again, feeling like I’m finding myself again and enjoying a balance. Only took 2 years.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

This kind of piggy backs with the above question.

I’ve had to learn that work isn’t everything. That I shouldn’t feel guilty about not accomplishing something. In my head I’ve always wanted Suss Pastries to grow into something much bigger. I still believe it can, with time and consistency, but my goal has less been focused on that narrative and more to the idea of what I want my life to look like.

I want to enjoy my work, and I want to have time and flexibility. It’s not about making a bunch of money, its just simply about have options and opportunities to learn and grow as a person.

In the past I’ve connected so much of my identity and worth to my business, and how could I not. I was there 7 days a week for 10-12 hours a day. My entire being revolved around it, and for a time I wasn’t even seeing the reward in committing so much of myself to something. Grind culture is real and I’ve fed into that narrative hard. Shifting my perspective and goal to not be about the business but myself has helped me create boundaries & even understanding for others in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: susspastries.com
• Instagram: susspastries

Image Credits
Melinda Rodeck (single pink back ground & group photo) Regan Norton (other)