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

Hi Joy, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

The name Dash of Joy was a group effort. I knew I wanted the name to include my own name in it, and between friends and family, several ideas were being thrown in. A friend of mine mentioned Sprinkle of Joy and I almost settled on that one, but my kiddos brought up Dash of Joy and it just stuck and I fell in love with it! Every goodie you get has a Dash of Joy in it 

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’m 35 years old. Born and raised in Colorado.

My family was always in the restaurant business. My parents owned a Thai restaurant in Littleton during my years in elementary school, so I grew up in that industry and loved it.

For the longest time, my dream was to own a restaurant, but as I got older, my passion shifted to baking. It was something that made my heart so happy, and it was almost therapeutic.

I ended up attending The Art Institute of Colorado for Culinary Arts. It was like a dream going there! During my years there, I reconnected with my husband.

He joined the Marine Corps in 2008, then we got married in April of 2010, Shortly after we married, we moved to California, and expected our first child. With another big move to North Carolina, more deployments and a second child, I decided to be a stay-at-home mom full-time.

During my time in NC, I was only baking for my kids. Then friends who attended birthday parties asked me to make cakes for their kids’ birthdays. It was just all word of mouth and that’s how I got back into baking again. Which turned out to be perfect because I got to still be home with my kids and do what I love.

In 2019, my husband made the decision to part ways with the Marine Corps. He had a job lined up in Ohio and we were ready to start a new chapter. We came back home to Colorado to visit friends and family for a month in January 2020 before moving to Ohio, but we ended up switching gears and decided to settle in Colorado instead.

2020 was a tough year for everyone. We just moved into our new home and then the pandemic hit. With everyone being home all the time, I was getting bored, so I started baking and sharing it on Facebook. I ended up gaining an audience and so I decided to bake for friends and family. Everyone was having a hard time and I wanted to bring some light to the situation. I offered my treats and to my surprise, I had a lot of interest.

I continued baking during the pandemic, and with all the positive feedback, I decided that this is it, this is my time to finally own my own business. Even though opening a business during the pandemic was risky, I had an amazing support system that helped me succeed.

I opened up Dash of Joy in June 2020 and I couldn’t be more proud of it. As years go by, I learn what to do and what not, what works and what doesn’t. I’m still working out some kinks, but I am truly excited to build a solid foundation for Dash of Joy. 3 years in, and there are a lot of ups and downs. I am learning to adjust to new knowledge and techniques and thriving to discover my brand.

Dash of Joy will always be special. Every ounce that goes into this business is for my mom and brother. Both passed in the Fall of 2020. As much as I wish they were both here to see the growth of Dash of Joy, I am so grateful they were able to see what I had started. They were my biggest cheerleaders! I work hard every day so I can honor them.

There is still a lot to be figured out in this business, but I am proud of what I’ve produced and overcome these last 3 years. I continue to work on recipes and designs so that my customers get the best quality products. I am learning, re-learning, and evolving so my customers are satisfied.

Every product I put out, is made with so much love, attention, and joy. Since you are putting your trust in me, every order is thought through. I not only want it to look like what you want, but I want it to taste so good that it brings your soul happiness. My main focus is to bring joy to your heart, soul, and taste buds. Along with lessening the stress of your event. Cakes, cupcakes, cookies, bread, cake pops, pies, you name it and I will cater to your event!

Since opening I’ve been a part of weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, retirements, baby showers, gender reveals, and so much more! I am truly honored and my heart is bursting with gratitude. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Dash of Joy and I hope to bake for you someday soon!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn would be trying to set a price to fit everyone.

Meaning, that when I first opened, I used to accommodate customers by giving them a discount, not charging shipping or delivery fees to keep them as a customer.

I’m a people pleaser and I want to make sure my customers are happy with everything including pricing.

It didn’t take me long though to realize I was not making any profit. If anything, I was losing money with my orders. Sure, I understand when you first open a business, you’re going to put in more money than what you want and there will be times when you lose money.

In order for me to keep my business running, I needed to have a set price for all my items. Pricing includes so much more than just stamping a dollar sign on your products. You have to take into account all these things:

– the cost of ingredients
– the cost of materials and packing materials
– Labor. Your time matters.
– the area you live in. Just like housing, prices aren’t the same in Denver and Colorado Springs. The same goes for food products.
– the cost of gas/traveling.
– the cost of labels

There are so many factors that go into setting a price, and at the end of the day, I had to accept the fact that my prices simply aren’t going to be for everybody.

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

Word of mouth!! Whether it’s social media or recommendations during a coffee date, word of mouth has been my biggest help!

And my biggest tip: carry business cards with you, ALWAYS!! It’s the perfect opportunity to share what you do! Also, give extras to your customers so they can recommend you to a new client and they’ll have all your info on one card!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @dashofjoy_co
• Facebook: Dash of Joy