Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katherine Sprung. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Katherine, appreciate you joining us today. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?
When I had a brick and mortar (with simultaneous pop-ups and events), never. I moved out of retail about a year ago, and, looking back, it feels conflicting. On one side, you’re working so hard, have so much going, that it seems impossible to take a vacation. And then, after the fact, you think “it would have been really nice to take a vacation”. Now, I find myself at a point where I’m trying to make up for lost time- but I have no regrets. However, from my past experience, it’s an exhausting road that needs to become more flexible and truly fall into this “work-life balance” that we always hear and talk about, but rarely ever happens.
Katherine, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m the founder and owner of Squish Marshmallows, host of Sprung On Food, and podcast IRATE with Katherine Sprung, commercial voice over artist, pastry chef, content creator, and culinary producer.
I studied Broadcast Journalism and minored in Health Sciences, and, after graduating, moved to NYC for an internship with ABC News, thinking that’s the career route I’d go. But entering during a hiring freeze, I became a self-taught entrepreneur, starting from working as a nightlife DJ, to creating and producing a podcast, becoming a pastry chef, and producing video content. I started Squish Marshmallows completely by accident. I’ve always had a passion for cooking, baking, and an even more serious passion for sweets. As soon as I started making marshmallows, they were fun for me to make, and it was exciting to come up with new and unique flavors and textures that people usually don’t equate with the marshmallow. So I started out selling at local food markets and fairs, while opening up an e-commerce shop. Almost 3 years later, I opened up a brick and mortar.
Throughout the years Squish Marshmallows, and myself, were really fortunate to get some awesome press, as well as being named a finalist for “Best Dessert” at the Vendy Awards, selected for Marie Claire’s 2019 Power Trip, a Tory Burch Fellowship 2020 Fellow, and winner of Food Network’s Chopped Sweets.
After my lease ended in 2021, I decided not to renew and pivot the business to something more sustainable for my life, which had just been the business for the previous 8 years. I chose to do custom, bespoke, and catering only, with seasonal online offerings, which allows me to be selective on what projects I take on, what fits into my schedule, and gives me the freedom to freelance and work on projects outside of the company like food styling, photography, and working as a pastry chef for other clients.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Excellent customer service! That’s the first and most important thing. When you think about it, what’s the first thing you usually do when you’re looking for a product or service? You ask people within your network whose opinion(s) you trust. Referrals are the best way to grow your client base, and as long as you’re delivering in both product satisfaction and customer service, people will be more than willing to spread the word organically. When people don’t have recommendations or resources to share, you usually hit Google. In this case, having great SEO is where you’re going to see these inbounds of people reaching out who Googled the type of product or service you offer, liked what they saw (so also having a nice website or social media page is important), and decided to reach out. It definitely helps when something or some part of your business is niche, so that your results will fall within the first page of results.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
Be kind and considerate to your employees. That sounds so basic, but you’d be surprised how many times I see that’s not the case in businesses. Have understanding for your staff, being human, and treating people with respect and show them they’re in a safe space- it’s hard for people to not feel comfortable and enjoy coming to work when they feel that. Having earned bonuses, perks, and free snacks never hurts either!
Contact Info:
- Website: katherinesprung.com
- Instagram: @iamsprung
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinesprung/
- Twitter: @iamsprung
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqeSCSHB1zys5nj_HUMbTqA