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

Leah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Growth is exciting, but from what we’ve seen across thousands of conversations with entrepreneurs it’s also dangerous if costs aren’t watched closely – sometimes costs can grow out of control outpacing revenue growth and putting the viability of the entire business at risk. How have you managed to keep costs under control?

I would say keeping overhead as small as possible can be incredibly helpful. I’m not in debt for my business – instead I’ve slowly re invested in myself as I’ve grown kept things manageable for myself.
A trend I’ve seen in the microbakery/cottage baker world is new business owners investing in a very expensive oven and/or equipment. I would really encourage new bakers to give themselves a year or two before making a big investment, or potentially going into debt. “Bakers burnout” is very real, and I think it’s wise to get a feel for your market and grow your abilities as a baker before making financial decisions.

Leah, 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 started baking sourdough breads in 2021 for my local farmers market. I’ve always baked bread for friends and family and baking for my community felt like a natural extension of that. In 2022 I joined the Waco Farmers Market and things really took off from there. Since then I’ve baked thousands of loaves and really enjoyed the challenge of creating new flavors and seeing just what I’m capable of baking each week. I feel especially grateful that the community has supported me week after week and allowed me to grow into the baker I am now.

I think one of things that sets me apart from other bakers would be my commitment to high quality ingredients. I make my products for my family, we eat them daily, so I want the bread I bake to be nourishing and delicious. I care deeply about local food, and make it a point to incorporate local ingredients in my bakes seasonally.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I actually don’t have a huge audience and that’s intentional. I had maybe 3 followers on Instagram for a long time, so I let my bread do the selling. Word of mouth has been more impactful for my sales than anything else. To be honest, I struggle using social media and the pressure to create content is unreal. I’ll create a Reel for Instagram if doesn’t take too much time or brain power, otherwise, I find it’s too stressful to keep up. I know a lot of bakers use social media as another stream of revenue, and that’s great for them, but the amount of time filming and editing take, I always feel I could be building my business in other ways. In my experience, having a great product and being consistent will have more of an impact.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Being consistent. In multiple ways. With my customers, with my products, and with the quality of my products. Going to markets in the rain, in the heat, in the cold. Being reliable to my customers has really been key for me. I also have a dynamic menu, changing with the seasons, ingredients, and customer feedback, keeps it interesting for everyone!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetandsourdoughtx/profilecard
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1J8AqZ3yVv/?mibextid=wwXIfr