We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lia Trigg a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lia, appreciate you joining us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

My desire to own my own business started more than two decades ago, when I was a young wife and mother of three. At the time, I loved cooking and wanted my own space. I was making deserts and wedding cakes for people out of my home, when I eventually landed a job supplying cakes to a local catering company. It was the break I had been waiting for. I was on my way to owning the spot I desired. Since owning my own spot was new territory for me, I sought guidance. I reached out to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to get an advisor. It was one of the best decisions I’d ever made. My advisor was amazing! He listened patiently to my vision, then he gave me the best assignment I have ever received. He told me to count my costs and that we would talk about my discovery at our next meeting. Initially, I thought he meant financially, but I soon learned that he also meant mentally, physically, spiritually… What would be the cost to my husband and little girls? I spent a week asking God about all of this. During that week, all three of my daughters became ill. I had to take them to the doctor several times that week. At the time, I was a stay-at-home-mom, and my husband was working, so it was up to me. Who was going to take care of my girls while I was off building our business? My husband couldn’t leave his job, he was our sole source of income, and he carried our health insurance. We had no close family and friends, nearby, who could help. It was also during this time that I was reminded about what my top goals were back then. They were to be an excellent mother and wife over all other things. At the end of that week, I had my answers. I wasn’t ready for a business. I was glad that I didn’t move forward back then because my family would later face a number of painful challenges where I would be needed. Fast forward to today. My three, amazing daughters are now grown. They, along with my husband, help me run my deliciously sweet business. Looking back, I’m glad I counted the costs because my “today” might have looked very different.

Lia, 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 love cooking. I watched my grandmother cook while growing up. She babysat me as a little girl, so I spent plenty of time with her in the kitchen. I would drive her crazy with all of my many questions, but she never made me feel like I was a nuisance. As I look back on my time with her, I realize that she was creating charcuterie trays and making baklava before I even knew what those things were. She is where my love of cooking began.

Growing up, I became obsessed with reading about food. I would sit and look at recipe books for hours. I would make things like crepes, rice pudding, pralines…, but my culinary career didn’t actually start until I was in college. I took a job as an assistant server in a large hotel where they started a culinary program that employees could apply to enter. I applied and got an opportunity to work in the pastry kitchen. I worked there for several years, learning how to make croissants, tortes, set up brunches and all kinds of amazing things. And the rest is history. Since then, I’ve worked in a number of restaurants and bakeries in the Nashville area.

While baking is my thing, I’ve always wanted to learn how to work with chocolate. Well, I’m doing that now. I hold chocolate tasting events at a place called Trellis and Vine. It’s a local venue where artists can grow their craft and get advice. I’m currently working on a chocolate tasting kit that people can do at home with their friends and family. It’s set to debut in the fall of 2024, just in time for National Chocolate Day. I’m excited about it because I think it will bring some much needed, edible fun into people’s lives. Any chance I get to make people’s lives a little brighter, a little more fun, I’m taking it!

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

A book that significantly impacted my entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy was Priceless: Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences by Diana Lasalle. It encompassed all I believed about a customer’s experience. I want my customers to experience something wonderful when they see, touch, taste…one of my products. If they are attending a tasting, I want to them to come into an inviting space, have fun and feel safe to share their thoughts about what they taste. My goal will always be to offer a consistent, fun and tasty experience with a focus on excellence.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had to change direction in my entrepreneurial career when I realized that where I wanted to go did not align with where I needed to be. When all three of my little girls got sick, I couldn’t answer the question of who would take care of them while I was running our business. That led me to do some soul searching. I had to ask myself ‘what was really important to me’. And because I was nurtured by some pretty amazing women, whom I wanted to pattern myself after, and who helped lay the foundation for the woman and mother I would become, I wanted to be the one to do that very thing for my daughters. I’m thankful for the change in direction. I’d like to think that it had something to do with our three daughters growing up to be amazing young women.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @liamarieandcompany
• Facebook: Lia Marie and Company

Image Credits

Hannah Follett of Hannah Follett Photography