We were lucky to catch up with Margie Traxler recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Margie, thanks for joining us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

Yes, I do take vacations and I love to do so! If you take your business sense, and pulse, from the myriad of people who make a living talking and giving business advice, then you would feel guilty if you even took time to sleep or say hello to your family. This is absurd advice…we ALL become way less effective in our work and brains when we do not take the time to vacation and shut off.

There may be times that you have to dig deep and work long hours, such as when you are first getting started or during a slow economic time. If you feel like you can not step away and still have your business be successful, then I would advise you to take a hard look at your business. A successful business can stand on its own. Ask yourself the question; Who owns whom? Do you trust the people you have hired to carry on when you are away?

When you start a business you are creating a successful entity. Let it grow. Make sure you do not become a micromanager or else you have merely spent a lot of money to buy yourself a job, not created a company.

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.

Back in 2003, I started to have some strange reactions to foods, which ultimately led to me having my gallbladder removed. Nope, I didn’t have gall stones, but my gallbladder had quite working and was filled with toxic sludge.

Then in January 2004, my 6 year old daughter just started screaming one night. We rushed to the hospital thinking that her appendix had burst, only to have all the tests come back negative. We had no answers to the problems she was having, which was traumatic for both of us.

I found a very well-known natural doctor who I thought could help us and we flew across the country to see him. There we found out that the combination of wheat and sugar was making a toxic punch that was burning little holes in her intestines.

We were now officially ‘gluten free’. Trying a gluten-free baked good, we stood in front of the store, toe to toe, facing each other and took a bite. The product exploded like sawdust in our mouths! Her eyes started to water and her chin began to quiver. That moment sparked a determination in me. I made a ‘pinky promise’ to her that one day, we would provide the products and resources we wished were available to us.

This vow set me on a journey to study different cultures, ingredients, and ultimately create a new way of making delicious baked goods that were free of inflammatory properties. Today, as the founder of Grain Free Mama’s, my dream is to help others find hope, achieve food freedom, and rediscover the joy of natural, healthy eating.

Grain Free Mama’s is a Food Tech consumer product goods company. We make Edible Grass Ingredient Free (no flours of gluten or non-gluten grains, no sugar, no corn, and no rice), dairy free, soy free, botanical nut free, and free of artificial flavors/colors/preservatives baking mixes. Quite simply they are the most delicious, cleanest ingredient baking mixes on the planet. We are on a mission to help slow down and reverse the incidence of autoimmune disease one delicious bite at a time.

I am motivated by bringing hope and tangible help to people who have food allergies, food sensitivities and autoimmune diseases of all kinds. When a person has to make major diet changes, they need two things; (1) knowledge of what needs to change and how to make these changes and (2) access to healthy products to facilitate these diet changes. Available now are our 4 flavors of Crepe Mixes, Pizza Crust Mix, and our Food Breakthrough Book and Cookbook.

Please visit our website, https://www.grainfreemamas.com, to learn more. We have a store where you can purchase our baking mixes, book and cookbook, read our blog articles, and links to all of our social media content.

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

I am in the beginning stages of a pivot right now. The vast majority of Americans eat out multiple times a week. Making time to cook at home is less of a priority with our busy schedules. We see this and so are in the planning stages of opening our first cafe. It is an exciting time. One thing about business, you are either flexible or frustrated. I am flexible and love new challenges.

Any advice for managing a team?

When it comes to managing a team and keeping mindset and focus positive, I often dig into the lessons I learned as an athlete and coach. Everyone wants to feel important. Allowing for the creativity and contribution of your team and employees is essential. In order for people to ‘buy in’ mentally to your vision and company, there has to be a genuine effort on the part of the ownership and leaders to model this with their words and actions and to appreciate the input and work of others to the greater good. Be genuine and it will catch fire.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.grainfreemamas.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gfmamas/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grainfreemamas
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margietraxler/
• Twitter: https://x.com/gfmamas
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@grainfreemamas
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/grainfreemamas