We recently connected with Marie Alessi and have shared our conversation below.

Marie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One thing we always find fascinating is how differently entrepreneurs think about revenue growth and cost reductions – both can be powerful ways to improve profitability. What do you spend more of your time and energy on?

In the early stages of my business the first thing was to look at my cost and how to make it effective to produce revenue. So now I spend most of my time and energy growing revenue.
When I had attended and presented at a One Million cups meeting here in Manassas, Va., I received a lot of wonderful information and feedback. But the one thing that came across strong when I mentioned possibly investing, was to continue what I was doing and to build on that revenue. And that I have been doing.
Cutting costs only works if it doesn’t affect the quality of the product or the production of the product. As you grow as a small business Revenue is most important, because down the line things come up, for example, I am in the stages of looking to hire someone to help in the kitchen so that I can be more productive and produce more product. It is an extra cost, but in the long run if I can produce more product, then the revenue will continue to build.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In the fall of 2020 a friend of mine introduced me to sourdough bread. As an artist and my love for food, I was curious. I did some research and decided to create my own sourdough starter. Little did I know that it would bring me where I am today. Making sourdough bread is trial and error and I had many of them, but I was able to start creating loaves of bread and bring them into work for co-workers to try and received an overwhelming response. I continued to perfect the bread and in winter of 2021 I started doing extensive research on sourdough bread and what my competitors have, for example, what their ingredients were, pricing, demographics of the area, checking out the local Markets, and of course, who doesn’t like bread. So now, do I continue just making bread for family, friends and co-workers or do I try the Markets to see what kind of response I would get.
Being an entrepreneur in the past, hand painted fine art on glass for 15 years and a shaved ice snowball business, I had the basic knowledge on what I needed to do to move forward with a new business. In January of 2022 my first granddaughter was born and when they told me what her name, I was so excited, because it would be the perfect name for my business should I move ahead. So I waited a few weeks and approached my son in asking if I could use her name for the business. They were thrilled about the prospect of the business and were happy to have me use her name. She was born Mabel James after her great-grandmother and her grandfather.
In June of 2022 I started doing drop-ins at the Manassas Farmer’s Market and met with an overwhelming response. People were asking where I came from and if I had a store front. Most people were looking for really good bread. And my bread is just that! A Sourdough bread with a tantalizing taste and texture. Unbleached flour, water, salt and my starter, no other added ingredients.
I continued doing the Market and sold out every weekend. I added another Market out in The Plains and now had two Markets going. And just a side bar, I was still working a full time job with the school system. I continued to listen to my customers and grow. I started producing more product and continued to sell out.
As the Markets were winding down, customers wanted to know how they could continue to get my bread. So I arrange that they could e-mail me by a set date and could pick up at a designated location. Then one day I had a customer say there has to be a better way to get my bread, so they went over to Manassas Olive Oil company and introduced them to my bread. In March of 2023 I did a pop-up at Manassas Olive Oil Co and sold out. Now customers can find my bread at Manassas Olive Oil co. every weekend along with Erin’s Elderberries and Kinloch Farm Store.
The business began to grow, so as January 12, 2024 I resigned from my position at the school to pursue my passion for my business in making sourdough bread. The numbers alone showed me that I could make this work. Another thing that has always stuck with me through workshops is to know your numbers.
In April of 2024 I decided in order to grow I would need other ways to move my bread forward and putting it in small shops and restaurants seem to be the right direction. So I contacted VDACS and The Kitchen at Vint Hill and was VDAC approved on May 23, 2024. My sourdough bread can now be found at Erin’s Eldeberries in Vint Hill, Va., Kinloch Farm Store and Manassas Olive Oil co.. I am now in the process of talking and negotiating with restaurants to feature my bread. Other products I carry are sourdough baguettes, focaccia, dinner rolls, muffins and cookies. I use my sourdough starter in all my products.
I do have to mention that I have the greatest customer base, they are so supportive and encouraging and they are what keeps the drive in me, to see them every weekend and to hear their stories about what they use the bread for.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

One of the most effective strategies is being at the Markets, being face to face with my customers, talking to them and having them sample the sourdough bread. Customers like to meet the person behind the product. I have approximately a 99% success in customers trying and buying. Another is my website and emails. I vowed to myself when I started this business that I would weekly update my website and send out emails to my customers, so that they know where to find me and what I have available, because as of this year I alternate between 4 different Markets.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I started this business, I was working full time in the school system. And I did that for two years before resigning from my full time position. As the business was growing I found myself needing more time to prep and bake, which meant getting up earlier. The more the demand the more I am willing to create. So I was getting up between 3-4am on Thursday and Fridays to prep and bake before going to work. Then come home and continue the process for that weekends Markets. And what has kept me going are my customers and fellow vendors that would see what I was doing and are such great support. Customers will ask, “So how early did you get up today?” And they would tell me I have a great product and to hang in there. My customers and fellow vendors feel I have great things happening and I believe that, because every step of this business has shown me that there is something else around the next bend and to be patient because it will happen. As my little sign in The Kitchen at Vint Hill says,
“The Best is yet to Come!”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mabelsbakeshop.com
• Instagram: Mabel’s Bakeshop
• Facebook: Mabel’s Bakeshop