We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melanie Carr. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melanie below.

Alright, Melanie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The holiday season is approaching and family members are all scurrying to prepare family dinners and host guests and prepare for events. Recipes are flying back and forth — who has Aunt Jen’s sweet potato casserole recipe or Grandma Sue’s pumpkin roll recipe? Some family members are on the other side of the world, so sometimes it’s challenging to get answers timely or ask about a specific ingredient.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a way to digitally collect all those recipes — the ones you like the best — into an online platform where you could find them when you need them, edit them to reflect the way you like to make them, add any specific notes about variations you’ve tried or want to try, and who gave you that recipe?

My husband and I both come from large families, who were spread out across the world, as we dove into this idea for creating a place for families to store, share, create, access, and enjoy favorite family recipes. We both appreciate the cultural and traditional draw of passing down recipes from one generation to the next, and also of teaching children the skill and enjoyment of cooking and baking together.

At the time, there wasn’t a good resource available where you could store recipes, edit them at will, update them with photos or videos, add notes and tags to easily reference later, and carry them around at your fingertips whether at home, at work, the grocery store, or at Grandma’s house for the holidays.

We wanted to help families have a way to do this – for culture, for tradition, for health, for legacy. So we created Dish Dish, to provide a place for families to create a digital family cookbook, sharing recipes with each other from anywhere around the world any time. It was exciting to think of generations of families being able to easily save, share, and enjoy recipes together for years to come.

Melanie, 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?

Having come from a large family, having three children and homeschooling them, I did a lot of cooking and baking! My husband, too, had come from a large family, and there were lots of cooking and baking recipes, traditions, and memories to pass along.

As a home cook, I have to honestly say that cooking wasn’t ever my favorite thing to do. But I wanted to do it well, regardless, and I worked diligently to create meals and dishes that worked well for our growing family and sharing with friends. I learned lots of things along the way and I learned often how to make dishes with small tricks or tips that made them easier and quicker to put together, which was important with a busy schedule.

Along the way, we taught our kids to cook and bake and to this day, as grown-ups, they continue that tradition in their own homes.

Especially for anyone who maybe struggles to cook or bake at home, having easy access to trusted recipes and the ability to quickly find a good option for a weeknight meal or a dinner with friends, can keep the idea of homecooked meals from being overwhelming. If I know I have a good standard group of recipes, which I know how to make, and use ingredients I often have on hand, and are simple enough that I don’t have to spend all day prepping or cooking, then I’m more likely to consistently make, enjoy and share a home cooked meal.

This is what we wanted to create for others. A way to make the homecooked meals enjoyable, easier to plan, manage, and provide, and fun along the way because of sharing ideas and recipes with friends and family. With the Dish Dish website, the iOS app and Android apps, we’ve accomplished exactly that!

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Early on in our marketing endeavors and trying to spread the word about Dish Dish and its capabilities, I was trying to connect with 4-H, homeschool co-ops and similar groups or organizations in which cooking and recipes already might be part of their focus. I reached out to 4-H groups across the state of Texas, initially, especially as the State Fair approached and cooking competitions were gearing up.

It seemed like a longshot at the time, since we were just starting out, but I did end up hearing back from a few people and was able to connect and help some of the 4-H groups set up Dish Dish accounts to assist them in saving and managing recipes in their cooking endeavors. It surprised me how well things actually played out in the end. They turned out to be a great connection.

Reaching out to some college groups and cooking schools also proved to be a rewarding effort and connected us with terrific people around the country, many of whom chose to use Dish Dish for sharing recipes.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Early in my marketing journey with Dish Dish, I was inspired and helped by the Guerrilla Marketing books since we were bootstrapping the finances and needed creative ways to market without spending a ton of money. Later in my journey I discovered StoryBrand and I truly appreciate the slight pivot in perspective and approach those works provided, especially regarding creating a story, providing a hero in the story, and connecting with clients in that way.

Locally, participating in programs like Biz Owners Ed, has been a great way to grow in a variety of ways as a small business owner and entrepreneur. I’ve really enjoyed and appreciated their resources for business owners.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dishdish.us/