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

Alright, Pam thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I decided that I wanted to learn to decorate cookies because my daughter needed some help in her business. Mandy wrote an amazing cookbook and was doing events/book signings all over the state. One of the recipes in her book was for cut out, decorated cookies and she would bake batches of them and take them to events to give out. She has 2 little girls and I thought if she could teach me how to decorate the cookies, I could take some of the pressure off from her. So we spent an afternoon together decorating cookies and I loved every minute of it. I was hooked. I had longed to do something creative again. I had raised 5 kids and been a dental hygienist for 25 years so it felt like all of the fun, creative things that I loved had been lost over the years because I was so busy. And then, COVID. The world shut down so for the first time in my adult life I was at home with a lot of free time. I spent my weeks watching YouTube video on cookie decorating and practicing. I found myself working on cookies for sometimes 12-14 hours a day. This new passion fed my soul. It became my happy place. With every ounce of me, I believed that God had given me this gift, in this season of my life. I loved the cookie communities that I became a part of. I loved the connection and interactions with new people as I began to sell cookies under MI Cottage Laws. I started looking for a baking supply store in the Grand Rapids area and realized that the closest one was over an hour drive for me. I had this vision and this yearning for something more. COVID had slowed down and I was back to work. Don’t get me wrong. My career in dentistry supported our family for many years but I wanted something different. I wanted to help and serve other bakers and create a sense of community in Grand Rapids. My husband and I began to visit bakery supply stores around Michigan and taking to the owners and dreaming. I made my way to the GR Chamber of Commerce and asked a million questions. They referred me to SpringGR, a 3 month program that takes you step by step through building a business and Entrepreneurship. I applied and was accepted and learned as much as I could. Was I crazy?? I had just turned 60. I should be retiring, not starting something that I knew relatively nothing about. The vision kept growing and my husband and I knew that this was something we had to do or we would regret not trying. I got a business coach and started looking for a retail space. I cleaned teeth all day, baked cookie orders until the wee hours of the morning, talked to anyone that I could think of that might be able to give me some direction and landed on a commercial space, in the perfect location, surrounded by many other, very supportive small businesses. I signed the lease last week, we have a contractor doing a remodel and am projecting a Grand Opening in March. I have spent the last 3 years working towards this point and am confident that I am in the right place at the right time. I have read this hundreds of times throughout this process. “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
Isaiah 43:19
Just take the next right step!

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

I love people. I love to learn from other people and I love to serve. Joy of Sprinkles will serve busy moms, corporations and seasoned bakers in the greater GR area. You will be able to come in and smell fresh baked cookies every day, ask a question about a product to use, or take a cookie decorating class. I will be able to bridge the gap between online ordering and learning to an in person experience. Joy of Sprinkles will be a place to stop in and shop for baking supplies, try our cookie flavor of the month, place an order for your next event or sign up for a class. I chose Joy of Sprinkles as the business name because I share the middle name of Joy with my daughter, my grand daughters and my daughter’s business, Kitchen Joy. Besides…warm cookies do nothing but bring joy!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I worked out of my home under MI Cottage Laws for 2 years. I would bake and package cookies with my logo and info and bring them into businesses wherever I was going. I could meet people and introduce myself and Joy of Sprinkles to them and it has been an amazing marketing tool!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to learn my worth and understand that everyone is not my ideal client. Decorating cookies is time consuming and tedious. The cost of eggs and butter has tripled in the past couple of years. When I was first starting out, I would just come up with a price in my head that sounded fair. No cost analysis, no paying myself or placing much value on what I did. I had to get rid of that mindset. I create a luxury item. They are beautiful cookies and make great gifts. But they are not for everyone. I can tell you now exactly how much each cookie costs to make and I pay myself for the expertise that it takes to create them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joyofsprinkles.com
• Instagram: joyof_sprinkles
• Facebook: Joy of Sprinkles