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

Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

The Legacy I hope to build in my business and life in general is to make people feel seen, valued and smile. I always say, “ I have the best job ever! It’s like Christmas morning every day! When someone comes to my treats truck it is my goal for them to see their treat and feel happy. They look at their purchase and are wowed!” I love it when I have time to chat because I want them to know it’s not just about taking their money, I want to build a friendship. What I want people to say about me when I’m gone, “ she never knew a stranger, treated everyone like family”

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.

In 2022, I was delivering car parts ans my job. I have been putting fun colors in my hair since about 2015. When I would walk into each mechanic shop the mechanics would joke about how cheerful I was EVERY-DAY!!! I would tell them when they were sarcastic about my goofy attitude, “I know, I should be delivering cookies or cakes or something, not car parts right?” One day I had gotten my hair freshly colored purple and blue and the grumpiest mechanic (I saw daily) says, “You look like a SNOW CONE!” Ding! ding! THAT WAS IT!! I needed to have a snow cone stand!!! So I told my husband the idea and he was SO EXCITED! He started looking at machines, stands etc. I wanted to name the stand “Welcome Home” because I want people to feel like they are with family when they come to get their treat. We bought the stand that winter and put literally blood sweat and tears into it. I spent 2 summers building my business, brand and followers.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I had the same stand in the same place for 2 seasons. And though I liked the predictability of it, I was missing out on opportunities. People would ask me to events, parties and markets. I would have to decline, because though my stand was on wheels it was not easy to move! Not AT ALL! Especially independently. So I told my husband at the end of the season I wanted to list the stand and just see if it sold. If it did sell I would take it as a sign we were to buy a truck I could drive and set up all by myself. Well the stand sold in weeks, full price! I guess that was a sign! We found an ice cream truck a month later and bought it, we modified it to make it work for my snow cone business and this summer I am Welcome Home Denton Snow Cones “Treats Truck”. So fun!!!

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

My first season, I was looking for a place to set up my stand and leave it there (since it was not easy to move) I asked, and asked and asked so many businesses if they would let me set up in their parking lot and I think I literally heard 30-40 “No’s”. Small business is hard. You have to be willing to work a lot. You have to keep a positive attitude when it seems everyone has no faith in your business. You have to push through the hardships. In my business hardships look like, someone stole your generator you have to shut the business down and put another on on your already almost maxed credit card, it rains daily for 2 weeks and you cant open, you have to tell your customers you can’t open because your autistic son needs a mental health day and you have to be with him, your generator keeps over heating, your ice supplier freezer is down because of the consecutive 109 degree days. What about the off season? I get a “real job” because let’s face it, the business costs money I still have to pay in the off season.
I heard a motocross rider say one time, “the difference between a winner and a loser is the winner is loser that didn’t quit!”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: welcome_home_denton
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079138695077&mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: https://www.google.com/search?q=welcome+home+denton+snow+cones&client=safari&sca_esv=2f8531f1ec6b81d5&channel=iphone_bm&sxsrf=ADLYWIJu1uxImR5EAMhhzUJix_URFjuCjA%3A1722304012801&source=hp&ei=DEaoZqXZLpbu-LYP94mkuAs&gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0LDaJT8tNqSwzYLRSNaiwMDNJSU5KSky0MDQ2STVNsjKoMDJONrcwMDIxMEwFMpLMveTKU3OS83NTFTJAREpqXkl-nkJxXn65QnJ-XmoxAFgBGyI&oq=welcome+home&gs_lp=EhFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocBoCGAIiDHdlbGNvbWUgaG9tZSoCCAAyExAuGIAEGMcBGCcYigUYjgUYrwEyChAuGIAEGEMYigUyDRAuGIAEGLEDGEMYigUyBRAAGIAEMggQLhiABBixAzIIEAAYgAQYsQMyCxAAGIAEGLEDGIMBMg8QuQEYgAQYsQMYgwEY7wRIsGRQohhYxFJwAngAkAEAmAGmAaABzAyqAQQwLjEyuAEByAEA-AEBmAIOoAKlDagCFMICBxAjGCcY6gLCAgoQIxgnGOoCGIsDwgIEECMYJ8ICFBAuGIAEGJECGMcBGIoFGI4FGK8BwgILEAAYgAQYkQIYigXCAhEQLhiABBixAxjRAxiDARjHAcICChAjGIAEGCcYigXCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgIQEAAYgAQYsQMYQxiDARiKBcICCBAAGIAEGMkDwgILEAAYgAQYkgMYigXCAgsQLhiABBixAxiDAcICDRAuGIAEGLEDGIMBGArCAhAQLhiABBjHARgKGI4FGK8BwgIHEAAYgAQYCpgDDpIHBDIuMTKgB-irAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp