We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Gifford recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, appreciate you 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?

I have friends and family in a multitude of different careers and industries, and while I don’t always quite know specifically what they do for work or what it is that makes their industry run, one thing I do know is that they care for the people they work with, they strive to make the world a better place, and they use their unique niche to bring that mission to life.

When asked about what I want my legacy to be, I think about how those around me who I would classify as ‘successful’ carry themselves. I want to leave the world a better place than I found it, I want people to think back to an interaction with Sarah Gifford as one in which they left feeling joyful, happy, and light. I strive everyday to make it the best day ever, even if the circumstances dictate otherwise, and I hope others around me share in this goal.

I would, of course, like to be known forever as the girl who makes the really great bread, also.

Sarah, 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?

I’m here to make the world a better place, one sourdough loaf at a time.

When a sweet friend gave me a bit of sourdough starter in the fall of 2023, I was at a point in my life where I knew I needed to slow down. I was moving a million miles a minute, and while I was happy and having fun traveling, I was desperate for a break in the action. The funny thing is, that sourdough starter, affectionately named Sandra, represented just what I needed.

The thing I’ve learned about sourdough is that it’s a process that cannot be rushed. No matter how quickly I want the dough to rise, or how quickly I wish the dough would finish its cold proof, the dough takes its time to get from one step of the baking process to the next. And, the result is a beautifully proofed, eagerly awaited for loaf of fresh sourdough – the smell and taste of which truly cannot be beat.

In this regard, sourdough has taught me more about myself than any self help book or personality test ever can. I’ve learned that while I am accustomed to moving a million miles a minute, that sometimes the true beauty happens when I take my time through life, not rushing any step.

Here at Sourdough by Sarah, I strive to provide each customer a loaf that has been prepared specifically for them, over the course of a day or two, and is baked with love.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I think about the brands that I love to follow on social media, I think first about the people that make up the brand. I want to know not only what brand I’m following (and potentially purchasing from), but moreso, I want to get to know the person or the people behind the brand. If I’m thinking about my own brand’s social media this way, it’s imperative that I show up as my authentic self – the goofy, loving, passionate face behind Sourdough by Sarah.

Something else that has helped me specifically is to remember that truly anything can be content. If I ever feel like I don’t have anything to share or to post, that’s when the creativity really gets started. The other day, I posted one of my highest viewed reels, and it was me putting together a shelf for storage! I talked about how cool it was that my business has grown so much that I’m now needing to purchase more storage and what I’m planning to do with it. People love to see a peek ‘behind the curtain’ of business operations, and they care more about the person behind the brand than we think.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I love this question! I have my own website, sourdoughbysarah.com, and I truly think that’s one of the reasons for the success I’ve had. When I was just getting started, I used Shopify as a platform, and it was great for the purpose that it served, but didn’t really offer the creativity and uniqueness that I know I wanted for this brand I was building. With Shopify, I was not able to create a full website, and my website had to be entered with the ‘.shopify.com’ at the end, or the consumer would not be able to access and purchase.

I really wanted to make purchasing as simple as possible for the consumer and to break down any potential barriers of doing so. Think about any time you’ve had an issue checking out of a cart online – do you typically troubleshoot? Or are you more likely to just close out of the screen and not purchase the item? In the fast paced society we live in today, consumers need as few barriers to purchase as possible, and having my own website does just that.

It is true that having my own domain and website is a bit more expensive, and requires a bit more upkeep than just a checkout page, as Shopify was. However, I have zero doubt in my mind that paying a bit more and spending a bit more time to make the consumer’s experience easier is one of the best investments any owner can make into his or her business.

Contact Info:

• Website: sourdoughbysarah.com
• Instagram: @sourdoughbysarah

Image Credits
Heidi Hess