EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to Uniquely Small Biz, a podcast where small business owners share their real stories of success, failure and everything in between.
Carolyn: Welcome back to Uniquely Small Biz by Selective Insurance, a podcast for small business owners to share stories about the small businesses that they own. I'm Carolyn McArdle. And this week we have a sweet treat for you. I'm joined by Kaylen Wissinger, the owner of Whisk: A Sustainable Bakeshop. Having started at the Tower Grove farmer's market in St. Louis, Kaylen's been able to turn a farm-fresh dream into reality. She talks with us about how she not only built a sustainable business, but how she keeps it sustainable. And she's always giving advice to other small business owners who are looking to do the same. Alright. It is Kaylen Wissinger. Good morning, Kaylen. Hello.
Kaylen: Good morning! How are you today?
Carolyn: I'm so good. Welcome back to Uniquely Small Biz by Selective Insurance. It's so good to have you on our podcast. I'm really looking forward to talking to you today.
Kaylen: Well, thank you so much for inviting me and I'm thrilled to be here, and I can't wait to chat with you about everything.
Carolyn: This is great. So you are the owner, the operator, the president, probably a baker at Whisk: A Sustainable Bakeshop.
Kaylen: Yes. I sometimes bake, sometimes, not as much as I would like, but that's okay.
Carolyn: I know. Seriously being a business owner, the baking is the most fun part of it probably. And you probably don't do very much of that. Just being an owner.
Kaylen: Yeah, it’s sad. I mean, I love my job. I am very lucky and privileged that this is what my day-to-day is, but sometimes I just want to make cookies. Like that's all I ever wanted to do. And sometimes that just is what I want, but you know what? I have a great staff, they do that. And then I eat the cookies, so it’s okay.
Carolyn: There's the best part of the job right there. Taste testing. So you are Whisk: A Sustainable Bakeshop. You easily could have just called yourself Whisk or Whisk Bakeshop. Why did you put ‘Sustainable’ into your title?
Kaylen: So it's really important for me that our customers and the greater world at large know that sustainability is one of the more important things for us here. We really like working with small vendors, small producers, small farmers, and that sense of community that it brings forth is really important to me. And then also just, it is a great way to reduce our carbon footprint, working with local folks who, you know, grow apples in an orchard 50 miles away, as opposed to in Peru or wherever apples can come from, from the grocery store, something like that. So it's a nice little name tag, and it's a nice reminder for me to think, okay, as I'm making a new decision, as we're creating a new product, as we're opening a new branch, how can I do this in the most sustainable way possible.