In 12 days at the Minnesota State Fair last year, Sweet Martha’s Cookies grossed $4.9 million, nearly double the next highest earning vendor.
“Here’s a lady, a retired teacher who should be living in Florida, and she’s transformed the one thing she does well and turned it into a multi-million-dollar empire,” said Sheletta Brundidge, a business owner and radio host for WCCO-AM, which is located right next to one of Sweet Martha’s three locations at the fair.
Brundige said she’s always admired Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar Founder, Martha Rossini Olson, and chased her down during this year’s fair to get her secret to success. “Talking to her taught me how to move differently,” Brundidge explained. “I thought I had to be on Instagram and TikTok, and she’s not on any of it, and her lines are long,” Brundige said. Olson gave her two simple pieces of advice. “Be a good person and have a good product.”
The advice is confirming for Brundidge, who also created and hosts the annual Black Entrepreneurs’ Day at the Capitol and the lock giveaway events for parents of autistic children.
Hope from women who’ve made it is essential right now for Black women entrepreneurs. According to a report from MSNBC, nearly 300,000 Black women left the nation’s labor force in just three months. The article cites federal job cuts, the rollback of DEI programs, and inflation among the reasons.
Knowing a simple product can make it is encouraging to Catherine White, co-founder of Black Roots Sauces and Seasonings. But her motivation to keep going isn’t about a big payout. “Sure, I’d love to have a multi-million-dollar business, but I also don’t want to miss out on the small community where everybody knows everybody,” White explained.
White and her husband Jervis founded their sauces and seasoning company in 2021, combining their passions for cooking and creating their own unique flavor combinations. The couple’s products have been in Hy-Vee, but White says it wasn’t a fit. “It solidified my need to be more community driven,” White explained. “I know my parents, my grandparents, and my aunts and uncles, and what they did to pave the way. I come from a small community, and to keep that community going is important to me.”
Family is also a focus for LaToya White, founder and owner of Angel’s Delightful Creations. She nearly lost each of her boys, Daelen and Davin, in the ICU because of allergic reactions. Her gourmet desserts and signature snacks business offers allergy-conscious and vegan options. “Minnesota has shown me the love, and I’m giving the love right back, even though it might not be lucrative right now.”
LaToya White aligns with Sweet Martha’s pillars and especially the idea that you can’t do good business without being a good person. “Ever since the pandemic, we have forgotten how to give grace. It is simple, provide the best you can and give love.”
Latoya White has 200 cakes to make and 150 bags of her popular banana pudding popcorn to pack by the weekend without a team to rely on. “I do this all by myself, I believe in it.”
Beyond having a good product and being a good person, Latoya White cited the third element that sustains all business, especially at the beginning: hope.
Catherine White agreed. “We’re not going to let anything hold us back because we believe in what we have. We’re going to strengthen those roots so we’re still sustainable.”