When did you decide you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
I didn't! I married into entrepreneurship but I have truly come to love it. My husband knew from a young age that he would prefer to work for himself.
Why did you start this business?
We actually started out owning frozen dessert franchises, specifically Dairy Queen and Rita's Italian Ice. We enjoyed learning the backbones of the business as franchisees, but as we had children we became concerned with the quality of the products we were serving. We opened in 2009 as an all-natural ice cream store, producing our own ice cream without the use of artificial flavors and colors and high fructose corn syrup. At the time I was pregnant with our fourth child. Assuming she would be another boy (wrong!), we came up with the name "Gracie and the Dudes." In 2015 we transitioned to a fully organic ice cream store. We are primarily organic as a family, particularly with meat, produce and dairy. However, the production of organic dairy in America cannot meet the demand. We went on a waiting list shortly after originally opening, and it took six years until we were able to obtain the amount of organic cream and milk necessary to supply our stores. We are happy to offer this option to our customers and to educate the public about the importance of knowing what you are eating and from where it comes.
What surprised you the most about running the business?
When we first opened, our daughter Grace was six. She used to work the cash register (now at 13, she's too cool for that). She gained a somewhat startling notoriety. People would actually stop us in restaurants, in the supermarket, etc. to tell me they recognized her from the store and how she did a great job waiting on them. For better or worse, she's forever branded as "Gracie" of Gracie and the Dudes.
Describe your most unusual customer, job or work experience.
We have been involved in weddings a number of times. We've been honored to do about six wedding cakes, and we've also brought our ice cream cart to the reception. To be a part of such a momentous occasion is a pretty awesome thing for us.
How would you like the business to grow and change?
I think we've got the change down with the organic. We have always grown through word of mouth, and would like to continue to do so. We were able to work with our transportation company and our farmers to bring our costs down a bit, so we were actually able to lower our prices from last year. We want to help people to know that "organic" doesn't have to taste bad (this is a fairly common misconception) or be out of line in price.
In one sentence, tell us why customers should go there.
At Gracie and the Dudes, we offer amazingly delicious homemade ice cream that happens to be organic but won't break the bank.
What do you love about the community where your business is located?
We are excited to be part of the Long Branch community, but my heart belongs in Sea Bright. We were completely demolished after Hurricane Sandy and had to rebuild from scratch. From less than scratch. In the aftermath, I started volunteering some time in the town and I've gotten to know so many people and have made some great friends. It's true when they say there's no place like Sea Bright. To see how we have bounced back as a community, how much was accomplished despite townwide demolition, it still leaves me awestruck. We are a tiny town and we really got it together much more quickly than many other places. Kudos to the town leaders for that. This isn't to say there weren't bumps in the road, but I feel lucky to have a business there.
When you leave work, do you leave the office behind, or are you always in contact?
In operating hours, we are always in contact. We have had to leave events if people don't come to work or if a piece of equipment goes haywire. We tell our employees, "If you're not sure about something, please ask." So the phone rings about 25 times a day. My husband's brain just cannot turn off from business. I had to make some parameters: "Let me wake up, let me have my coffee before you start talking about it." Then at night, I say, "OK. It's 10 o'clock. Let me watch my movie."
What do you do in your off time?
We have four kids. We have no off time. We do homework, we carpool, we watch a lot of basketball games. We have catches, we play Shopkins, we have Just Dance battles. We do laundry, lots and lots of laundry. And occasionally, I might hide in the bathroom and read or watch Netflix.
When you leave the business behind some day, what will you do?
I think about this a lot. We look at our kids and say, will one of them want it? Which one? This one? No, that one ... definitely NOT that one. We have four college educations to pay for, so I don't see us leaving it anytime soon.
Resource: http://www.app.com
I didn't! I married into entrepreneurship but I have truly come to love it. My husband knew from a young age that he would prefer to work for himself.
Why did you start this business?
We actually started out owning frozen dessert franchises, specifically Dairy Queen and Rita's Italian Ice. We enjoyed learning the backbones of the business as franchisees, but as we had children we became concerned with the quality of the products we were serving. We opened in 2009 as an all-natural ice cream store, producing our own ice cream without the use of artificial flavors and colors and high fructose corn syrup. At the time I was pregnant with our fourth child. Assuming she would be another boy (wrong!), we came up with the name "Gracie and the Dudes." In 2015 we transitioned to a fully organic ice cream store. We are primarily organic as a family, particularly with meat, produce and dairy. However, the production of organic dairy in America cannot meet the demand. We went on a waiting list shortly after originally opening, and it took six years until we were able to obtain the amount of organic cream and milk necessary to supply our stores. We are happy to offer this option to our customers and to educate the public about the importance of knowing what you are eating and from where it comes.
What surprised you the most about running the business?
When we first opened, our daughter Grace was six. She used to work the cash register (now at 13, she's too cool for that). She gained a somewhat startling notoriety. People would actually stop us in restaurants, in the supermarket, etc. to tell me they recognized her from the store and how she did a great job waiting on them. For better or worse, she's forever branded as "Gracie" of Gracie and the Dudes.
Describe your most unusual customer, job or work experience.
We have been involved in weddings a number of times. We've been honored to do about six wedding cakes, and we've also brought our ice cream cart to the reception. To be a part of such a momentous occasion is a pretty awesome thing for us.
How would you like the business to grow and change?
I think we've got the change down with the organic. We have always grown through word of mouth, and would like to continue to do so. We were able to work with our transportation company and our farmers to bring our costs down a bit, so we were actually able to lower our prices from last year. We want to help people to know that "organic" doesn't have to taste bad (this is a fairly common misconception) or be out of line in price.
In one sentence, tell us why customers should go there.
At Gracie and the Dudes, we offer amazingly delicious homemade ice cream that happens to be organic but won't break the bank.
What do you love about the community where your business is located?
We are excited to be part of the Long Branch community, but my heart belongs in Sea Bright. We were completely demolished after Hurricane Sandy and had to rebuild from scratch. From less than scratch. In the aftermath, I started volunteering some time in the town and I've gotten to know so many people and have made some great friends. It's true when they say there's no place like Sea Bright. To see how we have bounced back as a community, how much was accomplished despite townwide demolition, it still leaves me awestruck. We are a tiny town and we really got it together much more quickly than many other places. Kudos to the town leaders for that. This isn't to say there weren't bumps in the road, but I feel lucky to have a business there.
When you leave work, do you leave the office behind, or are you always in contact?
In operating hours, we are always in contact. We have had to leave events if people don't come to work or if a piece of equipment goes haywire. We tell our employees, "If you're not sure about something, please ask." So the phone rings about 25 times a day. My husband's brain just cannot turn off from business. I had to make some parameters: "Let me wake up, let me have my coffee before you start talking about it." Then at night, I say, "OK. It's 10 o'clock. Let me watch my movie."
What do you do in your off time?
We have four kids. We have no off time. We do homework, we carpool, we watch a lot of basketball games. We have catches, we play Shopkins, we have Just Dance battles. We do laundry, lots and lots of laundry. And occasionally, I might hide in the bathroom and read or watch Netflix.
When you leave the business behind some day, what will you do?
I think about this a lot. We look at our kids and say, will one of them want it? Which one? This one? No, that one ... definitely NOT that one. We have four college educations to pay for, so I don't see us leaving it anytime soon.
Resource: http://www.app.com
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