Episode 33: Let Them Eat Cake with Susan Sarich of Susie Cakes
If you are in need of some inspiring girl power, tune into this week's episode of Sisters Dish! Susan (Susie) Sarich founder and CEO of Susie Cakes joins the sisters to share the sweetness and the struggles of building her famous chain of bakeries. Recently named by Forbes Magazine as one of 50 over 50, Susan has built a dessert empire which now spans 26 locations and growing.
Susan shares with us how her two grandmothers, Mildred and Madeline who lived across the alley from each other, welcomed Susan home from school with homemade desserts and lots of love. It was around their tables eating sweets where Susan learned morals and values and realized the true power that table talk could have on a person’s life.
From taking guests coats to drink orders at her Grandma’s house, hospitality has always come naturally to Susan. Born with a passion for service and a mind for business, Susan honed in her born talent at Cornell University where she majored in hospitality. She shares with us her experience as a woman in this male dominated industry and how at the time she was coming up, women had very few opportunities in leadership roles. In addition to the industry’s inequities, the demands of a career in hospitality made it virtually impossible for any woman to have a balanced family life. As Susan pondered the challenges she saw in her professional life, she also began to imagine a different type of working environment. In 2006 Susan Sarich disrupted the industry with her female focused, feel good bakery, Susie Cakes. With one of the core values of the business being “We Build More Than Cakes, We Build Careers,” Susie Cakes has created a team that is 85% female and growing!
After most people told her the idea would never work, she defied them all and proved that a little nostalgia, a pinch of business sense, a lot of faith in yourself and one really big heart was the perfect recipe for a very successful business.
18 years and 26 locations later, Susan continues to bring “old fashioned Americana desserts'' to people throughout the country while lifting up and creating opportunities for women along the way! And that’s just the icing on the cake!
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