Nadja Piatka’s 20 year marriage had suddenly ended.
She had no income. She sent out 30 resumes, got one interview and no job offers. She was behind in her bills and creditors were banging on her door. She was desperate.
So she relied on her ‘recipe makeover’ skills – where she’d take a regular, high-fat recipe and find a delicious alternative using lower-fat ingredients. Her low fat muffins had been a bit hit with family and friends.
Piatka baked her low fat muffins and drove them to coffee shops in town, asking them to give out free samples.
When she went back the next day the shop owners were saying, “Can you deliver every morning?”
It was hard work to bake those muffins early and deliver them by 8am every day. But soon she was receiving enough orders that she needed to expand beyond her kitchen.
Piatka reached out to a baker whose ovens were not being used at certain times of the day. She made a deal with them to bake and distribute her muffins.
After outsourcing the baking and delivery, she decided to focus more on marketing.
Her first step was to get her name out there – “Nadja approved desserts.” She approached the local newspaper to write a weekly column about recipe makeovers from unhealthy to healthy.
The newspaper liked the idea but they were reluctant since she wasn’t a nutritionist and they didn’t have a budget.
Recognizing that the real value is in getting her name out there, Nadja offered to write the column for free. She told them “if people like it, you can pay me.”
She ended up writing the weekly column for a few years and it built her brand.
Piatka had always wanted to be on TV, so she reached out to the local television show’s program director and offered to do some healthy cooking spots for free.
Like the newspaper they too agreed.
Piatka used each win to go for the next. Eventually she became a supplier to McDonalds Canada, Subway and Sodexho and even appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show.
She used local resources to build her brand and market. But she also outsourced in a smart way to free up her time.
You can outsource your customer loyalty to RewardCamp – it’ll free up your time to focus on other parts of the business.
Check out a demo of RewardCamp to learn more.