In this episode, Loretta Beiler recounts her history of home-based bread and roasted coffee business, how a surprise trip to Italy inspired her to create sourdough bread classes in her home, and how these and her family’s coffee business comple

019 Kits and Classes, with Wendy Klinke, Art Instructor

Mar 16th, 2021 33m 55s

In this episode, Wendy Klinke reflects on her start-up art instruction and art kit business this past year called Blue Cat Studio. Wendy’s love of art and teaching led her in a roundabout way to home-based production, as she created and sold ca

018 Seven Secrets for Small-Scale Success

Dec 8th, 2020 14m 36s

In this episode, the last of the season, we discuss seven of the most important lessons from the first season of this podcast about starting and growing a home-based production business. Despite our best efforts, it was not possible to book gue

017 Into the Fire(Sauce), with Vid Lynch and Ben Smith, Sauce Makers

Dec 1st, 2020 33m 24s

In this episode, Torchbearer Sauces founders Vid Lynch and Ben Smith discuss how they turned seven years of weekly parties into a thriving 15-year-old sauce business. As early innovators in the flavor-based hot sauce movement, they credit their

016 Deep dive, It’s GO Time!

Nov 24th, 2020 26m 42s

This episode is the last of three episodes that attempts to answer the question, “How can I get over the initial hump of starting a home-based production business?” It describes branding, product development, and the creation of an Ecommerce we

015 Deep Dive, Making It Real

Nov 17th, 2020 19m 57s

This episode is a further deep dive into one of the most frequent questions we hear about home-based production, “How can I get over the initial hump of starting a home-based production business?” The second of three episodes, this segment disc

014 Deep Dive, Permission to Produce

Nov 10th, 2020 21m 25s

This episode is a deep dive into one of the most frequent questions we hear about home-based production, “How can I get over the initial hump of starting a home-based production business?” We answer this question with personal reflections in st

013 Fermenting Better Beer, with Tony Morrell, Brewer

Nov 3rd, 2020 26m 13s

In this episode, Tony Morrell discusses one of his obsessions, home beer brewing, how his process has changed over the past eight to nine years to assure regular brewing awards, and how he is thinking about turning his past time into a commerci

012 Proofer of Concept, with Armando Lacayo, Baker

Oct 27th, 2020 26m 15s

In this episode, Armando Lacayo explains how he transitioned from financial management to baking and the role of home-based production in opening what Bon Appetit magazine anointed the best new bakery in the country in 2016. Three decades ago,

011 Clarifying Commercial Kitchens, with Bev Martin and Nancy Rohrer, Food Producers

Oct 20th, 2020 36m 17s

In this episode, food entrepreneurs Bev Martin and Nancy Martin, talk about their ghee production business, including expanding into a commercial facility and marketing a lesser known product. Bev Martin and Nancy Rohrer had worked together for

010 Mixing It Up, with Jill Donaldson, Baker and Mix Maker

Oct 13th, 2020 39m 19s

In this episode, Jill Donaldson, a formally trained baker and entrepreneur, describes her evolution from a home-based baker to a home-based creator of commercial baking packages. This change dramatically altered her business, daily routine, sal

009 Inspiring first-wave customers, with Lygeia Ricciardi, Digital Health Entrepreneur

Oct 6th, 2020 32m 57s

In this last of four consecutive episodes about personal care products, Lygeia Ricciardi explains how home-based entrepreneurs can inspire friends and family to become their best advocates. Lygeia Ricciardi and Tania Teschke (our guest from the

008 A Confluence of Influences, with Tania Teschke, Soap and Balm Maker

Sep 28th, 2020 32m

In this third of four back-to-back episodes about people who make personal care products, Tania Teschke explains how many roads from childhood through adulthood have led her to become a home-based entrepreneur. This includes a do-it-yourself mi

007 Pivoting for Prosperity, with Leslie Arthur, Soap and Cosmetic Maker

Sep 22nd, 2020 36m 42s

In this second of four back-to-back episodes about personal care products, Leslie Arthur discusses how she started her first business in Hawaii 16 years ago and organized the most recent business, now seven years old. She shares practical advic

006 Lessons from the Direct to Consumer Industry, with Jenna Watkins, Personal Care Product Director

Sep 15th, 2020 34m 31s

This episode veers somewhat away from our typical discussions with makers into a sister industry, “direct to consumer,” to explore how this industry markets and sells its products and lessons that can be applied to home-based production. “Direc

005 The Bioluminescent Fashionista, with Lysandra Weber, Clothing Designer

Sep 8th, 2020 41m 19s

This episode describes how a home-based clothing designer and producer conceived her niche and comparative advantage in a market otherwise dominated by large labels. In her last months of maternity leave, Lysandra Weber tested an idea for start

004 To rent her home, with Maria-Victoria Checa, Painter

Sep 1st, 2020 26m 47s

This episode describes art as a path to home-based entrepreneurship and the ways in which a new hobby can be transformed into a part-time or full-time career. We all find our passions in different ways. For this guest, Maria-Victoria Checa, dis

003 Sourdough for Tie Dyes, with Matt Asin, Early Stage Entrepreneur

Aug 25th, 2020 24m 25s

This episode explores the thinking of an early-stage entrepreneur who is deep in the process of fleshing out his longer-term plan. Like many of us, Matt Asin spent the early days of the Coronavirus lockdown trying to keep busy at home. Matt is

002 From Manic Crafting to a Thriving Paint-by-Numbers Business, with Amanda Farnum, Founder of Wehgo

Aug 25th, 2020 34m 36s

This episode shows how quickly a new product idea can turn into a successful business and the key steps in the process! When Amanda Farnum’s kids were young, she wanted to take a break from her day job to spend time with them, but she didn’t wa

001 Craft workers, Home-preneurs, and Makers, Oh My. What this is all about

Aug 24th, 2020 9m 55s

This episode introduces the idea of “small-scale, home-based production businesses” (whew! that's a mouthful!) as a powerful approach to career-building, income, and wealth that might be right for you. This is nothing new. Humans have produced,

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