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Goodness Gracie
Wilmington, NC
In 1995, Sallie Price was a caterer with a growing list of clients. She catered a luncheon and forgot to prepare a dessert. She quickly found a solution to the dilemma. Using her mother’s recipes, she baked crunchy toffee cookies to serve to the guests. They loved the cookies and Sallie was bombarded with purchase requests. Someone suggested that she should sell the cookies in tins, and Sallie took their advice. The following year was one of promising beginnings. She married her beloved Carter Price and filled her first 35 cookie orders.
In 1997, Sallie and Carter sought business assistance resources, and were referred to the SBTDC by the Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE). In addition to cookie sales, the Prices had several business ideas to discuss during their first meetings with Leslie Langer, SBTDC regional director at UNC Wilmington. After hearing about Sallie’s catering experience and the success of the cookies, Leslie ran some numbers and identified a gourmet foods business as a potentially strong business.
“After listening to us, she was able to show me in a very diplomatic way that we should first concentrate on our strengths and what was working,” says Sallie.
The Prices had no prior experience in the gourmet food industry, and needed assistance with many aspects of Goodness Gracie, the name they gave the business in honor of their adopted Akita/Border Collie mix. They worked with Leslie to develop a realistic business plan that allowed them to reduce risk by running the business out of their home for a while. They also received assistance with industry research, financials, marketing, and pricing strategies. “Counselor Jim Howell and Leslie were instrumental in helping with our pricing structure. The pricing had to be acceptable for current and potential customers.”
Business at Goodness Gracie exploded and Sallie soon left the catering business behind. In 2000, Carter left his job in the tool business and became her full-time business partner. Throughout the exponential growth, the SBTDC has assisted the Price’s with plant layout, cookie recipe simplification, inventory management, cost control and tracking, new market assessment, and several feasibility assessments involving equipment and capital investment.
Fast growth can often cause problems for small businesses, but the Prices utilized several of the SBTDC’s Management Education Services to maintain control of their business. Early on, they participated in NxLevel™ for Entrepreneurs, a hands-on business course designed to enhance entrepreneurial skills and assist in creating a comprehensive action plan. “Being an entrepreneur is an ongoing learning process. So courses such as NxLevel are really important for growth” say the Prices. They more recently have attended the Master Entrepreneurial Program, a program that focuses on specific management needs of entrepreneurs.
Today, Goodness Gracie has wholesale customers in all fifty states, and has shipped retail orders to Europe, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Japan. Their foods have been featured in Food & Wine and Southern Living magazines, on the Food Network and on the Rachael Ray Show. Sales have grown 800% since they began working with the SBTDC and they create an average of 20 seasonal jobs.
They Prices continue to work with the SBTDC, and credit them for giving valuable advice and assistance that has helped make Goodness Gracie a success.
“Leslie has truly been a sounding board and educator for us. The SBTDC has given us the ammunition to make informed decisions.”
Story originally featured in the SBTDC's 2006 Annual Report.