Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christine Emge. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Christine, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?
To fully explain the driving force behind our self-discipline, I need to tell you a short story. For context, my husband and I are the proud owners of a small business called Penny Pickles. We wear many hats, but one of them is ‘pickle maker’, and perhaps that is where the story starts. In 2020, we were motivated by the desire to stay busy and stay connected during the pandemic lock-down. We started making small batch pickles for friends and families and delivering at a distance for that chance to stay engaged- though ten feet apart to be safe. Over the next year, our pickle adventure grew and prospered. Soon we were applying for an LLC, renting commercial kitchens, and googling what “COGs” meant. We did all this while maintaining full-time jobs as Physical Therapists because, well, we were having fun exploring what we called “the hustle-reward curve.” The harder we worked at growing our business, the more we prospered. That was our driving force up until July of 2022. It was at that point that our motivation drastically changed. We found out we were expecting our first child, due March 2023. Our mental model shifted from “what is sleep because #hustle?” to “the family in family business comes first.” We changed our entire business model over the next year in preparation for the pickle princess’ arrival. This brings us to the end of my short story and to the point where I can give a concise answer to “where does your self-discipline come from?” It comes from our little family. What began as a casual pursuit has now transformed into a core aspect of our family identity and has illuminated a path towards building our daughter future financial stability. To some people, we appear to be simply making pickles, but the reality is that running any small family business (while also maintaining two full times jobs and parenting) requires a remarkable level of self-discipline. It also instills a profound sense of purpose in everything we undertake.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My husband Nick and I are the names behind Penny Pickles. We put the “mom and pop” in mom and pop shop as we have a one-year-old daughter, Maddison! And while we are the names, our beautiful snaggle-toothed cancer-conquering warrior dog Penny is the face of the brand. We put our dog’s name and face on our jars because she represents what we strive to be: unique and unforgettable. Our products reflect that value. I mean, have you ever had pickled mango? You’re in for an unforgettable treat. Speaking of unforgettable, this year has been that for our family and our business. With the birth of our new daughter came new challenges as business owners. There’s no FMLA built into small business entrepreneurship. My husband carried Penny Pickles on his back for months following the birth of our daughter. In the first six weeks following her birth, the queen bee herself, Penny, was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma. It is quite unexplainable how she is still snoring next to me as I write these answers, but boy, do we feel blessed to say that. If you are unfamiliar with that diagnosis, I hope you never have to learn about it firsthand. It was then, in our darkest times as a family, that our small business community lifted us up. And if I had to summarize what we are focused on professionally in this space, it is giving back to those people and prioritizing our values and our relationships. We don’t ship our products, we aren’t at every farmer’s market, and we aren’t in big retail stores. All very much on purpose. You will, however, find our hand-crafted pickles at local family-owned markets, breweries, and stores. Our largest retail partner is a family-owned company that prioritizes sustainable practices, and none of that was by accident. We believe at this point in our small business journey that by prioritizing both our little family and our small business family of partners and vendors, that we create a strong foundation for our business to thrive the way we want it to: rooted in the same love we have for Penny and each other. And for pickles, too. By balancing our focus over the past year on business growth with clear boundaries, we have achieved success while maintaining the integrity of our business and family values. And we think that is pretty darn special. If I could leave readers with one thing it would be: find us online at PennyPicklesPHL.com and look up our local partners. They’re incredible people and places. Visit them. Support them. Lift them up. Then follow us on Instagram. We have so many wonderful events coming up and we’d love to share that with you. And if you’re a business owner looking for pickles to adorn your fridge shelves and our vibe matches yours…reach out. We’d love to hear from you.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back, one “quality” that was impactful in our journey was being honest with ourselves about what we didn’t know early on. That forced us to gain the necessary skills to run our business efficiently and effectively. Secondly, we have been our most genuine and authentic selves throughout the past few years in our marketing, messaging, and relationship building. Lastly, feeling comfortable saying no when something didn’t match our missions and values. Which feeds into my advice for anyone early in their journey: it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of rapid growth early on and overlook the importance of staying true to your mission and values. Make sure every decision you make is aligned with your beliefs and vision for the company, even if it means taking a slower path to growth.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
We are looking to continue expanding our reach in the greater Philadelphia area by way of family owned and operated businesses and markets. We provide a clean, hand-crafted cold cured pickle products and have a creative line up of pickled fruits and vegetables including Philadelphia’s only pickled mango. We pride ourselves in our recyclable packaging and are looking for market or brewery vendor relationships that have similar values. We offer wholesale pricing and have a menu of 12 pickle varieties to select from available in half- or full-case quantities. We can be reached for more information through our website www.PennyPicklesPHL.com!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.PennyPicklesPHL.com
- Instagram: @PennyPicklesPHL
Image Credits
Hoffer Photography Emily Carp Photography (family phot0)
