We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angela Rose. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angela below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Angela with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I get my work ethics from my grandparents who raised me. My grandfather was born in 1897 and my grandmother was born in 1906. Their parents and grandparents were the pioneers and the immigrants. They went from covered wagons to seeing the landing on the moon. They had a spirit about them and they seemed unstoppable. I don’t think they ever retired. Creating and building was apart of everyday life.
They were old when I arrived and that didn’t stop them from building me a two story treehouse, teaching me to cook, sew, build, plant and harvest.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I make gelato and buying a 60 year old bakery in Kansas City. It’s a corner stone in our community. Wally’s has been apart of so many celebrations. Wally and Martha remind me a lot of my grandparents. Immigrants from Germany with strong work ethics. Wally was a Master Pastry Chef and was very content with making desserts for presidents, royalty and stars. Martha believed that everyone should enjoy tasty delectable treats.
Martha became Wally’s wholesale customer.
I call this endeavor Martha’s dream. My goal is to set up Wally’s kitchen for training others in the craft of making fine pastries. I hope that each and every person success. I am really thinking out side the box here. Like Martha I want to be the wholesale customer running the retail side.
The best way I can explain this is by example. I own DellaRose gelato. My LLC buys DellaRose to sell on the retail side at Wally’s. I can get wholesale accounts and catering events. I am not limited to an hourly wage.
My hope is helping others. I don’t have employees… I have a team of independent contractors learning a trade from Manfred.
Manfred is Martha and Wally’s son who is also a master pastry chef. He is a certified instructor. Right now my team is learning the craft and the trade. The team has so many hours of training, Most of the time they set their own schedule. So if their kids get sick or they get sick they do not have to be scared of losing their source of income. I hope that they to will go out and get wholesale accounts and events. I want them to experience financial freedom. I have a really good team. Each one of them has their own unique story. I love seeing hope on their faces. We are still learning and like my grandparents I am a pioneer. I have no clue if this will work out like I hope and dream it to be. I see progress, growth and success. I see lives changing and possibilities. Someday there will be a whole fleet of food trucks, events and accounts. More importantly little faces looking up at their parents and parents having peace of mind of a future legacy for their children. Not promising wealth… livable wage and freedom to have a life.
Grandparents were never rich but we did not want or need and we never went without.
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?
My why. Why do I get up every day? My kids, getting others out of domestic abuse, and giving hope.
Why not just quit? Everyone can do that, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. Why I keep going. I don’t know how to quit. I have one direction and it’s forward. Failure plus failure equals success if you don’t quit. Mind set of failure is an event not an identity. It’s okay to fail, it’s the best teacher in the world.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
Transitioning from assistants. It’s not easy going from assistant to independent. Child care gets lost, healthcare, housing, education, financial assistance, food stamps. It’s not a step, it’s a leap! Trying to figure out a creative way to get from A to Z. It’s an alphabet soup and it’s scary to lose your net. Thankful for so many programs but it’s keeps them from getting out.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: Wally’s Pastry Shop/ DellaRose gelato
Image Credits
Angela Rose
West Rose photography
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
