We were lucky to catch up with Mariah Bryant recently and have shared our conversation below.
Mariah , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My work ethic comes from watching my dad as an example while I was growing up. He ran his own business as well, and this caused his hours to be full. However, he never let work overtake his family life. He would work long hours on a weekday so that he could take another day off to spend with his family.
Watching my dad has encouraged me to not be afraid to be a business owner as well and put in the work necessary in order to succeed in my work but also in my personal life.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I run a nut butter and granola company. We focus on providing nutritious alternatives to the typical options found in a grocery store. We avoid hydrogenated oils, refined sugar and fillers while providing a delicious snack. We sell at farmers markets and will sometimes sell in retail stores as well.
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?
The three skills that were most impactful in my journey were the following:
1) Do your research! Starting a business can be daunting, and it is important to have all the paperwork together. However, putting in the time for a little research goes a long way (and it’s not as hard as it can seem).
2) Connect! Finding others to connect with is so impactful for getting out into the community and growing together.
3) Try new things! I started by selling both food and body care products. Over the years, it has begun to focus just on the food products which gives me the room to also try new flavors and focus on what consumers want.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I talk it out to my husband. He has been the biggest mental support to me during this journey. Just talking to someone who can listen and encourage you pushes you to go on!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thewholeoat.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thewholeoat
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/thewholeoat
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
