Change & Transformation: Westminster College The following was written for an MBA class at Westminster College on how I see, anticipate, and plan for change during my first seven years of business. Dated: 4/16/2015 Change is inevitable and transformation is up to you. Pliable and resilient are key words when entering into business. If you are resistant to change, then you are not cut out for business. The future will happen with or without you, to keep up, you must be willing to change. You must be willing to let go of personal emotional investment and think about the health of your business. This does not mean giving up your personal ideals regarding your goals and purposes. Here are a few ways in which I, RubySnap chose to change: Trademark A well-known story is our former name and trademark issues. Formerly we began as My Dough Girl in honor of the WWII and celebrating simpler times with simpler recipes full of integrity. I like history and this is something I have idealized in my mind. WWII flyer were called Dough Girls, similar to the male flyers of World War I. Yes, we owned our trademark, officially approved through USTPO. But one large corporation felt we were infringing on their mascot. Personal feelings and emotion set aside, we gave our name to them without a fight. Why? Because money talks and regardless of being right, they would win. What was the gift of change? We refined our branding, emerged stronger, and fought back with success instead of banter in a courtroom. Staff As you grow, your staff must grow too. Not only in numbers, but in capabilities and invested DNA of your company goals. As we have grown, I have had to relinquish my status of “Queen of all RubySnap” and understand that I do not have to be the master of all things. It is difficult to share the mantle of your vision, but necessary. Allowing others to help you carry the mantle opens the doors to further success. My only promise has been, as I grow, I will allow you to grow with me. If you want to be on this journey, I will continue to teach you and trust you with autonomy. We know have: Morning Manager, Bakery Manager, Baking Manager, General Manager, Dough Production Manager, and a DSD Manager, for a total of 17 employees. This has been a slow transition as needed, but very necessary in order to free me up to keep building the future of RubySnap. Packaging When we began we had no frosted cookies. As we introduced frosted cookies we had no way to hand them to our clients. So we created new boxes for this new product option. As we grew into stores like Whole Foods and Harmons, we had no bulk boxes to distribute bulk cases of dough or re-sale bags. Again, we looked to our packaging manufacturers for solutions. Recently we developed new packaging for one of our popular items PB Wows, so we would enjoy less damaged of product by customer handling. Currently we are working on personal size edible cookie dough cups with spoons for grab go unbaked cookie dough. Change and transformation are not only inevitable, but exciting. When you address the needs of your company and your clients your enthusiasts become more devoted and will tell the story of your brand for you. Product Product! This is the most exciting part for me. I always love a good excuse the think and create. We are constantly matching the needs of ourselves, clients and the future. We have designed for Broadway plays, Grocers, Sundance Film Festival, and many private organizations. We are currently working with Walt Disney World Florida on ideas for their theme park. Example: Disney World loves our Lilly lemonhead cookie, but we have not figured a way to safely transport the frozen dough for local bake off without the lemonheads melting in transit. So we created the Lola cookie. The Lola cookie still meets their desires for a lemon palate and is a more sustainable, less compromised dough base. This simultaneously solved another problem for us, and now allows us to offer a lemon cookie as part of our take and bake frozen dough for grocers. Then, Disney felt that perhaps park guests wouldn’t enjoy a warm cookie in the warm sun, as much as they would enjoy cold frozen cookie dough in a portable personal sized cup. Being pliable to change and transformation opens the doors to new opportunity, progress, and growth. What does change bring? It brings enthusiasm by your spectators. These are your fans and your greatest cheerleaders. Genuine, honest change according to real need is good. Feigned change only for attention dilutes your pursuits. Be present with your goals to address positive change where positive change is due. I’m Tami Steggell, this is my story and I’m sticking to it. Submit a blog post request or questions on our About Page or email questions to: HeyRuby@RubySnap.com RubySnap Fresh Cookies 770 S. 300 W. Salt Lake City, UT 84101 Bakery Tele: (801) 834-6111