What It's Like to Start and Run a Multi-Million Dollar Business

Nancy Mueller went from baking petite quiches and other hors d'oeuvres in her home kitchen, to becoming known as the “Queen of Quiche.”  Through hard work, determination, lots of eggs and flour, and refusing to take “no” for an answer, she built Nancy's Specialty Foods into a multi-million dollar business that eventually produced 1.5 million quiches per day. 

In this episode, Nancy reflects back on the early days of the business (when she made each quiche by hand), all the way through to the night she woke up in a cold sweat and knew it was time to sell it.  She shares lots of stories, including her big break (the first time her products were in Price Club); taking a rock star's private plane to Bentonville, Arkansas; and being a female boss in the 1970s, '80s and '90s.  Nancy made quiche, built a business, and blazed trails along the way.

In Nancy's words, “The reason I didn’t have any problem with the glass ceiling is ‘cause I owned the ceiling!”  

In this episode:

• How Nancy decided to start making appetizers (01:26)
• The idea to try to get into Price Club (08:55)
• Running the business (10:32)
• Spreading the word–PR vs. advertising (15:43)
• Dealing with the growing business (20:10)
• When Nancy realized it was time to sell the company (25:41)
• On being a female boss in the '70s-'90s (30:06)
• Developing various products for Nancy's (31:40)
• Words of advice for someone starting a business (34:14)
• Nancy's adventures on her yacht (39:28)

Want to know more about Nancy?

• https://www.nancys.com/aboutus

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Elizabeth Pearson Garr Podcaster

Elizabeth Pearson Garr has spent a lot of her life asking questions. A daughter of a professor and a principal, as a kid she loved sitting at the “adult table” during their dinner parties so she could participate in the “real” conversations.

Elizabeth went on to graduate with honors from Harvard with a degree in History and Literature, and promptly attended professional cooking school to become a food writer. That led to various career opportunities, including becoming one of the first employees of the Television Food Network; writing/producing gigs at networks from PBS to E!; anchoring/reporting at the NBC affiliate in Billings, Montana; earning a graduate degree in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford University; and various and sundry other things. The through-line to all this has been curiosity. Elizabeth is a skilled interviewer who loves diving deep into research, finding connections, and telling good stories.

Elizabeth has a husband, two daughters, and a fluffy white dog who rarely leaves her side.