Dairy Barn Houses Bread-Baking Equipment Business

Dairy Barn Houses Bread-Baking Equipment Business 29-5-6 When demand for her home baked whole wheat bread outgrew her ability to supply it, Denise Fidler changed her home-based bakery business. Instead of selling bread, she started selling grain mills, mixers and all the other materials she had been using herself. "Now I sell the machines and also teach people about whole grain bread and how to bake their own," says Fidler. She first learned to appreciate fresh milled, whole grain baking while she and her husband were stationed in Germany. German friends introduced her to high quality milling and mixing equipment as well. After returning to the Midwest, starting a family and moving to a rural area, European style breads were impossible to find. Fidler began baking her own, eventually milling grain she ordered direct from Montana. Friends and neighbors soon began ordering from her. At one time, she was baking more than 50 loaves each week. Today, Fidler tries to keep her business "The Country Baker" simple. She advertises in select magazines and maintains a website. Products are warehoused in an old dairy barn on their rural acreage and in the family garage. Between her home baking supply business, some travel and home schooling her children, she prefers people stop by appointment only. When they do, she will show them the equipment she recommends, but it will likely be on her dining room table. Even the equipment she carries helps reduce business hassle. From the stainless steel bur mill from Nutrimill to the Bosch mixers, companies either offer a lifetime warranty or are known for excellent customer service. "I decided when I started the home based business, that I wanted very little contact with people about problems," she says. "I am willing to spend more for quality, and most of my customers will invest more if they know it will last longer." Fidler says the hardest thing about starting and running a business is maintaining balance with family, giving credit to her 3 and 5-year-old children for keeping her grounded. The home-based business does allow the entire family to get involved. Her auctioneer husband helps with packing and shipping as do the older children. They also help with accounting and customer service. Fidler says her typing skills have come in handy, saving time with correspondence, emails and creating her website. Her high school business class has also been helpful, noting "you definitely need a knowledge of accounting." She has learned to be careful about what she prays for. "We prayed for the blessing of a big business that would financially pay off, and boy did it ever," says Fidler. "It has gotten so big that we can't handle it ourselves anymore. We are looking for a fulltime person just for bookwork." One benefit she sees in the home business and family involvement is that her children are learning to be entrepreneurs as well as bakers. The key, she says, in baking is to give the child their own ball of dough, rolling pins and pans. It appears the same is true of entrepreneurs as her 15-year-old daughter is now baking and selling her own bread each week. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Denise Fidler, 8751 N. 850 E., Syracuse, Ind. 46567 (ph 219 834-2134 or 866 843-2253; website: www.countrybaker.com).

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