The Smith Sisters Taking The World of Sweets by Storm - WHISK Gluten-Free Bakery!
We are always inspired by and LOVE sisters working together and making their dreams happen! Lynn and Stephanie Smith are doing just that while "aiming high" and making the world a sweeter place. Not only are they two of the coolest girls imaginable, their creations are mind-blowing! Go get 'em Sisters! We can't wait to see your WHISK treats everywhere.
Thank you to Lynn Smith McKay, co-owner and co-founder of WHISK, for sharing her wisdom below:
What inspired the two of you to start WHISK?Well, we both LOVE baking and eating!We were both pregnant at the same time right before starting Whisk. We baked A LOT - I mean insane amounts of cookies, pies, breads, and cakes, so we'll give the growing babies in our bellies credit for initiating this business.Additionally we have both been gluten-free for many years, and on a long search to find mouthwatering, gluten-free and vegan baked goods that were moist and delicious.We also have multiple family members with allergies to gluten, dairy, nuts, and eggs, so we had to learn how to accommodate everyone’s needs by creating our own specialty cakes, cupcakes, breads, and treats for every birthday, holiday, and family shindig. - although Stephanie is the true mastermind behind all of the amazing Whisk recipes.Realizing we weren’t alone in our search for deliciousness, and tired of settling for dry, tasteless, or just “ok,” we thought, why not us? We are so excited to make the world a sweeter place by whisking up all of our favorite gluten-free and vegan creations for everyone.
What have been greatest joys in working together? The biggest challenges?We both just had babies when we decided to start WHISK, so that brought us closer together, laughing, crying, commiserating over all the joys and challenges of motherhood. Looking back we can’t believe we decided to do it with newborns in tow, but we just dove in. I think the sleep deprivation actually helped our business in the sense that we couldn’t over think things, we just did it, and figured it all out as we went along - fake it til’ you bake it is what we often say to one another! The best part of working together is knowing we have created something that we are both really proud of and excited about being a part of everyday. We truly love what we are doing, it has taken a lot of hard work to grow Whisk from an idea into a thriving business and doing it together makes all the milestones and successes that much sweeter :)You are both mothers of adorable little boys, how do you balance work and family?This brings us to the biggest challenge - balancing being business owners with being wives, mothers, friends, etc. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to do and be it all. We are now looking to let go of some of the Whisk responsibilities since we are getting much busier with more restaurants, weddings, events, and everyday orders - we just can’t do it all ourselves anymore. We are also carving out a once a week dinner/BBQ at my house where we can just be with our kids, family, friends and enjoy some down time without focusing on business - of course there are always Whisk treats there though!
What is your favorite Whisk product/baked good?We both LOVE LOVE the triple coconut cupcake - hands down our favorite cupcake - the salted caramel is a very close second though. We can’t get enough of the breads either, the rosemary makes amazing sandwiches and the cinnamon raisin toasted with some butter - DROOL! What one piece of advice do you have for sisters working together and/or for women wanting to start their own businesses?We say to sisters and all women out there who dream of starting their own business - GO FOR IT!! So many women out there don’t realize that their “little hobbies” or “crazy ideas” have a lot of earning potential, so many women just don’t give themselves enough credit or believe in their value.When we first told people that we were starting a gluten-free/vegan bakery, more than a few said “how cute” or asked “how will you make money doing that?” I think the key is owning your ambition and persevering, even in the face of criticism. We don’t have a cute little business, we have a REAL business!We can all truly build our dream careers if we are willing to leap, trust ourselves, take some risks - DON'T BE AFRAID TO AIM HIGH!!
Thanks, ladies!! We will be ordering up some of your treats on the double.