I launched a gluten-free bakery from my kitchen after leaving finance. It's on track to make $3M in revenue this year.

Addison LaBonte is the founder of Sweet Addison's, a gluten-free bakery in Dallas. Desiree Rios for BI This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Addison LaBonte, the 32-year-old founder of Sweet Addison's, a gluten-free bakery in Dallas. It's been edited for length and clarity.Before launching Sweet Addison's in January 2024, I worked in finance and didn't love my job. I had an online audience of roughly 150,000 people who followed me for my recommendations on gluten-free desserts. As a content creator in the healthy baking niche, I thought there was a big gap in the market for a clean-ingredient, indulgent-tasting dessert.I've been gluten-free for 10 years now, so I wanted to create a product that would meet the needs of the gluten-free community. I played around with recipes in my kitchen, and then, through my online audience, I had a demand for it, and I thought, life is short; let's start a bakery.Nearly three years later, we're on track to do over $3M in revenue this year. LaBonte said her first customers were her social media followers. Desiree Rios for BI I was building my audience for about six years before I launched my bakeryI had followers who were ready and excited to buy, and, thankfully, I earned their trust over time. When I did launch, they were my very first customers, and I'm so thankful for them.I was laid off from my finance job in 2023, about four months before I officially launched Sweet Addison's. I had a decent amount of savings and decided to go all in on my business.I started Sweet Addison's out of my apartment kitchen; it was very tight, and I had no idea what I was doing. There were cookies everywhere. LaBonte now leads a team of 10 out of a commercial kitchen. Desiree Rios for BI I knew I wanted this to become a really big businessIn the first month, we did around $8,000 in sales. It was pretty small, but it kept growing, and we've grown almost every month since then.I never wanted to just be a home baker. I had big dreams of building a national company, so that was always the plan. Looking back on the early days, it felt a little slow, but that was just because I was being impatient.Now, I have a team of 10, and we ship all around the country — that's the bulk of our business. Here in Dallas-Fort Worth, we're in about 10 coffee shops, and we're in four or five places in New York City.Since launching, I've continued to use social media to connect with customersOn Instagram, we've scaled to over 325,000 followers; on TikTok, to 103,000; and on Facebook, to 203,000, for a total of over 600,000.The biggest thing is being consistent, posting every day, showing up, and answering all the DMs that you get. I also find that asking my audience what they're looking for and what would best serve them has been instrumental for us.I let my customers choose the next flavor we launchI'll get on Instagram stories and ask, 'What flavor do you want to see next?' 'Vote for this or vote for that.' 'Which ingredients do you want to see?' It's a really fun way to get them involved. Being honest with them and asking them questions makes them feel like they're part of the brand.My advice for other small businesses is to be obsessed with their customers. Get to know them, talk to them, get their feedback, figure out exactly what they're looking for, and how you can better serve them.At the end of the day, I don't have a business without customers, so it's not about me. Putting the focus on them has been a game changer for my business. Getting customer feedback has been instrumental for success, LaBonte said. Desiree Rios for BI I chose to invest in our branding and our packagingThe product has to stand out on the shelf, but even before we were in retailers, I wanted really nice packaging so that when people are posting about Sweet Addison's on Instagram, it would be eye-catchingStill, one way we cut costs is by not doing any custom-branded shipping boxes. In my mind, when you order these cookies online, they'll still taste great, even if they're in an unbranded shipping box. The box doesn't make them taste better.There are certain other things that I would never compromise on, like the integrity of our ingredients. We spend a lot of money on high-quality ingredients.Having other people advocate for your brand gives you a leg upWe've collaborated with a few influencers and brands, which has really accelerated our growth. If you can get people posting about your brand, it can really move the needle.When working with influencers, we'll send them cookies, and they'll post on our behalf, so the cost is just the cost of the cookies; we're not necessarily paying them to post about us.Brands and creators are different, but the outcomes have been relatively similar. Either way, we get our product in front of a lot more eyes, and it's been really fun. Sweet Addison's social media strategy includes influencer outreach and collaborations. Desiree Rios for BI I should've hired soonerAs demand increased, especially during our first holiday season, I knew I needed to hire help, but I was so busy I almost didn't have time to interview, hire, and train someone.I had a two-week period when I was up till 3 a.m. every day working, and I thought there was no way I was going to get through Christmas on barely any sleep. I found the time and identified my first two team members who had commercial kitchen experience.Now that I lead a team of 10 every day in a commercial kitchen, I've been able to step back and focus on growing the business. I work 14 to 15 hours per day.I spend one to two hours on social media engaging with customers, posting, and answering DMs. I spend roughly five to six hours on admin tasks, plus another three to four hours per day on Zoom calls and meetings. I also still do new flavor recipe development and testing. LaBonte continues to test new flavors. Desiree Rios for BI I reinvest our profits back into the businessNot much has fundamentally changed, but we have a really high repeat-order rate, which makes me very happy. We have a subscription too, so people can subscribe. The more people who find out about us, the more they buy and buy again, which has increased revenue.I'm so thankful for my business, and I would encourage people to go out and pursue their dreams because life is too short not to. Alyshia Hull is a former business contributors fellow who now contributes as a freelancer. She primarily focuses on business, travel, van life, and workspace verticals. Alyshia is a graduate of SUNY Oswego with a degree in journalism. You can connect with her on Twitter and Instagram. as told to Small Business Insider Baking More Finance Entrepreneurship Entrepreneur