Cassandra Graham - Sweet & Brave
“Everything is figure-out-able.” -Cassandra
In this second week of our Women in Small Business Series, we introduce you to Cassandra Graham. Cassandra and her husband are the proud owners of KandyGraham, a freeze-dried candy making company. Currently living in SW Wisconsin and busy raising two little ones, Cassandra’s story paints a great picture of what it can look like to start a business in order to alter the life and schedule you want for your family. And it’s a pretty sweet picture, too. (See what I did there?)
Over the last couple of years, Cassandra has been through emotional and physical health struggles that caused her and her husband to really exercise their faith. Their faith and hope in God is very important to them and is the compass from which they choose to move forward. Cassandra struggled with postpartum depression after her first child, and her husband was working night shifts. Then when her physical health proved to be another struggle through her second pregnancy, they decided they needed a change for their family so that both parents could be available and present for their children. They were committed to raising their kids full-time together and wanted to create a united front in equally sharing the load of home and parenting.
So they made a brave step toward that choice. Her husband quit his full-time job, took on side jobs to fill in financial gaps, and they took a risk to start a business they’d both enjoy. They chose to trust that God would continue to provide for them as they sought to put their family first. For Cassandra, this meant trying something new that could give them the schedule they wanted for their holistic approach to raising their family.
Thus began KandyGraham LLC. As they already had one freeze dryer and a mindset of “just try it out and see what happens,” they started testing recipes and trying products. What started with a few followers and a small menu turned into 1000 followers through word of mouth in eight weeks! (I will admit to ordering earlier this summer! My favorites were the Rainbow Ranchers and Carmel Poufs!) They started booking a spot at fairs and festivals, bought a second freeze dryer to keep up with demand, and branched out with new recipes and trial products. As of today, they have a thriving Facebook business and are being featured in five local stores!
If I’ve made starting a business sound too easy, just remember we all process change and new things differently. Cassandra remembers that in the very beginning, “It was a chaotic mess.” She admits that she’s the type to jump into an idea feet first, even though that is stressful. Her husband balances her out with his need for organization and clear steps. So Cassandra gleaned from that and took some time to brainstorm with other women about business ideas and organizational methods. She teaches us, “Everything is figure-out-able.” It is possible, she says, to jump in and figure things out as you go. You don’t need to have every single step perfectly laid out, because life will always teach you to be flexible anyway.
Life also has a way of placing hurdles in our path, but they often give us greater opportunity to learn and grow as we keep moving forward. Cassandra remembers that their biggest challenge to starting this business was financial. Learning state seller laws was a huge learning curve. Being a Work-At-Home-Mom with two kids under the age of two has had its own set of challenges. But for Cassandra, the key to working through all of this was having a stable partner - both in marriage and in business. As they chose this path with the goal of providing quality time and equal responsibility in their family, they knew sharing the load for the business was critical. Cassandra admits, “Sometimes I have a hard time navigating my own emotions.” So for her, it is important to have her husband there for support and to help work through these challenges.
There are two things we especially love about Cassandra’s journey here:
She trusted God and then took steps to make things happen. I know there are women out there who will say they are trusting God to provide and then they sit around and wait. But Cassandra recognizes that God gave her brains, abilities, ideas, and opportunities, and that she can keep stepping forward until doors close for her. And that is how God is going to provide for her family through this business.
She didn’t let her fear stop their decision to move forward. Plenty of us come home to hear a new idea from a spouse or loved one, only to be the one to put on the brakes. Is that fear of failure talking? Or maybe fear of succeeding? All too often, we let the “but what ifs” take over as a sign of guaranteed negative outcomes. “What if we fail?” “What if we lose money?” Cassandra took the “what ifs” to be positive things for their family. “What if we could both be home to raise the kids and run a business?” “What if we get better at us through this opportunity?”
Cassandra is blessed to be at the frontline of watching God provide the time and freedom in her family through KandyGraham right now. They have had a busy summer at county fairs and vendor events. Being featured in five local stores is a great point to be at in the short few months they’ve been networking! And as long as they’ll be provided for, Cassandra and her husband look forward to someday having a storefront and commercial kitchen to really branch out and see just how sweet their family experiences can be.
