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

What It's Like To...

Send us a text

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

Want to know more about the podcast What It's Like To... ?

• Sign up to be on our Insiders' List to receive our newsletters and insiders' information! Go to whatitsliketo.net (sign-ups are at the bottom of the page)
• Follow us on social media:
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Support the show