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After discovering Belgian waffles while traveling abroad, husband and wife Jason and Vachi Baum decided to bring their new favorite treat home to the greater Seattle area. They started a business selling these melt-in-the-mouth goods at local farmers markets in between working full-time, and have focused on expanding their customer base ever since.
While the duo plan their snack-oriented state domination, we spoke with Vachi about how they filled a waffle-shaped niche in the local area and the long hours it takes to run a side hustle.
Name: Vachi and Jason Baum
Business: Waffly Good Waffles
Started: February 2014
What inspired you to launch Waffly Good Waffles?
Both my husband and I discovered these great Belgian-style waffles while we were traveling. They're pretty different from the type of waffles Americans are used to eating, but after testing out a number of recipes we found one that worked really well. We started making them at home, and our friends and family would constantly ask us why we didn't try to sell them.
So, in 2014, in the middle of my busiest semester at nursing school, we decided to go for it. While February and March were a little late in the year to get on the rosters at regular farmers markets, we were able to find two that were interested in collaborating with us — and the business took off from there.
Who was your very first customer?
Our very first customer was at the North Bend Farmers Market. It was a little slow at first because waffles aren't recognized as a snack food or as a treat to pick up and eat on the fly. The kids seemed interested, though!
Our first customer was a little boy who saw the waffles and asked his mom if he could have one — and she ended up liking them as well!
When did you know your business was going to work?
Our stand was pretty popular at the North Bend events that first year. I was so excited when we were able to bring home more than $200 after a day of selling waffles. And while some markets are more successful than others, when we see how much a community loves what we make, that's really encouraging.
What has been the biggest surprise so far after starting your own business?
How helpful people can be! No matter which farmers market you're selling at, the community is like a family. There's such an outpouring of support, information and encouragement from the other vendors, especially when they find out you're new. It’s a great experience! It was such a surprise that everyone was so supportive and positive. We really love the environment.
How do you price your products?
First, we look at the cost of our ingredients, the most expensive of which is the sugar we order directly from Belgium. Shipping is probably the priciest part of that.
Then we do the math to figure out how much it costs us to make the waffles. We also check out what our competitors charge for their products, though that’s tough because there aren't many companies that whip up exactly what we do. There are maybe one or two other companies in Seattle who make these kinds of waffles, but otherwise we're pretty unique to the area.
We're still working really hard to build awareness of our product and brand so we can sell to a wider audience.
What does a typical day look like for you?
A typical day at the farmers market starts at 2am when I head to the commercial kitchen we rent to start the prep work. I'll be in the kitchen from 2am to 6am making the waffle dough.
My husband gets to the farmers market by 6am to start setting up the tent and to get the register and waffle irons set up. I drop off the waffle dough and help him get everything ready to open at 9am.
Then, we sell until about 2pm, when we'll pack up and head back to the commercial kitchen to clean up. By the end of the day, around 6pm, I’ll have been working for about 16 hours straight. We're all pretty tired by then!
If you could go back in time, what’s the one thing you would do differently when starting your business?
I wish I had done a little more research on ingredients at the beginning. I tested one type of flour initially, but I should have asked around to get some ideas of what else could work. A year after we launched, I found a cheaper flour produced here in Washington, which we like so much better than the type we started out with. Extra research would have saved us a lot of time and money!
It would also have been better to have gotten our licensing in order quicker. We had to be persistent, as the folks in charge of processing at the office have tons of people coming in all the time. In our case, email after email was just not getting our questions answered, so one day I went in first thing in the morning, before they were even open, so I could speak to them in person. That's the level of tenacity I needed to get things done.
What would you like to learn today from a community of other small business owners and self-employed professionals?
How do other small businesses pay for their growth? It feels like there should be something in between crowdfunding and traditional bank financing that we could tap into. I'd love to know more about what our options are.
Let's help Jason and Vachi out!
Are you an experienced entrepreneur who’s taken your business to the next level? How have *you* funneled cash into your company with effective results?
Share your tips and experiences with Jason, Vachi and the rest of our community in the comments below!
