Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Williams.
Hi Colleen, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Sweet Hope Bakery was started in December 2020 on a whim. For many years, my kids and I have set aside a day each December to make cinnamon rolls for friends. It’s a great day and we love delivering these sweet treats for the holidays. We had made and delivered our goodies last December and several friends had commented on how I should sell them.
So one morning, I mentioned it to my husband, I spoke with an entrepreneurial friend, and by the evening I had my LLC for Sweet Hope. It’s always important to me to be serving others so I wanted the bakery to reflect that piece of me. Mental Health Education and Suicide Prevention are very dear to my heart. So the sweetness of cinnamon rolls and the hope in others’ lives inspired the name.
Next, I needed to figure out how I could offer hope to others through my baking. I came across CHADS Coalition. They are a local nonprofit that provides mental health and suicide prevention education throughout St. Louis and surrounding areas. It’s a perfect fit! A portion of all of the sales goes back to CHADS each month. It’s my favorite day of the month! Sweets for you, Hope for others!!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a very smooth road. I started off having porch pickups out of my home which was a bit cumbersome. Then Patterson Family Farms in Wildwood offered to be my pickup location. It’s a beautiful partnership that allows me to take orders, bake, run transactions and then deliver to Patterson where they greet my customers and hand off the items.
I am fortunate to have had my business take off quickly and the word spread easily. I quickly developed a strong customer base. I am able to take time off whenever suits me and get back to baking any time. My happy place is with my rolling pin.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At Sweet Hope, my specialty is traditional yeast cinnamon rolls. They are ooey, gooey delicious! I also offer specialty rolls throughout the seasons that include cookies n cream, orange, chocolate chip cookie dough, and lemon blueberry rolls. I also offer bakery-style cookies and seasonal bread. For the holidays this year, I’ll be offering a gift box that includes a pan of Cinnamon Rolls and a loaf of Orange Cranberry Bread perfect for hostess gifts.
I am so proud of the connection that I have made with my customers. They love the sweets but I love the conversations we have around mental health. They confide in experiences of struggles and loss. I feel that sometimes I have opened a door where they can share something about suicide or struggle without being judged. Customers have reached out to me for resources.
I am not a mental health provider but I am a listener who is happy to offer them the name and number of who they can reach. So ultimately it’s not about cinnamon rolls. It’s about reducing the stigma around mental health care and suicide.
Pricing:
- Cinnamon Rolls $15/pan
- Specialty Rolls $20/pan
- Breads $10-12/1lb loaf
- Cookies $5/4oz package
- Gift Boxes $25-$30
Contact Info:
- Email: SweetHopeWildwood@gmail.com
- Instagram: @Sweet.Hope.Bakery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetHopeBakeryWildwood/
