St. Paul mom finds path to opening her own bakery
Written by Julie Borgen, Twin Cities media relations director for The Salvation Army Northern Division
As a busy mom to four children, Ashley Smaller (pictured above) has always worked hard and hoped to inspire her children.
“I want them to go to college and do whatever they dream of,” Smaller said.
Today at 33, she has accomplished a lot herself: a trained phlebotomist—someone who draws blood in hospitals—she’s never given up on her true passion.
“I love baking, I grew up doing it with my mom,” Smaller said. “I always wanted to have a bakery.”
Last summer, while she juggled work and family, Smaller decided to try selling some of her famous peach cobbler, baked in Mason jars, at the St. Paul Jazz Festival. She sold out in two hours.
“It was really exciting,” she said. Still, having her own business felt like an impossible dream. “I just put it on the back burner.”
During a visit to the W. 7th St. Salvation Army in St. Paul, team leader Molly Schuneman floated the idea that Smaller might want to enroll in The Salvation Army’s Pathway of Hope program. It’s designed to promote financial independence by providing resources and support to motivated families with children.
“There are evaluations we use to see if they are ready for change,” Schuneman explained, “And Ashley is a complete rock star! She’s at the high end of all our assessments.”
Smaller jumped in with both feet, working with her caseworker, Ana Gonzalez (pictured right), to set her own goals.
“Right away we just clicked,” Gonzales said. “I am here to be her biggest supporter, to cheer her on through all the goods and the bads.”
Smaller set big goals for herself: to find a new job that allowed her more flexibility to care for her kids, to buy a house and start a bakery.
“From day one Ashley has been so ambitious,” Gonzales explained.”Every single meeting she’s here ready to go, she’s so dedicated to the program.”
And it’s already paying off–just a few months in. Smaller is interviewing for a new job, she got a business license and is now selling baked goods from her home.
“I bake stuff from scratch, I put them up for sale on Facebook and people snap them up,” Smaller said.
Her specialty is still the peach cobbler in Mason jars, but she’s added a cheesecake mousse and other cakes to her menu.
“My hope is to get a building and have a storefront, right now I have to deliver everything,” she explained. “I really want to open my own bakery.”
Gonzales has no doubt Smaller will achieve her goals.
“Ashley’s even getting calls to cater and do other parties, she’s just baking, baking, baking,” Gonzales said. “I see her opening her bakery, being able to really provide for her kids and having a business to pass on.”
Pathway of Hope is able to provide some financial resources–for things like paying for Smaller’s business licensing. But the real magic of the program is in helping motivated people like her prioritize and stay focused on their goals.
“Ana really pushed me to pursue the bakery,” Smaller said. “I look forward to meeting with her every week. I call her if I have a bad day, but I also call her when I have a great day.”
And it’s that kind of team work that makes Pathway of Hope so special.
“I am so excited for the day that Ashley doesn’t need me anymore, even though I really, really like her,” Gonzales said.”I have so much faith in her, I know she’s going to get there.”
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