From Rock Bottom to Shark Tank Winner: Why Success Has No Expiration Date

If you’ve ever felt like your age, past mistakes, or lack of support disqualify you from building something big—this episode will blow that belief to pieces.

Tracey Noonan, co-founder of Wicked Good Cupcakes and breakout Shark Tank success, didn’t start her million-dollar business until she was nearly 50. No business degree. No culinary training. Just $30,000, a ton of grit, and a belief that it wasn’t too late.

But before the success?
 She was kicked out as a pregnant teen.
 Labeled “worthless.”
 Lost custody of her kids because of poverty.
 Faced setback after setback—including losing her photography business, caregiving for parents with Alzheimer’s, and dealing with family rejection.

Yet every single obstacle became fuel for her comeback.

In this raw and powerful conversation, Tracey answers the questions keeping so many women up at night:

• Am I too old, broke, or behind to start over?
• What if I’ve failed before—does that define me?
• How do I handle it when my family doesn’t believe in me?
• Can I really turn disasters into opportunity?

Tracey shares how a TSA agent calling her cupcakes “a potential explosive” turned into a viral moment that catapulted her brand onto Shark Tank—and changed her life.

This isn’t just inspiration—it’s proof. Proof that your past does not get the final say.

Follow Tracey Noonan:

Instagram: @dont_call_me_cupcake

Email: authortracey@gmail.com

Transcript

0:01

What's up everybody. Welcome to the Jamilia Grier show. I am your host Jamilia Grier and this podcast is all about entrepreneurship through a global lens. Today I am joined by Tracy Noonan who is the co-founder of Wicked Good Cupcakes and we are talking about reinvention and we're going to keep it real with you guys today. Tracy has an amazing story about her reinvention and we're going to talk about what that looked like and hopefully you can take some points and pieces of that and apply it to what you're trying to do. So Tracy, welcome to the show. thank you so much for having me here. I'm so excited to talk to you and get to know your audience via your podcast. Yes, and you know, I am first of all, a big fan of what you've done and what you've been through. you know, I always research guests before they come on the show and take a look at what they've done. And I stumbled across your Shark Tank episode um where you were on and your story, really the origins of Wicked Good Cupcakes is just, it's just fascinating to me as someone who has kids. So one thing I didn't share with you, um I have four kids. um And can you just tell me a bit about and share with the listeners a bit about how you came to making cupcakes with your daughter and how that idea really sparked in and fell into your lap. Absolutely. And again, thank you for having me here. So I want to start by saying that Wicked Good Cupcakes is something that I call an accidental business. And as I get a little bit deeper into the discussion, I'll explain to you why I call it that. It was definitely not something planned for sure. um I myself have always been a serial entrepreneur. um I believe I have it in my blood. I should after 40 years of working, but um it wasn't my first choice. I grew up in a very conservative family. I'm a Bostonian. You'll be able to hear that once I started talking. um And I was the oldest of three kids, the only girl. And my dad um was someone who I really admired. um My mom and so much. had a very tough relationship, still do. um We were just very, very different. And honestly, I do believe that my mom probably should not have gotten married and had children now that I'm older and realize everything that goes into being a mom. But getting back to my dad, I had gone to a college prep school and um when I sat down with him, my junior here, I asked him if we could talk about college. And he immediately put the kibosh on my going to school. And his reasoning was, you don't need to go to college. You're a girl. You'll graduate high school, you'll get a job, you'll meet someone, you'll get married, you'll have kids. That's what you're going to do. I'm not sending you to college. And I have to tell you, as a 16 year old hearing this, I was devastated. You know, here I am with all my friends are all planning on going to college. Everyone's all excited. And I'm being told that in essence, I'm not worthy of that money being spent on me based on the fact that I'm a girl. And that, that was my dad has broken my heart twice in his life. And that was the first time he really did a number on me emotionally. But me being me, I decided that I wasn't going to let that stop me. And I had been dancing at Boston Ballet and I had ah decided that I wanted to be either a dancer or a musical theater major. um the next year, my senior year at 17, I set up auditions for myself in different parts of the country. I stole my dad's American Express card and I told my mom and dad. that I was going to stay at a friend's for the weekend when in reality, I had bought a bus ticket to go to North Carolina, Virginia, and back to Boston to audition for schools that I wanted to go to. So as a 17 year old, I already was focused on what I was going to do and no one was going to stop me. And I really believe that's where my, sort of my entrepreneurial. mindset came in because that's a very important thing to have, right? You have to believe in yourself and you have to say, you know, if, if I want to do this, I've got to get this done and there's no one else but me to do this. Now at 17, I wasn't that mature to think about that. I was more worried I was going to get caught, but I did it. I went, I auditioned and I actually got into Boston Observatory with a full scholarship. So I, broke the news to my parents that I was going to school. They were not happy with me, but I didn't care, right? I was going to go live at school and do my thing. And that's exactly what I did. And so my first year at Boston Cervatory was amazing. um I had a boyfriend at the time who I'd met that summer. We were working in Boston on the fish pier at a restaurant and we stayed boyfriend and girlfriend and Unfortunately for me or fortunately, who knows, I ended up getting pregnant. And so here I am now. I have to go back home and tell my parents that I'm pregnant. And this was the second time my dad broke my heart. I'll never forget this as long as I live. I was standing in the kitchen and I told my parents what happened and my mother looked at me and said, you are a embarrassment you have to leave our home. And my father looked at me and he said to me, you're nothing but a whore. And he left the room and I had to leave. So I called my boyfriend, he came and got me and took me back to his parents house. And that was the beginning of my life out on my own at 19. And I had no parents supporting me. So I had to go through this mess pretty much by myself. And so as fate would have it, ah when I was four months along in my pregnancy, I had a miscarriage and I was taken to a Catholic hospital. No, I don't think it exists anymore in Boston called St. Margaret's. And because it was a Catholic hospital, they wouldn't do a DNC, which meant I had to be put into labor and go through all of that. It's just a horrible mess. My mother got wind of this. Oh, it was awful. Awful. My mother got wind of this, came to the hospital and pretty much said to me, good, now that this is all out of your system, you can come back home and get a job and live the life you're supposed to live. And I literally looked at her and said, fuck you. And I never lived. back home again. I stayed out on my own and um ended up getting pregnant again right away. I had two kids. I lived in a six family tenement in Boston. There were drug dealers who lived upstairs from us. Their day began at five in the afternoon. There were people running up and down the stairs all night. Here I am with two kids. I have three rooms that I'm living in. I didn't even have a bedroom for them. I literally would fold a quilt and put it next to the couch and I slept on the couch next to my babies. And, you know, I'm in my very early twenties and I'm thinking, you know what, like these kids never asked for this type of life. These kids didn't ask to be here. And as wonderful as my husband was at that time, we were still so young and he himself was very brilliant and had a full scholarship. to a school, a business school in Boston. So he was working nights and he was going to school days and he also had a commitment to play hockey for part of his scholarship. So I was literally on my own and dealing with this mess all around me trying to raise these kids properly. And knowing that I had no education, I had no money, I had no support from my family and I had to fucking figure it out, right? I had to. do something. So it became apparent to me that I was more of the creative type, like math was not my friend, science I was okay, but I was a really good photographer. So I thought, why don't I become a photographer? I can work at advertising, you know, I'm not going to have a degree, but if you're creative and have a good eye for something like that, you don't really need a degree. So oh my marriage, kind of my marriage ended, dissolved. um I had no money and when I went through the divorce, uh the judge ruled that I could not have a custody share of my children because I couldn't support them. And my ex-husband was ordered to pay me 50 bucks a week. So that's what I had to do. My kids came and stayed with me three or four nights a week, but ah I had no custody. And you know what? It was only until this year, this year, that I could actually say those words out loud because forever I would never dare tell anyone that I didn't have physical custody of my kids because I'm a mom, right? And I really did nothing wrong other than make stupid mistakes. So that aside, I decided, all right, can't go to college, want to be a photographer in Boston. What do I do? How do I learn? So I started working for other photographers as photo assistant and that paid, you know, between 50 and a hundred bucks a day. I worked in a studio. I learned everything I could. made contacts, learned what assistants I liked, you know, other assistants. And within a year I had my own photo studio in Boston and I became successful overnight. And why? I chose a niche market to work in. I photographed children for advertising. So I worked for Hasbro Play School, TJ Maxx. I worked for all of these companies who had kids that other photographers didn't even want to deal with. They didn't want to deal with the stage parents. They didn't want to deal with the children. And so while I became successful and within a year, people were paying me $3,000 to $3,500 a day just to walk into the studio. And then whatever I would mark up my film and processing and assistant and meals and whatever. And I did really well. I bought my first house by myself in Dorchester, which is a part of Boston. And it was great. Everything was moving along. I met my second husband. He was a photographer. We had my third child, Danielle, who was actually the one I went on Shark Tank with. And I was doing fine until it happened. Digital photography. I literally was a dinosaur overnight, right? No education. I didn't know what a desktop was. I didn't know what AOL was. I didn't know what any of this was. And to top that all off, when technology is new, it's very expensive. So in order to get a digital setup with like a Nikon camera, know, a map, whatever I needed to do business, It was going to cost me at least $50,000 and I just didn't have it. So I kind of hung on for a year. I had some clients who were slow to roll over to digital, but eventually they did and I lost them. And so here I am. Kids to support ah my marriage with ah my second husband was faltering. ah And I knew I was going to be on my own again, needing to make money. So I kind of stayed in the advertising area, like I did some photo styling. I even started an animal talent agency where I trained and worked with animals for print and television and movies. yeah, like anything I could do to make money and pay the bills. um That was all fine. And then I decided that the animal thing was like crazy busy. And I had three kids now going to three different schools and it was just too much. So I kind of took a step back. And in the meantime, I had met my third husband and we got married and he had a startup in Boston, which was um actually quite successful. So I was able to take a step back and breathe. and kind of think about, okay, what am going to do now? Like, what's the plan? And, you know, I tried different things. I have my, I have my Broca's Lessons, still have it, to sell real estate in Massachusetts. I got certified to be a massage therapist. I worked on people and I also worked on horses. I got certified to work on horses as well. ah I did some of these other things, but they just weren't satisfying me. So I started writing. and actually really loved it and wanted to write for the entertainment industry. So I wrote two screenplays. One was free optioned like right away. And it was during this time that my youngest Danielle, who was just this wonderful, happy-go-lucky unicorn of a child, right? No problem. whatever she did as a teenager, she hid really well, because I never found out anything she did that I shouldn't have known about. And all of a sudden she became very dark and introverted, right? Like something was wrong. And to top that off, she decided she was going to move out and move in with her boyfriend. And they really weren't the best match for one another. So I was really concerned about her. She was in college. I was thrilled, right? I didn't get to go. I got her into college. ah Again, unfortunately, she inherited my brain, my math brain, so she wasn't great at certain things, but was interested in the creative fields as well, of graphic design. And when she was going through this phase, she dropped out of college with one class left to graduate. Okay. uh I have to put my writing aside. I have to figure out what is going on with Danielle and see if I can help. So she's living with a boyfriend. I don't see her every day. I'm really worried about her. So I have to find something, right? I have to find something I can help light her fire, get her enthusiastic. And so we did different things. Like we would pick up furniture on the side of the road and refinish it and try to sell it and anything I could think of to. get her excited and nothing was really striking a chord with her. And so she, like me, was very artistic, like, could paint, could sculpt. So I said to her, well, why don't we take a cake decorating class and why don't we see what we can do and maybe we can do something with this. So I think she was so sick of me that she just said, fine, fine, we'll take the course. So. We set up this cake decorating class and we go once a week at night and ah it was actually pretty fun. And, you know, we learned a lot of skills and started to post on Facebook. So this was probably 2010. And so we're posting on Facebook and friends and family who are close by start to ask us to make some cakes and we can make some like pretty elaborate stuff, right? So we're doing this, but we're working out of a home kitchen. And I think it was Milton Academy reached out to us and asked us to do 250 cupcakes, right? And so we have one small wall oven and we can only bake a dozen at a time. And so now we have to have this conversation, right? Are we going to rein this all in and just keep this a hobby or should we try to make a business? What should we do? And it's interesting because so both of us have nothing more than high school diplomas. At the time, I was 48 years old. We had no culinary training or experience and we had no money. So here we are. We're going to start this business. How? don't know. So my husband at the time said, look, if you guys really want to do this, I will loan you$30,000. But that's it. Like 30 grand sink or swim. And if you knew him, you would know that he was 100 % serious. There was no going back and saying, oh, we just need 5,000 more or no, no, no. And that 30,000 had to pay for our space, renovate the space, buy equipment, buy dry goods. And if we had money left over, hire somebody who knew something about that industry because we didn't know. We obviously took serve safe classes and got the build out. set so that Board of Health would approve of it and make sure we had all our permitting. But other than that, the day our Cisco rep came in to take our first order, we sat down face to face and he had his notebook and he's like, okay, what do need? And I said, I don't know. And he's like, what? I said, I don't know. I don't know what we need. Like, do you work with other bakeries? What do they order? And so He was amazing and so patient. And it took us about a month to kind of get in a groove and figure out. And if I ran out of something, he would drive it over there for me. Look, he was wonderful. And so that's kind of how we got the bakery side up and running. So that was October, 2011. um Now, My husband's company could build websites. They were an interactive agency. So they built us a website and people started reaching out and asked us if we could ship. And I'm like, how do you ship cake? Like how are people shipping cake? So I went online and looked up all the big cupcake shops and ordered from all of them because I wanted to see what the product was arriving like, what they were using for packaging. how long it was going to take to get there, what they were charging, you know, like learn, like how are people doing this and how is it working? And I have to tell you, I was not impressed. Like everything's being shipped in clamshells and so it's getting smashed or it's stale. And, you know, I'm paying 80 bucks a dozen to have these shipped and I'm thinking to myself, you know, in good conscience, I can't ask someone to put their trust in us to send these as a gift to somebody, thinking they're going to arrive fresh and beautiful. And here I am knowing that no, they're not. we kind of had to put a hold on it and really think about how can you do this? Can it be done? And so there was a show on one night about canning. that was playing in the background. And my husband at the time said, you should do this. You should put everything in a mason jar and ship it that way. And I'm like, it's not jelly. That's a dumb idea. And he said, no, it's not. So we kind of bickered about it for a couple of days. And finally to shut him up, I said, fine, fine, we'll do this. So we went into the shop. We created our cupcake jars. They look nice. mean, um, maybe. Different, right. well exactly, and if it's a gift. So I reached out to five friends and family members across the country and I said to them, I am sending you something. I want you to take pictures of how it arrived. I want you to tell me how it was, how you found it. I want you to tell me, would you send this as a gift and any other comments that you have. So you know how brutally honest. friends and family. We sent it out for them. Yeah, exactly. For them like, this is fabulous. Yes, we would send this as a gift. One was just like a friend of mine, actually a photographer. He said to me, I don't get it. but I was like, all right, whatever. I'm not listening to you for four out of five said, Hey, this is a great idea. So then I had to work on packaging. So Google was now my new best friend. And I sat down and I would Google packaging and how do I ship this and how do I keep it from getting smashed? And we finally found a company in New Hampshire and they designed packaging for us. we did our beta testing. We took the box to the fifth floor of the building we were in and threw it off the top of the building to see what it look like when it landed on the ground. That was so stupid. And then we sent the cake and frosting in jars to Cornell University because they had a food safety lab because we had to make sure that there'd be no mold growth and no microbic anything. And so we had that side being done and then our beta testing where we're throwing boxes and seeing what would happen and everything came together. Like, figured it out, we had it done. And so our rent at the time was $3,000. So our goal was we're gonna put these jars online and we're going to sell 3,000 a month and that's gonna pair rent. And so people started to order, now we're into December, it's holiday time and I'll never forget this. A student from Salem State reached out to me and said, I wanna send two to my communications professor and I hand wrote the card. We shipped the cupcake jars off and there's like a chocolate and a red velvet. And she took the jars through Logan airport to take them home. She was going home for a couple of days to Nevada and she saved the red velvet for her, the flight home. And so when she was going back through the airport in Nevada, they stopped her and they confiscated the jar. And she said, Why are you doing this? It's a cupcake. And the TSA agent said, the frosting constitutes a gelatinous substance, could be bomb making material. And she said, are you kidding me? And he said, no. So she took a picture of him and he's holding it just like this. And she sent it to me and then wrote a piece about it and posted it on this site called Boing Boing. And the story blew. My daughter and I, that month of December, were named National Security Threats. And the Department of Homeland Security was on our website 200 times the month of December. And it became an international story. So we've got Fox News and all these outlets interviewing us, and it's on television, and now our orders are starting to do this. And then in January, because the TSA took so much heat, The head of the TSA went on the news and said, we did what we had to do. Those weren't your average run of the mill cupcakes. And boom, more sales. We fall into Valentine's Day, more sales. Now we have sort of this proof of concept happening. And I had always been a Shark Tank fan and thought, I have to apply now because the cat's out of the bag. People are making these. So, At the time, Shark Tank, this was now 2012, Shark Tank was only taking applications online. And so I filled out an application online and um two days later I heard from casting. And so that fast. She was wonderful. She's still there, Mindy. She is from Maine. She got the whole Wicked Good thing. um She... loved the product, she loved the TSA story. ah We had changed the name of our Red Velvet cupcake jar to National Security Threat Red Velvet or something stupid like that. It was kind of funny. anyway, we got the packet, we did our video, we applied and we were accepted to be on the show and we were assigned like a little producing team. So like every business is assigned um producer, a co-producer, and then you work with them until you get flown out to LA to film your segment. You must sign up. I just wanted to ask you, so you went from basically in a situation where you're new to baking, you and your daughter took this course, and the next thing you know, okay, fast forward past the throwing the proof of concepts out of the window and having them tested at the lab to see, to make sure that they're safe for human consumption after shipping. then you're having these spikes and this virality online and going on to Shark Tank. How did that feel? Like, it feel as though everything was happening very quickly or did it feel as though you had been pushing towards this your whole life? That's a great question. So I think it was a combination of both. Right, so you're in the moment, living the moment, you're trying to get stuff done. We had to sign a $5 million MDA. You cannot disclose to anybody that you are going to be on that show. So that made it a little bit difficult. um So the day to day felt fast at times. um But the reality of what was happening, I don't think at that time I was aware that things were happening the way they were supposed to. And you and I discussed this. I'm a big believer and we are predestined and we have a path. And I think that we need to all slow our roll a little bit and become more aware of what is happening around us and the signs and the offerings that are being given to us by the universe. If we don't slow down and listen and watch and start to pick out things that are happening and say this is happening because of this, then we miss opportunities that were going to be assigned to us. Look, I was manifesting when I was 20 years old. I had two babies and I don't even remember doing this. And when my dad passed away, one of my sister-in-laws from my first marriage called me and said, you know, said she was sorry to hear about my dad, but told me the story that the two of us were out with our kids and we were at a place called Castle Island, South Boston. And I said to her while I was sitting on a rock, I'm going to be a millionaire someday. I had nothing to borrow money to go buy milk. Like I had nothing. And I said, and I didn't remember saying that. I'm like, wow, like that's crazy. And I, you know, I think I. As an older adult, I really appreciated that and it really solidified and validated these feelings that I had. But back then, I guess I just said it and didn't think much about it. And the other interesting thing is I was thinking about this knowing that I was going to be on this podcast. I was always that type of person who would look at someone and was they were successful or they had money and I would never be jealous of them. I would I would sit back and see to myself. How did they do that? Like, how did they get there? Like, how do I get there? They're no better than me. Yeah, they may be more educated, but there are things I can do in order to achieve these goals. And that's always been my mindset. And I think that's helped me a little bit um to always try to find a solution or a way to make something work or to change something that isn't working because... as we all know, having to pivot or reinvent yourself or whatever the buzzword is now, it's scary and it can be difficult. But thankfully, I have these kids and I have this life and I had to support them and pay my bills and do things. So that kind of helped push me along as a younger adult. know, Shark Tank, it was definitely a means to an end for us. It was wonderful. ah It brought us to an acquisition that was a dream. ah But those nine years in between were just, let me tell you, like a roller coaster of emotions and things that had happened. you know, my parents and my dad, especially who I kept trying to impress with all of these things I was doing. ah When our first update aired, which was the season premiere of season five, we were our original airing was season four. My brother called me one day, I was living in the North End in Boston and I was walking down the street. I'll never forget this. He said to me, um you're not going to believe this. And trust me, no good ever comes of that saying when someone says that to you. It's like, warning, warning. But I just sent him what? What is happening? And he said, um, mama's in Israel. She fell into the Dead Sea and almost drowned. She has chemical pneumonia. She's in a hospital. And I'm like, what? My parents at the time were living in Florida. Like what has happened? How did my mother end up in Israel? Well, come to find out. Both of my parents had Alzheimer's and we didn't know it because we're up here in Massachusetts. I have another brother in Maine. But the three of us didn't know this was happening because my parents really never called. They weren't warm and fuzzy as I have, you know, showing everybody. ah So this is happening. So my brother called my dad and my dad was off his rocker. He said to my brother, yeah, yeah, she's in jail. We've got to go bust her out. And I was like, what the fuck? Like here I have this business like growing. leaps and bounds like crazy growth. And now we have this to deal with. So my brother and I, I put 30 grand on my Amex card to fly my mother and the nurse back from Israel because she had to be on oxygen. And he only would fly first class the nurse. So here we are. Yeah. Yeah. So So both my parents and my dad had to wear a low jacket bracelet. My house had to be alarmed. I ended up leaving my condo in the North End, buying a house in Marshfield, Mass, 7,000 square foot house, moved my parents in. And then at the time my in-laws were up in Stoke Vermont and my father-in-law was dying. He had stage four cancer and my mother-in-law was just completely unable to function on her own. So we moved them in with us as well. So here I am with these four adults who are just not capable of functioning and I'm trying to work and my parents had left their health insurance laps and they had no money. trust me, it was so trying and so difficult. And let's not forget that these are the people who threw me out when I needed them the most. And. That must have been painful though. mean, like how, and you know, this is something that I think a lot of people don't understand. They look at success and they just see that. They don't see what's going on in your personal life and behind the scenes. And you are a human. You, you know, like you're having a human experience, but how is it to take care of someone? knowing that they were so cold to you before. Okay, so I am no saint. I was very resentful and extremely angry. And I hated the disruption in my life. I hated that it was affecting my ability to work. I hated that I spent over $260,000 out of my retirement to take care of them. I wasn't happy. I did it because I could. my youngest brother and his wife, my sister-in-law were fabulous. They were so helpful. Like if I didn't have them, I would have committed haricary, I'm sure, because it was too much. And it did finally reach a point where it became dangerous. they were doing things like my mother could find their medication no matter where I hit it. and she was taking my dad's and he was taking hers. And then she would let my dogs out the front door in the neighborhood and my dogs would be gone. And my dad, like I mentioned, had a low Jack bracelet. He was a flight risk. We had to put a bike chain on the refrigerator because now they're not washing their hands and they're rummaging through the food and we're going to get sick because they're using the bathroom and they don't know to wash their hands anymore. Trust me, I had to take my mother's license away from her. I followed her one day. to see how she was driving. And I'm like, oh my God, please let her get home. And that night I took her license away and she was sobbing because there goes her independence. And finally, this is kind of a funny story, but not. Finally, um we had uh a place in Faneuil Hall. It's a very big tourist destination. had a counter in Faneuil Hall where we sold our cupcake jars. And um I was in there one day and something happened to my car while I was to tire or something, the car wouldn't start. So my husband came in and said, go back home with your parents. I'll deal with the car. So I drive back to Marshfield from Boston. I get home and it's literally like my dogs are waiting for me. The three of them are at the door looking at me like, what the fuck, where have you been? You've got to see what's going on here. If they could talk, that's what they would have said. So I walk into the house and I hear my mother saying, ow, ow, Eddie, stop, stop, you're hurting me. And I walk into the foyer and we had like an open balcony and there are my parents. My dad was six feet tall, is in my mother's tiny little terry cloth robe, no underwear. My mother was sitting there with her arms like this and he has her tied up with dental floss. And he looks at me and said, yes. He looks at me and he says, I caught this one trying to break out. And I just, I mean, you can't not laugh. But here's the reality. He could have flung her over that railing and killed her. Like he could have thrown her down the stairs. Like I was done. I just couldn't, now they needed 24 hour care that was supervised. So ah my brothers and I sat down, we agreed to put them in a nursing home and that's what happened because it was too much, too much, too much. And the kicker, the worst fucking thing about all of this was I had finally made it to a spot where my parents were very much social climbers. And their friends all saw us on Shark Tank and were like, Oh, your daughter, look what she did. Your granddaughter. Wow. And my dad didn't know if it was Tuesday or August. his approval, everything that I so desperately wanted growing up was just never going to happen. And I think for me that turned loose even more my type a drive. Cause now I'm pissed, right? Now I'm like, I am proving myself. I'm doing more. I'm, I'm going to make something of myself. And I never ever took that opportunity to take a step back and say, well, look at what we've done. We started knowing nothing. We started You know, the day I got on the plane to go film our shark tank segment was my 50th birthday. Like, I was not a spring chicken by any stretch of the imagination. ah We had a product that some people were like, that's the dumbest thing I ever heard of. And other people were like, it's brilliant. So we definitely had people laughing at us. I was older. We had no money to start and we had no education. But I didn't take any of these things into consideration. I just knew I had to do something to help my daughter. had this business now. We $250,000 the night we had on Shark Tank. Like we have a legitimate business. We have orders. They have to be sent out. Like none of that came into play, but I will say a lot of people who want to start a business or have a startup and they're just spinning their wheels. take those four elements, like I call them the roadblocks that entrepreneurs take and throw in front of themselves to stop themselves and comfort themselves if they can't figure out what they're doing. And I've never let anything like that stop me. I'm more like, did you see the movie Good Will Hunting? There's a really famous scene where Matt Damon's telling Robin Williams about living in a foster home. and he got to choose whether or not he got hit with a belt or a pipe and Robin Williams said you chose the belt all the time and he said nope I chose the pipe and Robin Williams said why and Matt Damon said fuck you that's why. So that kind of attitude I've always had and I've applied it to things that I have wanted to do or wanted to achieve I just don't take no and when you're that type of personality you have to really be more aware of the fact that there are other people working with you who don't have that drive right so take my daughter for example she and i could not be any more different if we if we tried she has a great worth ethic doesn't want to be a leader doesn't want to be in charge of people she just wants to have a job put her head down do her job be done I'm like 24 seven, what are we doing? What new flavors do we have? Where are we promoting? What are we doing? Like nonstop. So one day I into my, I had a test kitchen in an office uh at our warehouse bakery and she came in one day and shut the door and she said, all right, we have to talk. And I said, what's up? And she said, when we leave here, I need you to be mom. when we're here working, that's fine. We can talk about work, talk about work, talk about work. But I don't wanna talk about work unless we absolutely have to because you're my mom and if this doesn't change, I'm not staying here. And I was like, she just gave me. good for her for saying that, right? Like good for her for bringing it up and. That's powerful. Yes, 100%. It was powerful and I felt terrible and I apologize. So after that, if we were out somewhere and I had a question I had to ask her, I'd say, all right, can we talk about work for one minute? I have one question and she'd laugh and she'd say yes. So I asked her, she gets to the question and I'm like, okay, back to mom. Like we're done. And that's how we managed to work together and not kill each other and respect one another. respect that we have our differences, we work differently, we have different skill sets, and this is how we need to be in order to make this work. And I think that, you for business people, there's, you you own a business, right? You have a product, you have a service, whatever it is, there's a lot that's happening all the time every day. And there are new trends and there are new ways to advertise and there are things that have fallen out of favorability and you have to stay relevant and all these things and you can get really all consumed and sucked into it and not realize that this isn't everyone else's business. Yes, they're here and they're working really hard. We did have a lot of coworkers who were very invested in our success. Like people who stayed with us since day one. That's really rare. especially in a bakery, like that doesn't happen. And I think that for me, that moment with her was a very big eye-opener and I'll forever be grateful to her for that because it really did teach me like, slow your roll, let people do what's right for them. And we had a great policy. you know, from then on, if someone was there working and they were doing one job, like they had one task, but they thought they were in a better task, if we could, we'd switch them. We never micromanaged. We gave people the autonomy to do their job and to meet expectations, but to do it themselves. And I learned a lot about management and people and just people in general having had that. having had that company and really learned how important the word thank you was. And we made sure at every chance that we could that we were thanking them and stupid holidays, Halloween, whatever, Easter, least holidays that were kind of not like Christmas. We boned everyone on Christmas, but Danny and I would go out and we'd buy individual cards for everybody, not the same card. And we'd write individual messages in each card and we'd give them like a $25 or $50 gift certificate just to say, here you go. Thank you. We appreciate what you're doing. And that goes a long way because when your coworkers start feeling like you're amassing a fortune off their backs, which by the way, they have no idea what it costs to run a company, but the perception, right? You're on Shark Tank, you you've got all this money and you know, um, it's important that they know that they're being recognized and that they're appreciated, truly appreciated. know, their talents, yes, have helped you build this company and become the success that you are. So there's a lot of valuable uh skills you learn when you have a business and learning how to manage them and work with people and deal with customers and all of that are uh Skills for life, right? You can apply them other. Absolutely. And you know, I always say that entrepreneurship is a journey in self discovery. And it sounds like, you know, what happened with you is, you know, you first of all, that was a very rough start. um Your start and how you were kind of forced into this world of entrepreneurship. uh But you were learning about yourself. along the way. I think, you know, and I'm no shrink, my sisters are shrink, but we, leave each other voicemail messages every day. And so I think I'm picking up some of her skills, but I mean, you know, first of all, a lot of what you said actually resonates with me because I had a lot of similar things. Um, you know, first, first marriage, two kids didn't work out. My second marriage, two kids, but you learn about yourself through entrepreneurship and then also through those relationships too. And so you're not the same person. And that's why I asked you, how did it feel when you were at a point where it's like, don't have money to buy milk. And then it's like, hey, we got this 7,000 square foot house. This is a huge transition, almost as though you're living a different life. And I think that a lot of people who listen to the show, when they think about entrepreneurship and moving abroad, they're after that feeling. They're after. I want to, I just want a new life. I'm done with this reset. like I don't want this one switch. So you experienced that change, but you had to go through hell to get there. Like you went through a lot. And I think um people need to appreciate that transitions are transformations. It's not like, you know, just. know, c-section and you get some drugs and you get up and you walk out. It is a transformation. It is serious work. Absolutely. And you know what? That's a really interesting point because I feel like, first of all, I've lived 9,000 different lives. Like all of these parts of my life seem so, well they are long ago, but you know, I had always wanted this sort of storybook ending, right? You know, we sell the company, Hickory Farms purchases us. ah Now I'm living in Charleston, South Carolina. I've been married for 25 years. And one morning my ex-husband gets up and he's like, this is my third husband. gets up and he's like, yeah, I think I'm I'm like, what? And he says, yeah, I think I'm done. I'm going to go call an attorney. I want a divorce and left me in the kitchen. And I was like, what just happened? What just happened? I mean, yeah, if I had to be a hundred percent truthful, there were signs that the marriage wasn't. But trust me, untangling a third marriage and now we have like real life stuff. Like we have money and we have properties and we have all the life. I had moved from Boston. I had friends in Charleston. Like I thought that it was just going to be like, okay, look at us. How fortunate are we? And now my life is a fucking disaster again. So. not staying in Charleston. We decide like this is going to be fast, no fighting, what's the point? Right? I'm not going to be a summoner who doesn't want to be with me. So I moved back to Boston and I start over again. So now I'm an emotional basket case. I'm a mess. Like three failed marriages, you know, after my second divorce, my mother had so kindly said to me, oh, marry twice with kids, who's going to want you? And now here I am, like this person who loves being in a committed monogamous relationship. Like I love it. Like I love coming together at the end of the day. Hey, how was your day? This is what we did. You know, what are we going to do? Like all the things. And now I no longer have that. And I literally am in a 400 square foot condo in South E. eating nothing but Oreos and sleeping on a couch because I can't even bear the thought of sleeping in a bed alone anymore. Like it took me eight months before I actually slept in a bed. And so one of the things that I didn't mention to you, uh which has relevance to this whole mess was when I was nine years old, a parish priest m for six months sexually abused me. And so I became a runner. Didn't know it at the time. I didn't realize that until I hired, I hired Mitchell Garabedian who actually, if you've seen the movie Spotlight, he's one of the characters. He was the one who broke this news in the seventies and has single-handedly brought down the Catholic Church. So I decided at 60, I'm going to hire him. I've got to be rid of these demons. The church had to pay for my therapy. um I sued the church. It was emotional. It was painful. It was awful, but I won and um learned that as a runner, you don't ever feel like you're settled or complete. I have been here now for two and half years from Charleston and I have bought and sold six properties. six. Since I was 17, I have lived in over 20 different properties. It's just and I would literally say like I want to run away once when shit became too much I would just say I want to run away I have to run away and I finally um through therapy learned that obviously the feeling until you are completely settled with yourself, you will never feel like you're home. It's always just gonna be a house. I'm living in a house. It's not home. And so after two and a half years, I finally met someone. I have a beautiful life. I'm writing again. I have two books. I have a TV pilot that Jennifer Aniston has right now in her hands. very excited about that. Hopefully that will sell. I've written an online course because I do consulting and mentoring for people who want to start or help move their businesses along. I figured, you know what? I'm to make a very inexpensive, easily digestible, but thorough online course that outlines everything I wish I had known before I started Wikigood. And I'm mentor. high school kids, inner city high school kids who want to be entrepreneurs. I was asked to join a board of a wonderful organization called Bill.org and um I've set up entrepreneurial courses in sober homes. um mean, these gentlemen, this was in Charleston, I did this, these gentlemen are facing the ultimate in... restarting their lives, right? They have family members who won't speak to them anymore. They've burnt more bridges than they can count. And they're going to be thrown back out into the world, not only struggling with, you know, post addiction, but now figuring out who they are. So I think for me, the reality of all this reinvention and restarting and um finally helped me finally to take a step back and say, you know what? I'm not ever going to be the smartest, the most successful, the prettiest, the whatever, name the super relatives all down the line, but I'm a pretty cool chick and I'm at a really good place now and I help people and I do the things that I love and I have a person who loves me that I love and I'm really okay, but it took me this long to get to this point. And so I think that for people who want to go and start something new and and maybe they're a little bit scared, maybe they a little bit unsure, just do it. Just do it. What's the worst that's going to happen? Honestly, what is the worst that's going to happen? Look, no one has had more shit happen to them than me. I mean, there are stories I could tell you that we haven't shared today that you would be like, what? But it's good, I'm here. What's the alternative? Not being here, right? We're so fortunate that we live in this country and that we have the opportunity to do the things we want to do and that we can help other people. We can grow ourselves and continue to learn and work and do all the things. And podcasts like this are invaluable. because people listening have the opportunity to see like, hey, I'm not alone. That happened to me. Like I do keynote speaking and after my own public speaking gig, I will have a line of people who just want to tell me like, I resonated with that. You struck a chord. I've gone through that. I've done that. My mother did that to me. I like just. I've touched someone and I made it okay for them to be able to come back and say, yes, that has happened to me too. And I'm so grateful for that. And honestly, I give people my email address when I speak and I say to them, if you need someone to talk to, say, onto a nourish, it's a very lonely place at times. I'm sure you've heard that from me, if like family or friends don't get what you're doing. or get that no, can't be there for Christmas because I have to watch and make sure that orders are going out or no, I can't make that birthday party because I have to work. Someone called in sick. Someone's got to go in and do that job. That's me. um And like the kids that I mentor, the kids who are in the city who want to be entrepreneurs. A lot of their families don't speak English, they're trying to do something that their families don't understand or would ever be involved in, and they need that support. They need someone to be there to say to them, look, I want you to remember me saying this right now. I believe in you. I believe that you can do that. Even if no one else in their life says that to them. As long as they can picture me in their mind's eye and hear me saying that they have someone, they have all the people from Build, build.org. It's amazing the support and the mentors that they have going through that place. at this point, it's really a gift to be able to be doing all of this. So, reinvention, yeah, I can say I had a year that was awful, but I made it through and I'm happier than I've ever been, so. Absolutely. I think firstly, um your story is very powerful ah on so many different levels. There's a number of parts to it. know, firstly, you talk about ah it was your 50th birthday when you flew out to L.A. A lot of people have ideas in their mind that they have an expiration date or that, you know, I'm of a certain age or I've done, you know, such and such for 15 years. Do I just throw it all away? It's like, honey, you are around. You are here. You've got time. If you're here, you're right on time. And then, so that's one point. And then secondly, this idea of being forced into entrepreneurship in kind of a way because of the circumstances of your life. And the job market is tough these days. I will say that it doesn't matter where you live, the job market is tough. if someone is listening and they're sitting around and they're feeling... in despair because they can't find a job or they're not getting offers. Maybe think about starting a business and even not in that big, you know, you don't have to write out a business plan. What can you do to make money, right? What skills do you have or what are you interested in learning? What, you know, you have two hands, you have a brain, think, right? And don't listen to other people who are telling you it's a stupid idea. As people are telling you, Cupcakes in a jar. That's crazy. Now look at them, right? Don't listen to the naysayers. You've got time to go and do it. And I'm just really glad that you were able to share your story with us today, Tracy, because I know that it's going to hit the ears that it needs to hit and that people who need to hear this message will hear it. I wanted to ask you one more thing, which is about the course. um How can people find more information about the course? about you, where do our listeners reach out to you at? Great. Perfect question. So if anyone just wants to reach out to me, shoot me an email. um My email is authortracy, and that's A-U-T-H-O-R-T-R-A-C-E-Y at gmail.com. And the course is called The Cupcake Analogy. And basically, it talks about how the shape of a cupcake is sort of like building a business, but it's obviously good for any business, any startup, any product. And that's simply the website you can sign up for the course there. It's called oh thecupcakeanalogy.com. Very simple. And there's a lot of really great written information. And I do video interviews, like talks with people from very, very wide varying fields of business. And we talk about a specific subject, like maybe employees or. what I call the grammar of business. So profit and loss, business plans, marketing, it's all in there and it's very digestible. And, you know, again, something that I wish I had known before I started what I was doing, but I'm happy to share what I've learned. yeah. Amazing, amazing. And now you're doing the good work of sharing that. So I'm sure all of those mistakes that you made in the past, you just wash out down because now you're doing it the right way and you're showing others how to do it the right way. oh So Tracy, thank you so much for being on the show today. It was a pleasure um hearing your story. And for sure, I myself am inspired. So thank you for sharing it with us. Well, thank you so much for having me and thank you to your listeners. I'm very grateful to be able to share my knowledge and to be here today. Thanks for joining us.