David Novak 0:03 

Welcome to How leaders lead where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world, I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something simple you can apply as you develop into a better leader. That's what this podcast is all about. Today's guest is Stephanie Stuckey, the CEO of stomaches. This company started in 1937 by Stephanie's grandfather, who opened a single store in eastern Georgia. Now, that was one of the country's first roadside retail shops. And at its peak in the 1970s, stuck ease had grown to 368 stores in 40 states along pretty much every major interstate, from humble beginnings to a roadside empire. But then things turn for the worst. Stephanie took over the business in 2019, and was faced with challenges in every aspect of the business. So how do you get started? Well, you can't live in the past, you can't be thinking about how it used to be, you have to think about how it has to be today. So she went to work, reimagining the brand, thinking about new possibilities, new ways to make money, new ways to satisfy customers, she's making progress and is getting things done. So whether you're leading a turnaround like Stephanie is or simply need to reimagine the way you get things done in your company, or with your team. Let me tell you, there's a lot you can learn from today's episode. So here's my conversation with my friend and soon to be yours Stephanie Stuckey.

You know, Stephanie, if you've got a huge challenge rebuilding this duckies brand, I know that and, and I want to go deep on how you're doing it. But let's start by just having you give us a quick history lesson on stomaches.

Stephanie Stuckey 2:01 

Yes, I'd be delighted. Stuckey started by my grandfather and 9037 literally as a side hustle. It was during the Great Depression, and he had to drop out of law school at the University of Georgia to work on the family farm. He was farming cotton, and hated it. And so he started selling pecans. It was a bumper crop. Anyone who knows anything about pecans they have on yours and off yours in Georgia is the pecan capital of the world really. And so pecans were plentiful, even though jobs were not. And he started buying up tea cans from farmers after you worked on the farm all day, and then he would sell them to a local Scheller market up a few pennies. And that's how he made his profit. He built up his capital from there. And after a few years of steadily doing that he opened a roadside store. And that was really the first roadside retail that offered gas, clean restrooms, cold drinks, hot snacks, and we've always sold candy kitschy souvenirs, and of course continued to sell the pecans. So from the very humble beginnings at first store in Eastman, Georgia, it grew at its peak in the 1970s. He had a sign company, he had a trucking company had a candy company, largely vertically integrated. He sold the company, and there was a couple of different corporate owners some hostile takeover by one of them. And the brand plummeted external factors as well. My grandfather died in 1977. The road trip declined with the Arab oil embargo, air travel became affordable people started flying. So all this stuff happened. And the brand just plummeted. We lost hundreds of stores. So my dad got the company back in 1985. He got the company back. It was literally on life support. He got it stabilized he was running several other businesses. duckies was never his main focus because he was making money off of his other businesses. And he and his business partners retired in circa 2011. And left stuck us at that point being run almost on autopilot by a skeleton crew. And since 2015, had been losing money. And now I came in 2019 November 2019.

David Novak 4:25 

You know, I remember the stomaches brand when I was a kid, you know, I grew up in sort of small town America. And you know, we did a lot of road trips. So you know, I've protected a lot of Stuckey food in the past and it was a great experience back then, you know, and so now as I understand it, you've invested your life savings in the stock. He's business and you bought it from your father. And I understand it that some consultants and advisors told you that they wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole. I mean, tell us the state of the brand when you bought it and what you saw in the business that other people didn't say

Stephanie Stuckey 4:59 

I did. consult with several business advisors and they looked at the financials. And most of them told me not only Walk Run from this, this is not a good investment. And it was losing money. They were six figures in debt. But what I bought was a brand. And I knew the value of stock ease, like you said, it was an experience. And I thought there's a need for that still in this country. And it was bigger than my family. But certainly I wanted to revive my grandfather's legacy, because I knew him and I loved him. But I thought the road trip is something really uniquely American. And it's something that we need to celebrate. We need more of that we need these special, unique curated experiences when we're taking a trip by car. And so I knew that the brand had that magic. And that is not on the financial books. That's what convinced me now what I actually bought the physical assets was a rented warehouse with inventory mostly consisting of rubber snakes and ashtray shaped like toilets as they put your butts here, coonskin caps like the classic kitschy souvenirs that stack uses known for about a ton of pecan log rolls and inventory, lots of candy and nuts. That's what I actually bought. We didn't own the candy plant anymore, trucking company signed company long gone, we don't own or operate any stores. They're not even a franchise program anymore. It's a licensing program. We only have 20 standalone stores. And then there's 45 co branded stores within a store concept that is called stuck us express in varying degrees of shape. Some of them are really great grand forward locations. Some of them need a lot of love. So it's all across the board. So that's what I got.

David Novak 7:01 

You know, I remember when I was president of KFC, all everybody talked about was Colonel Sanders, the colonel did this, the colonel did that. And meanwhile, the brand was very unsuccessful, there have been eight straight years of no sales growth. So we're at a major turnaround situation. And you know, my view was, hey, I love the colonel is great. But we've got to start creating some new memories. You've got to create new memories. How do you balance managing the past and then really stimulating the kind of progress you've got to have to really turn the business around and maximize this brand that you bought?

Stephanie Stuckey 7:32 

That's such a great question. And I get asked it a lot. And I am constantly reflecting on what's the best way to do it. So it's evolving. But I like to say, I'm looking back while moving forward. I definitely have a strong sense of our roots. And I'm so proud that we are in nostalgic brand. There's something amazing about a brand that has sticking power. Kentucky Fried Chicken is certainly one of them. It's been around 80 plus years stuck us has. And we're in it for the long haul. And so I'm I don't shy away from the retro aspect of our brand. But at the same time, I am looking at how to capture new market share. And part of that is what I reflected on earlier is it's bigger than stomaches is bigger than selling peak and log roles and kitschy souvenirs. It's the road trip. And if you think about who we really are trying to attract is people who love to roadtrip and that defies demographics that defies age that defies being in the past, people of all ages, while generations have loved taking to the open road. Now, maybe not everyone does. And that's a Seth Godin calls them our tribe that they may not be our tribe if they don't enjoy getting on the road. But anyone who likes to travel, the interstate highway system or the back roads, and that could be pleasure trippers. That could be truckers that could be traveling salesman, and women, what's left of them, but people who travel for business. That could be baseball teams, minor league baseball teams, that could be rock and roll bands, traveling artists, the whole gamut. And so I think the more we talk about and embrace the road trip, we're going to start being more of a forward brand, but still letting people know we've got sticking power. We've been around 80 years, and I'm not planning on going anywhere.

David Novak 9:26 

Well, you know, vision and purpose is so important for every business and how have you been able to simplify and describe the vision you have for the studies of the future?

Stephanie Stuckey 9:38 

We make road trips fun. That's my vision. And that's the direction in which we're heading. The brand and everything that I message and talk about revolves around that even if it's talking about the candy, you want people to associate our products with an experience because otherwise we're just another piece of candy. If You have an emotional connection to something. That's what gives it meaning. That's what gives it selling power. That's what really creates a brand.

David Novak 10:07 

You know, you think about your business and where you can take it. How much of it really requires the physical assets that you've had in the past? versus what you can do through digital. I mean, there's everybody's business has exploded through digital, How about yours?

Stephanie Stuckey 10:23 

Absolutely, our online sales went up 550%. Last year, of course, we started almost from nowhere, we had a really bare bones website when I bought the company. So we are definitely looking at digital. And then social media has been a huge amplifier for our brand. But I think also it's out of total necessity. Our stores, we don't own them. And so there's so much good about getting a nostalgic brand, because you do have all of this brand equity in these memories. And you come with a base of people who like your stores, just like you did with Kentucky Fried Chicken. But you also get the company as is right. It's not the company you would have built from the ground up if you had to start at zero. And so I have to deal with the lack of physical assets, which is one of those challenges that gets me up at 3am that we don't control the stores yet. So how I deal with it is I have a business partner. So we have a short term strategy, which is like a three year plan three to five years. And then beyond that our longer term plan is we really will have more physical assets. But I think if you don't embrace digital technology, in this day and age, your brand is going to just go by the wayside. Yeah, I was

David Novak 11:45 

thinking about your particular situation. And you, you really are a startup with a legacy or heritage brand. You don't have much to build from. So now you're really creating this startup. How do you see yourself?

Stephanie Stuckey 12:01 

Well, let me tell you how I see the brand. And then I in many ways feel like I am the personification of the brand bears my name. So it's hard not to identify, really on an emotional personal level with this brand. But I joke that we are an 80 year old startup. And initially, it was really hard for me, but then I decided you need to embrace that startup mentality. And frankly, I think it's more CEOs, even those who have totally well established corporations. And they've got millions or billions and assets. If you grasp onto that startup mentality that constantly innovating mentality, I think it's what keeps your edge. So I'm in a way, really grateful for the fact that we are the scrappy comeback brand. So I see myself as an innovator, as an entrepreneur. And I think that term often gets overused. Sometimes you're not an entrepreneur, you're just a small business. But if you're an entrepreneur, the way I see it, you're constantly having to innovate, you're constantly having to figure out how to move your company forward. And you're problem solving night and day.

David Novak 13:14 

What's the biggest problem you've had to solve in the last few months?

Stephanie Stuckey 13:17 

Oh, supply chain issues. So we bought a candy plant, my business partner and I and January of 2021. I'm a big believer and making bold moves. But don't bet the farm, right. So take risks, but do them in a way that are structured that you can afford to fail if it doesn't work out. But this was our bold move. We felt really confident about it. We ran the numbers, we got great partners with our small town Community Bank and the Small Business Administration. So we bought this candy plant. And I think what's really important to realize so often we see especially like on LinkedIn, which I follow every day, you see these big headlines, we've made this great move, we bought this candy plant. Bam. Well, there's a lot of work that gets involved afterwards. It's the and then what say you did this now you got it. What are you going to do? We're the dog that caught the proverbial fender when we got the capacity to make our own product. So we're having to deal with packaging issues we're having to deal with getting our machinery up to standards because this is a good problem to have. But sales are skyrocketing for us

David Novak 14:32 

now. Are you selling your candy in the grocery stores or just through your outlets,

Stephanie Stuckey 14:36 

both and see stores and Mom and Pop gift shops and hotel chains and corporate gifts and break rooms for large companies. So

David Novak 14:47 

you really are creating a packaged goods brand that you want of trying to build, you know so you look at your heart assets as a way to kind of build the brand but the big idea for you in the future is really packaged goods and selling the product online? And I'm curious about that, because how do you bring the road trip idea to a packaged goods business?

Stephanie Stuckey 15:07 

That's the long term plan. So the short term plan is I have to drive revenue, you can't have a company if you don't have money and capital. And so we had to make the company profitable, we first had to get out of debt. And then we had to make the company profitable. And how I did that was just looking at the books and figuring out what drives our revenue. And I literally put on paper buckets of where are we getting our money. And I realized that our licensing slash what used to be a franchise program, that was a very modest amount of our revenue, the bulk of our revenue was from the sale of our product, which is why we bought the candy plant. And it's also a pecan shelling facility. So we make healthy snacks, pecan snacks as well. And we have a full line to snack nuts, we were driving our revenue through the packaged goods. And so that's how we're getting the brand forward is by getting more retailers and also selling online for the product. And we can also control the quality, we can control the margins, and we're now able to private label. So if we get in a grocery channel, and the grocery store says Well, we'd like to have our Publix brand or the Whole Foods brand and not the stomaches brand. Well, we can make product for them. Because we're the manufacturer. How we sell the road trip is by being very brand forward and everything we do and constantly telling the story of the brand. To me, it's bigger than marketing. It's storytelling. So if you follow me on LinkedIn or on other social media posts, you'll see what I post about is road tripping small town America, exploring this country, and the brand is just part of that, but our displays look like little Stucky stores. So we've got a really great display. This got our traditional sloped teal roof, with a stomaches logo on the side. And you really get the experience of visiting a mini stocky store. So we're trying to bring the Stucky store to other businesses and create that sense of fun that you get from a road trip.

David Novak 17:14 

And as you think about your licensees and your franchisees kind of the business that you had in the past, in you know, a lot of those outlets, I'm sure aren't what you really want to have. Okay, so how are you rebuilding the brand with them, as I'm sure you get some assets that you know, need a paint job, you know, we all see those kinds of issues in the restaurant business, how are you dealing with the franchisees or licensees to make that happen.

Stephanie Stuckey 17:41 

So it's a real challenge. I'll be totally honest, this is my 3am problem. I'm doing what I can with what I've got for now while constantly trying to get more. So what I'm doing now is we've got a sales team. So we have sales reps who go out and visit the stores and they work with the licensees to help them improve the quality of their stores. We brand and market in a way that promotes the stores to get people excited about them. And we found that as more people start coming to the stores and start talking to the management, they realized that the brand is getting a refresh is coming back. So that sort of empowers the franchisees to get more excited about the brand. We're also doing what we can to give them like I referenced before display signage, marketing as much as we can within our budget. So that's my dealing with what my assets are on hand, my capacity. Now. What I'm also doing is constantly pitching, trying to get some financial investors and partners who might be interested in the brick and mortar aspect of the business and I kiss a lot of frogs. And I am persistent. I am not easily dissuaded. And a financial investor to me is like a partner. And I've learned so much from frankly, Kissing Frogs that didn't turn into princes, because I realized that a lot of the private equity just that's not a good fit for us. We're not a three to five year return on investment flip the asset type of investment. We are a long term brand. It's the Warren Buffett School of investment you buy a company stick with it through the ups and downs. That's I want Warren Buffett as an investor, but I realized that is probably not realistic. But I actually am talking to someone who is seems very encouraging, who seems to get the brand who might be interested in partnering with us to create what what I have termed internally and I also talked about is the stuck us oasis. So I have a plan for what the stores would look like moving forward and it's a true experience he would pull over we would have coin operated amusement machines like Soul tar by the way, I met the guy who makes Zaatar and I was super excited about that.

David Novak 20:02 

So you're, you really have a sucky store of the future in mind. Okay, but you haven't built it yet. So you're trying to get an investor to help you build that store. Okay. And then you'll build the rest of your business around that vision.

Stephanie Stuckey 20:16 

Yes. But in the meantime, we're making it work. We're turning a profit. We went from about when I started, when I bought the company, we had less than 10 employees, and we are approaching 150. And it hasn't even been two years. We're so different. I listened to your show a lot. And you talk to companies that are fortune 500, and 1000s and 10s of 1000s employees and billions and assets. And we're the scrappy comeback brand that is definitely punching above our weight.

David Novak 20:46 

Yeah, well, you've got a big challenge here. But it sounds like you know, if you can get that store of the future, and then you can, you know, build the packaged goods side of the equation, you can end up with a real brand, and you've made an acquisition that kind of gets you in the better for you arena with you call them pecans. I come from the pecan world, not the pecan world, but it doesn't matter. I love pecans. They're great. So it seems like you got a lot of upside with this brand. But I am curious, you know, you come back into the fray, you buy the business. Now you've got franchisees licensees to deal with. There's been no money to be found in the previous five, six years. So you jump back into their life, how have the franchisees and licensees embraced you

Stephanie Stuckey 21:29 

it's all over the board, we have some that frankly, we're not serving the brand. And it was not a good fit, we've had to D brand a couple I'm trying not to D brand them. One, just the financial reality we needed the income to I'm a big believer in trying to work with people and see if you can support them, that's always been my approach to management leadership, is to work with people to bring out the best in them and give them the support that they need. And so many of them just need support. We're just working with them and making sure that they understand the direction in which we're going, I went on a road trip. When I first bought the company I literally got in my car, of course COVID Hit within three months. But I just started driving around the country, and started meeting with them one on one. And they really appreciated that I took the time and I'd spend time in the stores. I sat in the stores just like what my grandfather did. I watched people and watch how they interacted with the stores. I talked to them, I just go up to them and say, Why did you pull over at this store instead of the truckstop? Across the street? What interested you about staircase? What made you pull over? That's interesting,

David Novak 22:39 

because my number one priority was always to get out in the stores find out what was really happening with the frontline and the people that are closest to the customer. What would be the top three insights you've picked up by doing that?

Stephanie Stuckey 22:51 

You know, the number one was that people knew the brand. And that was the most encouraging and a little surprising, because honestly, we are a dusty brand. But it's just been so rewarding to find out. I think with these dis Daljit legacy brands, what you'll see is the people who are loyal to the brand are loyal. Another was this was something my grandfather always pushed for was proximity to the interstate, just as people want what's easy and convenient. So if the stuck use happened to be located right when you pull over, that makes a difference. And here's something my grandfather did. And it played out. When I talked to people they said, Well, I saw these other cars out there. My grandfather used to get all the employees to park their cars out front, like way up front. And then he would just ask people like can you get your friends support the cars here? So you're more likely to pull over at a business if their cars out front? And that's what people told me they're like, Yeah, I saw the cars out.

David Novak 23:57 

I love that, you know that's like that. That's what entrepreneurs do. You know, they watch customers, they they see the behavior and then they pull it off. I do exactly that. That's That's fantastic. You know, I

Stephanie Stuckey 24:08 

can't license plates. You'll see me in the parking lot reading my competitors. I'll be in the parking lot looking at where are they from? What kind of cars are they? Do they have luggage? I'm real Snoopy. I'm like looking in like they don't vacation. Family. You want to get a sense for Who's stopping at your stores or at your competitor stores and why?

David Novak 24:29 

You know, you said it up front Steffi, now you know, the Stucchi set your name, you're now the leader of a family business. Tell us a little bit about your upbringing.

Stephanie Stuckey 24:40 

So I would love to say I had the scrappy, hard knock life. And I did not. I actually was very privileged. I am the fourth of five children. My dad got elected to Congress when I was a year old. And so we left Eastman, Georgia, our hometown and I actually I grew up in Washington, DC, and went to an elite private school and grew up with Roosevelt's and Kennedy's and all sorts of politicians, kids,

David Novak 25:11 

and Roosevelt's Kennedys and Stuckey. So you know, so you're like the fourth out of five kids. So you weren't born number one, not kind of like a middle child? I mean, did that motivate you in any way?

Stephanie Stuckey 25:24 

Absolutely. Being I am such a strong proponent for middle children being good leaders, because, you know, someone said this to me once, and I was offended at first. And then I thought, you know, what is actually an advantage? He said, he got a bit of a chip on your shoulder. And I was like, No, I don't. I was like, yeah, actually, I kind of do. And you feel like, pay attention to me. Yeah, like, I'm here. I'm putting my hand up. And so I think middle children sometimes feel like they have to work a little harder, because we do. We're also more of consensus builders, and there's a bit of like, go along to get along. But then you also pair that with wanting attention. I think it's just the right mix. But stuck. Ease was nothing growing up in DC, it was so nice, because if I'd grown up in Eastman, Georgia, I would have had this false sense of being this P can log roll heiress, like, I was something bigger than what we are, no one should feel that way. And so I certainly didn't feel that way. Growing up, John Heinz was in my class, you know, the ketchup, Fortune stomaches compared to Heinz, not the same. So it was good,

David Novak 26:31 

but it sounds like you're pretty competitive, though. Did that really drive you? I mean, it's like you're round all these big time. Families, did that drive you at all? Or what drove you most that or being the fourth or the fifth kid,

Stephanie Stuckey 26:45 

I think being the fourth, or the fifth kid, and also seeing what happened to our brand. I think this ducky story is unique in many ways. But one of the things that's most special about our brand, and the only other company I'm aware of that has a similar story is Bill's the department store, that it fell out of our hands. And we had lost it for decades. And we got it back. I mean, that is just such a motivating factor for me that we lost this. And we've got a chance to remake it. I think how many people have a family brand that had a visionary founder, and it fell out the family hands and it lost the magic had the chance to bring it back. I get messages every single day, probably 10 a day from people who lost their family business and they say I am rooting for you. Because Oh, that's great. We lost it. And my grandfather's business was sold. my great grandfather's business was sold, it breaks my heart to see what happened. I want you to make it.

David Novak 27:44 

That's great. You know. And speaking of grandfather's, you've already talked a little bit about him, you have obviously had a lot of admiration for him. And then you bought your business from your father where it sounds like stuck. He's was kind of a stepchild, not a really a big deal. So how do you deal with your father today?

Stephanie Stuckey 28:02 

Well, it's very interesting. So I will say the first six months were really rocky. And not to get into too much detail. But I'm a lawyer by training. And it really served me well during this period of trying to negotiate the sale. The reason I bought the company, you know, usually you're a 3g or third generation with family business. You don't have to pay for it, you inherit the business. But what happened with me is my dad had business partners, he had five business partners. So I initially bought out his business partners they wanted to sell. My dad hung on to his shares. He had 51%. And those first six months were really hard. Everything I did, he was questioning. He's retired. And he would call me from his Lazy Boy recliner on his FaceTime and just Why are you doing this? Why are you doing that? You know, are you watching the bottom line and send me the balance sheets. And I finally sat him down. And I said, I can have a father or I can have a business partner, but I can't have both. And it was really a huge sacrifice for me to take a complete career and life pivot at age 53. To buy this company by said, I will pivot back, I'll go back to what I was doing before I still got my law degree, you have to sell to me. And he thought about it and he came back and here's the it got a little complicated. This is really with a law degree helped heal the outright own 2% The rest was in an irrevocable trust. So I had to work with his trustee to make sure that it was a good decision to sell the assets. And at that point, I went to my dad at six months because that's when I turned a profit. And so I proved to him, I can make the company profitable. And so from that moment on though, it's like I got my dad back.

David Novak 29:52 

Well, that's great. So you you're bringing back stuck ease and you're bringing back your relationship you know, that's, that's cool. I love that and thanks for being so on. understand that and you know, you mentioned, you know, you're a trial lawyer. Okay. How did that prepare you for what you're doing right now? I mean, I know you just mentioned that you got through the irrevocable trust issues. But yeah, you know what it'd be in a trial while you're due to get you ready to be this startup leader.

Stephanie Stuckey 30:16 

So not only was I, a trial attorney, but I was actually a public defender for many years. And then I segwayed into a different area of law, I did environmental law. But both of those areas of law, I was always representing the underdog. I mean, definitely being a public defender you you do criminal defense law, and you have to represent people who are often charged with some pretty heinous crimes. And what that experience taught me was, in order to do that credibly, and I'm a big believer in being honest, and forming an emotional connection, you have to form a connection with the jury, if you're a trial lawyer. So in order to do that, I had to find something redeeming about my client. Sometimes that was hard. I had to figure out a way to connect with them. Well, that's the same thing, trying to sell your brand and appeal to customers, you have to learn how to relate to people. And if you buy a company that's in distress, that's in debt, you have to find something redeeming and that, and not only that, you have to be able to stand up and advocate for that zealously and passionately. And I learned that trying cases.

David Novak 31:26 

Oh, that makes so much sense. You know, I always felt it's so important. When you go into tough situations that you round up and you trust in positive intentions. And you believe that what you have is really something very important. And another thing that I just love about your background is you served as a state representative for for over a decade. You know, what did that teach you?

Stephanie Stuckey 31:48 

Same thing. I was passionate about the environment. And so a lot of my career in the Georgia legislature for 14 years, was advocating for environmental protection, clean air, clean land, water, I did a lot of advocacy work with minority communities. It was really interesting because of redistricting. I went from a district that was 97%, white, to 63%, African American overnight, and was drawn into a district where the head of the NAACP for that county was already actively campaigning and running to the seat. So I had to run against the president of the NAACP, and a majority African American district. So I learned so much from politics, running those campaigns, just putting yourself out there. That was really, really hard for me. I remember going to black churches, I went as a kid with my dad, actually when he was campaigning. And I would go in this church and this mega church and South DeKalb. And there'd be 1000 people. And I would be the only white person. And I went to one and it was that big. And the minister said and we've got sister Stuckey here, she wants to be your next state rep. We want her to come on up to the pulpit and say a few words, talk about having to learn to talk quick on your feet. What I learned from that is getting out of my comfort zone. That was really getting out of my comfort zone. And guess what I won? I won the election. I served six more years after that. And then I decided it's time to let someone else try their hand at democracy. I'm a big believer that you should not make politics or public service your career. Well, I

David Novak 33:39 

was wondering, you know, given your background, that it makes sense. Now, this is kind of maybe a stretch but I'm getting Okay. Stephanie goes out, she takes over Stuckey she brings back this great heritage brand down she's got even more visibility, and now she runs for president.

Stephanie Stuckey 33:56 

No, no, no. I've definitely had a very atypical career. Usually you see people going from business to politics. I went from politics to business. I went into politics because I was passionate about the issues. I was passionate about the environment in particular. And I thought that there needed to be more of a voice for the underdog in the Georgia Legislature, something I still feel. And I don't see myself going back to that. What I do see is I continue to support friends and politics. I do not mix duckies and politics. I definitely am an independent now, I ran on a partisan ticket. But I have learned when you transition to running a company, for Republicans by decalogue roles to I really try to be fair minded and in my approach to politics now and even when I was in office, I really viewed myself as the middle child, a consensus builder.

David Novak 34:57 

You know, now you're getting back to the Stuckey spread Innovation is the lifeblood of any business. And it's absolutely critical in the retail world that you're in. How do you think about stuck ease in terms of innovation? And what have you done recently that you're really particularly proud of that's breaking new ground for the brand.

Stephanie Stuckey 35:17 

It's hard for me to point to a lot of good examples given the short tenure, but I will say, innovation wise, what we're doing is not as customer forward. But it's critical. As I referenced earlier, sales are skyrocketing. And I'm really am a student of brands that I admire. And I see what happens often is you get a visionary founder, and they have a great idea. And they may not necessarily know how to scale that idea. And that's where I see entrepreneurs having the biggest challenges is how do you scale. And that's what we're dealing with right now. And in order to scale, I think you need capital, you need financial capital and human capital, but you need innovation. I really think it's like a three legged stool to scale your brand or your business. And so what we've been doing more behind the scenes to innovate is we're getting new equipment, we're working on an extruder machine, which is what spits out the new get in the center of candy. The amazing thing to me about the candy world is that a lot of equipment hasn't changed since that I Love Lucy episode that everyone loves, like so much of that we have that same piece of equipment that you see on that episode.

David Novak 36:30 

That is one of the funniest episodes. Remember that one

Stephanie Stuckey 36:33 

that was filmed to See's Candy, by the way, a warren buffett brand, but we're in the process of getting a new extruder. And we've gotten some new T cam shelling machines, and these are six bigger machines. So for us to get the working capital to make sure that we can scale the operation is pretty critical. So we've done that, and then we're not losing sight that there's still very much a human component to our food and our product. And I know it sounds hokey, but I really do think when there's candy that's made in part by hand, even in a industrial setting, you can taste the difference. And so we did hire, we really don't spend a lot of money on consultants. So when we do we try to be extremely strategic, but we hired a team to come in and observe our operations and figure out how to make our teams more effective. We're doing some training. So our innovation has been machinery and streamlining efficiencies. That's great.

David Novak 37:29 

You know, it's such a fascinating thing that you're having to create almost, you know, all this stuff, basically from scratch. Now, you've gone from three people to 105 people I think you mentioned Okay,

Stephanie Stuckey 37:41 

almost 150 During peak pecan season will help. Okay, so

David Novak 37:44 

100. So, how do you think about culture? And what kind of work environment are you trying to create with your team that's going to get you the kind of results that you're looking for. So culture

Stephanie Stuckey 37:55 

is hard when you come into a company that, frankly, has been experiencing tough times. So not only did I acquire stock ease that was experienced hard times, but then I, my business partner, and I bought this pecan shelling and candy company that had been around since 1935. And has had two families own it. The second family's had it for 50 years or so here we come in. And who are these people now running our company. And so I've really given culture, a lot of thought. And one thing I've been very respectful of, is to not come in like guns blazing, like, here's our culture, here's my vision, we're going to revive the great roadtrip and I want you to buy into everything that I think and I've been extremely respectful to really get to know the people get to understand the existing culture, and get to know the people. So I think a lot of culture is just appreciating people. Having these small wins along the way where people feel like they're part of something that they have an opportunity not just to be the frontline candy worker that's working on the enroller machine, but they can advance.

David Novak 39:12 

You know, one of the things I've always found is no involvement leads to no commitment, and that if you can get your people to help you define what that culture is in words that they can relate to. That's when you've really found the homerun,

Stephanie Stuckey 39:25 

absolutely it just letting so initially I am focusing on these small opportunities to build culture build connection, filled a team. So I moved down to Rennes, Georgia, where our candy plant is for a month I rented a little farmhouse, a state out in the country. And I've shopped where they shopped, I would see some of our employees at Peggy's diner. You know, I just got to know the community and what their culture is. And then I made sure I knew all the people's names who worked in The candy plant. And then we did this is something so small, but this is where I think there are lessons where you can build culture and not have these big audacious gestures. I noticed in the shop one day we have a little retail shop connected to the store factory store. So one store we own and operate. And we have these duckies hoodies, and one of the employees was in there during her break, and she was buying a hoodie. And I said, don't pay for that hoodie. We'll take care of it. And then I thought, Wait, if I get her a hoodie, I need to get everyone else a hoodie. So in our next all hands on deck meeting, I said, Hey, we're getting everyone a hoodie. And then someone standing next to me said, Can we get our names on it? And like, yeah, and you're getting your names on it. They were so excited. And you know, it's cold in a food processing facility, they have to crank up the air conditioning. So you need a buddy even in South Georgia and the summer.

David Novak 40:56 

I've got a Blake Shelton voice hoodie that I put on every time I'm playing voice with my grandkids. So yeah, I think it's terrific. I love it. Stephanie. There's been so much fun. And I want to have a little bit more by doing a lightning round of q&a with you. Are you ready for this? I'm ready. Okay. What are the three words that best describe you?

Stephanie Stuckey 41:14 

Persistent, optimistic, scrappy.

David Novak 41:21 

If you could be one person for a day beside yourself, who would it be and why?

Stephanie Stuckey 41:25 

Oh my gosh, that's so easy. I am a huge Dolly Parton fan. I would love to be Dolly for a day.

David Novak 41:31 

Well, she's scrappy speaking and scrappy you founder. There you go. So what's your biggest pet peeve?

Stephanie Stuckey 41:37 

Oh, gosh, that's easy. It this drives me crazy. People who come to you with problems are complaining and haven't thought about how to solve it or some other course like, Okay, this isn't working. Here's how we can make it work. Or here. Here's how we could pivot and do this other thing that would be better. But but just complainers who don't help problem solve.

David Novak 42:01 

Tell us something about you that few people would know. I'm fluent in French. Wow. So where would you rather go to de Paris, Texas or Paris, France?

Stephanie Stuckey 42:10 

I'd rather go to Paris, Texas, but I'll come on. I do. I'd go small. You know, it's interesting. I lived in France for a year as a French major in college. And I lived in excellent Provence. I chose a small town. And I learned the language. If you go to Paris, it's like any big city. Yes, I love Paris. I've been like 20 times. But it's a big city. And you don't really get to connect with people like you do in a small town and the south of France Provence region, the people are so wonderful and warm and the food's amazing. I speak the language and

David Novak 42:46 

so you're sticking with road trip to Paris, Texas. But because you're a road trip junkie.

Stephanie Stuckey 42:51 

Now I've road trip to the South of France to you just have to learn how to drive those little cars.

David Novak 42:57 

So what's your favorite highway? Route

Stephanie Stuckey 42:59 

66.

David Novak 43:02 

And what's your favorite roadside stop the sides of stickies.

Stephanie Stuckey 43:06 

I'm debating between south of the border. I think I'm gonna say south of the border. I was about to say like the world's largest belt buckle because that was pretty fun. That's in Uranus, Missouri and they have like all these attractions there. But I'll go with south of the border because that's run by a third generation family member

David Novak 43:26 

eeriness, Missouri. Now that's a new one. So what's your favorite Stuckey is product?

Stephanie Stuckey 43:31 

Pecan logro.

David Novak 43:32 

That's it.

Stephanie Stuckey 43:33 

Yes, I eat them. I absolutely love them. You slice them like Pate, you can serve them with a little toothpick with the frills on top. It makes a great appetizer.

David Novak 43:44 

And what would be three bits of advice you'd give to aspiring leaders.

Stephanie Stuckey 43:49 

Work hard. always step up to the plate. Can I tell a quick story and as is lying around, but absolutely. I so because thinking about aspiring leaders and young people. I've been so fortunate to have been mentored, but also to have the opportunity to mentor people. And when I was head of sustainability for the city of Atlanta, I had a woman who was an entry level project manager, and she was always always volunteering to do stuff. And she came to me one day and she said, why don't we have an intern program? And I said, Well, we did. There's so much work to manage the interns. I don't have the time, we don't have the time and I didn't feel like it was rewarding to either side. And she said, I want to do that. I want to run the intern program. And I said, Okay, you can do it and I just kind of like, sit Alright, and that literally forgot about it. And then a month later I walk into the office and they're like 20 people in the office. I'm like, what is all this and they're like it's the intern program is to kick off program. Oh, and the mayor is coming by to give welcoming remarks. I'm like, what? She created this whole program. We had 20 interns. She had a syllabus. She had trips planned, she got spawned. So as to treat them for lunch once a week for lunch and learns, suddenly every department head was coming to me saying, How did you do this? And I'm like it her name is yo wrong G She's amazing. She's a total superstar. But I love that she not only volunteered, and she came to me and said, I want to do this, can I do this? So just step up to the plate offer to do stuff. You'd be amazed how often your boss will say, Yeah, okay, you know, and not even think about and realize, like you she was really on to something that was the best program. So the third bit of ice, have fun. Don't take yourself too seriously. Whenever I get stressed out, I tell myself, it's just candy. Candy. That's great. We're selling rubber alligators and coonskin caps, have fun.

David Novak 45:47 

I love it. And what advice would you give to others on how to make a family business work? Because you've been through the gamut. It seems like,

Stephanie Stuckey 45:56 

often family businesses have too much pressure on them to carry on the family lineage. And I think part of what I want to instill because I do talk to a lot of other family businesses, I want to say just relax. Sometimes it doesn't have to be a family member who runs the company. So there's ownership and there's management. And I'm already thinking about the next generation, obviously, my son, and my daughter may not be the right people to run the company. And that's going to be okay. So I would just say, Don't get so tied down that it has to be a family member, because sometimes, that's the worst thing you can do you want someone who really, really wants it, I really wanted it, I really wanted it because we lost it.

David Novak 46:44 

You want it as he used to be giving you a lot of joy. Yes,

Stephanie Stuckey 46:47 

you have to want it. And if it's just handed to you, and it's given to you like an obligation, you're not going to have that joy. And that will permeate in everything you do with the company just don't get so tied to the fact that it has to be someone with the last name stuck at the last name hein. So the last name Sanders. Right,

David Novak 47:06 

right. You know, Stephanie, I love how you decided to take on this big challenge. And I love how it's energizing you. And I really appreciate you taking the time to have this conversation with me.

Stephanie Stuckey 47:17 

Well, thank you. I'm a big fan. So Pleasure is mine. You know, one

David Novak 47:20 

of the things I've always seen is, you know, you mentioned that I do podcasts with these big huge companies, which I do, right. But I've always learned that, you know, it takes the same kind of thinking, the same kind of diligence to run a small business that is really successful. It's just there aren't as many zeros next to it, you know. But to get to those zeros, you got to do the same things, no matter how big the business is.

Stephanie Stuckey 47:46 

Wow. Thank you, that really made my day to hear that. I think in many ways, it's Well, I wouldn't say it's harder. It's just the challenges are different if you're a small, scrappy comeback brand, because I don't have this big team. Yeah, I was

David Novak 48:03 

a corporate manager. So I had a team, I had a CFO that I could turn to I, you know, I had my skills. But I was surrounded by all kinds of excellence and resources. You know, when you're building this business from scratch, like you are, you're turning over problems every single day. And then you got to solve those problems, and you don't have an army of people to go solve them. You got to solve most of them yourself. It's not surprising to me that you've taken his business and made it profitable. And now grown it and you got huge upside ahead. And I want to congratulate you on all your success and keep it going. We'll be rooting for you.

Stephanie Stuckey 48:39 

Thank you, I really appreciate I'm grateful.

David Novak 48:50 

Well, that conversation has a lot of insight is so easy to get stuck in the old way of doing things, even if they're not working anymore. But if you believe in what you're doing, just like Stephanie does, you will be a willing to take on the status quo and try new things. You have to bring new ideas to the table and fight for what you believe in. When you heard Stephanie's story. Was there a particular part of your business that came to mind something your team or company does that may be broken and needs to be refreshed? What I want you to do this week is to take the first step towards improving that process or that product, whatever comes to mind. So do you want to know how leaders lead? What we learned today is that great leaders are willing to reimagine their brand or their company and then do something about it. So go do something this week. Thanks again for tuning in to another episode of how leaders lead where every Thursday you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world. I make it a point to give you something simple on each episode that you can apply to your business so that you will become the best leader you can be