Today we’d like to introduce you to Paula Harris.
Paula, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started cooking as a child so I always helped my mom prepare holiday dinners for our family. My mother was a great cook and her pecan pie was always a family favorite. Eventually, I took over the holiday cooking because my mother lost her independence due to Alzheimer’s. Every year more and more family members and family friends would ask me to bake them a pecan pie, which I was happy to do at no charge. Before I moved from Louisiana to Texas, I was baking 20 or more pecan pies every Thanksgiving and Christmas for family and family friends. Several family members, particularly my children, told me that I should sell my pies, although I could not imagine selling them to people.
However, after my mother’s illness progressed to the point that I knew that her life was coming to an end, I needed something powerful to help me deal with what was happening. So I launched Paula’s Perfect Pecan Pie. Pecan pie was my mom’s favorite dessert, which is why I chose to build my by brand around it.
During the last few years of my mother’s life we had to manage her portions of certain foods, especially pecan pie. That’s why Paula’s Perfect Pecan Pie only offers mini pecan pies-for the portion conscious. Every time someone asks me how I got started, I have a chance to talk about the most amazing person I know, my mother. I am the face of Paula’s Perfect Pecan Pie, but I could not do this without my family. They are my team.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It is hard to start and run a business when you have a full-time job, and you are managing most of the details by yourself. There are only 24 hours in a day whether you use them wisely are not. So I have had to learn when it is time to shift my focus from working in my business-you know like baking pies and creating new flavors to working on my business-focusing on things like learning the best way to package and ship my product and learning about tax issues. I also struggled with shifting my mindset from that of the family cook, who is always giving things away, to that of a business owner producing a product to sell. Trust me, there have been many struggles but knowing that so many people really love the product makes it worthwhile.
Paula’s Perfect Pecan Pie – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Paula’s Perfect Pecan Pie is a mobile and online artisan dessert bakery specializing in pecan pies. We bake mini pecan pies in a variety of flavors. We currently offer six varieties of our pecan pie: traditional southern, chocolate chip, chocolate chip coconut, butterscotch, white chocolate, and caramel. We are proud to be a black-owned family business that is not only maintaining but also growing. Our pies have shipped to customers in various cities across the U.S. We are very excited about our future as a company. One thing that I believe sets us apart from others is that we have limited what we do so that we can corner the market as the best to ever do it. We think that our mini pecan pies are so good that they should be as mainstream as a cookie, and our goal is to make that happen.
With amazing taste and portion control Paula’s Perfect Pecan Pie is an indulgence that is worth the calories.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I do not think in terms of success, I try to stay focused on making an effort as I move through life. As long as I am putting forth my best effort to grow intellectually and spiritually I feel like I am moving in the right direction.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 832-845-5937
- Email: paulas@perfectpecanpie.com
- Instagram: @perfect_pecanpie
- Facebook: @perfectpecanpie
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