We had the good fortune of connecting with Trisha Mitchell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Trisha, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started baking sweet potato pies for church events. Everyone kept encouraging me to sell them. But, I couldn’t envision it being profitable. As a licensed nurse, I was accustomed to receiving regular income. But, once my children became older I decided to give it a try. I started by visiting local beauty and barber shops. Once a month, I would receive pie orders and deliver their pies straight from the oven. Soon, word got out about how great my pies were. That Thanksgiving, I had over 250 pies to make. It was so overwhelming that I stopped answering my phone (for pie orders). At the time, I didn’t see myself as an entrepreneur. I continued to work in the medical field and donated pies for church events, only. Several years later, my family and I moved to Dallas. Life had slowed down and the children were young adults. By now, I’d perfected my recipe and was passionate about baking pies. I believe they serve as “my gift” to others. Especially since I have been able to successfully convert numerous individuals who proclaim, “I only eat pumpkin pie.” I’ve been baking these pies since 1991 and I can honestly say that I have never met anyone who don’t like them. I secured my food manufacturing license in 2009 and have been baking pies ever since. I don’t earn much money. But, the freedom to be my own boss (while blessing others) is extremely fulfilling.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have been a licensed nurse for over 32 years. I worked 2 jobs while pregnant with my 3rd child. I worked 12-hour shifts. I would go to work at 7pm. Get off at 7am. Get home and get my 2 daughters ready for school. Drop them to school. Go back home and take a nap. Go to my 10am job. Get off in time enough to pick my daughters up from school. Help them with homework. Feed them dinner. Take an evening nap. Go back to hospital for another 7pm-7am shift. This was my schedule for 36 weeks. So, No. It wasn’t easy. But I did it. ONLY, by the grace of God. Nursing forced me into becoming a “people person.” I am extremely compassionate about helping others. As a nurse, I provided both medical and emotional care while sharing spiritual comfort as needed. Interacting with different people, nationalities, personalities and age groups allowed me to put myself in other peoples shoes. It help me to be relatable. As a result, I learned how to demonstrate the love of Jesus to others even when they were acting like the devil towards me. Lol I am no longer working in the medical field. However, nursing taught me that customers are just like patients. Both involve serving others. Aside from baking pies from scratch, I write the “Faithfull” column for Society Life Magazine. It gives me an opportunity to share encouraging words to so many. I believe we serve God by serving His people. And since we all need encouragement, writing a monthly column allows me to continue to serve God’s most prized possession; His people. I want the world to know that I am a woman of upmost integrity. The passion and love I put in my pies is unparalleled. I believe my pies are God’s gift to the world. Seriously. And I know for most folk I may come off as being “super spiritual”. But, God has been extremely gracious to me. I cannot (and will not) take credit for the blessings He has bestowed upon me. Sorry. Not sorry. Lol

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
One of the things that set my business apart from others is that all pies are “baked to order” There are no “day old” pies. Customer usually receive pie just a few hours after it comes out of the oven (based on their scheduled pickup time). Also, we don’t add milk, cream or condensed milk to our pie filling. This lessens the chance for spoilage. Thanks for considering my small business for your article.

I gifted myself a food trailer for Mother’s Day.  I’ll be adding new items to the menu and look forward to providing palate pleasing pies to the community and surrounding areas. Follow me on Instagram and look for the bright yellow trailer at local events.


 

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Most of my friends are always trying to get me to cook for them and decorate their homes. So they would definitely want to go to Homegoods and Central Market. I know that sounds pretty boring. But, I’m a fantastic cook. I’ve been cooking homestyle, southern, cajun food since I was 16. Anyway, perhaps we’d go to EVO in Southlake, Dinosaur Museum, The Pecan Lodge in Deep Elum, or maybe Yardbird. But, to be honest, with all the mass shootings going on, I’d probably just set up the volleyball net and head to my backyard.


The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family has always encouraged me. I sacrificed a lot over the years. Working tirelessly while my husband was in medical school. It was difficult to raise three children while he trained in another state. I spent my entire adulthood supporting my husband and children’s dreams and desires so when it was finally time for me to do something I enjoyed, they were all on board.

 

Website: www.sweetpiessibilities.com

Instagram: the.en.word and Sweetpiessibilitiestexas

Yelp: Sweet Pie’ssibilities

Image Credits
Trisha Mitchell

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.