Michelle Gutschick is an entrepreneur who’s created too many small businesses to list here. Her current venture is Shelly Homemaker, featuring “Handcrafted items for homes, and the homemakers that run them.”

On this week’s show, Michelle talks not only about the formation of Shelly Homemaker, but an almost unquenchable entrepreneurial spirit – or “itch” as she calls it – that propels her to create new businesses. It’s invigorating getting to talk to someone with that much drive, and on this week’s episode she’s more than happy to talk at length about that drive. What’s particularly striking about this conversation is how it stands in stark opposition to a traditional media narrative that dictates how stay-at-home moms either can, or perhaps should, only be stay-at-home moms. Michelle blows this narrative out of the water.

What comes across most in our chat is that Michelle is clearly very dedicated to her kids and has built her business around goals that she has as a mother. Yet she also clearly has lofty goals for her business. These two sets of goals are not mutually exclusive, and that’s a story I’m proud to feature on my show.

Also in this episode is content I don’t normally get to feature. Namely, we talk about a business’s exit strategy. Michelle founded Sweet Pea Cake Company in 2008. She even did the cake for my wedding in 2009. How did she know it was time to shut it down? How did she do that? And does she harbor any regrets about it? I spend a lot of time on this show featuring the origin, I almost never get the opportunity to talk about the conclusion, and that’s frequently just as interesting a piece of the story.

Michelle is a talented crafter, a remarkable businesswoman, and a dear friend. This episode is packed with fascinating details from the entrepreneur trenches and answers that key question on everyone’s minds: Does fondant icing taste terrible? (Spoiler: Yes, it does.)

Check out ShellyHomemaker.com, join the Facebook group Shelly Homemaker at Home, and download this episode on iTunes or Stitcher.

Find every episode of the Jon of All Trades podcast at our site. iTunes only carries the most recent 100, and Stitcher even less. So dig into the archives and check out other great episodes!

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