Sweet Thing Gourmet is one of those indie businesses that make you smile and feel all excited again about working for yourself.

Owner Kyla Touris talks to us this week with her inspiring tale of moving to Columbus and starting a new life.

Here is what she had to say:
Okay, so I’m a jammer.  I learned from my mother the basics, and I dabbled in it a bit after college, mainly making presents for friends and such.  I was living in Montana at the time, and I would drag my husband with me to pick wild huckleberries.  It took hours to pick enough for one batch of jam, but it was amazing!  We made some as gifts and were told we should go into business.

When we moved to ohio with our infant son, we both planned to work and put out child in daycare.  I had mixed emotions about it.  Then we found our we were pregnant with twins, so that plan was derailed!  We scrimped for a few years on one salary and meanwhile, my mother-in-law had given me a subscription to Victoria Magazine, where I pored over stories about female entrepreneurs.  I was inspired by some of the stories and thought “Hmmm… there could be somthing there.”

I started researching outlets in our area and found the Worthington Farmers Market.  I wrote a business plan, shelled out money for some fancy jars and designed a logo and label with my husband.  We launched out product that year with four flavors of jams and some biscotti.  At first it was very seasonal, but gradually we began picking up holiday shows, home parties and gift boxes.  By 2005, we were going strong and our list of flavors grew quickly.  Now we are up to about 35.

The good and the bad of being your own cottage industry:
I’m my own boss, and I get to make all the decisions.  I keep the hours I want, which at times are very long.  Around the holidays, the business becomes my life, and it can be hard to shut it off.  While I started this to be home with my kids, it can be difficult to keep a balance between the two.  The creative part is fun, but the business part is a lot harder.  So much I am learning!  As the business grows, new expenses crop up and there is the challenge of maintaining the quality.  And still do it all out of our home.  My husband works with me now, and there are challenges there.  But then we turn on the music and get into the Zen of creating, and start to work through it all.

What do I love about Columbus?
I’m still learning about it.  We’ve been here almost 10 years, but so much of that has been devoted to our kids.  I love the downtown area a lot, though, with the urban feel to it.  I’m excited about the plans for the City Center site!  That’s what I love about the Pearl Market, too – it combines my country side with my urban edge.  And not to brown-nose or anything, but I love the people who run the Market.  Adam, Kacey, Tiffany and the rest of the crew are incredibly helpful and positive.  Really, it feels like a party!  Oh, and another thing about Columbus is CD101 and WCBE.  They keep me going much of the day!

Top five blogs/shops on the web?
I feel so unhip, there seems to be so little time to spend on the computer.  I did just discover Daily Candy, and I love columbusfoodie.com.  Oh, I’m so uncool!  I’ll work on it!

Who would I love to meet at the Market?
Eric Clapton!  Maybe he could come “jam” with me!

Thanks so much Kyla!  Make sure you go visit her fabulous stand at the Market and go check out her Web site too!  Tell her the Market Maven sent you!