Conversations with Andrea Bucey-Tikkanen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Bucey-Tikkanen.

Hi Andrea, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The town of Hudson has had a Peace, Love and Little Donuts shop for close to a decade, and while we lived in Hudson for virtually all that time, we had never even entered the shop! We thought donuts were a breakfast thing and we ourselves often skipped breakfast. We had NO IDEA!

My husband Tom and I got burned out in the business world. We wanted to experience something less constrained and in which we might make a living AND make a contribution to our community. We didn’t know anything about donuts, not one thing! But we absolutely did know about peace and love; we knew A LOT about peace and love!

If we were going to become small business owners, of course it was important that we find the right retailer…. we would need a lot of guidance and advice, and more than a little handholding. Peace, Love & Little Donuts happened to check that box also. I regularly tell customers that the donuts are for sale, but the peace and love is free.

When we bought the shop, we knew that the donuts were mouth-watering good, had creative names and were decorated in front of the customers. That process and taste had already been perfected! But, while the shop was nicely decorated, we absolutely wanted the space to make a visual splash. As in “in your face” colors!

Peace, Love and Little Donuts’ tagline is “Feed Your Inner Hippie”; a 1960-70’s hippie vibe is part of the franchise’s regular marketing campaign. Tom and I are technically too young to be hippies, but are convinced we would have been at Woodstock if our timing would have been different! We have grabbed that vibe and the shop is now incredibly colorful and welcoming: the tie-dye merchandise, the donut names (like the “Snick Jagger”) the music, the yellow and purple flowered walls and our decor, there’s no mistaking our message of making love, not war!

Hippies are very friendly, yes? While our donuts are scrumptious, our reviews almost always compliment our staff. We hire people to whom being friendly is second nature. And, frankly, it is fun to work here! Of all our accomplishments, we are proudest of the employee teams we have put together. Our staff is like family!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We are always finetuning our knowledge and we learn through our mistakes! In the beginning, we made countless donuts that were incorrectly topped, confusing maple for mocha or lemon with banana! Thankfully virtually all of those errors resulted in deliciousness. We are so lucky to have our loyal customer base who has waited in lines when our credit card machine goes wonky and eaten our mistakes as if they were as yummy as the correct donuts!

One of my favorite lessons learned? Be kind to your neighbors and your competitors! We recently had an inventory mix up and found ourselves suddenly dangerously low on shortening for our fryer. It’s the entire base of our product….you can’t make donuts without it! I found myself at a donut shop down the road. Borrowing shortening from them kept us open that day, and we traded a few trade practices to boot.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Our donuts are cake donuts; we don’t have to wait for any yeast to rise. That allows us to fry our donuts all day long, only decorating as orders are placed. We offer more than 50 different flavor combinations, and customers are encouraged to watch us prepare their individual fresh donuts. We also cater for outside events (like weddings or large office parties). Our finished product can’t just taste awesome: it must LOOK equally awesome! Putting together custom orders made to spec while customers are next in line is quite stressful! It involves balancing quality with speed. We think of it as a craft, but sometimes it is simply crisis management! Lucky for us, our customers are patient and kind. After all, who goes to a donut shop when they’re grumpy?

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
We have found that mentors are important all the way through life. You’re still learning, you benefit by some sort of role model. Likewise, the best mentors are experienced in your specific line of work. It was this reason that we chose a small franchise to guide us and teach us. Peace, Love and Little Donuts has less than 35 locations: when we need advice, we get it quickly and personally. Mentors can change throughout life also. When in the business world, we turned to experts in our then-careers. Those people have become excellent friends, but at some time their advice giving is less relevant. Mentoring is as important as being a mentee. We enjoy sitting with young folk and exchanging ideas and sharing our knowledge when asked.

Pricing:

• We price by the donut: no need to order a specific amount.
• We vary pricing depending solely upon our costs. Donuts with more ingredients are more expensive than are our sugared donuts.
• Mixing and matching of donut types and varieties is welcomed!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.peaceloveandlittledonuts.com/
• Instagram: @peacelovelittledonutshudson
• Facebook: Peace, Love and Little Donuts of Hudson