Today we’d like to introduce you to Hilary Anderson.
Hi Hilary, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
So many Life lessons, learning from mistakes and raising a family finally gave me the courage to start OBO Foods. I grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and graduated from Shaker Heights High School. I went to University of Michigan on a field hockey scholarship and graduated with a degree in Kinesiology. I married right out of college and followed my husband as he pursued his career in the NFL. One of my first jobs was working in a health club, and realized it was not my dream job. I worked for his agent and did a lot of research and analyzing. I really enjoyed this, but we had to move, and I was pregnant. We had 2 beautiful daughters while my husband finished his career in the NFL and he started a new career. I was a stay-at-home mom and I was always thinking of new inventions and ideas but never acted on them. It wasn’t until we moved back to Cleveland and my mom had passed from ALS, aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease, that I decided I wanted to start to work.
My 1st job was always being a mom, but I started working at the ALS Association in 2002. I started by answering phones but eventually found myself figuring out a better way to process donations and help to grow their walks, which was their major fundraiser. It was the perfect job since I could work the same hours as my kids’ hours at school. After 4 years, I moved on to a speech pathology office and again started answering phones but quickly found myself consulting with the owners on making the office run more smoothly. I took over all their billing and insurance and had the office running like a well-oiled machine. At the same time, my husband and the owner started a company that helped children on the spectrum learn social skills through adapted physical education. I soon became the behind-the-scenes facilitator, the organizer, the marketer, the liaison, and the bookkeeper for the weekly programs as well as the 3 weeks of camp over the summer. The program became a success. While still doing the billing and insurance for the Speech Pathology company and running the special needs program I decided in 2010… why not become the head varsity coach of the field hockey program at Shaker Heights High School? I found that the team needed an overhaul and reboot. I had the pleasure and challenge of coaching both of my daughters… With the help of my younger sister as my assistant coach, we changed the culture of the team. We implemented a work hard, hold each other accountable, and all players are important mentality. In 2014 we won States with my younger daughter in her senior year. I continued as head coach for 1 more year, and then my sister and I flipped roles so I could watch my daughters play D-1 field hockey and ice hockey in college.
In 2017 I left the Speech Pathology practice and special needs program and helped my best friend from high school run her business called CorpStrength Physical Therapy. While continuing to bookkeep and do billing and insurance for her, I decided to start a consulting and logistics business with my partner in 2018. We did well until COVID hit. We tried to pivot into Government contracting but found ourselves struggling to make ends meet. My partner had taken advantage of an amazing business opportunity with old colleagues, and I decided I was ready to try a go at my own business. I have always loved food and thought this was the perfect time to try it, and my brothers-in-law mother had the perfect recipe. In 2021, I started AMA Time LLC dba OBO Foods (If you are an 80’s music lover, than Can’t Touch This – Hammer Time is where I came up with AMA Time 😉 I’m the quintessential plate spinner in a circus. How many plates can I keep spinning at once? The more the merrier. I am currently still with CorpStrength Physical Therapy and running my food business, but in 2022, I started working for another company. I do bookkeeping and financials for small and medium-sized non-profit organizations. When I have a free moment, I still coach field hockey. I believe this not-so-brief story of how I got started will hopefully be an integral part of my success with AMA Time, LLC dba OBO Foods.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Like any new business, you try to think of every scenario to avoid any issues or mistakes, and inevitably something happens or goes wrong. As I get older and as I coached my players, I have always said… you are going to make mistakes; everybody does. It is what you learn from your mistakes and the changes you make to avoid that mistake again that makes the difference.
There are a plethora of struggles that have happened along the way. Realizing that it’s not just about getting licenses, finding culinary kitchens and manufacturing food has been a super eye-opener on several levels.
First level is just finding the stores with the least expensive products (BTW none of the high quality products are the least expensive at the same store). Creating spreadsheets helped with this task. Pricing changes weekly, especially with specials and discounts.
Second level is supply chain issues. I learned very quickly the impact that COVID has had with supply chain issues with food. Every week, I pray that all my products will be available to make sure I can provide for all our customers. (There have been dicey weeks)
Third level is the recession. So many issues with the recession. Most of all… product pricing. I have over 15 different ingredients, so you can imagine the stress with the increase of prices. Just found out this week that one of my most important ingredients has been discontinued. The struggle is REAL!
Going to chalk this struggle up to an opportunity to learn more about bulk buying, distributors, and new ingredients.
I wish the above were my only struggles, and I swore that’s all I was going to write, but when I got to the page where it asks for the Instagram URL, I had to come back to this question. Social media is a huge challenge for me. I have lots to say, but I find it very difficult to convey my thoughts on social media because I don’t find myself that important to post everything that happens to me day in or day out. On top of that, I try to post on Instagram and get chastised because I didn’t correctly credit someone for a picture they took. I felt so bad but honestly, I am so social media etiquette challenged. I envy the people who can post every day. I am trying to get better.
As you know, we’re big fans of AMA Time, LLC dba OBO Foods. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
OBO Foods is a new food manufacturing company. We manufacture 3 products. Our recipes have been given to us by family and friends who happen to all be grandmas. As we continue to grow, we are able to give our grandma’s recipe royalty checks to say thank you. We currently make AMA’s Chocolate Chip, Oat, and Pecan Originals. These bars have less sugar, more oats, and we use 60% cacao chocolate chips. We sell the bars frozen which can be eaten frozen (my favorite), room temperature, or warmed in the microwave. If you are a dipper in your coffee or milk, these bars are guaranteed 3 dips.
WE Make & YOU Bake describes our other 2 products. Kiki’s Crunchy Cheesy Potatoes and GaGa’s Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake are both frozen and have never been baked. Consumers keep these products frozen until they are ready to bake. The product goes directly from the freezer to the oven. The consumer gets the amazing aromas, and technically they have made the product without the mess and no clean-up.
OBO Foods are truly homemade with ingredients we can pronounce. We freeze them to give them a longer shelf life while keeping the quality and integrity of the food. We are currently selling in 7 different markets.
Consumers can find Kiki’s Crunchy Cheesy Potatoes in Jaworski’s Meats – Middleburg Heights
K & K Portage Market – Lakewood/Cleveland
Buckeye Quality Meats – Streetsboro
Sherman’s Provision – Norton
Garfield Culinary Farmers Market – Garfield Heights
Market Wagon (Online Farmers Market) – Northeast Ohio
GaGa’s Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake in:
Jaworski’s Meats – Middleburg Heights
Buckeye Quality Meats – Streetsboro
Sherman’s Provision – Norton
Garfield Culinary Farmers Market – Garfield Heights
Market Wagon (Online Farmers Market) – Northeast Ohio
AMA’s Originals in:
Buckeye Quality Meats – Streetsboro
Sherman’s Provision – Norton
Garfield Culinary Farmers Market – Garfield Heights
Market Wagon (Online Farmers Market) – Northeast Ohio
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Of course, my family and close friends make me super happy because they support me with all my crazy endeavors and love me like I love them – unconditionally. Seeing my children happy, successful, and flourishing on their own makes me super happy.
Growing up, I was told many, many times that I would have troubles accomplishing things in school and in life. I could have easily believed these misnomers and given up, but my mother and some amazing teachers taught me otherwise. These hardships gave me the power to fight. I love when I am challenged that I can’t do something, and through hard work and perseverance, I accomplish my goal and prove people wrong. It makes me happy.
Pricing:
- MSRP: Kiki’s Crunchy Cheesy Potatoes 2 (80z) Microwaveable bowls – $12.50, 16 oz tray – $12.50 32 oz tray – $17.50 80 oz tray – $30.00
- MSRP: GaGa’s Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake – 15 oz round – $12.00
- MSRP: AMA’s Originals – $10.00
Contact Info:
- Website: www.obofoods.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/obofoods/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/obofds
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/obofds
