NAC:  What inspired the Treats Truck?

IMA: I've always loved baked goods and enjoyed baking, but then I somehow became became baking obsessed. I wasn't in the business, just baking for family and friends, and testing my recipes on people. But, without knowing it, I was really doing research on what would become my business! I started taking notes collecting menus, observing other entrepreneurs. Then, about six years ago, the idea for the Treats Truck just hit me. It sounded like the best thing in the world. Some vendors just stay in one spot always, but my concept was that I could reach lots of different people by being a mobile bakery. If the truck can move around, it can make friends all over the place.

NAC:  How did you find Sugar, and did he pretty much name himself? It's the perfect name for a bakery truck. 

IMA: I loved the idea of naming my trucks. I knew that I would start out with one truck and eventually have more. From the beginning, I knew I wanted each truck to have its own name and personality.

I've had people tell me that trucks, like boats, are supposed to be female. But Sugar is a boy. I love that idea that there's this truck and his name is Sugar. Pretty shortly I knew that he was a boy and the next truck would be his little sister. Her name will be Dot.

I did a lot of research on trucks, asked lots of people. I was looking for a used truck, and there are companies that sell used trucks, but I ended up buying Sugar on eBay! He wasn't set up like a bakery truck; he was just an empty delivery truck. And, it's funny, I was looking for a greener vehicle, some kind of hybrid or electric car. Of all things, for me to come up with a business centered around a truck, because I try not to pollute the air. It turns out that Sugar runs on Compressed Natural Gas.

NAC: What was the initial reaction from the public? 

IMA: People really liked it from the beginning. They just saw this truck pull up, with cookies, and what's not to like about that? It's quite an adventure. I've made so many friends, and it's so interesting parking in different neighborhoods. I have some great regular customers. It's fun for them, and it's fun for me too. One woman came up to me today and just handed me a dollar, didn't say a word. She didn't have to; I knew what she wanted!  It's what she always wants!  

NAC:  Where did your treat recipes come from?

IMA: They're all based on old fashioned recipes.  It was just testing, just changing little things here and there. I love oatmeal cookies so much, I love jam, so I thought, let's have oatmeal cookies with dollops of jam. I for two years was obsessed with baking good brownies. 

We did make chocolate chip cookies and brownies and oatmeal cookies when I was a kid, but these aren't family recipes. It's a mix of things I was used to growing up, but stuff from friends and their families too, that I put a spin on. The recipes come from memories, like what it's like to go over to someone's house when they're pulling cookies out of the oven. Growing up, you baked a tray of cookies and you played Scrabble.

I have what I call my standards that I always have on the truck, but I love having specials, so every day I have 2-6 specials. It's really fun. It can be seasonal or holiday treats, sometimes it's a customer suggestion. It's not like I'm reinventing the wheel, but it's just fun. I definitely like playing around. I'm not going to do something overly complicated, but it should be really yummy and fun. Today, I have Junior Cakes. It's almost a cupcake, but it's frosted all the way around. I also had Lemony Lemon cookies--frosted lemon cookies--and peanut butter sandwich cookies filled with chocolate. I had big sugar cookies that I frosted, called Sugar Dots. I do regular Rice Krispie treats, but also a flax seed and cranberry one. I do a Kitchen Sink Krispie, with all kinds of candy in it. It's the kind of thing a 6-year-old would want, but I find that a lot of business people want it too! It's an affordable indulgance. It's fun to stop by and get a cookie or a krispie treat.

NAC:  So what does your family think of the Treats Truck?

IMA: My parents are big fans of the Treats Truck, and they work for me when they're in town from California! They really enjoy it and they're very proud. If they lived near me, the Treats Truck would be a family business.

NAC: Any plans for more trucks?

IMA: Very soon, Dot, the little sister truck, will hit the road. The little sister. She's already in the works. I want to have two or three trucks and I want a retail bakery, a physical bakery where people can actually go, a cute little place where we can actually become part of a neighborhood.

NAC: What's YOUR favorite treat?

IMA: People ask me all the time, and my answer is honestly, I love treats. It's a rotating thing. Day to day week to week, I'm into something different. I'll be on a brownie kick for a while, but then it's oatmeal cookies. And then the next week it's rice krispie treats. I want to taste everything. One of my favorite things is sandwich cookies. I always have them. Today I had four different ones on the truck.

NAC: You are a great example of a person who grew a business from the roots--from a budding idea, all the way through fruition. What advice would you offer to other budding entrepreneurs?

IMA: One of my big pieces of advice is that there a number of entrepreneur groups you can join and it's great to put yourself in a place where other people are working on their own ideas, a place where you can get support and feedback. Then it becomes real. I joined Ladies who Launch, for women entrepreneurs. It's a national group, and I joined them while I was in my planning stages. And I joined another called SCORE; they're retired business people who become free business consultants.  Every single one I've met loves what he or she does. They love helping others. So, if you really have an an idea, look to see what groups are out there.

It is definitely not easy to start your own business, but because it is yours, there's a lot of pleasure and fulfillment.  It says a lot about you, what you end up creating.