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WHAT'S NEW
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How to quit your day job
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Explore the paths three women took to find a more fulfilling career.
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By Mary Teresa Bitti
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Up until she launched MJ's, Sarrasin had worked as a receptionist at Scotia Capital Markets, an investment banking firm. Food was her creative outlet. She loved entertaining and experimenting with new recipes and was famous among her friends and family for her flair in the kitchen. "I am passionate about cooking," says Sarrasin. "I have been my whole life."
It was one of her experiments that led to MJ's. One day in 1998 Sarrasin had been growing fresh rosemary on her balcony and decided to use it in a flatbread recipe. She didn't have enough of the type of flour the original recipe called for and substituted another. The rest, as they say, is history. "It turned out great." So great that a friend from work who was launching a gourmet grocery and knew of Sarrasin's culinary talent asked her if she had anything to sell. Soon, Sarrasin was supplying four specialty food stores in her neighbourhood. She was baking from 2:30 to 5:30 a.m., and then heading off to work at 8.
Finally, an investment banker at work suggested she take on a partner and expand. In January 2000 she incorporated MJs with her new business partner, Richard Bedford. This move was one of Sarrasin's best-learned lessons. "You can't do everything yourself," says Sarrasin. "It's really teamwork that drives forward the vision." They bought an industrial oven for $3,000 and installed it in Bedford's basement. But they weren't making a lot of money because there were not enough customers buying larger volumes. Then American chain Whole Foods Market came knocking in 2001. The high-end grocery store was preparing to launch in Canada and had come across Sarrasin's flatbreads at Longo's grocery stores, which had just begun carrying them. They arranged a meeting. Sarrasin wowed them with her sun-dried tomato offering, and Whole Foods started selling her products in their 17 stores in the Midwest. "That was the moment when I knew this could work," she says.
Business Basics
Have a passion you'd like to turn into a business? Get started online.
• The Canadian Bankers Association's booklet includes tips on getting started in small business. Visit canadabusiness.ca.
• Register your business with the government for $60 at businessregistration.gc.ca. Use the Canada Revenue Agency's site to get a GST number, required for revenues exceeding $30,000 per year.
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