Jan Newton

Guiding conversations with community leaders.

In this podcast, we'll explore the human journey of leaders. Their stories of humility, triumph, roadblocks and lessons learned. Come join us as we journey together and uncover the questions you've always wanted to know. This podcast is brought to you by the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, perhaps providing resources, connections and belonging for business professionals.

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We are back.

We are back. Sarah. We got another episode. What do we got going on today?

Today we have an amazing guest with us who I am very excited to just dive in and learn more about. She is a radio personality and voiceover artist who made the trans from beer to bundt cakes. Commanding presence in the community and the first to support so many causes. She's a wife, mom, stepmom and grandma and now recently a mother in law. Yes. We have Jan Newton with us today.

Hi, Jan. Hello.

Nice to be here. Welcome, welcome. I am so excited to do this. I've been listening to the podcast. They're wonderful. So entertaining. It's great to be here. You two are great hosts.

Well, thanks.

We have a really good team.

Thank you.

It's only great because we bring in great people like yourself, as we mentioned. So thanks for being here.

Absolutely.

Well, if you've been listening, you know, we start off with rapid fire round. Rapid fire round. Okay, here we go.

Your hobby of choice, Mahjong.

What?

It's a Chinese tile game that's very popular now. I do the Americanized version and it's great fun and it's a wonderful way to keep your brain just, you know, just functioning well.

Okay.

She's googling that right now.

I will.

All right.

Okay.

And trying to keep it rapid. Phone call or text message?

Text message.

Most annoying sound in the world.

Some people say Sarah's voice, but don't do that.

The alarm in my home that continues to go off.

Favorite thing about Gilbert.

Ooh, favorite thing. Nothing. Bundt cakes.

Good answer.

Thank you. Perfect answer. One day with any person, living or not, who would it be?

Jane Austen.

What song do you sing on karaoke night?

Believe by Cher.

How does that go? You wanna sing it for us?

You believe in life after love.

There we go.

That's not very good. That was great.

That was perfect.

Best vacation you can remember.

I am going to say the recent one to Ireland to see my daughter get married.

I feel like that was my best vacation I ever had. Watching through your social media posts. It was beautiful. Sorry.

Rapid talk Too much sharing, but sorry. Okay.

It's all good. This has changed a lot. So dine in or delivery?

Dine in a day with your best friend or a party with everyone you know?

Best friend, Last one.

Glass. Half empty or half full?

It depends on the day. Yeah, it depends on the day and the time and the second of the day.

Thank you. That was my answer.

And today it would be today it's half full.

Yes.

Love it. Yeah.

You had a good day? All right.

Mostly half full actually. Yeah.

Good.

Thank you. To Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport for their support.

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All right, so let's go back to this vacation you just took. Okay, give us the reason, tell us the story.

Okay. So our daughter was to be married last year with 250 guests. And of course that fell through because of COVID Covid. And so we went to Sonoma. She was married there in front of nine family members with her lovely husband who happens to be Irish. And so his family, they had plane tickets to come, they had everything ready to go and of course that fell through and so they were so, so disappointed. So we decided to take the wedd. We had a full blown wedding in Ireland in a very small town called Newbridge which is about 30 minutes outside of Dublin. And it was an experience that I will never forget. Just because having someone take you to a tour of their area, that they love their country, their city was just so inspiring and it meant so much more than just any vacation. And of course seeing Waverly and Michael married, it was just, just such a fabulous magical moment. And each one of them had nine. He had nine groomsmen and she had nine bridesmaids. And they all made the trip nice, which is really nice. Which shows the kind of person she is that she has such devoted friends. And she's the same way. She's just a great girl and I love her so much and it was a real tribute to them as a couple.

That's awesome. But that intimate tour from your now son in law would be amazing there, right?

Yeah, it was great. And his family was just terrific. They invited us to their home. We went to their favorite called Johnson's Pub, which again was another experience because as you probably know, the Irish have a reputation for liking to imbibe and they certainly do. And Guinness is. It flows like water there. So it was. Yeah, it was interesting. And Guinness tastes so much different in Ireland than it does here. It's just got this really rich, flavorful. I don't know what they do there, but it is fantastic. So, yeah, it was great. It was really fantastic.

I'm jealous. I want to go.

Can I say I absolutely love the name Waverly? What a beautiful name.

Thank you.

Yeah. For a beautiful girl.

Thank you. We got that when we were adopting her. Mark and I, my husband, were in Hawaii on vacation, and we had been notified that a little baby girl had been born in the southern tip of near the China Sea. And so we were waiting for her, and we were on vacation, and I said, what are we going to name her? So it was raining in Hawaii, so we went to a movie called the Joy Luck Club, written by Amy Tan. And one of the characters was Waverly. And I looked at my husband and said, that's her name. So that's how we named her.

That's cool. Jan, where'd you grow up? Where did things begin for you?

The Beehive State. Salt Lake City. I was born and raised there. Left there after I married my husband, but born and raised in Holiday, Utah, which is a suburb of Salt Lake.

Okay.

Siblings.

Siblings. I have an older brother, an older sister, and a younger brother. We all were children. We were all, like, separate children because we're all so far apart in age. So My brother is 14 years older than I. My sister is eight years older, and my brother is five years younger. So we all had kind of our share of attention, which was nice. Yeah.

Independent journeys. No overlap there. Well, lessons learned, I'm sure, for your parents. Talk about your parents and the influence they had on your beginnings and how that influences you today.

My parents were remarkable people. They both. You know, I really. Look at this. I call it, for me, postmenopausal creation. Okay. But both of my parents were hard workers, just, you know, just before their time. I mean, they just did things that just still amaze me. My mother received her bachelor's degree in fine art from the University of Utah at the age of 70. My father, at the age of 75, started his own big band in Palm Springs. So they kind of never stopped. And that's something that I think I've inherited from them. And it's, you know, it's something that I treasure. My parents were divorced when I was 8, and so we had. You know, there's some upheaval in the family there, and it was a very difficult time for. And one that took a lot of time for me to get over and to come to grips with and also, you know, to be Frank. My trust in men was kind of shattered. My dad left us for a waitress who worked down the street from his. He owned a lumber company. And so he left. You know, he left with her and married her. And so it was something that was very painful for me. And I think out of all the children, I took it the hardest. So I've had to come to grips with that. And I've married a man that I trust implicitly. He is amazing. And he kind of, you know, he took me out of the therapy mode that you need therapy into just trusting men, because there are lots of good people out there and he's definitely one of them.

That's awesome.

So speaking of good people, you talked a little bit about a teacher who had a great influence on you growing up. Mrs. Weber.

Yes, yes. She was so cute. And I don't think she was even. She was probably like just out of school when she was my sixth grade teacher. And she was. I had moved around a lot because my mother always thought that the grass was greener. So she would pick really good schools with great school districts, with great schools, and so she would move us around. And so I went to eight different elementary schools. And it became, you know, in one year, I think I went to two or three different schools. And so I would go in just fresh, not knowing anyone. And actually a funny story here is that when I was in fourth grade, I actually married one of the people who was in my fourth grade class. And I couldn't even remember who he was. He said, do you remember me? We went on a date. I was in your fourth grade class. I'm like, who in the heck are you?

Well, at least you were memorable.

But I had to be memorable because, you know, I had to go in and I had to be this really funny, you know, be over the top kind of person to make people like me instantly rather than just cowering the corner. So Ms. Weber, I think she kind of hooked into that and she encouraged me to. She knew I loved to write, so she encouraged me to write a play. And so I said, okay, I'll do it. So I wrote a full blown play. I had like 15 people and, you know, actors. And so we. I produced it, I directed it, I auditioned everybody, and then she had me present it for the entire fifth and sixth grade. And it changed my life. It made me realize that I had worth and she was such a fabulous person. And then a few years ago, I decided to reach out to her to say thank you for always being a part of my heart. Always. And she. I had learned she had passed away from breast cancer, but, boy, she was amazing. And she has really inspired me to give back in that way to young women. And I think I do that, hopefully through my business. I interviewed with a young woman who left us to. She's attending school now. She contacted me, contacted me to do an interview, and she told me how much it meant to her to work at Nothing Bundt Cakes and to have me inspire her. And I just. Wow. It just all comes back to you. So I think it's so important that we provide young women and men with positive, strong mentors.

Yeah. I have to share. When I was a child, I switched elementary schools every year, sometimes twice. And I swore I would never do that to my kids. The only thing that I wanted for them was to stay in the same school. And then, you know, I have my first son, and we switched him three times. So it causes you to be able to build relationships quickly and just build confidence in yourself and being who you are and connecting with others. But it's certainly not without its challenges.

It is. And Sarah, I agree, because. Do I look back at it as being detrimental? No, I actually look at it as a real building, you know, experience for me, that I've built character. And I'm not afraid of change. Let me tell you that. I just. I can go into things, and I just. It doesn't. Nothing phases me, really, when it comes to change. I can still move, I can do whatever. And I actually. I welcome that. I'm not. I don't shy away from that. And I think more kids need to learn that as well. So I agree with you.

And talk about change. I mean, you started a career in broadcasting, and then you stayed home and raised your daughter and then went on this whole entrepreneurial journey.

I did. It's that post menopausal thing, I'm telling you. Yeah. So when Waverty was going to graduate from high school, I was like, oh, my God. I went into therapy and I'm like, going to this woman. I'm losing my mind. My baby's leaving. And she goes, I hear you. I don't even know what to tell you, because I'm in the same boat, you know, I'm like, okay, well, I'm not paying you. I'm just gonna do. So I saw on Facebook a woman who said, I'm looking for a partner to start a business. So I had met her at a divorce party, which is a weird thing. Heard somebody else that we knew, and so I contacted her And I said, yeah, I'd like to meet with you. So she said, I have this idea. And what she had, she had a daycare center for people who. Parents would bring their kids in and they would get work done while they were there. And then the kids would play, and they'd have coffee and, you know, donuts and stuff. And she said, I want to take this, and I want to do a craft beer bar. And I'm like, I'm in. Okay, let's do it. So we started this together, and we took. We bought furniture from auctions. We reupholstered everything ourselves. We restained everything. We went to stores and bought cool lighting, and we did the bathrooms really nice for the women and just really cool. And we were a success from day one. And it was amazing. It was just an amazing experience for me. And that kind of got me started into knowing that we're all capable of doing things. We don't think we can do that. If you want it badly enough and you have passion for something, you can do it. So it was a really good experience for me. Before nothing. Bundt cakes.

So that experience, was that your first business adventure then?

Yes.

Okay, so where'd you learn your business chops before then? Because people jump into businesses all the time, and some are successful, some are not. Did you learn on the go, or did you get some mentors in that process or. I'm digging into that to kind of understand how you got.

Yeah, I. It just is something that just. It fit for me, and I'm not really quite sure why, but I loved, you know, I love craft beer, and I like good food, and that's what we offered, and a really warm, welcoming environment. And, you know, I just learned as I went. I learned how to work with distributors and how to order beer and how to taste beer and all of the. And how to get a business license. And, you know, one of the things I had to do was put the POS system, the point of sale system, together prior to us opening at 5:00'. Clock. And my partner said, hey, you know what? You got to get this done. And I'm looking at this POS system, and there are all these wires around, and, like, I'm thinking to myself, I cannot do this. And then I said, I have to do this.

Failure is not an option right now.

Exactly. And I called up the company and I said, you got to walk me through this, and you got to do it fast because we're opening at 5 o'. Clock. And I did it. And that's One of the things, actually, I look back in my life is one of the greatest experiences I've ever had in my. The greatest successes is putting together that damn pos. Cause it was like, do I do it now? No, I have someone who does that for me. But you have to do it. And when you're forced to do something, you have to come to the table.

Sometimes you gotta eat those frogs, don't you?

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah.

So you went from craft beer, and then somehow we got to nothing. Bundt cakes. How does that work?

Well, I said to my husband, we were living in Seattle, and I said, I can't stand another day here, so bye. And not literally.

He came with you?

Well, he kind of did. He actually had a business up there. And so he said, okay, I love you, so I'll commute. And so I said, I'm going back to Arizona. So away I went, and he got an apartment in downtown Seattle, and I came here, and then he would commute every week, which you got, you know, God love him for doing that. And I came here and I thought, okay, now what am I going to do? Okay, I can golf. I can do. What am I going to do? And at this point, Waverly was now graduating from college. There's my other okay. So I'm like, okay. So I went to a party, and this woman at the party had a lemon nothing bundt cake. So I'm like a. I don't like bundt cake. I don't like cake. I didn't know if I liked bundt cake. I don't like cake. And second, who would name a company Nothing Bundt Cakes? That is, like, the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Probably get fired for that. But anyway, they can't fire me. I'm the owner. So I tasted this cake, and I was blown away by this cake. And I couldn't stop thinking about it because it's kind of one of those things you start obsessing about when you taste their cake. Taste our cake. So I tasted the cake, and I looked it up, and I ran down to Scottsdale, walked in the store, and I said, it's me. This is so adorable. I love it. I could do this. Cute gifts. The merchandise was darling. The people were so friendly and welcoming. Smelled good. And I reached out, and here I am today. And the end. But not the end.

Not the end.

So the moral of the story is, if you want to go in business with Jan, you go to a party and serve something.

Yeah, there you go.

Any kind of party. Divorce party. Any party.

Absolutely, Absolutely.

I mean, the store has taken off incredibly. I mean, from an outsider's perspective, you opened the doors and it was an instant success. Do you feel that way?

I do. But, you know, we start. I have to. I have to really give kudos to the Gilbert Chamber because the first thing I did was reach out to my chambers of commerce, so to Gilbert and to Mesa. And the very first event I did, I was back training in Dallas with my manager, Sean. We had to go back for a month to learn how to run a nothing Bundt cakes. And you were having an event, and I made my husband go to the event and serve bundt cakes. And so we started early. This was like months before we had even opened the doors. So we started early with marketing and getting our name out there and taking cakes all over the place, trying to let people taste how they fabulous our cakes are. So it took work. But yeah, I think as a result of that and as a result of all the hard work we put in that first year, which I have to admit was kind of grueling because we did so many events. We were out in the community every single day, reaching out, and that has paid off for us, but it has also given all of us at nothing. Bundt cakes. Our has completed our mission of serving others, of giving back to the community. And it's so fulfilling. And again, I have my staff share with me. Gosh, Jan, you know, it's so great for you to tell us where this cake is going, because I'll say, you know, it's going to Page Commons and Gilbert today. It's going to serve the seniors there who are having birthdays and it means so much to them. Instead of just baking a cake, I make sure that they're aware of wherever our cake is going and it's being served on tables and at Christmas time and on anniversaries and birthdays and at, you know, celebrations of life. So it's really amazing the power that this cake has.

Yeah, it's almost an act of love. So I remember in Covid. Well, first of all, I'm gonna back up and say I remember specifically that first event that your husband was at was the Gilbert Community Excellence Awards.

Yes.

And I remember seeing your table. I actually remember another vendor coming up and saying, what is this name?

Who are they?

Right.

Did you eat the cake?

I did, yeah.

And were you hooked?

Absolutely.

See, the wisdom of that idea is right there. Cause that's what got you. You tried it and you're like, so that's Amazing.

Exactly.

But I remember during COVID it was the first time that our family couldn't do Easter together. And so I went to the store and I got bundt cakes for everybody in the family and we went door to door and we dropped off the bundt cakes and just. It was like our way of being together. It is so. I love that you tell your staff where it's going and the meaning of it. And I have to say, you do so much for the community. It is no exaggeration that you are everywhere supporting the community as often as you can. I don't know a non profit that doesn't at least ask. So you do amazing work. Thank you. And thank you. I think that is such a key to the brand that you have built so quickly here.

Thank you. I'm going to dig into that. That's not something as a business operator that is great for the bottom line.

Right.

But you have to intrinsically have to have that in you. So where does that come from for you to be so giving? Where does that come from? It's gotta come somewhere, right? Everything happens for a reason. We're inspired by others. Talk about that.

That is such a great point, a great question. You know, I really don't think of it that way and I guess I should, but. Yeah, it's. We don't say no. We always try and give back. I guess I have a difficult time saying no, but. No, I. I guess. Oh, that's a really. That's a very good one. Let me dig into my brain about that because I guess when you come from a life that was challenging in so many ways financially and you know, as a child, when you are looking for all the love you can get and all this support and just kindness that you can get, that giving to others is just something that comes naturally, I guess. And you know, I tell other owners that I know it might hurt, but don't say no. Do it because you get into that situation or that position in the community where you're relied upon and you are looked upon as being someone who gives back. And again, it's fulfilling not only for you, but for your entire team. And it's really necessary. So it's just something we do and no one ever questions it. You know, my manager, the first few months we were open, we had 19 different events and he never questioned my staff, never questioned me. We just went out and did it. And that's who we are. And we're not going to change. So it's a great feeling.

That's good.

Well. And I think you attract people who then want to support you from a customer standpoint, but also from an employee standpoint. You have a great team. Sean's a good example of his dedication to you and your dedication to him, too.

Yeah, he's a great guy. And, you know, he is now my equity partner. He started off as my manager and he's never been there for me or for the staff. And he's amazing. And I just felt it was time and it was appropriate to give him part of the business. And now we're going to be opening in Queen Creek and he will also be my partner there. So it's just a great combination of skills put together.

Not only Queen Creek.

Yeah, I've got two in California. We're not going to talk about that. California is its own thing.

Yes, it is.

But yeah, we're. You know, California is an interesting state for sure. And my daughter runs those she used to work for as a regional sale, a regional support manager for nothing Bundt Cakes. They recruited her from Kendra Scott. She was in marketing with Kendra Scott, the jewelry company. They recruited her there and then she said, you know, I really just want to own a nothing Bundt cake. So that's what she's doing. And she's doing a great job. Even though there are challenges there. There are challenges with hiring and, you know, minimum wage requirements. There's challenges, but she's doing a fabulous job.

She'll be just fine. I know her mama.

Oh, thank you. She's a great girl.

Business owners often like to find out from other business owners where they find their inspiration. Where do they look for advice and guidance. How about you?

I look at other members of the business community here. We are so blessed in Gilbert and Mesa to have just incredible business owners with outstanding acumen and just so dedicated to the community and to their places of employment and their businesses. And I look to them. I like to listen. I love my chambers. I get so much from the chambers and what they give back. And I know with Sarah, there's always something in my email box from Sarah telling us what's going on. Especially like during COVID It was so helpful just to know what was going on and where we could turn to for some type of assistance or guidance. So that's always so great.

You gotta be careful. Those headphones are gonna not fit her.

He doesn't read his emails from me.

You know, but I look at your company here and just. It is so inspiring. And it's the first time I came in here. It Was one of those wow moments where you walk around going, wow, this is incredible. And it's people like you that just inspire me every day and make me be better. And plus, I'm a little bit competitive, so that is also a thing. You have to be, I think, a little bit competitive. If you're a business owner, you have to kind of feel that and you have to play with that and you have to kind of tone it down sometimes, but, man, is it. Can it be at the forefront sometimes, But I think a lot of times you have to push it down a little bit.

It's a good driver, isn't it?

It is a good driver, yeah. For sure. Yeah.

Competitive with yourself.

Yeah, yeah.

Winning bakery three times in a row.

Bakery of the year.

Bakery of the year. Sorry, Bakery of the year. How do you go about doing that?

And will there be a fourth?

I don't think there's going to. We didn't actually think there'd be a second or third. We were stun. And they look at various things. They look at your sales, they look at your guest service scores, which I have to say, nothing but cakes as a brand as a whole, we have now surpassed Chick Fil A as being the number one guest service.

That says a lot right there, actually.

It's pretty amazing. We have just fantastic training protocol for our team members. So that. And then they look at just your overall sales growth, so. And also how you perform in the community, how you give back to the community. So it was kind of amazing, actually, and humbling. And Sean and I actually fought for that last award. Who was going to get to take it home? And no, I handed it to him. But it was incredible. It was an incredible moment, I have to say, and one of the highlights of my life. Yeah.

Well, when you get the four, Sean just needs to know now. It's coming to you.

Thank you.

All right, that's just going to lead to the next question, which is where is it going next? What's next for you?

Well, we've got Queen Creek coming up. We may have a shot at another location, another territory. Who knows? Pardon me, but my husband is just at the point of retiring and so I would like to continue to do this as long as he'll put up with it and then be. When the time comes, I'm going to hand over the baton to Sean and go golf. Hand it over to Sean and to Waverly and to our team, to Kristen, our manager, and to Megan, our managers in Gilbert. And we're going to let them run with the legacy of Nothing Bundt Cakes, because they deserve it. And I feel that when the time is here, I'll know it and I'll take the plunge and move on.

That's awesome.

But you'll never say goodbye to me because I'll always be around.

I appreciate that.

So my final question, bit of advice. What advice would you have to other business owners out there to establish this acumen that you've created? Right. We all desire to have that presence of being known in the community and have a great culture, have a great team. There's wisdom inside those walls here that you could probably share. What would that be?

I would say approach. Whatever you do, you have to have passion for it. So my good friend Michael Jackson owns a couple of Meineke stores. Meineke would never really appeal to me. Not that I couldn't do it, Michael, but challenge, challenge. But, you know, I have passion. I have passion for Nothing Bundt Cakes. Not only for the product, but as a brand. You know, we just. One of my guest service reps who just graduated from high school was awarded the Sunflower Scholarship from nothing bundt cakes, $5,000 for her to attend a community college. It's a brand like that that I want to be associated with.

Absolutely.

And I have passion for things like that. So I think, first of all, it's to do something that you really want to do. There's a fabulous book out called the Wealthy Franchisee. I've actually met the author. It's fantastic. And he talks about what you need to do to go into business and have a successful franchise. And that's the other thing, is that I've been an entrepreneur myself, and I been a franchise owner. I love them both, but for different reasons. So look at. Don't be afraid. You know, I go out to high schools and through the Gilbert Chamber, I speak at high schools. And I'll say to kids, how many of you want to be. What do you want to be in the first? I want to be an NBA basketball player.

Okay.

All right, fine. How many of you want to own a franchise? And not one person will raise their hand because they don't know what it is.

Right.

There are so many great opportunities for people who own franchises. And, you know, the women who started Nothing Bundt Cakes, they started in their home kitchen in 1997. One did one part of it, the other did the other. And that's how it blossomed. And it allowed me to become a business owner to be part of that. So I think franchises are sometimes given a bad rap that oh, they didn't start it, and they're not local. Well, I'm as local as you can get. I. You know, I'm out there, and I. I love my communities. I love the East Valley. So I think that's. That's another thing is don't be afraid to kind of think out of the box. You don't have to start your own business. I did that. It was fun. But now I'm in my. The place that I've looked for for a long time. Yeah.

You're not wrong. There are a lot of opportunities out there in the franchise world. You just got to find what you're passionate about, and I think that's what you've done is found your passion.

Right.

Just from that one case.

Just from one lemon bundt cake.

Yeah.

Jan, thank you.

Thank you.

You set an amazing example in our community. You are just someone who people can look up to. It doesn't have to be. It could be a leader at a major organization and they have something to learn from you and the incredible things that you do to support our community, support other leaders, and to lead with confidence. So I'm grateful for your investment in Gilbert and for your support in the Gilbert Chamber, and I just appreciate you.

And I appreciate both of you, and thank you so much for having me today. It means a lot.

Yep. Thanks for being here. So if you like this episode and want to hear some more, please subscribe. Please subscribe and join our tribe. And of course, get these in your box when we send them out. So that's all you got to do. Just subscribe, right?

Absolutely.

All right, guys, thanks for being here. Guiding conversations with community leaders.

Ben, let me ask you a question. How do you see other community members being involved in this podcast?

This is going to be a great opportunity for so many people in the community to have a chance to. To be heard if they want to tell their story or if they just want to be part of this journey with us and help sponsor in a way that helps bring more people to the table with us. So I think there's many opportunities at hand, whether you want to again, be on the show, reach out to us, let us know what your story is and how you think you could be part of it. We'd love to hear from you. Reach out, let us know, and we'll see if we can make that connection.