Embracing Seasonality with Audra Query of Girl Meets Dirt
Discover the inspiring story of Audra Query, founder of Girl Meets Dirt, who transitioned from a Wall Street career to building a seasonally rooted, award-winning preserves business on Orcas Island. This episode explores her journey of intentional living, embracing seasonality, and balancing entrepreneurial ambitions with a meaningful lifestyle. We talk about the benefits of doing things the hard way, the challenges of running a business on an island, and resisting the pressure to scale. Enjoy!
Takeaways
Audra's transition from a Wall Street career to rural entrepreneurship
The importance of seasonality and place in food business storytelling
How her upbringing and background shaped her values and business approach
Challenges of building a business on a small island and strategies for resilience
Balancing motherhood, personal values, and business growth
The role of intuition, openness, and serendipity in entrepreneurial success
Future aspirations: scaling versus maintaining mission-driven quality
Lessons learned from market research, community support, and mindful scaling
The significance of storytelling, terroir, and authenticity in premium food brands
Insights for entrepreneurs seeking to create resilient, meaningful businesses
Sound Bites
“I had what I call an accidental career on Wall Street that lasted for 10 years.”
“I looked at [my mentor] and despite my admiration I said, I don't want that life.”
"There's no such thing as work-life balance. There's a pendulum, and it swings."
“I needed to carve a path for myself that accommodated my values.”
“He actually said, how about the islands? Why don't we move there? I was like, yes, but who are you and what did you do with my husband?”
“I see this lovely little fence garden and six garden beds and the wheels start turning
“The origins of Girl Meets Dirt was my personal story and journey of getting my hands dirty and teaching myself how to grow things. It started with seeds and vegetables, which I then started preserving. Then one fruit tree yielded 150 pounds of plums and things changed.”
“I'm a storyteller, a writer. That's where my real heart and soul is. And I thought, there's a really special story to tell here about terroir and rootedness and seasonality and sense of place.”
“We're still doing things the hard way, you know, making things in six copper pots on an island and each jar ships via the ferry. It's very difficult to run a business on this island.”
"Part of our operational strategy is in harvest we take in all the fruit and then we prep and freeze it. Then we can cook off throughout the year so that we're busy, and we can also respond better to demand.”
“I think it's challenging for us though as a CPG brand and the expectations to scale. I know how to do it, but I've resisted it this whole time because I want to see how far I can get doing it the way that I'm doing it, which is highly attuned to my mission and my morals.”
“Keep doing the same thing, that one thing until you cannot possibly do it any better.”
“If I start to think it doesn't seem possible, I'm actually drawn to it even more.”
