In the past, business – starting one, running one, etc. – was left up to men. That has now changed. With more and more women starting, running, and succeeding in business every year, ladies are taking charge and achieving their own goals.

Kirby Galli founded and runs Friandise Pastries, a Los-Angeles-based bakery that creates everything from tiny treats to massive wedding cakes. Zooey asked her some questions on what it took and what it’s like to start her own bakery.

Her bakery:
What sets us apart is our unique flavor combinations and attention to detail. We love to use classic American favorites and remake them into highbrow desserts. A good example of this is our twist on lemon meringue; we take a lime cupcake, fill it with passion fruit curd and top it with billowing meringue. Yum! Or our newest addition, the maple bacon pecan cookie, [which is] breakfast and dessert in a cookie, is incredibly addictive!

Her beginnings as a baker:
I remember always helping my mom in the kitchen, whether it was frosting a cake or cupcakes…or cutting out sugar cookies for Christmas, I was there next to her. I remember my sister and [I] used to make our very own chocolate peanut butter cups out of the microwave, I must have been about 9 years old. They were so delicious! When I was about 11 or 12 I made a pumpkin pie and decorated it with fall leaves from the crust scraps and my great aunt still talks about it to this day.

Culinary school – every chef’s dream:
Culinary school was such a blast, though I took it and myself a bit too seriously. It was a lot of hard work, surprisingly. We had a lot of homework and had to make these binders that contained all of our notes, recipes, and tests… they’d be about 300 pages and we had one due every 6 weeks! I remember all the late nights filling page protectors and those silly binders. For my externship, I got to stay at the school along with a few other students and test the recipes for the new pastry program that was going to be starting a few months after I graduated. It was so awesome to be able to basically do that program for free. It also taught me how to look at recipes and know when something isn’t quite right – problem solving skills at their best.

Working at The Jonathan Club and the Chateau Marmont:
Working at The Jonathan Club was definitely an experience! I was just out of culinary school and stepped into the holiday season. We did many banquets there and I really got a feel for production-style baking. We did hundreds of crèmes brulees, mousses, and cakes. It was so much fun; I knew then that I definitely went into the right field. Chateau Marmont was my next job and it was definitely different. It is a boutique hotel that is a sister hotel to the standard. So, we got to do extremely high-class plated desserts for chateau and then fun funky diner-type desserts for the standard. Very soon after working there, I was promoted to pastry sous chef and got to create recipes and do ordering and inventory. I loved the responsibility. Also, while I was working there my boss, Malika Ameen, was named Pastry Chef of the Year by LA magazine and we got to go to NYC to cook a dinner at the James Beard house. It was such an accomplishment and she knew she couldn’t have done it without her sous chef and pastry cooks.

Getting through the recession and tough times:
When the recession hit, we had just expanded to a massive retail space with way too much overhead. We kept it going as long as we could, but something just wasn’t working. We decided to close the doors at our beloved bakery and move into a small commercial kitchen and concentrate on our wholesale business. I never thought I’d be doing what I’m doing, but I love it, the security, and all of my wonderful daily customers. Because we were able to adapt and scale back our production, we are thriving and working on building our retail business again. We’re doing this through pop up boutiques, farmers markets, etc.

On sacrifices in running a business:
I think the biggest sacrifice that is necessary to thrive is your personal time. We (my mom, super bookkeeper, and I) have spent many nights in the bakery, long after the staff has left to finish our orders. [As for] my poor husband and stepson, I’m so lucky that they are so understanding and wonderful. I also spend most of my days off, if I get them, writing emails and seeking out new potential customers or designing wedding cakes… I think I’m obsessed.

On male-run businesses vs. female-run culinary businesses:
I don’t particularly think there’s a big difference between male- and female-run culinary businesses, per se. I have worked for male pastry chefs and female pastry chefs, and my experiences have both been pretty similar. I think all chefs are artists in their own way, so we’re all a little crazy! [However,] working with women (my company is 85% women) is such a blast and we understand how each other think. I encourage more women to get out there and kick some serious culinary butt! Of course, this is just based on my opinions and my own experiences.

Tips for aspiring chefs, bakers, and entrepreneurs:
I would like to tell all aspiring chefs and bakers that they need to make sure that this is their one true passion. This job is incredibly difficult, especially for women, and I’ve seen too many people break down because the pressure is just too much. I love my job and what I do and I wouldn’t change it for the world, but I think my knees will be out by the time I’m 40. As far as aspiring entrepreneurs, I suggest doing research, and then researching your research. And it’s especially important to know that you will be investing much more than money into your company. You are investing your soul and livelihood, so you need to make sure this is truly what you want to be doing.