Meet Holly Nichols of Chapel Hill, TN

Today we’d like to introduce you to Holly Nichols

Hi Holly, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I originally started Homemade By Holly after being encouraged by a dear friend to find a hobby that brings me joy and start my own little side hustle with it – she knew I loved giving my loaves away to others but also made me believe people would pay for that, as well, knowing that we had a lot of little people to support within the walls of our home!

I have my RN, BSN and had worked in a hospital setting since 2013, however, this is just not the season for that for my family and I. My ability to be home also means our ability to homeschool and foster (we have been fostering since 2018 and have had 40+ kiddos in our home over the years from ages newborn to aging out at 18), and those things are definitely what the Lord has called us to in this chapter of our lives. I have also become incredibly passionate over recent years on food quality and our family’s health and wellbeing when it comes to ingredients, and have been so discouraged at what has become acceptable to produce and consume in America.

So in 2022, this friend and I came up with my logo and business name, my husband was fully on board and excited for me, and this organic sourdough breads and goodies business with high quality ingredients was officially born!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Time management.
I am an incredibly busy mom of 6 currently (3 biological children, 2 adopted children, and 1 foster child), and I currently homeschooling 5 of them, as well! While this business allows me to stay home with them (a gift that I will never be able to express my appreciation for enough), it’s taken a good bit of time to “find our rhythm” and figure out how to divide up my time and energy adequately.

Growth.
A BEAUTIFUL blessing, but also a challenge that I prayed for! Major growth this past year has meant grinding incredibly hard with lots of 12 hr+ prep days/bake days which has equated to very early mornings and very late nights. It has also meant investing in bigger equipment to be able to bulk prep and bake at higher capacities! This year has been a lot of financial and personal investment into Homemade By Holly – but all incredibly worth it.

Sourdough Craze
It seems like almost every other day there is a new “microbakery” popping up around me in this area. Naturally, this produces competition in this arena. However, it is very encouraging to me to get to witness so many people going back to the basics of what bread should be and has always been, besides what has been widely promoted and distributed in your average grocery store that is filled with preservatives and additives. The art of sourdough is proving time and time again to be just that – art – that is capable of bringing so much joy and fulfillment. I always remember that regardless of how many others may be doing this business around me, or how similar some things may seem to be, only I can do what I do and that is what makes Homemade By Holly special and unique.

How do you define success?
To me, I feel like I have succeeded in bringing joy to others, and nothing makes me happier. It’s the main reason I started baking for others. I yearn for others to be in community with one another, especially in such divisive times, and I cannot tell you how many times people’s paths have crossed due to this sourdough business. What a blessing it has been to get to be a tiny part of it and experience it!

I have also been able to use my social media as a small platform for something that my family and I are incredibly passionate about – foster care. I have had more conversations than I can count through my business with people interested in learning more about becoming Foster Parents or just about this Nation’s foster care crisis in general and how we can ALL step up and do something to help.

I also spent months working on a Gluten Friendly Sourdough Starter and making my own recipe for a Gluten Friendly Sourdough Boule. I didn’t want people to pay for a product that felt like settling – and when my husband and I tried our first bite of my first long-awaited attempt at this GF recipe, I literally teared up in gratitude for how it tasted. I have so many customers who have not been able to eat bread for a very long time and they are now able to again!! That is a HUGE win in my book! Life is too short to not enjoy some healthy carbs 😉

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hotplate.com/homemadebyholly
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homemade__by__holly/profilecard/?igsh=c3o5aGtwOHo4anl4
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550626531095&mibextid=LQQJ4d