ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Baker Erinn Roth is hoping that the new year will bring good news for her small business.
"Baking is a labor of love... It's not even a labor of love, it's love," Roth said.
It was out of love for her mom that Roth turned that labor into a career. Right before she retired from the Army in 2015, she told her mom she wanted to start baking.
"She was like, 'Well sweetie, whatever you decide to do I know you'll be successful," Roth said.
Weeks later, her mom passed away suddenly, and she went through a dark time. Then she realized her mom would tell her to get up and start the business.
"I named it Ms. Jo's after my mom, who was a force to be reckoned with," Roth said. Erinn has proven to take after her mom.
"The pandemic adversely affected my business and I almost quit," Roth said. "But this is my mom's name, so that means a lot more than anything, and she wouldn't quit. Ironically, we did a little bit better toward the end of the year than we did the previous year."
Recently, she won a contract to set up a cafe at PenFed's building in Tysons Corner, Virginia.
She said she was surprised by the news.
"Girl, I almost wrecked my car," Roth said with a laugh.
Fiserv, a financial technology company that's been handing out grants to minority business owners, gave Roth a $10,000 one.
It's a sweet, fresh start to 2022 for Roth and Ms. Jo.
For more information on Ms. Jo's Petite Sweets, click here.