CREATIVES: Entrepreneur to Watch – Katherine Frankstone of Columbia, SC

Katherine Frankstone of Grey Ghost Bakery is a friend in the Southern Coterie. She has attended several of our Summits and shared her incredible cookies. We all have a favorite cookie. Mine is Molasses Spice, think fabulous melt in your mouth ginger cookie…wow! Her cookies are family recipes made-from-scratch with all the best ingredients and it is reflected in her scrumptious final product.

I respect her so much for going for her dreams. This is not her first career but it is her passion and she is in the process of moving the business to Charleston so Katherine is not afraid of change and growing. She has numerous exciting collaborations in the works. Her branding and marketing are incredible. She is going for it! Watching her scale-up her business has been the real treat for a fellow entrepreneur like me.

We asked Katherine to share some of her entrepreneurial spirit here–

Inspiration:

My biggest inspiration is seeing the pleasure and joy that our cookies bring to people. Life can be busy and complicated and our cookies remind people of a simpler time.

Theme Song:

Happy by Pharell Williams. The beat and the lyrics can’t help but get you moving, physically and mentally!

Fave book or author:

As crazy as it may sound, one of my favorite books is The Little Engine That Could; it’s a great message for life that has sustained me in lots of situations. I also love Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose for the way it transports you to the rugged American Frontier in the 19th century.

Favorite charity:

EdVenture Children’s Museum in Columbia, SC. EdVenture was a labor of love for a group of committed volunteers and has grown to be the largest Children’s Museum in the Southeast. It is a phenomenal resource for the children and families of South Carolina, and teaches us all that education can be fun. Not only is EdVenture a fantastic place to visit, the Museum’s outreach programs promote the value of hands-on education to children, families and educators statewide.

#1 skill/attribute needed to be an entrepreneur:

Perseverance and a openness to opportunities are key attributes for anyone starting her own business. Also, a willingness to work hard and to try something without any guarantee of success.

Role model:

My grandfather co-founded an insurance company in the midst of the Great Depression because he and his partner envisioned a better business model. My grandparents were willing to risk everything because they believed in themselves and their idea, despite having young children and being in a very tough economic environment. Through lots of hard work, the company eventually became very successful, yet my grandparents remained humble and true to themselves.

Favorite social media:

Facebook

Favorite quote:

“Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.” The Dalai Lama

Interesting tidbit about you or your business:

I actually thought about becoming a pastry chef right out of college, and worked for a pastry chef in a restaurant for a few months immediately after graduation. At the time, I knew the restaurant business was too chaotic for me so I went to work for a bank and a nonprofit, and had children and did a variety of other things along the way. Starting Grey Ghost Bakery has been like coming full circle back to what I should have been doing all along, but I needed thirty years of life experience before I was ready to take this leap.

Enjoy a recent post we did on Grey Ghost Bakery as a sponsor of our upcoming #tscsummit, here.

Katherine Frankstone • Owner and Chief Baker
803.254.1515
www.greyghostbakery.com

The Southern Coterie is a social network (tscoterie.wpengine.com) with events (thesoutherncsummit.com) that connect influencers, entrepreneurs and marketing professionals with an affinity for the South.

Enjoy this series where we introduce you to Southern creatives we find inspiring-

• Nan Myers, Jay Ducote and Jane Pope Cooper
• TJ Callaway, Natalie Evans and Javacia Bowser
• Marquin Campbell
• Putt Weatherbee
• Jamie Meares
• Molly Jane Gravitt
• Ursula Reynolds
• Claire Bruce
• Ashley Schoenith
• Hillary Crittendon and Laura Martin
• Sarah Almond
• Louise Van Winkle Breen, Carrie Van Winkle Greener & Chenault Van Winkle James
• Tracy Blanchard

CHERI HARDEN LEAVY

Co-Founder of The Southern Coterie

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