Growing up in the Midwest, Emily Burney dreamed of opening a bakery in a small mountain town.
After moving to Park City, Utah, for a ski patrol job in 2010, she edged closer to realizing that dream, taking summer stints at several bakeries before building one of her own.
Today, her business, Auntie Em’s Baked Goods, is known for its delicious pies, cookies, quick breads and scones.
Here, Burney shares how she pursued her passion for baking and bringing joy to others, while taking a careful and methodical approach to entrepreneurship.
How did your journey to small business ownership begin?
My whole life I dreamed of opening a bakery in a small western town but there was no roadmap for that. My parents were the generation where you went to college and got a white-collar job. I always rejected that path. I moved to Park City in 2010 for a job in ski patrol. My plan was to do this for a couple years and then go back to the Midwest.
One day I told a friend about my aspiration to open a bakery in a small mountain town, and he suggested I go work at the bakery in Stanley, Idaho. I worked there for a summer but had fallen in love with a man in Park City, so I came back here and got a job at Deer Valley Bakery the following summer. I loved the expression, creation and fulfilment of an idea into a product — particularly a product that would fill people with so much joy.
In 2014, I started selling cookies at the Park City Farmers Market one day per week. The next summer, it was three days a week, and I also started selling pies along with the cookies, sourcing the fruit from local vendors.
The following summer I began to take on wholesale accounts with local brands. The business very steadily grew from there. We opened our own storefront in 2023 on Kearns Boulevard where we have a 900-square-foot space.
What do you want people to know about your small business?
Auntie Em’s Baked Goods is very much a labor of love, from the love we put into the products we make to the exchange of joy from person to person, and from baker to customer. It was started on a dream and realized through a lot of tiny baby steps. It still feels like a bit of a dream.
We have an unwavering commitment to quality and consistency, both in the products we make and in the service we provide. I’m not a huge risk taker; all my decisions were very methodical. I think there’s this expectation that as an entrepreneur you’re fearless and jumping into new situations. I’m the opposite: I’ve tiptoed into the shallow end of the pool and gone deeper from there.
Since graduating from college during the financial crisis of 2008, I learned to live on very little income a year. I have never been motivated by money and I don’t let my desire for money inform much of what we do. Decisions are made based on retaining integrity and spreading joy.
What advice do you have for aspiring small business owners?
The challenge with entrepreneurship is that there is no roadmap. No two paths are the same. You can have mentors, but when you’re leading a business, it’s you who is steering the ship. This is both thrilling and enlivening but at times it can be daunting. It’s really cool to have an idea and build a team that brings those ideas to life.
Also, make sure you really love what you’re doing because the compensation is not there in the beginning. It took me years for this to be profitable. You need to find satisfaction beyond money to keep going through hard times.
How has Zions Bank supported your small business?
Zions Bank has been awesome. I did all my banking at another financial institution, but thanks to a personal relationship with the Park City branch manager, I was able to get a loan with Zions Bank. Zions and my banker offered the emotional encouragement and financial support that became the final nudge in the giant step of building out our own bakery. It was one of the most important pieces of the puzzle during a challenging time.
Looking for resources and financial support to grow your small business? Zions Bank’s knowledgeable bankers can assist with checking and savings accounts, business loans and lines of credit and business credit cards.
Zions Bank’s Treasury Management team can assist with concierge-style services and guidance to help your business maximize liquidity, optimize cash flow and manage risk.
Visit your local Zions Bank branch or schedule an appointment with a banker near you.
