PHOENIX — Sadie Barkley stands in her kitchen surrounded by jars of pink, green and yellow sprinkles. She grabs a light pink ribbon and begins to tie it around a plastic bag filled with six crunchy pretzels. They're each covered in chocolate and decorated with a variety of colorful — and tasty — toppings. Right now, there's no place Sadie would rather be.
The 14-year-old is a freshman in high school who has created a recipe for success. It's called Sadie's Sweet and Salty Pretzels and was something fun that quickly turned into a business.
"I started about a year ago and I was making them for my sister's spirit line," Sadie Barkley said. "A few friends told me this could be a business. I personally really love pretzels and then if you dip them in chocolate it makes them ten times better."
From that moment, Sadie Barkley knew it was what she wanted to do. She began talking with her parents about the vision she had, even creating her own logo and company name. Her parents said they supported her idea.
"We made an agreement that she needed to figure out how this was going to go," her mom, Rachel Barkley, said. "She would navigate this herself, but we would fund the beginning of it. She had to price it out, she had her ideas of what would work, and we just ran with it. She tried different pretzels, different ways to dip them and looked at different toppings and sprinkles and soon we had a business."
Once her friends began buying, Sadie Barkley said they kept coming back for more.
"They don't want to stop buying them. They're tasty and they're really good," Sadie Barkley said. "I go to bed late and get up early to get the pretzels done but I enjoy it because I see people going from a frown to a smile and that's what makes me happy."
After a year and a half of creating Sadie's Sweet and Salty Pretzels, the 14-year-old funds the entire operation herself. While she doesn't have a brick and mortar, she takes orders on her Instagram page, SweetandSalty.Pretzels. Her creativity is apparent. What you wouldn't know though is helping others is just as important to Sadie Barkley as her business venture is.
Each Christmas growing up, Sadie Barkley and her sister would buy toys and give them to the patients at Phoenix Children's Hospital. It's a place near and dear to her family's heart because of what they did for Sadie.
"She was born with congenital heart failure," Rachel Barkley said. "At six months old she went in for open heart surgery. It's hard not to have gratitude towards an organization that supplies so many people with so many amazing benefits. I can't even begin to tell them what they have given back to us."
Last Christmas, instead of toys, Sadie Barkley decided to raise money by giving a portion of sales to Phoenix Children's Hospital.
"It would be donated on January 19th in honor of my heart surgery anniversary," Sadie Barkley said. "I had two holes in my heart and I wouldn't be here and this would not be a thing without Children's Phoenix."
Sadie Barkley ended up raising $156 which ultimately turned into a check for at least $500.
"I know there's some people who don't survive and who can't get the surgery. I'm a very lucky person to be here today and knowing I personally out of my pocket, was able to donate this money is mind-blowing," Sadie Barkley said. "I know $150 is not enough to cover a heart surgery but it can help. Someone's day will be changed, like, extremely changed."
Sadie also hopes to give back part of the proceeds during the next holiday season.
The sky is the limit for Sadie Barkley who has big goals for the future and stresses the importance of buying local.
"It's crazy you can work and do something you love and get rewarded for it," Sadie Barkley said. "As of now I do plan to expand my business. For people who buy a produce from any small business it means more to them than it does Amazon or Walmart. It means so much when you buy small."
If you'd like to order some of Sadie's tasty treats, you can place orders on SweetandSalty.Pretzels Instagram.
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