As a 47-year-old devoted wife and mother of two boys with a 20-year  career in the financial services indus try, and a marathon runner, Susie Mickler  didn’t know her life needed changing…  but apparently God did. 

It all started with a dare. Suzie’s love  language was pie. She enjoyed baking her  fudge and peanut butter fudge pies for  friends and family whenever the occasion  called for it. 

In January 2020, she took a pie to a  friend’s birthday gathering. That friend,  Glenn McDaniel, happens to be the owner  of McDaniel’s Qn2 BBQ restaurant. 

“You know, I could sell this pie,” Glenn said.

“Whatever, you could not sell this pie,” Susie said, “but  I’ll bring you two and you can try!”

So, she showed up to the restaurant with two pies, and  before she returned home, he called her to tell her he had  sold both pies. Those two customers placed repeat orders.  Suzie and her husband, Rob, started talking, one thing led  to another, and by March they had a website and were  finding packaging, filing for an LLC, and, well, baking a lot  of pies. The family rallied around the pie  business. Rob learned to bake the pies  and would bake orders while she was at  the office. Her son worked as the delivery  driver. 

Her nickname for her oldest son was “Schmoopie”  (shmoo-pee) and could often be heard cheering “GO  SCHOOMPIE” at his sports games. A friend started playing  around with names and said, “Hey! Schmoo…pie” and  Schmoo Pies was born. 

That February they sold $500 in pies.Soon she was creating yummy new flavors, like S’Mores, Chess, Irish Whiskey,  and Kentucky Bourbon. Then, just a couple of months after  selling their first pies, that “side hustle” became a life saver.

Susie and Rob started doing pop up shops at local events and shops like  Signatures Gifts and Interiors. She began  doing fundraisers with schools to help get  her name out in the community and eventually started getting corporate orders. By  the 9th month, they had sold 1,000 pies, all  baked in her single oven in her suburban  kitchen. 

“I have a very strong faith and I think it’s funny that  God put these pies into our lives in the February-March  time frame,” she said. “We were very surprised that in May  my husband was furloughed, and then his position was  eliminated.” 

Susie said they were blessed that she had a full-time job  and supportive family and friends, inspiring the new motto “I  get PIE with a little help from my friends.” 

“What was great is that we had the pie company  going, and at that time I always referred to it as ‘gravy’,” she  recalled. “I didn’t know it was going to become the meat.” 

The family rallied around the pie business. Rob learned to bake the pies  and would bake orders while she was at  the office. Her son worked as the delivery  driver. 

Susie and Rob started doing pop up shops at local events and shops like  Signatures Gifts and Interiors. She began  doing fundraisers with schools to help get  her name out in the community and even tually started getting corporate orders. By  the 9th month, they had sold 1,000 pies, all  baked in her single oven in her suburban  kitchen. 

“I took a Bible study back in the Spring  of 2019, and the purpose of it was to learn what God’s purpose is for you,” she said. “From that experience, I learned that I love taking people food. 

“So, when it comes to what we’re supposed to be  doing and our plans,” she said, “I think I’m supposed to be  baking pies—eliciting joy one pie at a time.” 

By December Rob had started a full-time job, and Susie could begin thinking about the future. So, one year after  selling her first pie, she took the risk and left her full-time job  to focus on her new venture. 

She recently won Georgia’s Best Desserts by the  Georgia Business Journal, is nominated for Best of Cobb,  and she’s doubled her pie sales this holiday season. 

“To think that when we started, Rob and I were excited  about the prospect of selling 4 pies a week, thinking that  would be an extra $100 week,” Susie said. 

This year, Susie will turn 50, but she’s not done  dreaming and growing. Now, accelerating into phase 2  of the business: looking for a commercial space which  will allow her to offer wholesale pies to restaurants and  specialty stores and to sell regionally. Since her in-house  delivery driver will be heading off to college, that means  adding staff, as well. 

“What I’ve learned, I think, is to let go and let God,”  Susie said. “You can only concern yourself with today.” 

“It’s never too late to discover a new purpose. I never  thought I would own a business and certainly never thought  I would own a bakery.” 

Is your mouth watering? You can order your pie at  Schmoo-pies.com.  

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Written By Neeahtima Dowdy