Describe Mansmith Enterprises:
We are a family business first and foremost, and a community staple. We’ve been in business since before I was born. My grandparents started the company about 50 years ago. They were at a party and didn’t have any barbecue sauce – well my grandfather has a degree in chemistry and he just went into the kitchen, put a bunch of ingredients together and came up with a sauce. The next day my grandmother kept getting calls asking for his recipe. Within a week my grandfather was realizing he could sell this recipe. He sold his lab (Mission Laboratory) and started off with an original grilling spice and a barbeque paste, which we still have to this day. That recipe is locked up in a safe – only a handful of people know it. Those original recipes are still our best sellers and now we’ve expanded our line to 12 spices. The way the barbecue business started is, my grandfather wanted a way to promote the seasonings that he was coming out with, so he would do demos at grocery stores and food shows. The meat cooking was just a way to demo the spices and then people wanted to buy the meat, and that’s how the catering business started. This business has grown from a lot of love and passion and genuinely believing in your product. We are family, community, love, and passion, and if it weren’t for San Benito County, we would not have our business. We have so many supporters here.
Why did you choose to work in the family business?
I’ve always seen how much passion my grandparents have for the business. When I was 11, I started working for my uncle, and I saw how stressed and busy he was, but he was always having fun. It’s hard work but I always saw the reward. The first time I pulled the barbecue pit I was probably just out of high school. So I saw the love and I saw the passion, and I saw a lot of potential. I’m driven, smart and capable and over half my life has been spent in this business. For the longest time I thought I was going to have more to do with the barbecue half, which is my uncle’s, but now my grandparents are getting older and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than running Mansmith Enterprises. I would rather work hard every darn day to get every account I can, than go sit in some office in San Jose. When I see the Mansmith name, that’s me and my identity. I see my dreams in my grandfather’s dreams. We have faith in this business.
What continues to drive and motivate you?
Just the love I have for my business, and what it means to the community. We do a lot of things to give back – we are down there at 5:00 in the morning for the Marley Holte community dinners every Thanksgiving and every Christmas cooking food for the community. We serve on many boards and entities, and it’s not always self-promotion. This didn’t start with me, I just want to continue it.
What is something that you think most people don’t know about Mansmith’s?
I think a lot of people don’t know that we are a very small business. We have just a few employees. We are a small family business. We don’t outsource anything. If you call, I’m the one who answers the phone. If you place an order online, I run your credit card. I do all the paperwork. My grandmother is the treasurer so she writes the checks. I’m also the one that’s lifting 50 pound boxes into a blender that can blend 1,000 pounds at a time. My grandfather is in a wheelchair and he helps me mentally, but physically it’s all me, so I got lucky being a 6 foot tall girl! We do all of the manufacturing, we order the ingredients, keeping it as local as possible, we have our recipe we make, we bottle each bottle by hand, we do weights and measurements ourselves, we check each bottle individually, and we’re out doing community involvement.
What would your customers love most about your business?
Just the love I have for my business, and what it means to the community. We do a lot of things to give back – we are down there at 5:00 in the morning for the Marley Holte community dinners every Thanksgiving and every Christmas cooking food for the community. We serve on many boards and entities, and it’s not always self-promotion. This didn’t start with me, I just want to continue it.
What are your goals for the next year?
To continue to operate in the black. I want to continue to support my grandparent’s retirement and my grandfather’s dreams for this company. I want to keep my rapport with all of my good accounts. I just want to keep people happy. My grandfather has a little something up his sleeve but I’m not going to say too much about that – I’ll just say I just want to get him doing what he wants to do. I want to continue a real strong positive relationship with the community, and I want to continue to support and be there for Mansmith’s BBQ, which is my uncle’s business.
What do you love most about San Benito County?
It’s a beautiful area. I really think there is a lot of untapped potential in San Benito County. There are a lot of good people, some old names and new, that just love being here. We also have a lot of traditions, community events and street festivals. The Farmer’s Market is my favorite time of year. I love buying my produce from Pinnacle Farm, chocolate covered apricots… I like going down to B&R Farms on Fairview Road, it’s the cutest little shop. I just love to embrace what the community is doing.
Is there anything that we didn’t touch on that you want customers to know about?
I want customers to know that we’re not just Monday through Friday, or the Friday BBQ spot, or the Farmer’s Markets. We are down at your dinner table. I want people to know that it’s a product that we genuinely care about and if you’re ever not happy, please give me a call. My uncle does the pre-cooked turkeys on Thanksgiving. One time we had somebody say that their turkey was too small, so on Thanksgiving day in my nice clothes I drove out to Gilroy personally with a big turkey, knocked on the door and said, “Here’s your Thanksgiving dinner!” We always want everyone happy and satisfied. I want customers to know that we are actual people. Don’t ever be afraid to reach out and I’ll always do my best to help.
What’s the best way for people to find you?
If you ever want to reach me you can call 1-800-MANSMITH (1-800-626-7648), or email me at carrie@mansmith.com. You can also follow any of our social media, where I’m the admin. and I’ll always respond to you.
