By Diana Vallette
What do chickens, stationery and snowballs all have in common? Women. Behind each of the following businesses you’ll find SWLA women at the very top. Here’s everything you want to know about a few women in business in the Lake Area.
PT’s, Ashleigh Maynor
Ashleigh Maynor is the 32-year-old who left her corporate job behind and now owns PT’s Snowballs Coffee & Ice Cream where they serve snowballs; hot, iced and frozen coffee; and Blue Bell ice cream. The business first opened under the direction of Fred Joanen about 48 years ago and now has two locations, one in Sulphur and a second Maynor opened in Westlake.
“I was young, full of energy and ready to breathe new life into something that was already so special,” she says. “I didn’t want to change what made it great. I just wanted to build on it.” Maynor expanded the menu at PT’s, opened a second location and very recently added a mobile trailer. “But the heart of PT’s stays the same,” she says.
Maynor’s work day looks different every day. Some mornings you can find her opening up the business while other days you’ll see her driving between locations, training staff, restocking supplies or planning events. “I’ve had to fix the machines from time to time and I’m basically a certified plumber at this point,” she says.
Business owners must be flexible. Maynor says she’s figuring things out as she goes. “Most of the time, I have a feeling something might not work but if I’m stuck, I’ll try it anyway. Even if it flops, it usually points me in the right direction.”
Like most business owners she’s often juggling. She’s not just the owner, she’s the woman tasked with coming up with new ideas, the janitor, the cheerleader, and the problem solver. “It’s a lifestyle,” she says.
“I spent the first year perfecting the business as much as I could, and I spend every day moving forward learning how to do it better than the day before.” Maynor’s employees all go through a six-week training program which she says is important for the customer experience.
PT’s makes their own ice blocks in-house by freezing filtered water in a large ice maker for 12 to18 hours. They harvest 40 blocks of ice –each weighing between 12 to 15 pounds– by hand, then store them in deep freezers for another 24 hours before using them to make snowballs. “My team laughs at how much I geek out over our ice, but it’s what makes our snowballs so special. It’s not just a scoop-and-serve treat. It’s an art, a science. It’s what sets us apart.” On busy days the business goes through hundreds of pounds of ice.
“When I was presented with the opportunity to purchase PT’s, I took a leap of faith. I didn’t know a single thing about running a business, but I knew I had to try. So, I quit my job and never looked back. And honestly, I think that’s what small business owners do. We move forward with grit and faith,” she says.
It was hard for Maynor to step out from behind the scenes. She poured every ounce of energy she had into the business but kept it quiet for a long time. “My own customers had no idea I owned the place,” she says. “People would say things like, ‘You should tell the owner…’ and I’d just chuckle and keep working.
What’s next? “I have my eyes on future locations and new ways to serve even more customers, but we’re taking it one step at a time. I always say there’s good, there’s great, and then there’s exceptional…and we are exceptional in all we do.”
Shop Aurea, Michelle LeBleu & Christine Racca
Michelle LeBleu, artist, and Christine Racca, stationer, are the sister duo behind Shop Aurea, a wedding invitation business that first began in 2010. The business was named after the sisters’ paternal grandmother, Aurea, which also happens to be both of their middle names.
“It all started when I worked as a graphic designer for The Jambalaya News,” says LeBleu. “I wanted freelance work for extra cash, and Christine was home on maternity leave and looking for something fulfilling.” The pair started designing business cards, logos and birthday invitations for their friends. “Then one day, someone asked if we would be able to design their wedding invitation,” says LeBleu. “The rest is history.
“Our mom told us ‘If you’re going to be doing wedding invitations… you need to find better paper.'” The women were shocked to learn the large variety of paper available. While designing wedding invitations is the business’ bread and butter, they also work on additional wedding stationery like save the dates, ceremony programs, table numbers, menus, cocktail napkins, favors, signage and more.
Both women work from home offices. LeBleu lives in Texas and Racca lives in Lake Charles, where both sisters grew up. “Some days are filled with hands-on production like printing addresses on envelopes, assembling liners to the envelopes, tying ribbon, stamping, stuffing and mailing. Other days are filled with design work,” says LeBleu.
“As women, we love to multi-task. We feel empowered knowing we can juggle and handle all the things. I think sometimes we pride ourselves too much on that,” says LeBleu. “Knowing when to slow down, knowing when to say no, and knowing when to prioritize family over business or vice versa has been something I’ve learned along the way. I think it’s important to try to treat your work from home business just like you would a brick and mortar business.”
Racca says, “When we decided to pivot and only focus on higher end products, it was a pivotal moment. We used to take every job and say yes to everyone. That’s not the best business model. We’ve really narrowed down our ideal client.”
The sisters have been intentional about not scaling the business hoping it pays off in the quality of the final products they produce. Their mindset is people over profit. “I feel that when you have that mentality you end up treating people well, and the profit is just a natural result,” says Racca.
The sisters balance one another; where one has a weakness the other typically has a strength. Shop Aurea serves 25 engaged couples per year from all over the country and earns six figures.
Lake Charles Poultry, Melanie Evans
Lake Charles Poultry and Specialty Meat first opened in 1969 under the direction of Melanie Bellard Evans’ father, Leroy Bellard, who later went on to open Mammas Fried Chicken locations across Lake Charles and Sulphur. Evans took the business over from her brother in January.
Lake Charles Poultry sells poultry to both restaurants and walk-in retail customers. They also sell sausage; turkey parts; beef and pork products; fish; shrimp and seafood as well as their line of seasonings. The business is a full-service walk in meat market.
“We can also special order products and we specialize in items that are hard to find like chicken feet, pigs feet, ox tail, rabbit, goat and turkey parts just to name a few,” she says.
Evans has a background in nursing and juggles her work at Lake Charles Poultry with her full-time gig as senior vice president for a large healthcare company. “I love hearing stories from long time customers about doing business with my dad all those years ago and then later with my brother.”
Lake Charles Poultry has an exclusive relationship with a company in Ala. which specializes in smaller, hormone free chicken. “They’re healthier for you and taste better since there’s no water injections adding weight to the birds.”
She’s currently working on an arrangement with Rouses Markets.
Comments are closed.