When Sara Bottom was eight years old, she got her first job selling eggs at a local farmer’s market. She knew she wanted to be “the person counting the money in the register,” and her dream of becoming an entrepreneur developed from that moment on. But for Sara’s dream to become a reality, she’d have to leave the only community she’d ever known and go out on her own.

Today I’m talking with Sara Bottom on Overcome With Auntie Anne. She’s not only been a big part of my life but has been a part of the Auntie Anne’s® pretzel family as well. We’re talking about her journey towards becoming an entrepreneur after growing up as a little Amish girl and the importance of her finding help along the way.

To hear our entire conversation, listen to the podcast or keep reading below for the highlights.

Growing up Amish

Sara was born and raised in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to an Amish family, and she is the middle of six children. “Growing up in the [Amish] culture was beautiful,” she says. “I was happy.” But when she was six years old, her family was in a horse and buggy accident that put all of them in the hospital.

A few days after the accident, the rest of her family was released. But because of the extent of her injuries, Sara was left alone in the hospital for almost seven weeks. She says her parents tried to come and visit and did for an hour or so every day. But with the responsibilities of the farm and her other siblings, they were busy. “I didn’t want to be the child that said, ‘Hey, I’m here. I need you.’ So I accepted that at that point, I was on my own.”

At six years old, this time was devastating for her. Amish families are very close, living life together all the time on the farm. So to suddenly be ripped from that environment and left alone for most of the day in a hospital would be incredibly lonely.

Although it was devastating, it was also a defining moment in Sara’s life. “I realized … that I needed to take care of me and try to survive this. I needed to do it alone, and I didn’t have an option other than to do it.” She says this helped her to become a fighter.

After being released from the hospital, it took another year for her to heal the foot she had injured. Once she was able to move around again, she convinced her parents to let her get a job at a local farmer’s market selling eggs — she was just eight years old.

It’s very common at farmer’s markets in Lancaster County for kids to go with their parents and work the market. It’s there that they learn how to count money, interact with customers, and be responsible. But Sara’s story is interesting because the job she got wasn’t with her parents. It was at a market they didn’t work at.

Again, this was another defining moment for her. She only got paid $5 a day to sell the eggs. But she says, “At that point, I realized I wanted to be the person counting the money in the register and depositing it as well … I was leading myself into [the idea] that I can take care of myself.” She began to feel empowered, and even then, at eight years old, Sara knew she would one day leave the Amish community so she could become an entrepreneur.

Leaving the Amish

When Sara was a girl, things were different than they are today. Back then, Amish women were rarely entrepreneurs. While many today, as Sara describes, are businesswomen and leaders in the community, most were homemakers back then. So Sara knew that if she didn’t leave the Amish community, she’d never be able to become an entrepreneur.

But leaving the Amish community — a very close-knit community with their way of doing things, their way of living life, their customs, much of which are different from the rest of the world — is no small thing. And talking about leaving still puts a lump in Sara’s throat.

She was just 17 when she walked away from the Amish community. “The most difficult part,” she says, “was taking my covering off of my head and realizing that I will be forever changed. And I’m leaving a community for another one, [and] I have no idea … where it will take me.”

Sara knew that leaving would make her “the ultimate disappointment” in her parent’s eyes. “I was the child that was always working, always trying to help mom and dad with things around the house. So I know that it would make a huge impact on my parents if I left the Amish.”

And it did — her dad was devastated. She understands why he was devastated, but that devastation took her back to when she was six years old, in the hospital, alone and afraid. They didn’t speak for two years.

Over time, her relationship with her dad got better, and although he has since passed away, they ended up having a great relationship while he was still alive. And she and her mom are very close.

After leaving the Amish, Sara got her driver’s license and with $350 in her pocket, drove from Pennsylvania down to Sarasota, Florida — a place she had been before with her family — to start her new life.

Working hard and becoming an entrepreneur

Sara really wanted to take care of her parents, and she knew that would one day become a reality if she just continued to work hard. So she did. She started by working in an Auntie Anne’s store. Eventually, she worked for the corporate office as a trainer. And in time, she bought her own Auntie Anne’s franchise in Texas.

She continued to work hard, putting in 80 hours per week. She put into practice the things she learned as an Amish girl on the farm and working in the market. For instance, “If you don’t take care of your customer, someone else will.” Sara says she imagined every customer was Auntie Anne, and when she put their money in the register, she just prayed for them.

And just because she worked 80 hours a week doesn’t mean she was absolved from being a mother. She had two little boys who also needed her attention. It wasn’t easy, but she never gave up. “Never once have I wanted to give up as a business owner. Because when you start a business, you cannot quit. It’s not an option.”

So she surrounded herself with others to help her out. First, she had people who “felt like family members” at home taking care of her kids when she couldn’t be there. And second, she had mentors like myself. She says, “It is important for every woman to have a mentor because when you’re busy as a mother or a wife, you have that person that will hold you accountable.” Everyone needs one person like that, she says. “If you have five friends, then you’re blessed. If you have one good person to stay with you, that’s golden.”

Sara admits that opening a business is like having a child — you’re probably never quite ready for it. So the best thing to do is just go for it. And go for it, she did. Today she owns five Auntie Anne’s franchises. And on top of that, she’s also a real estate agent. She’s proof that we can do both as women — we can be moms and entrepreneurs that turn into successful businesswomen. So go for it!