Stephanie Stuckey - CEO Stuckey's - How She's Reviving the Family Business

Stephanie Stuckey showed little interest in being a part of the family business. Despite many fond memories growing up around the business, she took a different career path with the Georgia legislature. She was inspired by her father's political footsteps - a former U.S. Congressman. After 14 years as a state representative, as a trial lawyer, she used her legal skills to work on environmental issues for the city of Atlanta. She's also served as an Adjunct Professor at University of Georgia School of Law.

Career Transition With a Mission

Now in her new role as CEO, she's in charge and determined to keep her grandfather W.S. Stuckey Sr.'s legacy alive. It all started in Eadonton, Georgia as a humble pecan stand on the side of Highway 23 in 1937.  She takes us on the rocky journey of the iconic roadside chain of convenience stores that became known for its blue rooftops. At its peak, the Stuckey family grew to 350 franchise locations. Then it fell out of family ownership into a painful and long story of decline for decades. 

3 quick questions:

• Looking for inspiration on overcoming challenges?
• Looking for insights on grassroots-next-to-no-budget marketing for your business?
• How to mix social media marketing (especially Linkedin) and nostalgia marketing to rebuild a brand?

On the ABSOLUTELY MINDSET  podcast (now the Close The Deal.com Podcast), we catch up with Stephanie just 15 months into her new life journey. You'll learn how this opportunity was presented to her by her dad's business partner with a negative cash flow. The balance sheets did not look good. That didn't stop her. She is now third generation family ownership.

This is a great story and a real-time turn-around case study. You'll get a sense for just how important mindset is to lean into the challenges. To say she's determined would be an understatement. She has a strong vision and a well thought-out growth strategy as you will learn...despite having a limited budget at the moment.

Connect with Stephanie

 Shop the famous Stuckey's Pecan Roll and more at  https://stuckeys.com/

On Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniestuckey/

Marketing Plan & Vision

In our interview, Stephanie shares her strategy for building the brand and customer base. 

She's draws from her experiences during her time with the Georgia state legislature to guide her. She shares how she uses the tactics today that helped her win votes and to stay in office for over a decade. 

You'll also learn Stephanie's marketing aspirations going forward...she has two very specific steps she's planning on taking as they build their promotional budget. 

She also acknowledges some of the challenges she faces due to existing franchise agreements. She's upfront that some of the current stores are a little rough.

This is the important thing, for her it's more than a brick and mortar store. She envisions a roadside oasis looking at new ways to draw new customers in for the first time.



She also shares how they just purchased a manufacturing facility for pecan processing feeding their own supply chain. She continuously does market research and looks for ways to expand her product line.

In the spirit of Stuckey's , travel the United States this summer on your very own Great American Road Trip. Make a Stuckey Stop along the way!



Stuckey's IS Nostalgia Marketing

There's no other company I can think of that's better positioned to leverage "nostalgia marketing" than Stuckey's to bring revive a brand.

With a loyal base of followers going back decades, you'll learn how Stephanie finds the balance between nostalgia and relevance. She's keenly aware and appreciates Stuckey's base of customers. 

She also recognizes the importance of building relevancy with the younger generation who didn't grow up with the aqua blue roof tops for long summer road trips.

Everyone Has A Stuckey's Story on Social Media

There's one thing for certain, Stephanie has a seemingly bottomless treasure chest of memories to share on social media. She'a able to draw from her family's rich archives. What truly makes this bottomless is the loyal fanbase that goes back decades. She's awakening them though her social posts. What makes this fun is many of her followers are now sending in their stories sharing their memories. In a lot of ways, Stephanie's Linked In page feels more like a personal journaling meshing yesterday and today together. 

In there lies the power of nostalgia marketing as it taps into real emotions that are so often tied to wonderful experiences and memories. Nostalgia is Stephanie's magic sauce.

From Bananas to Pecans, two Georgia CEOs use Linked In to build their brands.

If you've enjoyed Stephanie's story, you'll love Jesse Cole's story’s in a prior episode. Click here.  He's the new Owner of the Savannah Bananas.

Episodes 1- 9 were branded the Absolutely Mindset Podcast. Now the Close The Deal.com Podcast.