In 2013, Deegan was trying to take control of her life after winning the fight against drinking. She did quit, but she was having difficulty reconnecting with people. Even looking someone in the eyes proved to be difficult. "I was sort of like a shell of a person and just didn't really have many life skills or self-confidence," Deegan said.
However, baking was something that always brought her joy as a child. One day while helping out in the neighborhood, Deegan picked up a handheld mixer and started baking. "My life was just out of control, but baking is such a controlled thing, where if you take the right steps and follow the directions, you'll get a pretty exact result," she said.
Deegan started bringing her homemade baked cookies to people's homes, which helped her reconnect with people. "Feeding people is such a universal love language," she said. However, she was still trying to figure out how to find a career at 27 years old. She had no real work experience and she couldn't put 'quit drinking' on her resume.
Deegan's life shifted in 2015. Encouraged by her friends, she challenged herself to see if she could sell just one pie. She sold dozens! She began baking out of her tiny apartment and eventually launched an official business in 2017. She spent four years developing a pie crust cookie recipe, which has since become the bread and butter of her business. "People have been walking, running and lining up to get cookies, and it's just been so magical seeing that," she said.
When she needs more help, Deegan says she looks for anyone who is just excited to work, even if they don't have any experience. After her own struggle, she realized that the desire to work was better than having a certain skill set. And she became a second-chance employer, hiring women out of prison or the shelter system. "You just have to walk through the door and be ready, willing and able and excited to show up and work and you've got a job," Deegan told the reporter.
