It was a pleasure booking Auntie Anne Beiler, not once but twice. The first was for a business school lecture series and it was so real and personal. Her presentation was so powerful that I wanted her back for the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival.
Anne Beiler is the founder of Auntie Anne's®, the world's largest hand-rolled soft pretzel franchise — a company she built from a single farmer's market stand in Downingtown, Pennsylvania into an international brand that today spans more than 1,800 locations. Raised in the Amish-Mennonite community of Lancaster County with an eighth-grade education, Anne is among an elite group of American women to found an international franchise company. Her leadership has been recognized by Inc. Magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year, Working Woman's 500 Women Entrepreneurs, national media including Oprah and Good Morning America, and honorary doctorates from Eastern University and Elizabethtown College.
But Anne's story is far more than a business miracle. Behind the brand was a woman carrying unbearable loss — the death of her nineteen-month-old daughter, years of depression, and abuse at the hands of someone she trusted. Auntie Anne's was born out of that pain: Anne began twisting pretzels to support her husband Jonas's vision of offering free counseling to their community. As the company grew, so did her conviction that secrets keep us in darkness — and that breaking the silence is the first step to freedom.
In 2005, after nearly two decades of building the brand, Anne sold Auntie Anne's and turned her full voice to that message. Today she is a bestselling author of five books — Twist of Faith, Auntie Anne: My Story, The Secret Lies Within, Come to the Table, and her newest release, Overcome and Lead. She shares stages at the nation's largest faith and business events, including LIFE SURGE arenas alongside John C. Maxwell, Tim Tebow, Ed Mylett, and Craig Groeschel. Audiences leave Anne's presentations with more than inspiration — they leave with permission to tell the truth about their own story, and a path from pain to purpose.
Anne and Jonas live in Texas and are parents to two daughters and proud grandparents.
Drawn from her newest book, Anne shares the leadership principles she lived while growing Auntie Anne's into a global franchise — and the personal battles she had to overcome to lead well. A practical, story-driven leadership keynote from one of America's most successful female founders.
Anne's mission has been to give back from the beginning of Auntie Anne's. It started when she went to work in order to support her husband as he provided free counseling to their community and then grew into a philosophy - Give to Get to Give Again - that influenced their corporate giving for years. She believes that individuals and companies that give back will find incredible success that allows them to give more and more over time.
The world has a list of what you need to be successful. Anne had none of those things. But what Anne did have – a great product, amazing people, and a purpose bigger than herself – became her recipe for success. In this talk, Anne reveals the inner workings of growing up Amish to building the world’s largest pretzel franchise, all while coping with devastating personal heartbreak and despair. She shares about how the discovery of the three things she had, helped to overcome the three vital business elements she didn’t have, and how purpose can give you overcoming power, a position of influence, and people that will be loyal to the cause.
Many people experience trauma or pain and keep it to themselves, letting it become a secret that holds them captive. They live with pain, blame, and shame, unsure of what to do or how to break free. The secrets grow, causing people to become increasingly silent while they hope and pray for better days, struggling to believe they will ever come.
The Secret Lies Within is an honest, vulnerable, and courageous narrative about nearly losing everything, breaking the silence of secrets, and finding purpose in pain. Auntie Anne Beiler, founder of the international franchise Auntie Anne's pretzels, shares her journey through the loss of a child, sexual abuse, and the resulting trauma that haunted her for years, reminding readers they are not alone in their pain. Anne weaves brief stories of other brave individuals throughout her own and presents a picture of hope for those who have experienced trauma. Those with deep secrets of their own are encouraged to break their silence and are shown the power to overcome through confession and reach a whole new level of freedom.
One hundred recipes from Anne's Amish-Mennonite childhood in Lancaster County, alongside favorite dishes from friends and family. Breads, pies, cookies, entrees, and Amish standards like Shoo Fly Pie, Sand Tarts, and Meadow Tea — plus full-color photography and rare photos from Anne's early years on the farm. Long before she rolled her first pretzel, Anne was baking beside her mother in a family of nine, and her parents always made room for one more at the table. That conviction — that the table is an invitation — runs through the whole book.
Overcome and Lead recounts the powerful stories and essential lessons learned from Anne Beiler's time as the founder of Auntie Anne's(R), the world's largest pretzel franchise. As a former Amish girl with an eighth-grade education, Anne had many obstacles to overcome as she transformed into one of the first female founders of an international franchise-the greatest obstacle, however, was herself.
With no capital, no formal education, and no business plan, Anne launched Auntie Anne's Pretzels after a series of tragic life events left her broken, traumatized, and in a deep depression. As Anne and her team grew the company, she also grew herself personally and professionally. Join Anne as she takes you on a journey from feeling overwhelmed and inadequate to being an empowered and confident leader.
If you want to make a difference in your area of influence, this story is for you. It is for those of you currently leading people-whether at work, home, or in your community and for those aspiring to lead someday. Building Auntie Anne's was a journey that required Anne to bring her whole self-both the gifts and the broken bits-to build something bigger than she ever imagined. Overcome and Lead will help you to do the same.
The secret ingredient is love.
It was a short distance from Anne Beiler's little town in the heart of Mennonite country to her humble farmer's stand that would become the first Auntie Anne's Pretzel store. But it was a long life journey for Anne to get there. Twist of Faith is more than the inspiring story of building a successful business; it's a personal journey of faith and forgiveness.
From the death of her young daughter to surviving the rigors of building a successful business to struggles with depression, Anne offers a deeply personal view of her life. She says, If you knew my life and understood where I came from, you would agree that Auntie Anne's, Inc. is a modern day business miracle.
Twist of Faith is an inspiring look at the life of a woman who went from an 8th-grade Amish education to founding Auntie Anne's, Inc., the world's largest mall-based pretzel franchise.