Stephanie Stuckey stuck to what she knew to get unstuck.
That’s the message she portrays in her new book, “Unstuck: Rebirth of an American icon,” available April 2. Stuckey is the namesake of the famous Stuckey’s brand known for its pecan log rolls, old-fashioned candies, Georgia pecans and more.
The roadside souvenir stand began at the hands of her grandfather in the 1937. After the family sold the company in 1964, the brand fell on hard times, dwindling from 350 stores in 40 states to no more than a dozen original stores.
“Four years ago, I had the chance to buy the company, it was for sale,” explains Stuckey, a former state representative. “And I invested my life savings into acquiring Stuckey’s. It was actually six figures in the red at the time, so not profitable.”
With the drive to revive her family’s legacy, Stuckey set out to rekindle what was so special about the brand generations have grown up on.
“I think we have a unique story to share that we lost our family business – it fell out of our family’s hands for almost 50 years – and we got it back,” Stuckey notes. “That almost never happens.”
While the book reminisces about the most popular and even the not-so-popular souvenirs the company sold over the years, Stuckey also reflects on what it takes to build a solid business. Although it’s information she feels is universal to any business, it’s importance in the souvenir and gift industry is paramount, she says.
“But more importantly, there's a more universal message and that’s the idea of a comeback or reinvention,” she notes. “Whether it's reinventing your personal brand, or your business or your organization, I think we can all relate to the idea of reinventing yourself and making a comeback. And that's what our story is all about.”
“Unstuck” will be available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart, and distributed through Penguin Publishing. Pre-orders are being taken and the book will be released April 2.
