Hi! My name is Jessica Hartze AKA The Mad Batter. I am a mom to 3 amazing children, AJ (8), Michael (2), and Jovi (5 Months) My story starts in October 2020. I lived with my mom in Selby, South Dakota- which is a super small town with few job opportunities. She had been a home baker in the past, so she suggested I give it a try. I began offering my baking and decorating services to the community. I started off with cakes and cupcakes. As my skills grew, I began digging into things like hot chocolate bombs and macarons. 

After countless hours of teaching myself using YouTube, Tik Tok, and Facebook- I really started to hone my skills. My son AJ was approaching Kindergarten. I really wanted him to go to school in Mobridge, South Dakota- which is 20 miles west of Selby. We quickly found a place to live and moved in August. I had a lot of customers local to Mobridge, so I was very excited to continue my business there from home. In January 2022, I became pregnant with Michael. I continued to work from home through my pregnancy and moved into a bigger home as well- which gave me the opportunity to have an entire room dedicated to making and decorating cakes. 

In May of 2023, I met with a local restaurant owner to talk about the potential of renting part of his kitchen. He agreed and I started under his license July 1st, 2023. Renting from an already established restaurant opened my eyes in many ways. I learned how a store front can operate. I really struggled with meeting new people and putting myself out there. This really changed me as a person and opened my shell up to who I truly am- a bubbly, social butterfly. 

In November, I decided to pursue my own building. By January 2024, I was opening up the first Mad Batter store front. It was finally coming true, the dream I had from day one of my home business. By February, I found out I was expecting another sweet child! I had never worked out of my home while pregnant. This pregnancy came with a lot of differences than the first two. I was sick much more often, but I didn't let that stop me from working as hard as I could to be open and offer my custom creations to the community. 

I've faced many hardships and overcame a lot of obstacles in my life. The vision of The Mad Batter is much more than just cake- I want to provide a safe place for those in the community that can sometimes feel they don't belong. I'd like to have a hang out spot for young people and those that have chosen the sober lifestyle. We don't have that here unfortunately. 

The Mad Batter also wholesales to many locations in the state of South Dakota. Expanding will mean more product can go out to new locations in the state. Also, we will be able to provide a few more jobs to young people in the community as well as offering more product IN store, instead of most relying on the stores we wholesale to in town. Expanding will also open up opportunities to do a wide array of classes for the community as well. After expanding, we will also begin to offer quick breakfast, lunch, and possibly even dinner options due to the massive size of the kitchen as well as a second kitchen. We will also be able to add on some retail and merchandise options. 

This business means a lot to me, not only does it feed my family, it provides me with the opportunities to give back to my community that has been in support of me since day one! One of the ways we help the community is doing donations to bake sales. In the future, we would like to do larger scaled donations to various events in the community as well as start a fund to offer free treats for kids birthdays who's parents are having a hard time financially and cannot spend the extra cash on treats or a cake! 

We can't thank you enough for the support over the years and look forward to continue serving our amazing community.