A businesswoman in New York invites people with any background to work: she herself once defeated addiction and wants to help others

Janie's Life-Changing Baked Goods, located on the Upper West Side on Manhattan, saved Janie Deegan from addiction and homelessness. The New Yorker has discovered that baking is the key to regaining her self-esteem, self-love, and confidence. Now she has decided to help others: there is an "open door hiring policy" in her bakery shop. Fox News.

“You just have to walk in the door, be ready and able to work, and you have a job,” Deegan explained.

She created the so-called open-door hiring policy because she remembers her wanderings in search of work after drug addiction, which she calls "being in a very dark place."

In 2013, Deegan tried to take control of her life. She was determined to stay sober, but it was difficult for her to communicate with people. Janie explained that it was extremely difficult for her to even look someone in the eye.

“I was a kind of human shell. I just lacked many life skills, self-confidence or self-love, - she admitted. “But I knew that if I wanted to stay sober, I had to develop all these qualities.”

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Baking has always brought joy to a woman, since childhood.

“Baking is like meditation. My life is out of control, but baking is such a controlled thing, and if you take the right steps and follow the recipe, you will get pretty predictable results, ”Deegan said.

The universal language of love

Trying to connect with people, the chef started bringing her homemade cakes to clients' homes. That helped.

“Serving people is such a universal language of love,” she is sure.

However, Janie was still trying to figure out how to start building. career in 27 years.

“I was so overwhelmed by the situation that I am 27 years old, I am in New York and I have no job,” she complained. “I had no real work experience ... and I couldn’t include the 'I manage to stay sober' achievement on my resume.

Deegan's life changed shortly before Thanksgiving 2015. Fueled by the support of friends, she challenged herself to see if she could sell at least one pie. She sold dozens!

Janie started baking custom-made pies and cakes in her tiny New York City apartment and eventually set up a formal business in 2017.

She spent three to four years honing the recipe cookies, which has since become the main source of her profit.

“People walked, ran, lined up outside the door to get these cookies, and it was so magical,” the chef rejoices. "And now I can really increase my staff."

Plans and desires

When she needs more help, Deegan says she is looking for people who just want to work, even if they have no industry experience or know how to bake.

After her own struggles, she realized that wanting to work is better than having a specific set of skills.

“I was a good worker because I wanted it so badly,” she said. - As soon as I started to lead a sober lifestyle, I became the best employee that they could find. But again, you cannot include this on your resume. You can't just say, "I'm so glad to be here."

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One day, she hopes to become a second-chance employer and hire women who have been released from prison or the homeless shelter system.

“We need you as long as you are happy to be here. Among my employees, perhaps only one in 14 people went to a culinary school, ”said Janie Deegan.