Alaska Dinner Factory enters Goldman Sachs small businesses program

WASILLA — For 11 years, Linnea Cummings has been running the Alaska Dinner Factory in Anchorage. This year, she was accepted into the “Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program.” As the owner, she felt the intensive, three-month course would give her a new perspective and help her take her company to new heights. The Alaska Dinner Factory is a prepared meal service that delivers handmade servings in Anchorage, Eagle River and the Mat-Su Valley. She said that from the start, the mission of her kitchen was to feed busy people. The company has changed a lot over the years, but the mission remains. She finished her classes before Thanksgiving. Now she is looking to the next five years.

“I’m so excited. What an amazing opportunity. I feel so fired up about it,” Cummings said.

The timing worked out to allow her to venture into new opportunities. She remodeled the building last year, tripling the kitchen size. It wouldn’t have worked if she tried to take the class then. She flew down to the Lower 48 for training and mentoring. Everything was free: the travel, food, expenses and the class and certification. Back home, she still spent 15 hours a week doing homework for online courses. She said it was tough to squeeze in her already hectic life, but she managed to make it out in one piece.

“It was intense,” Cummings said.

One of the driving principles of her course was to establish a “Growth Plan.” After completing her class and getting the shiny plaque, she is mapping out the next step. She said that the experience and knowledge was worth more than any accreditation. The biggest thing she took away was that she needs to delegate more. She said that she usually liked to have her “fingers in everything.” She is learning to step back and let people like her newly hired manager take care of the day-to-day operations so she can spend more time networking and forming new paths for the company. Alaska Dinner Factory currently has about 10 employees. The Growth Plan calls for tripling the work force over the next five years.

“At some point, you gotta’ learn to let go, as long as the finished product is the same,” Cummings said.

Cummings was self-admitted into the program but companies are usually nominated. She said she is a strong supporter of local businesses and nominated a few dozen that she knew. Some of those include: Alaska Fit in Anchorage, the North Star Vet Clinic in Palmer, Vanderweele Farms in Palmer and Taco Loco in Anchorage.

“I must have put 50 people down. I was so psyched about it,” Cummings said.

Cummings lives in Wasilla and graduated from Palmer High School. She started her business in Anchorage due to the population base there. The primary business model was for customers to build meals themselves. They stopped doing that after a remodel. They have a variety of delivery plans available. The standard delivery club membership is $175 for a month’s supply of meals. They now have a lot of Medicaid waiver customers, doing Meals on Wheels types services. She said the secret to prospering a small business is to adapt.

“It’s in the ability to change, look for new opportunities, to try new things,” Cummings said.

Alaska Dinner Factory is located at 5905 Lake Otis Parkway and is open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. www.alaskadinnerfactory.com