Meet Ryland Rainsford | Owner of Scout’s Doughnuts

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryland Rainsford and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryland, what do you attribute your success to?
Our people! Hands down. We have invested a lot of time into our brand & product, but without our people, a business doesn’t succeed! We have HIGH confidence in Scout’s Doughnuts because we have high confidence in our team. They really do go the extra mile, care deeply for one another & really invest themselves in their work. Without their loyalty, we could never grow our business or even step away! The fact that we can take days off & entrust projects to our team without being physically present is just a testament for our team’s care for Scout’s Doughnuts.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We are the owners of Scout’s Doughnuts. Before this, Ryland was a mechanical engineer & I (JP) was a elementary school teacher. On top of that, we had a successful photography business. But we knew we wanted our personal lives & our vocations to be integrated – but we didn’t quite know how that would happen. We had a wise friend once tell us, “It’s not what you do vocationally that matters as long as you’re growing into the person you want to be.” This set us on a long journey of identifying our values & thinking critically about the PEOPLE we want to be, not necessarily what we were doing with our hands. This journey clarified that our personal life’s mission is to cultivate growth in people’s lives.

A while later, in 2021, Ryland’s running buddies continued to complain that there was no locally owned doughnut shop that they could take their families to after a long morning run. After about the 10th time of hearing this, Ryland finally perked up & thought to himself, “I love cooking – maybe doughnuts is the thing we’ve been looking for!” He came home & pitched the idea to me. Being the dreamer that I am, I couldn’t shake the idea. I could literally see the doughnuts, the colors – everything that this could be.

After a year of product testing, doing market research, thoroughly thinking through a business plan & launching wholesale – we made the jump. Ryland quit his corporate job to make doughnuts in July of 2022. This, by far, has been the most STRETCHING season of growing our family, growing our team, & expanding our space. But it has also been the most rewarding. Some days are an extreme grind & we feel the tension of keeping everything balanced, but we also have a deep peace that the Lord has placed our feet exactly where He wants us to be!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ah we love a staycation in our hometown! Good thing we have a whole week!

Crepes in Travelers Rest with our friends at Tandem, followed by Trailblazer Park with the kiddos.
A little bike ride down the trail to Unity Park, then on to Swamp Rabbit Cafe for coffee, scones & two stecca – one to eat right away and another to take home!
Disc golf at Timmons Park followed by lunch with our neighbors at Harry’s Hogies!
Breakfast burritos from our good friends at Daylight Burrito (find them at the Rupert House Veteran Center any Thursday – Saturday, or at a pop-up).
An evening stroll down Main St. to see all the sights, including a glass of wine and appetizer at Northampton Wines and dinner at Trattoria Giorgio.
Day trip up to Black Balsam Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a wonderful hike and spectacular views, followed by Sierra Nevada Brewing for dinner on the way home, but leaving enough time to get back for ice cream from our neighbors at Clare’s Creamery!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We wouldn’t be where we are today without our community rallying behind us. There are dozens of folks we could publicly thank – but there are a few folks who’s shoulders we are standing on!

Both the owners of Bridge City Coffee & Methodical Coffee have been friends & mentors to us. When we started Scout’s, we really needed help with market research & the understanding of the food & beverage industry. Both teams were so kind to let us in to what they have learned & continue to be great avenues of friendship & help to us today.

Dane, the owner of Run In, has been not only a cheerleader for us as we started Scout’s but also a strong partner in bringing us to his events & shouting our name from the rooftop. We took another step in partnership with him when we opened a shared location in Anderson, SC where we sell our doughnuts every weekend. It’s been a huge win for both of us!

Equip Studios, their leadership team & specifically Taylor & Nicole Cash helped us design & bring to life our flagship location. Without their care, generosity & investment our customer experience would not be what it is today!

There are SO many folks we could thank for cheering us on daily, to helping us with our children & even supporting us in our marriage – our community is phenomenal!

Website: https://www.scoutsdoughnuts.com

Instagram: @scoutsdoughnuts

Image Credits
Taylor Cash Photography: https://www.taylorcashphotography.com/
Electric Soul: https://electricsoulcreative.com/