Some might consider 1997 BSU graduate Sarah Haugen and her husband, Trevor, perfectly nuts. And they would happily agree.

In 2003, Sarah abandoned work as a mortgage broker in Fargo, N.D., to launch Perfectly Nuts, a confectionary snack business. Five years later, Trevor left his engineering career to help run the enterprise.

Family concerns were their motivation. Their first son adjusted poorly to day care, so the couple decided he and his mother would stay at home in West Fargo, N.D. A small income stream would come from Sarah’s venture into a business similar to the one her parents operated in Grand Forks, N.D.

“We started Perfectly Nuts slowly with one location,” she said. “Our nuts became popular, and the business grew on its own.”

Perfectly Nuts roasts almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds and pecans at kiosks in established venues across the Fargo area. It now operates seven and added mobile units to serve summer events over a three-state region. Their sons, now 12 and 10, help out on occasion, and the Haugens employ up to 10 people during the peak fall season with three kiosks in the Fargodome.

“It takes a whole week to get ready for NDSU football there,” Sarah said. “On game day, we start before 6 a.m. and put in a 14-hour day.”

While the days are long and demands high, Sarah said benefits outweigh the stresses.

“We are able to spend time with our kids,” she said. “And people at the events are in good moods because they want to be at the trade show, concert or sporting event. They come excited.”