How I Started My Bakery and Grew It Into a 7-figure business!

It was 2009. My husband and I were just laid off from our 6-figure corporate jobs! (Fun Fact: we BOTH worked for the same company that happened to file for bankruptcy, had mass layoffs, and closed down HUNDREDS of stores!)

We were both JOBLESS and had no nest egg because we were living way above our means. So, we filed for bankruptcy and tried our best to pick up the pieces.

We were resentful towards each other, we were stressed TF out, and overwhelmed, and the word “divorce” was on the table.

It was by far the HARDEST time of our lives.

But slowly, we dug our way through it. My husband ended up finding a job in the fitness industry and because we couldn’t afford childcare for our 3 girls, I stayed home with them holding down the fort.

I started to feel useless. And as much as I LOVE spending time with my kids, I’m a creative person who needs to be doing something at all times. (One thing about me is I will FIXATE on a hobby or habit for months until it drives me to burnout or until I find the next hobby to fixate on 😂)

Fast forward, one day I was folding laundry on my kitchen table and The Cake Boss was on T.V. I saw the amazing, over-the-top cakes they were creating and I thought to myself, “I can make that,” so I went out to the store, bought a box of cake mix, frosting, sprinkles, fondant-ALLLLL the things and I made my very first cake.

You guys, it wasn’t BAD at all! It was actually pretty good for my first time! After that, I started doing them a little more for friends and family and then I had the crazy idea to turn it into a business.

Almost every single person told me I was crazy… except for my business partner at the time (who happened to be my husband’s EX)! So, we got into business together and our kids came up with the name “The Cake Mamas,” and our bakery was born!

After working out of my home for 18 months, we finally had the customer base, the orders coming in, and the savings to open our first storefront!

We grand opened in October of 2010 and we stayed in that location until I RETIRED in 2020!

So how did I grow my bakery into a 7-figure business? Let’s get into it…

#1) We prioritized PROFIT over everything else.

If you aren’t factoring profit into your pricing then you are running a non-profit organization. Profit is what gets REINVESTED back into the business so you can buy new equipment, hire employees, rent a commercial kitchen, upgrade your website, and get into a storefront. If your goal is to MAKE MONEY, which it should be if you’re running a business, then you need to make your sole focus on how much profit your business is making.

#2) SALES are the lifeline of your business.

GET GOOD AT SELLING! 👏🏼 You are a SALESPERSON first and foremost whether you wanna believe it or not. You have to be willing to do the “cringy” things and talk about your business. If you’re an “introvert” who is terrified of networking, meeting people, talking yourself up, or talking about your business then you’re gonna have a HARD time being successful. Your products are NOT going to sell themselves. If you need to be okay with the discomfort of putting yourself and your business out there for the world to judge. I know it’s scary and awkward and uncomfortable and can feel slimy BUT if you learn the art of selling, your business will THRIVE.

#3) I didn’t invest in decorating classes or fancy gadgets to help me “have more time”

Instead, I invested in BUSINESS COURSES and attended conferences that put me in the room with other business owners who were on a similar path to me or had done what I was trying to do. You know the Broadway show, Hamilton? Well, there is a song in that show where Aaron Burr is talking about being in the room where it happens. This is EXACTLY what I’m talking about. If you want to grow you need to STOP listening to people who haven’t accomplished what you wanna do. Instead, follow people who have done exactly what you’re trying to do, ask them questions, take their courses, and get into a room with them because they’re gonna tell you exactly what to do.

#4) I didn’t take shortcuts

The truth is, there is no secret formula or shortcut to success. Social media may be telling you that you can make X amount of money per month by doing x, y, and z. Or what the secret best-selling products are to make money and let me just tell you, friend, this is all BULL SH*T to grab your attention with little to no substance. More times than not, the people who are posting this are just doing it for views and a quick paycheck. And in my opinion, it’s tacky and cringy. To be successful and make 7 figures in your bakery, you’re gonna be required to do the WORK that it takes to run a 7-figure business. That means there will be seasons of hustle and seasons of peaks and valleys. But the most successful business owners are the ones that PIVOT, get resourceful, and simply show up to do the hard work.

#5) Made products that my IDEAL CLIENT asked for… not products I wanted to make.

In the beginning, my vision for the bakery was to only do over-the-top custom cakes just like the ones on Cake Boss. We were based in the Los Angeles area so I solely wanted to work with massive companies, celebrities, and clients who were willing to fork over the BIG MONEY!

However, I learned VERY QUICKLY that the community I was in didn’t want that. They wanted to be able to grab smaller gourmet treats like cupcakes so they could take them to their office or their kid's school or celebrate a friend's birthday. So, after about 6 months we started offering our 25 different gourmet cake flavors in the form of cupcakes daily, and our business TOOK OFF! Cupcakes ended up being our #1 income driver. And looking at the name of our business you would’ve never thought, we sold cupcakes which was one of the biggest mistakes I made earlier on. So- instead of holding onto your vision of how you want your business to look, create your business based on the community you’re serving.

These are just five of the different ways that helped grow my bakery into a 7-figure business and it’s so simple that even bakers just starting out could do it too.

I share my ENTIRE bakery business blueprint for how I turned my bakery into a 7-figure business inside my signature masterclass, Passion To Profit! It only opens for enrollment two times per year but I highly recommend it to ALL small business owners who are looking for clarity, confidence, and direction in their businesses. You can get on the waitlist here for my next session!

Have an amazing week friend and let me know if you have any other questions about how I grew my bakery into a 7-figure business!