We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michelle Crawford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Michelle, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
“Dig Deep” has been my mantra since I can remember. When obstacles arise, when the challenge feels like more than I can handle, I whisper, “Dig Deep Girl, you got this”. Many times it’s said through tears of frustration. Running a business of your own, is not an easy task. October, 2019, I was on top of the world! We moved our homebased business into a brick and mortar establishment. My working space grew from 500 square feet to nearly 2,000. I had a small nest egg stashed away to help me with the coming months until I filled our calendar with events. Business exploded! I had spent four years building my cake business, and people were beginning to notice. Once I moved into a professional shop, folks started to take me seriously. Then March 2020 rolled along. I scoffed at the idea that the world would shut down. Boy, was I mistaken! I had a couple of people who help me in the shop, but they were contracted workers (1099). I had poured every dime the business made back into the business, meaning, I never pulled money for myself. Though the business was on a growing trend, doubling what it had grossed the previous year, growing businesses cost money, so there wasn’t a profit being made. With each step towards growth, the more expensive running things became. No one ever shares that bit of information, its something that is an unspoken, hard lesson. Due to the details shared above, I didn’t qualify for unemployment, or PPP grants. I was on my own to figure out how to stay afloat. I was open to listening to any and all ideas on how to make money while the world was on pause. The landlord still wanted rent, and the bill collectors all had their hands out as well. I was through that small nest egg in a blink of an eye! I felt like it was over, that everything I had worked for, was done. One afternoon, I came in to shut everything down to help keep the electric bill as low as possible and I just crumbled to the floor. Crying my eyes out to the point it was impossible to breath. Ya’ll know that kind of cry, the ugly, snotty nose, eyes swollen shut, blotchy face, crying. Talking to myself out loud, Picking myself up, I “Dug Deep” brainstorming of ideas on how to pivot to help keep money coming in. Refinancing my home, and a business loan later, I’m up to my ear drums in debt. But the business survived and here we are 4 years later, still pushing through!
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I started Bakers Cottage Cakes on a whim. Newly divorce, with two young daughters to care for, I went to school for baking and pastry arts. After 3 1/2 years of working two jobs, going to school and caring for my girls, I graduated! I accepted a position as a pastry chef for a small catering company where on occasion, I would have the opportunity to bake special event cakes. When a friend of the family asked me to bake their wedding cake and desserts, I gladly obliged. Because her photographer planned on submitting the photos of the wedding for publication, it was suggested that I come up with a name of a business. Working under the Bakers Cottage Laws in my home, it seemed like an easy name. I loved the idea that I would be making cakes, “from my cottage, to yours”.
Working on a stove that was more than 30 years old, with only one working burner, it took over an hour to bake an 8″ cake. I could only bake one at a time, else everything would bake slower and the cakes wouldn’t rise properly.
Using social media as a tool to get my name out there, business started to flow. One late evening at work, I had the epiphany that if I worked for myself as hard as I did for my employer, maybe I could make this thing happen? Taking the plunge, I fell in love with the wedding business! I had never felt so creative in all my life! I met wonderful couples, deeply in love, who were excited about their futures together. Being a small part of their families special day felt like an honor that cannot be explained with words.
There is a darker side of business, that can be soul crushing. My husband (yes, I found love again and have been married for 7 years now) tells me, “water off a duck’s back”. Meaning, try not to let the petty problems weigh you down. Focus on what you can change, push forward and learn from the experience.
Post pandemic, BCC is entering its fifth year in our professional location. This past year, I started teaching classes and who would of thought, this woman loves to teach! Whether the classes be a cake decorating class that is more sipping wine and having fun or an in-depth class focused on the art of baking or cake artistry,
building cakes and sharing the hard learned lessons I have been taught over the years, is probably my favorite. It is the foundation of cake artistry that I wish I had been taught in school myself. I am in the process of building a Patreon to help with these classes and make them more accessible for people like myself.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The wedding business can be full of raw emotions. Your clients, though excited, can often be stressed and overwhelmed. It is not always about making a sale. Listening skills are a vital part of owning a business. Not only for your clients, but for your team as well. Up until this point in my life, I had never been an employer, I had only ever been an employee. Hearing what my team needs from me and understanding their limits is paramount to success. The same goes for each client. So much goes into owning your own company. It’s not just about making pretty cakes. It is so much more complex than just baking and frosting a cake. Customer relationships, Team Building, Business Management, Cost Management, Sales, and the absolute Dreaded… Delivering the Cake! I can not stress enough how important Networking with people in your industry can be. They don’t only have to be bakers too, but the people who you share events with can be a wealth of information and support! If there was one thing I wish I would have learned prior to my starting this company, I wish I had taken an in-depth business course!
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Moving into the new phase of this adventure, I would love to collaborate with video/photographers with the intention of filming 30 minute segments for baking classes. It would not be limited to baking, lord knows there is so much to cover regarding the business of weddings.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bakerscottagecakes.com/wedding-cakes
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mybakerscottagecakes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BakesCottageCakes/photos
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/BakersCottageCakes
https://www.pinterest.com/bakerscottagecakes/
Image Credits
The cake with myself and bride hugging me was shot by Award winning photographer Elizabeth Messina
