Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dena Lumbang, owner of Kalani Kakes, located in Elk Grove, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Kalani Kakes is a Hawaiian bakery, and our menu is inspired by the movie "50 First Dates". We offer cakes, cupcakes, mochi, cookies, and jams and can be found at farmer's markets, pop-up events, weddings and are available wholesale to coffee shops, small stores, and restaurants. Our customers are island lovers - anyone from the islands or who loves and misses the islands and want to taste aloha on the mainland. We will be offering to ship beginning spring 2022.
Tell us about yourself
I started my business in 2019 after not knowing what path I should take in life. I had closed a business in 2018 and also had left a high-tech job the year prior - and I was pretty down and felt lost. It was after a trip to Hawaii that inspired what is now Kalani Kakes. I had always wanted to open a bakery, and it wasn't until then that it all made sense. Hawaii is meaningful to me because my parents grew up there, my husband was born there, and our best vacations with our kids have been there. We try to go often, but when the pandemic started, it was difficult, and we haven't been since 2019. Usually, when we can't travel there and miss Hawaii, what we do is watch the movie 50 First Dates, which was filmed in Oahu.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
There are so many things to be thankful for. I've bootstrapped my business from the get-go, building my brand, growing my customer base organically, creating meaningful relationships with both customers and other small business owners, and becoming a stronger person for my family.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Realizing that failures are opportunities to learn from and competition is also healthy. It helps you grow as a business owner.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Be ready to adapt - things might not happen how you expect, and you have to be flexible and adapt to changing demand and the economy. Talk to as many business owners as you can - even if they are not exactly doing what you are doing, but what are they doing right that you admire? Figure out how to implement those strengths into your business. Growth is also not "bigger" - growth can be that you focus on a new market or that you simplify your services - focus helps prioritize and builds your expertise.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.kalanikakes.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kalanikakes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kalani_kakes/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kalanikakes
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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