Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kyra Bussanich, Founder of Kyra's Bake Shop, located in Lake Oswego, OR, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We offer joy, inclusion, and celebration to all. The vehicle we use to drive there is via making delicious gluten-free pastries that are such a treat to eat. A good portion of our customer base doesn't even have a food allergy! This point was really driven home with our multiple wins on The Food Network's Cupcake Wars--where we were baking and winning against traditional flour-based cupcakes.

Tell us about yourself

I first got started with a bakery business after I found out I could no longer eat gluten-filled products. I had been sick for years and years, doing chemo-tox infusions in the hospital every six weeks, trying different experimental medications--some of which cost more than twice my mortgage payment--and nothing worked well. Each medication had negative side effects, and I was looking for a permanent solution and a way to get up off the couch and live my 20s. I was tired of debilitating pain in my stomach and intestines, and so when my gastroenterologist threatened to do surgery to remove portions of my intestines, I was ready to make drastic changes if it meant I could avoid surgery.

I started avoiding gluten--which at the time was not widely known--and within three days, I felt magical and so much better. After that, I was personally motivated to create delicious pastries I could safely eat, though I had no idea that there'd be a market for this. Remember, this was in 2008 when no one really talked about gluten or what it meant. I was working in pastry at a restaurant in town and making gluten-free wedding cakes and birthday cakes on the side, and I got to a point where I was working 16-hour days.

Eight at the restaurant and then 8 in my certified home kitchen for custom orders. I knew there might be something here when I first went on Cupcake Wars in 2009, and within minutes of the show first airing, I was inundated with phone calls and emails of people rooting me on, wanting to share their own gluten-free journey, or asking to place orders for shipping. And then, when I opened the first brick-and-mortar bake shop location, I had a line down the block and around the corner an hour before opening. The passion and excitement from those guests lined up and waiting to try my creations was very exciting and inspiring!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

There are so many ways I could answer this, but the one I keep coming back to is when I have a guest come into the bake shop and burst into tears at the options they have to safely eat anything they see--an experience they don't have most places. And then, when their non-gluten-free friends also enthusiastically devour our cinnamon rolls or savory galettes or cupcakes, it's the icing on the proverbial cake.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

There are lots of things that are difficult with owning a business. You never stop thinking about it around the clock. There is no such thing as vacation or time off. You have to be on call to solve challenges 24/7. You often get paid last (in lean years, like when covid first hit and the business was shut down, I chose to forgo any sort of salary for myself so that I could make sure my team was taken care of). Managing expectations is difficult too.

When I started, I'd say yes to customer requests--even if I lost money on it--as a form of marketing, but then you grow and get to a point where you can't do that any longer, and those same customers get mad, and it backfires. I made lots and lots and lots of mistakes, though I like to think I've learned from them. Also, making good hires and then trusting them to care can be difficult.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Make sure you have the passion for it and that you can't imagine your life NOT starting that business. If you're wishy-washy on it, you will want to fold at the first challenge (and there will be many challenges). You need that determination and grit to get over those hurdles.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.kyrasbakeshop.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kyrasbakeshop
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kyrasbakeshop/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyrasbakeshop
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyra-bussanich-b8a0914/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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