Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Phoebe Scarborough, owner of Phoebecakes Gluten-Free, located in San Diego, CA, USA.

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

I'm a gluten-free micro-bakery specializing in plant and protein-based sweet treats. I'm obviously first and foremost for the gluten-free humans, but I'm also for all the humans who just like treats and want to feel good after they eat them! I try to make every item so delicious that you won't know it's gluten-free. I also try to make all my treats with plant-based protein and less sugar so that you feel good and balanced after eating them. No sugar crash.

Tell us about yourself

I first started baking when I was a pre-teen. I cared deeply about how food was presented and how it tasted, so I started making the things I wanted to eat. In the back of my mind, I sort of always thought I would have a bakery someday. I baked a lot in college. Cooking and baking were something I was known for in my sorority. I always say, "I'm skilled in the home arts!" Ha ha ha. Anyway, later on in life, after seven years at a dead-end, a 9 to 5 job, in a position I had never planned on staying in, I had an "aha" moment in which I realized I needed to change my life drastically. I ended up taking a year off and then turned my attention to what I could do on my own. I had already begun baking gluten-free for some of my coworkers, and I myself had become gluten sensitive (not intolerant), so I was already experimenting with gluten-free flours and foods. And so I thought, "Why not start here?" What motivates me is my core life mission to make everything in my life about love, comfort, and feeling good. I am a lover. I love caring for others and making them feel good. Even strangers! Feeding people and loving people is something I love to do and something I'm known for among my friends and family.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Not giving up! After the first year (2019), it became clear that my method was not sustainable. I was selling from a cart at the beach and at parks in NYC, and then fall came, so obviously, my outdoor method had to change. I moved the business online for winter, and then COVID came, and we went into lockdown. During the lockdown, I had the opportunity to reconsider what was working and what wasn't. I ended up relocating to my hometown (San Diego), maintaining the online version of my business, and making a plan to open a storefront here. I think it's so easy to give up. Over the years, I've heard so many people, including relatives, tell me how they once started a business, but it didn't work out. My father included. How hard it is to be responsible for everything all the time, etc. And I realized that the difference between success and failure is just not giving up. If you believe your work is needed, then you just can't give up, even if you have to move slowly, quietly, in a way that maybe isn't impressing anyone yet.

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

Never knowing if your ideas and plans are going to work out! You can put so much money, time, and effort into something, and what if it flops or no one likes it? It can be a horrible feeling! You actually have to laugh a lot and see it as a fun adventure that you are learning from every day, which you are.

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

  1. Just begin. Right now. In whatever small way you can. Because it's the way you do things at the beginning that teaches you how to make them better, you can't plan for that later on. Mistakes are going to happen no matter how much you plan.
  2. High-five yourself every day for the work you put in. Very quickly, it can stop being fun if you only focus on your to-do list. (Big thanks to Mel Robbins for reminding us all about this one.)
  3. Make sure that whatever you do, make, or sell aligns with a core value of your life. I don't think you can stay committed to something that doesn't matter to you or if it doesn't align with who you really are.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Thank you so much for featuring me! It's an honor to be recognized for doing something that I love.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://phoebesbakery.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phoebecakesglutenfree
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoebecakesglutenfree/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phoebecakesglutenfree/

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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