Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dalana Fleming, owner of The Cake & The Giraffe, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
The Cake & The Giraffe is a custom cake studio specializing in unique cakes for all occasions. I love bringing clients' visions to life as edible art! A five-tier wedding cake hand-painted with gorgeous florals, you got it! Saturn and its rings, hell ya! A 3D workout bench for a 30th birthday, yes, please!
Tell us about yourself
Baking has been a part of my life since I could hold a spatula. While in culinary school, we had a mini pastry course to teach us the basics. Before we finished that section and months before I graduated, I also made sure I was enrolled in the full-time pastry program. The cake had to be in my future! I started making cakes professionally in 2008 and haven't looked back. I get to bake, sculpt, and paint to create edible art every week!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Growing into a well-known cake business has been an absolute dream! To have someone say to me, "Oh! I've heard of you and follow you online!" is so strange and so incredible. I'm still shocked at the reach my little business has had.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Understanding that it is ok to have a life and ask for help. I quit all my other jobs to focus on this full-time almost 10 years ago, and I've only just now realized I need to have a life outside of work. Things really slowed down in 2020, and it was actually a bit of a blessing to get a taste of working "regular" hours. Until then, and even a little now, I was in the studio 8 to 15 hours a day, 6 and 7 days a week, would come home and work on emails until the early hours of the morning. I'm still trying to implement the asking for help part but have started setting boundaries for myself.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Don't undersell yourself. A lot of self-employed creatives will charge way less when they are starting out, and it is really hard to escape the mindset that people couldn't possibly imagine paying you more for your skills. It took me years to really understand my worth and that my time and creativity were worth more than pennies an hour. Have a financial plan. I was 19 when I started my side cake business. As it grew, I never took the time to really understand how to run the financial parts of a company, making it incredibly stressful. Thankfully, after a particularly hard year, I figured out a system that worked for me, and it changed my life! If you are starting a creative-based business, make sure to schedule little breaks/vacations a few times a year! You need time to recharge and be re-inspired.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.tcandtg.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TCandTG/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cakeandgiraffe/
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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