Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Shaun Breese, co-founder of Urban Cookies Bakeshop, located in Phoenix, AZ, USA.

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

Urban Cookies Bakeshop is a gourmet retail bakery specializing in cookies, cupcakes, donuts, and cakes located in central Phoenix.

Tell us about yourself

My husband Brady and I own Urban Cookies. We started it together in 2005 with the goal of creating unique bakery pastries that were focused on taste and flavor rather than looks. Brady is a homegrown, self-taught baker who loves to research new flavor profiles and create each day. My passion is leading people, focusing on helping young people learn and grow.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Our business accomplishment is twofold: winning Food Network’s Cupcake Wars in 2011 and is successfully surviving three major business disruptions— the crash of 2008, a forced relocation in 2017, and the 2020 pandemic.

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

Having to be available 24/7 to support your business.

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

  1. Listen to what your customers are saying, good & bad.
  2. Be willing to change your processes and procedures constantly toward improvement.
  3. As a start-up, find a way to support yourself outside the business for the first five years. Every earned penny has to go back into the business.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.urbancookies.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UrbanCookiesBakeshop/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urban_cookies/

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.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.