Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in baked goods but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Philip Gomez, co-owner of Patty's Cakes and Desserts, located in Fullerton, California, United States.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a local bakery serving up freshly baked deliciousness! Our customers are anyone that prefers a cake or cupcake with a balanced mix of flavors and sweetness.
Tell us about yourself
My Mom, Patty, started baking out of the house in 1985 as a hobby, and it soon turned into a business out of our home. In 2010 we partnered together to open a storefront. I always wanted to have my own business, and partnering with her helped us both out. She got help, and I became a business owner.
Bakeries are notoriously low tech yet deal with a massive amount of variables. No cake decorator starts a business excited to create and work in tech systems all day to create a better workflow. Luckily I am not a cake decorator, but more of a techy. I enjoy weaving systems together to create a seamless experience for the user and our production.
The easier it is for people to order and the easier it is for our staff to produce it, it creates an ever-growing success loop that grows the business. It yields happy customers and happy employees too!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner was working long hours prior to the pandemic to build an e-commerce platform and associated integrations with other systems with scale in mind. When the pandemic hit and everyone rushed to online ordering, we were ready to capitalize.
Business took off, and our customer base exploded. All of our systems ran smoothly and handled the increased volume. We pivoted our production staff and bolted on an in-house delivery platform too. Deliveries have been a big moneymaker for us. Working through the weekends and late into many, many nights paid off laid the foundation to allow us to double our business in two years. Hard work pays off.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Working in the business in order to grow it big enough to have staff take over tasks.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Employees are great, treat them well, appreciate them, but don’t get stuck on them. There are plenty of other people out there that can replace them. We have had dozens of employees over the years. I am grateful for their time and work.
Some were harder to see go than others. As bummed as I was to see some leave, we have new employees that have come in and exceeded their skills, abilities, and attitudes. Embrace the change of people. - Be frugal, but pay for software that will make your life easier. The software runs 24x7. If its monthly cost is easily paid for with a few hours of work, buy it. I spend thousands of dollars a month in software, but I also save thousands of dollars a month in labor. Labor calls out sick and chooses when to be productive.
The software runs all the time. Also, get software that links to other software. Aka, don’t buy an island. Get a landlocked state, a state that can connect to the US highway system and can connect you with other cities and states. These connections will allow you to move data around and reduce manual labor by your staff, enable automation, and reduce errors. - The only constant is change. Be flexible. You may think you have things figured out ahead of time, but things will often need to be adapted on the fly in the real world. Your wonderful ideas may not pan out as expected. Adapt, pivot, refine, and keep trucking.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
If you choose the path of entrepreneurship, keep in mind that it's an uphill marathon in the cold, at night, while raining - not a sprint on a nice sunny day. A solid business takes 10 years to build. If this doesn't sound like fun, keep your job. If this entices you, stop by for a cupcake to welcome you to the path less traveled.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://pattys-cakes.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pattys.cakes/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pattyscakes
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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