Stories of Success: 24/7 Cake
It’s More Than Just Playtime
Lisa Bugeja hasn’t always been a cake decorator. In fact, after high school she set off for college to receive her bachelor’s degree in sociology.
After a semester, however, Bugeja grew tired of school and headed back home. “After spending a few months on the couch, naturally, my mother got annoyed and insisted I go out and do something,” she said. “I’m not sure how the subject came up, but I decided to become a cake decorator.”
She enrolled in a 10-day Master Cake Decorating course at McCall’s School of Cake Decorating, then worked as a part-time cake decorator for a grocery store. After a year of high volume and low creativity, Bugeja went back to school to complete her degree. For the next few years, she tried out jobs in customer service and accounts payable, but she was never truly happy.
“One day I came home from work and asked my husband how he would feel if I quit and enrolled at George Brown College for the Baking and Pastry Arts program,” said Bugeja. They agreed they could survive a year without her salary, and she enrolled right before the deadline. While she was one of the oldest students in the class at age 26, she finally felt like she was where she belonged.
After graduating and beginning her career in the baking industry, Bugeja quickly discovered that working for other people wasn’t quite her thing, and then she became a mom. “Being home with a baby was really the catalyst that got me fully into what I do now,” she said. “I was becoming more and more restless sitting around doing ‘mom’ things and I had to branch out.”
So Bugeja started to ponder opening her own home-based business. At the same time, ironically, her cousin got engaged and asked if she would make his wedding cake. “At first I felt completely paralyzed at the thought of making a ‘live’ wedding cake, but he insisted and even said it would be the only way I would start this business of mine!” she said. So she took a leap of faith, agreed and created a name for her business. Flour Confections, out of Pickering, Ontario, was born.
A Perfect Match
As most people who choose this field, Bugeja always enjoyed baking in her mother’s kitchen. “My mother is a great baker, but not artistic--I was always the one to pretty things up!” said Bugeja. As a drawer and a painter, creativity wasn’t an issue. And, of course, she loved dessert. It only seemed natural that eventually she would merge those two loves. Cake decorating has allowed Bugeja to find an outlet for her creativity that also allowed her to bake. As she says, “It seemed to be a perfect match!” Her art allows her to be a part of the special moments in the lives of others, and the highlight of each (in her opinion) is the cake.
More Than Playtime
Of course, with any business comes challenges. Bugeja built her business from the ground up, and as she said, she didn’t really create a business--she had created a hobby or a job. She didn’t know how to run a business; she just knew how to make cakes. “Most of us who start a cake decorating business start because of the same reasons--we want to bake and be creative and we are good at it, so it seems like a natural thing to go into business for ourselves,” she said. “But for me, I wasn’t really aware of the ‘business’ side of cake.” Bugeja was dealing with marketing, ordering, customers, pricing, supplies, taxes and bookkeeping. She soon realized that it’s not just playing in the kitchen with cake, and that was one of her biggest challenges.
So how did she overcome these challenges? “Who said I’ve overcome them?” said Bugeja. “Seriously, they are all still major challenges in running the business, but I’ve found a groove.” For her taxes, Bugeja took a free tax seminar offered by the government and asked questions specific to her business. For marketing, she hired a web designer and created a brand that would be recognizable in the industry. Most importantly, she learned to ask for help. Her husband helps out with the back-end/bookkeeping issues, while other colleagues and cake forums offer support and advice. “I’m still learning every day, mostly from my mistakes, but what business owner doesn’t?” she said.
Pricing is still a challenge for Bugeja, mainly because deciding what you feel your work is “worth” is always a challenge for anyone in the arts field. “For most customers, cakes are just flour, eggs, sugar, etc., but for a cake artist, they are so much more,” she explained. “They are how we express ourselves, and so putting a dollar value on that expression is a challenge.”
Just a Part of the Business
One of the biggest shocks Bugeja faced after opening her own cake decorating business was how much time she actually spent outside of the kitchen--designing, planning, pricing, creating contracts, developing payment schedules and the like. “It all adds up, and that’s time that we don’t actually account for. It’s just ‘part of the business,’” she said.
And while running a business in the cake decorating world can be tiring, Bugeja has been pleasantly surprised by how tightly-knit the cake community can be. She’s made friends across the globe, some of whom she’s never met in person but would be willing to help her at a moment’s notice. “It is from this sense of community that I have been able to grow as a designer--and I cannot thank my friends enough for that,” she said.
24/7
Bugeja’s business is a long way from where it first began. In 2004, she started out in her home kitchen, but after making just two wedding cakes and a few event cakes, it was time to finish the basement and create a separate kitchen. Once the kitchen was built, Bugeja was able to expand her business and take on as much work as she felt she could handle. Easier said than done. It wasn’t long before the demand for cakes outweighed what she could handle on her own, so she had to start turning down jobs--which in itself was a frustrating task.
As she said, “The cake business was taking over my home. I had cake ‘stuff’ everywhere--from closets, to dining rooms, to basement storage rooms. It was 24/7 cake!” Trying to balance her home and work life became a struggle. “I never left work,” she continued. “My home life and work life became one and the same and I needed a division.” When her daughter entered first grade (she had been able to stay at home with her until that point), Bugeja and her husband created a business plan and discussed moving her business out of the house.
Branching Out
“At that same time a location basically fell in my lap--and after crunching the numbers, we decided to take the bold step,” she said. Deciding that her business likely would not survive on cakes alone, Bugeja made the decision to go into the supply business herself, offering specialty cake supplies to cake decorators at a small retail location and online, which ships throughout Canada, the U.S., and abroad.
Another aspect of Bugeja’s business plan included education. After taking several trips to the U.S. to take classes with some of the biggest names in the industry, she decided to see if they would come to her. Her idea paid off, and she now offers classes with celebrity guest chefs from all over the world. This past May she hosted her first celebrity class with Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes. These classes have already proven to be a smashing success, in addition to the other classes Flour Confections has to offer.
Getting Hooked
Bugeja attributes much of her success to her baking practices. She bakes from scratch using butter, with no mixes or premade fillings. She doesn’t bake ahead and doesn’t freeze either. Everything is baked to order, created specifically for each client, with nothing mass produced. She also creates custom designs, drawing from her artistic side and applying it to her skills using this edible medium.
Another large part of her success comes from challenging herself by entering cake competitions. Bugeja started with local competitions offered by the Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry, which lead her to branch further outward. In 2007, she took a trip to the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show. “This was a scary proposition--as was the 20-hour drive from Toronto to Oklahoma--but I had to do it!” she said. “To my surprise, my cookie entry took first place and my special occasion cake placed second!” This was a large feat, considering Bugeja had to enter at the Master level due to her extensive education. “From that moment, I was hooked,” she continued.
In 2008, she made the 20-hour drive again, this time with a wedding cake in the back, and earned a silver ribbon. Her winning design was even chosen by BRIDES magazine to be featured in a special editorial section. “My need to challenge myself and express my art lead to my being featured in a prestigious magazine, and I think it’s that drive that allows me to be successful,” said Bugeja.
Exploring New Avenues
With the cake industry growing and new designers entering the field on a daily basis, Bugeja has found that staying ahead of the game is becoming more and more of a challenge. “I think now, more than ever, staying true to my brand of custom cakes made from scratch is very important--not only for my business, but for myself as well,” she concludes.
And, even in this rough economy, Bugeja has still managed to expand her business. “Most people would think I’m nuts to have expanded my business as I have in such a tough economic time, and some days I would agree,” she said. “However, there really is no ‘perfect’ time to invest so much money and time in a business, so now was as good a time as any.” But it’s not easy. The economy is affecting everything, from loans to credit terms with suppliers to increased importing fees.
And, Bugeja has found that in this economy people are less apt to indulge, whether it be for a wedding cake, a specialty sugarcraft item or an educational class. “I’ve talked to numerous people in the wedding industry this year and the numbers are down, so it’s affecting everyone,” she said. “But instead of seeing this as a problem, I’m looking for new ways to keep the income flowing--and so far those new avenues are looking promising.”
Just the Beginning
Over the last year, Bugeja has learned more about how to run a business, and not just a cake business. Bugeja read "The E-Myth" after a friend’s recommendation, a book that helped change her perspective and focus. She has also learned to rely on others for help, including her husband, who is now her business partner, and her new intern Robyn, who has become her right hand in the kitchen. “Having others that can take on some of the duties has really helped me and allowed me to focus on building my business vs. working my business,” says Bugeja.
As for the future of Flour Confections, Bugeja sums it up this way: “All I can say is that Flour Confections is only just beginning--it can only get better from here!”
Lisa Bugeja hasn’t always been a cake decorator. In fact, after high school she set off for college to receive her bachelor’s degree in sociology.
After a semester, however, Bugeja grew tired of school and headed back home. “After spending a few months on the couch, naturally, my mother got annoyed and insisted I go out and do something,” she said. “I’m not sure how the subject came up, but I decided to become a cake decorator.”
She enrolled in a 10-day Master Cake Decorating course at McCall’s School of Cake Decorating, then worked as a part-time cake decorator for a grocery store. After a year of high volume and low creativity, Bugeja went back to school to complete her degree. For the next few years, she tried out jobs in customer service and accounts payable, but she was never truly happy.
“One day I came home from work and asked my husband how he would feel if I quit and enrolled at George Brown College for the Baking and Pastry Arts program,” said Bugeja. They agreed they could survive a year without her salary, and she enrolled right before the deadline. While she was one of the oldest students in the class at age 26, she finally felt like she was where she belonged.
After graduating and beginning her career in the baking industry, Bugeja quickly discovered that working for other people wasn’t quite her thing, and then she became a mom. “Being home with a baby was really the catalyst that got me fully into what I do now,” she said. “I was becoming more and more restless sitting around doing ‘mom’ things and I had to branch out.”
So Bugeja started to ponder opening her own home-based business. At the same time, ironically, her cousin got engaged and asked if she would make his wedding cake. “At first I felt completely paralyzed at the thought of making a ‘live’ wedding cake, but he insisted and even said it would be the only way I would start this business of mine!” she said. So she took a leap of faith, agreed and created a name for her business. Flour Confections, out of Pickering, Ontario, was born.
A Perfect Match
As most people who choose this field, Bugeja always enjoyed baking in her mother’s kitchen. “My mother is a great baker, but not artistic--I was always the one to pretty things up!” said Bugeja. As a drawer and a painter, creativity wasn’t an issue. And, of course, she loved dessert. It only seemed natural that eventually she would merge those two loves. Cake decorating has allowed Bugeja to find an outlet for her creativity that also allowed her to bake. As she says, “It seemed to be a perfect match!” Her art allows her to be a part of the special moments in the lives of others, and the highlight of each (in her opinion) is the cake.
More Than Playtime
Of course, with any business comes challenges. Bugeja built her business from the ground up, and as she said, she didn’t really create a business--she had created a hobby or a job. She didn’t know how to run a business; she just knew how to make cakes. “Most of us who start a cake decorating business start because of the same reasons--we want to bake and be creative and we are good at it, so it seems like a natural thing to go into business for ourselves,” she said. “But for me, I wasn’t really aware of the ‘business’ side of cake.” Bugeja was dealing with marketing, ordering, customers, pricing, supplies, taxes and bookkeeping. She soon realized that it’s not just playing in the kitchen with cake, and that was one of her biggest challenges.
So how did she overcome these challenges? “Who said I’ve overcome them?” said Bugeja. “Seriously, they are all still major challenges in running the business, but I’ve found a groove.” For her taxes, Bugeja took a free tax seminar offered by the government and asked questions specific to her business. For marketing, she hired a web designer and created a brand that would be recognizable in the industry. Most importantly, she learned to ask for help. Her husband helps out with the back-end/bookkeeping issues, while other colleagues and cake forums offer support and advice. “I’m still learning every day, mostly from my mistakes, but what business owner doesn’t?” she said.
Pricing is still a challenge for Bugeja, mainly because deciding what you feel your work is “worth” is always a challenge for anyone in the arts field. “For most customers, cakes are just flour, eggs, sugar, etc., but for a cake artist, they are so much more,” she explained. “They are how we express ourselves, and so putting a dollar value on that expression is a challenge.”
Just a Part of the Business
One of the biggest shocks Bugeja faced after opening her own cake decorating business was how much time she actually spent outside of the kitchen--designing, planning, pricing, creating contracts, developing payment schedules and the like. “It all adds up, and that’s time that we don’t actually account for. It’s just ‘part of the business,’” she said.
And while running a business in the cake decorating world can be tiring, Bugeja has been pleasantly surprised by how tightly-knit the cake community can be. She’s made friends across the globe, some of whom she’s never met in person but would be willing to help her at a moment’s notice. “It is from this sense of community that I have been able to grow as a designer--and I cannot thank my friends enough for that,” she said.
24/7
Bugeja’s business is a long way from where it first began. In 2004, she started out in her home kitchen, but after making just two wedding cakes and a few event cakes, it was time to finish the basement and create a separate kitchen. Once the kitchen was built, Bugeja was able to expand her business and take on as much work as she felt she could handle. Easier said than done. It wasn’t long before the demand for cakes outweighed what she could handle on her own, so she had to start turning down jobs--which in itself was a frustrating task.
As she said, “The cake business was taking over my home. I had cake ‘stuff’ everywhere--from closets, to dining rooms, to basement storage rooms. It was 24/7 cake!” Trying to balance her home and work life became a struggle. “I never left work,” she continued. “My home life and work life became one and the same and I needed a division.” When her daughter entered first grade (she had been able to stay at home with her until that point), Bugeja and her husband created a business plan and discussed moving her business out of the house.
Branching Out
“At that same time a location basically fell in my lap--and after crunching the numbers, we decided to take the bold step,” she said. Deciding that her business likely would not survive on cakes alone, Bugeja made the decision to go into the supply business herself, offering specialty cake supplies to cake decorators at a small retail location and online, which ships throughout Canada, the U.S., and abroad.
Another aspect of Bugeja’s business plan included education. After taking several trips to the U.S. to take classes with some of the biggest names in the industry, she decided to see if they would come to her. Her idea paid off, and she now offers classes with celebrity guest chefs from all over the world. This past May she hosted her first celebrity class with Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes. These classes have already proven to be a smashing success, in addition to the other classes Flour Confections has to offer.
Getting Hooked
Bugeja attributes much of her success to her baking practices. She bakes from scratch using butter, with no mixes or premade fillings. She doesn’t bake ahead and doesn’t freeze either. Everything is baked to order, created specifically for each client, with nothing mass produced. She also creates custom designs, drawing from her artistic side and applying it to her skills using this edible medium.
Another large part of her success comes from challenging herself by entering cake competitions. Bugeja started with local competitions offered by the Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry, which lead her to branch further outward. In 2007, she took a trip to the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show. “This was a scary proposition--as was the 20-hour drive from Toronto to Oklahoma--but I had to do it!” she said. “To my surprise, my cookie entry took first place and my special occasion cake placed second!” This was a large feat, considering Bugeja had to enter at the Master level due to her extensive education. “From that moment, I was hooked,” she continued.
In 2008, she made the 20-hour drive again, this time with a wedding cake in the back, and earned a silver ribbon. Her winning design was even chosen by BRIDES magazine to be featured in a special editorial section. “My need to challenge myself and express my art lead to my being featured in a prestigious magazine, and I think it’s that drive that allows me to be successful,” said Bugeja.
Exploring New Avenues
With the cake industry growing and new designers entering the field on a daily basis, Bugeja has found that staying ahead of the game is becoming more and more of a challenge. “I think now, more than ever, staying true to my brand of custom cakes made from scratch is very important--not only for my business, but for myself as well,” she concludes.
And, even in this rough economy, Bugeja has still managed to expand her business. “Most people would think I’m nuts to have expanded my business as I have in such a tough economic time, and some days I would agree,” she said. “However, there really is no ‘perfect’ time to invest so much money and time in a business, so now was as good a time as any.” But it’s not easy. The economy is affecting everything, from loans to credit terms with suppliers to increased importing fees.
And, Bugeja has found that in this economy people are less apt to indulge, whether it be for a wedding cake, a specialty sugarcraft item or an educational class. “I’ve talked to numerous people in the wedding industry this year and the numbers are down, so it’s affecting everyone,” she said. “But instead of seeing this as a problem, I’m looking for new ways to keep the income flowing--and so far those new avenues are looking promising.”
Just the Beginning
Over the last year, Bugeja has learned more about how to run a business, and not just a cake business. Bugeja read "The E-Myth" after a friend’s recommendation, a book that helped change her perspective and focus. She has also learned to rely on others for help, including her husband, who is now her business partner, and her new intern Robyn, who has become her right hand in the kitchen. “Having others that can take on some of the duties has really helped me and allowed me to focus on building my business vs. working my business,” says Bugeja.
As for the future of Flour Confections, Bugeja sums it up this way: “All I can say is that Flour Confections is only just beginning--it can only get better from here!”