Jun 14, 2022
(And what I learned along the way)
Starting a business is HARD AF. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it… (I tell it like it is.)
Then add in being a parent, having a sh*t ton of responsibilities, BILLS, and you’ve got yourself a RECIPE for overwhelm and chaos.
Now, I’m all about being ON POINT with your finances and strategizing for your business. But that’s not how it all went down when Eddie and I started The Cake Mamas.
At the time, 13,000 people in LA had lost their high-paying corporate jobs, and we were part of that group. Both Eddie and I worked in the same industry. So suddenly, we had zero income coming in to support our family of five. We were BROKE, had TONS of bills, and we had to file for BANKRUPTCY (it took us 10 YEARS just to build back our credit).
Going from corporate climber to stay-at-home mom made me feel like I was taking steps BACKWARDS in life.
And then the idea of starting The Cake Mamas LITERALLY came to me in a dream. It’s a CRAZY story, and you can hear more about it on our podcast.
But here’s the thing: FUNDING this dream took EVERYTHING.
I invested our SAVINGS, my 401k, and if this business didn’t work, our family would SUFFER.
Cut to 13+ years later: We built a MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS from scratch (which we then sold), and I retired to coach and mentor bakers, creators, and business owners to show up as their most bossed-up versions of themselves in their business.
I love the life I’ve built for myself, but I had a really BUMPY start. And given a chance to do it all over again, there are things that I would’ve done differently.
Here are some of the BIGGEST lessons I picked up along the way:
Being RESOURCEFUL is often better than being rich
And that means not accepting NO as answer. It means doing whatever it takes to make something happen. It means RESEARCHING, and searching for answers when things feel impossible.
When I was working from home and trying to open a storefront, I was told NO more times than I could count when I asked for a loan, grants, credit cards, etc. But I didn’t let that stop me from making this business WORK!
I found a way to do it all on my OWN. Everyone told me I was crazy for starting a business I had no knowledge in. Crazy for starting a business during a recession. Crazy for starting a business with NO MONEY. Yet, despite all of that, I found a way for me to do it.
And you can do it TOO! It’s all about being smart with what you have and then working your way up from there.
There is ALWAYS a way. JUST BEGIN!
Starting a BUSINESS a couple of months after filing bankruptcy sounds like an INSANE thing to do. And if things weren’t financially so bleak for me and my family, I would’ve saved and WAITED to get the capital that I needed to invest in my dream biz. But like I’ve said before, I started this business out of NECESSITY.
Now, I’m not saying there’s anything WRONG with strategizing and planning before you start a business. It’s what I would recommend to all of my students or anyone asking me how to start a business. But if you’re starting from scratch with zero capital in your bank account, there are STILL financing options to help you kickstart your business in a small capacity, and then grow from there.
We sold our first Cake Mamas order for the severely UNDERCHARGED price of $40. Iit took a lot of time, learning, and DRIVE to go from there to seven figures (but we’re all gonna start somewhere). But it wouldn’t have happened at all if I hadn’t advocated for myself, SOLD the customer on why they needed my products, gotten my first order, and baked my first cake!
So, you may be starting from SCRATCH like me or you may be at level 10, but THERE ARE ALWAYS OPTIONS to help you fund + grow your biz.
And that brings me to…
You’ve got to do your HOMEWORK.
I’m going to be honest: I learned this one the HARD way. I didn’t know sh*t about financing my baking business, forecasting, or leveraging credit. And I had to fail a few times before I got on the right track.
I learned all of this through experience, and it was extremely difficult but eye-opening. I had ZERO experience in the baking industry so I just had to roll with it. But if I hadn’t done my RESEARCH, invested in courses, and mentor’s, there’s NO way I could’ve taken my baking business anywhere.
So, doing your homework is NON-NEGOTIABLE. And you might feel like a fish out of water when you start to learn more about MONEY and FUNDING your business, but that’s where I can help!
My How To Fund Your Dream Business workshopwas created to help business owners like YOU figure out how to raise capital, build credit, and FIND A WAY to fuel your business, no matter what your starting point is.
I’ll teach you through EVERYTHING you need to know (from your loan options to crowdfunding and preparing for business costs) about funding your business so you can stop sleeping on your dreams and turn them into your REALITY.
Click here to save your spot! ->
