BUSINESS MINDED

Finding Your Focus BY CHRISSIE BOON

Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been working at it for years, finding your focus is an important part of any business. For a new cake decorator who has decided to take the plunge and start a business, defining your focus before you officially hang up that open sign is an important first step. Deciding on what you want to specialize in while you’re writing a business plan should be paramount. In fact, you could look at it as the opening thesis to kick-start your business.

What do you want to do? It sounds like a simple enough question, but defining the focus of your business is as important as flour is to a cake. Are you going to make wedding cakes only? Do you want to make special-occasion cakes? What about sculpted cakes? Will you be by appointment only, or will there be a walk-in aspect to your business? If you’re operating from home, will you have baked goods available for order as well as custom cakes? What about cupcakes, cake pops, pie pops, and the newly trending cookie cakes? The Jack of All Cakes It can be very tempting to want to say you’ll do it all. You won’t turn anything away. You’ll be a jack of all cakes and bakes. You want your name out there. Taking every new customer who inquires is an exciting idea no matter what they ask for. But is this the smartest approach? Is this the best way make your mark and start your footing in the business world? I think it is important to look at what you excel at and what you know the most about. Become a specialist at something, something that sets you apart from what is available currently in your area. FOCUS ON THAT. Start there. Make yourself the expert of that one thing. Know everything about it inside and out. Be self-assured in your work and your approach to this specialized skill. Show your confidence in your quotes and when you discuss your product with your customer. This does not happen overnight. It took me years to feel 100 percent confident in replying to a customer’s inquiries—especially when they push back on pricing or think they know more than you about your product. Remember you are the expert. And you are giving yourself the opportunity to grow in your role as an expert by keeping your focus. Chrissie Boon is owner of Too Business Steps Nice to Slice, Eventually we all need to grow, though. For those who are already in business, we a custom cake shop and teaching academy sometimes need to look at how we can expand. Maybe it’s because we need to find more revenue streams. Maybe you’ve hit a point where you feel you need a new based in Ontario, Canada, where she also owns a cake supply store and a retail storefront bakery. Chrissie is the director of Icing challenge. Or maybe you’ve reached the point where you feel you’ve truly become Smiles Canada, head of the Canadian Cake the expert and it’s the correct business decision to take things to the next level. Decorating Guild, and a Creative Director at Icing Inspirations. Chrissie recently joined It’s very tempting when you follow all the inspiring Instagram accounts and Pinterest the Renshaw Americas team as their newest ideas to want to try everything. The cookie cakes pop up, macarons are always Canadian ambassador. evolving, cupcakes are being fried. It’s important to try new things. You’ll never grow unless you do. But the key word in that sentence is TRY. Try means it may not go as Toonicetoslice.ca planned the first time. So try, try, try it several times before you decide it is something Icinginspirations.ca you offer. Make yourself the expert in it.

“IT CAN BE VERY TEMPTING TO WANT TO SAY YOU’LL DO IT ALL. YOU WON’T TURN ANYTHING AWAY. YOU’LL BE A JACK OF ALL CAKES AND BAKES. ”

Over the years I’ve made the mistake on multiple occasions of committing myself to something I had never tried before. Sometimes I got lucky and it worked out, sometimes it did not. I hung a cake from a ceiling for a client before. Hanging cakes were a big thing. There were no tutorials, nothing to reference, or even a picture of someone who had done it before. But I agreed to it with confidence and said I could. Smart move? Probably not. I got lucky…it worked out (that time). With it though, I gave myself the time to properly plan and execute it.

Cake-Pop Crux But there have been other times it has not worked out in my favor. I committed to 300 cake pops before I’d ever dipped a single one in my life. So many people were doing them, and I just assumed they would be easy, and left them to the last minute just thinking everything would work out. Well, that last minute came and went and I tried chilling them, I tried oil in my chocolate, I tried every tip I could find online. Cake pops were clearly not meant to be my thing. They cracked, they leaked, they were lumpy and bumpy. I lost my focus. I never should have committed to them. And until I had mastered them I would not agree to do them again. Yes, it means I turn away customers. But they are not my focus. Until I make them my focus I can’t afford to offer them.

Why do I say “afford to offer them”? Aren’t I making money if the order comes in? Yes, that one order may bring in some cash flow initially, but that one order could also be a major downfall. It could cost me a customer who will never return because they received a subpar product. And it could cost me many customers who were at the party or event and saw my product on display. Your product is your best advertising, so it should be the best representation of your business every time it goes out the door.

The Trouble with Google To talk briefly on that point of looking online, I think the internet can be a major downfall to businesses in some ways and shows how we can easily lose focus. The inspiration it provides can be a double-edged sword. Seeing what others are working on can be inspiring and frustrating all at the same time. Sometimes projects online look so simple. We count on there always being a tutorial or video of some sort available to us. We commit to things we’ve never tried with the idea of “I’ll just google it first.” We may have grand intentions of googling it weeks before the order is due. But raise your hand if it’s the night before the cake is going out and your sticky fingers are hitting the keyboard as you try and carve a cake for the first time.

Dreams Are Achieved One Step at a Time Over the years I have grown. To some it may seem fast. To me I often still feel my business moves so slow. I have goals I’d love to see the business achieve. I have places I want to see it grow to. But I have had to define my focus each step of the way and make sure that when I did grow, it was at the right time.

From day one the idea of a walk-in bakery was a beautiful dream. But my start was a byappointment cake studio. Eventually that grew into classes and cake supplies. And only after years in business did I eventually expand my focus to have that walk-in bakery. Every day new dreams come along. Every day something new inspires me. I’m not saying don’t dream. Keep a list of all those inspiring things. Keep a list of all the goals you have for you and for your business. But give each one of those dreams and goals the proper attention it deserves to see it develop to its fullest potential for you and your business. ACD

“OVER THE YEARS I’VE MADE THE

MISTAKE ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS OF COMMITTING MYSELF TO SOMETHING I HAD

NEVER TRIED. SOMETIMES, I

GOT LUCKY AND IT WORKED OUT, SOMETIMES IT DID NOT. ”