Happy Friday all you Sweet
fans!
This past week we were so lucky
to be asked to go Live on KTLA Morning News with Allie Mackay to talk a little
about our business and how fortunate we have been to have an amazing kitchen
such as the Chefs Center in Pasadena to be able to help what was once a small
start up company to thrive in today’s economy without having the overhead of
building out a kitchen and also giving us the opportunity to have a support
team in place to start. Unfortunately,
when we scheduled the interview I didn’t realize I was actually going to be out
on my 10th year anniversary with my husband in Maui so I turned the
interviews over to my Sweet Team Margo, Rebecca, and Stephanie and I was so
thrilled and impressed with the girls screening! They really captured Goodie Girls just as I
would have! If you missed the show, you
can watch all 3 segments here:
If you are familiar at all with
our store, most of you know we do not bake in house. We go to our kitchen at Chefs Center at
4:30am, bake up a storm, and transport everything to our store by 10:30am to
open our doors!
Before I went on Cupcake Wars,
I never knew Cupcakes were going to consume my life! After we filmed the 1st Cupcake
Wars that we won, I knew this was what I wanted to do and I am the type of
person who HAS to do what I love and give it my all. So I started researching how I could make
this all happen at a slower pace since I was still working a full time
job. I came across a couple different
kitchens, but none of them compared to Chef’s Center across the board for me. It’s conveniently located, not in the middle
of a traffic bound area, it has a large open kitchen with the ability to have a
private kitchen as well, it has rental storage space to keep all your goods
there instead of transporting pans everyday, there are knowledgeable chefs on
staff who can really help you learn the business side of things, and so much
more. The best part is you can rent it
by the hour for $25/hr!! So no monthly
fees, no leases to sign, and yet you get an entire licensed kitchen to work
from! This was heaven. So I started up at Chefs Center.
My first few times I went were
to do some charity work jobs I had gotten.
Then Larry from Chefs Center approached me and asked if we would like to
be a part of their Friday Food Fairs. At
Chefs Center, they have these Food Fairs on Fridays that have rotating food
trucks and then allow all the vendors who cook at the kitchen an opportunity to
sell their products to the public. This
was amazing as it was the first time I would have a “store front” feel where I
could set up my display how I would like and really see how people react to our
cupcakes and also see how well they would sell.
And to be able to be a part of these trucks like the Grilled Cheese
Truck, Slammin Sliders, and Coolhaus who have so many followers who could say
no? After the first Food Fair I was
sold! People were going crazy over our
flavors and we kept getting asked “Where’s Your Storefront”? I thought….storefront?? Oh yeah!
Lets do that! Haha… so my husband
and I without any hesitation went for it.
We lived in Glendale at the time and I was always in love with this
building across the street. I knew it
was the PERFECT spot. So one things led
to another and within a week I had a store…well an empty shell, but I could see
it all glammed up with pink and crystal chandeliers! So for the next few months, we built the
store out. This is where Chefs Center
REALLY helped me as well. I decided to
do a pre-packaged only store front and still continue to bake at Chefs
Center. This saved me thousands of start
up dollars AND it was much less stressful to deal with all the permits and
Health Department. I chose to do it this
way because I had never owned a food service store before and I really wanted
to get a feel for what it would be like, test out recipes, get a marketing plan
together, get my merchandise set, logo’s, test out what works as far as boxes
and bags …. This was the perfect route to be able to really get a solid store
running without having to feel in debt.
I also chose to have my store a little hidden as well to not have an
overwhelmingly line outside my door (although always appreciated!!) immediately
so I could get used to working a register, figure out how much product I would
need daily so I wasn’t wasting or undercutting, etc.
Now I am proud to say…we are
opening store #2 in La Canada, Calif. In January 2013!! This one IS in a shopping center and we are
ready for the high traffic and high volume.
My biggest advice to anyone
starting a food business (online, wholesale, or storefront), come to Chefs
Center (if you are local) or find a kitchen similar in your area and see what
they can offer you. It’s much easier to
figure out what works and what doesn’t when you aren’t strapped in and in debt
to begin with. I will always thank
everyone at Chefs Center for all their help and allowing me and my team to pursue
our dreams! There is no better feeling
in the world than to do what you love to do!
If any of you ever have any
questions, I am always here to help! You
can email me at chefannette@thegoodiegirls.com.
For more info on Chefs Center
please visit: www.chefscenter.org.
Here are more photos from our appearance Behind the Scenes:
Here are more photos from our appearance Behind the Scenes:
