July 5, 2023 • 58 mins
What could a simple bake sale lead to? Meet Minion, the miraculous founder of the Cupcake Collection, who turned her financial struggles into a thriving business. Like any business owner we all face challenges and her new book, Made From Scratch, highlights the ones she overcame while building her brand.
Her story is sure to inspire anyone with a passion they want to convert into a successful venture.
This conversation is not just about baking; it’s about overcoming obstacles and choosing life.
Minion’s commitment to her business and community is inspiring, and her journey is a perfect example of how it is possible to be successful even when you don't have much to start with.
In this episode you will hear:
- How she made use of her home as a storefront location
- Why she felt called to start her business
- What biblical principals we can apply to over adversity in business
- The practical tips inside her book to help business owners navigate their journey and so much more.
Love Mignon's story? You can check out her book by clicking here
Want to purchase her cupcakes to support? You can visit the Cupcake Collection by clicking here
Two ways I help my students earn $2-10k monthly👇?
1.) Grow your home bakery business inside The Entrepreneur Community by clicking here
2.) Learn to sell digital products inside Digital Product Community by clicking here
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, sweet friends, my name is Chef Schaumburg.
I started my baking businesswith a bottle of DeCerono and
one Bundt Cake Man.
Fast forward to today, fromnews to magazines, speaking on
national stages and more.
I can truly say that baking haschanged my life.
So now, as a bakery businesscoach, i get to help others have
the same success.
I've helped hundreds of mystudents across the world in my
(00:24):
global membership program createsix-figure businesses, mainly
from home.
The Baking for Business podcastis an extension of that, from
actionable tips to valuabletools and resources that can
impact you as a business owner.
I truly believe y'all.
We would never have been givena gift if we couldn't profit and
prosper from it.
So come on, darling.
What are you waiting for?
(00:45):
Hey, what's going on, sweetfriends, and welcome back to the
Baking for Business podcast.
Today we are in for a realtreat, because some lovely lady
just released a new memoir, andI'm sure you already know all
about it, miss Minion, if youare not familiar with the story
(01:09):
of the young lady who foundedthe cupcake collection, it is
really an amazing story and thebook has all the details.
But if you've ever wondered, isthis possible when I'm faced
with an obstacle or I need justa little bit more faith, or when
I don't see the end result, butI want to start.
The answer is it totally is,and today's guest has done so.
(01:31):
And then Welcome to the podcast, minion.
How are you doing beautiful?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I'm doing well thank you for having me.
I'm excited just looking at allthe pretty cake pans and
pedestals you have.
I love a good book, but all ofthose things, i just rather eat
out of those things.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I feel you.
I definitely feel you, minion.
Without going too much in thebook, though, you have an
amazing story.
So when we go back to thebeginning, for those who are
unfamiliar with you, how did youactually get started baking?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I was drowning in debt and brokenness.
We were losing everything thatwe had.
I was listening to Dave Ramseyon the radio.
He was telling people theycould get out of debt by having
a bake sale.
I wanted what they werescreaming about.
We just had sold everything,that we had to move to Nashville
(02:32):
and we didn't have electricityon a regular basis.
We didn't have water runningout of our faucets because we
willed it to, and I needed fieldtrip money for my children.
So I decided to try this thingthat he was saying.
I was stuffing cash andenvelopes, trying to make the
(02:53):
money last, make it stretch,when my neighbor knocked on the
door and asked me to makecupcakes for all of her clients.
I had been practicing thiscraft in my neighborhood, just
trying to figure out how do youbake and to create a recipe that
could be authentic and thatwould be mine.
(03:14):
And my neighbors were smittenwith what I was doing.
When my neighbor asked for meto make cupcakes for all of her
clients, it was going to be 600cupcakes and I didn't have
electricity And I really feltlike, wow God, why would you
give me this opportunity when Idon't even have the money to
(03:36):
take it?
And I heard God say but I feedbirds and they don't store up in
barns, they don't save moneyfor anything, but yet I feed
them.
And so I was like, okay, well,i'm going to take this last $5
that I have and I'm going to goto the store and buy the
ingredients I can buy And I'mgoing to get paid for the few
(03:59):
things that I'm going to be ableto make, and from that I would
take more of the money, go buymore ingredients and get paid
for the few things I was able tomake.
I did that for an entire weeksperiod and I was able to turn
that five into 600 by the end ofthe week, and when that
happened, i knew that I wantedto have more bake sales.
(04:22):
I knew I wanted to have moreencounters like this, because
this was going to be freedom forMignon to be able to do the
things that I needed and wantedto do.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
I love that.
And did you?
you said you knew you wanted todo more.
Did you sit down and come upwith a plan?
or when did you decide?
Because I'm sure before thestorefronts, it sounds like you
were home-based first.
So when did you decide toreally say, okay, I'm going to
(04:54):
turn this into a business?
and what did those steps looklike?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, i think I always believed it was a
business or going to be abusiness.
When I was a little girl, allthe other little girls in the
neighborhood were playing withBarbie and baby dolls and I was
playing business.
So I always knew that I wantedto be in business and I would
start businesses all the time.
It's just I would never finishwhat I started.
(05:19):
And this was about finishingwhat I started because I could
keep getting ideas.
I took a strengths test byGallup, the strengths finder,
and one of my top five strengthsis ideation.
So all my life I have beentaught to stick to something and
(05:39):
stop trying to come up with allthis stuff When I.
Getting ideas was a gift.
So I always knew that I wantedto do a business.
It just was a matter of I wouldalways quit and get bored with
things, and that just wasn't away to build wealth and a legacy
for my family.
So this this was about stickingto it and seeing it become
(06:02):
successful before I eitherpassed it on to someone else or
grew it into something that wasbigger than just myself.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
That is so true, so amazing, and so you started your
first cupcake collection in2008.
And you said the ideas.
You were always good with ideas, but sticking to it.
How did that look morepractically Like?
(06:33):
what were the actual steps?
Because so many people areafraid to do the first
storefront And I believe I readyou did it debt free.
You opened your firststorefront.
Why was that so important toyou.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yeah.
So I was raised to never be indebt, but the problem was I
didn't have a choice right.
We were.
We were losing everything andmany days we didn't even have
electricity.
So when, when I finally startedseeing a bit of success, i
really was kind of arrogant,like I don't want your money now
(07:09):
.
Now people are always willing togive to the person who has, but
that's also a biblical.
That's a biblical concept Hewho has gets more and he who
doesn't have even what he has istaken from him.
And so there are over 2,300promises in the Bible that talk
(07:32):
about money.
So I believe that work andbuilding wealth are kingdom
requirements, and those were notthings I knew how to subdue at
the time.
And so when you ask, like, whatkind of steps we can, you know
we can get into what it lookslike to go from having no money
(07:57):
at all to building a debt freebusiness that is employing
people and has becomedestination in the cities where
they are.
Mostly that's God, mostlythat's the favor of God.
There's a Bible verse that saysI decide what's going to win.
You know either this thing orthat thing, and so I have to
(08:21):
make sure that I'm constantlybeing in sync with what God is
telling me to do.
But more than anything, youknow we talk about the
scientific method.
In this book I'm going to giveyou a playbook in my new book,
made from scratch, findingSuccess Without a Recipe, i'm
going to give you a wholeplaybook on what it looks like
(08:44):
to start a business from scratch, from the whole imposter
syndrome where you're thinking Idon't have what it takes to
finding out you were created forthis.
To.
How are you going to take thefirst step?
So for me, the first thing is Istarted looking at other
successful people and startedapplying those things to my life
(09:08):
.
If I see someone like Beyoncebeing successful, then it's like
God.
Why is Beyonce successful inbusiness?
And when can there be someoneas a baker who's doing that kind
of level of business right?
And so starting meant startingfrom where I was.
(09:30):
I wanted to have a really bigstorefront.
I wanted.
We went scouting with realestate agents and all that kind
of stuff, losing my house.
I was trying to save my familyand I'm out here looking for a
storefront to start a businesswhen I'm known for quitting, and
so that never having astorefront never came to
(09:54):
fruition free.
So I was blessed to live in ahouse that was zoned commercial
and residential, which meantthat the bakery could be right
there in my house And while itbecame convenient and the most
probable place for it to go, sowhere I wanted it to be.
(10:17):
And I think sometimes we are socaught up in what somebody else
has or what somebody else isdoing and how someone else is
making, and it's just like whatabout what God has desired and
designed for you?
So I started with what I had,and that was a home that I was
living in that had a room thatwe could designate to this
(10:39):
bakery business, and that waythe overhead could be low and we
would be able to afford itbecause we're already living
here.
Well, the problem is wecouldn't even afford living
there, so we were losing thehouse on the day that we opened
the cupcake collection.
But leaving God.
If he is who he says he is, hecan do what he says he can do.
And so here we are now, 17years later, because it took me
(11:03):
two years to open that store,working every day like it was a
job, as if it were already evenopen, before the store ever even
opened.
And so I would say a lot oftimes people think that I'm
going to have this great idea,i'm going to tell people that
I'm going to do it and they'regoing to come, and they're not.
(11:25):
They're not doing, they don'tknow that you're going to build
it and they don't know thatyou're trying to build it.
And even once you build it, yougot to keep reminding them hey,
i built this thing And so,having, i was my own
photographer, i was my own PR, iwas my own marketing.
You know, i was the baker, iwas the candlestick maker, i was
(11:48):
the butcher.
You know what I mean?
I was everything and I didn'tknow how to be everything.
So I was just was flailing atit, but I wouldn't say that I
was failing at it.
I think there's there's adifference.
Flailing is like going underand they coming up for air and
then going under and coming upfor air, and I think that's what
(12:10):
what my life looked like at thetime I was flailing at.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Many, so many people in our industry.
That is what they they do.
They go into debt.
They're trying to create theseInstagram looking bakeries.
They do it all borrowing andyou're right on biblical
principle They do it being thetail and not the head, versus us
(12:38):
supposedly being the head andnot the tail.
And so I think it's so amazinghow you did it, how you looked
at your home and looked at thatarea and transformed it and made
the best you can out of what itcould be.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Yeah, And I think that's that is a valuable asset
that a lot of women are lookingover.
Four out of 10 businesses arestarted by women.
Every day, i was a stay at homemom when I started this
business.
It was the experience that Ihad in being their mom and being
(13:11):
the manager of our householdthat I use in order to start
this business.
At first I thought I havenothing.
How am I supposed to be able totake care of myself and this
family?
when I graduated from college.
But I haven't used my skill,you know.
But I had skill and I hadexperience and it was in
(13:33):
managing the lives of the sixpeople who were around me my
children and you know, and their, their things, that they were
in and bigger and out how tostuff money and cash, how to
stuff cash and envelopes andtake a, take a little bit And
add a little more to it.
Those were the things I usedAnd I think a lot of times we
(13:54):
just count ourselves as mothers,as women, for the experiences
that we can bring to the tablethat will benefit our family and
propelling us to where we wantto go.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
So true, because I'm just going to put it out there.
I've heard some baker say theyalways feel like they're less
than because they don't have thestorefront.
And I say, no, you're wholejust the way you are.
But if we can be faithful withthe little, how can we ever
expect?
and it sounds like you justcame out the bat swinging like
(14:27):
no, this is me, this is my gift,i'm believing in it and I'm
going to turn this home basedthing into something amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, i just wanted field trip money.
This is what happened to me,and I would say that God allowed
me to be successful because Imade him a promise.
If you would make me successful, i'll tell anybody who will
listen about what they can do ifthey believe.
And so he had a role and I hada role and we both had a job in
(14:54):
keeping our promise to you know,to each other.
I'm going to make yousuccessful.
you go out there and tell thosebakers who believe that they're
less than And I think you saidsomething so key just now little
becomes much.
replace it in a master's handsAnd it's just like that same
flour, butter, sugar and eggs inthe hands of somebody listening
(15:15):
to this podcast to versussomeone who doesn't know the
goal that they are working with.
You're not less.
you're not less just becausethat voice inside of your head
that's telling you you can't andthat you're not enough is the
one that's causing us to quit.
and I would say go ahead, be aquitter.
(15:37):
be a quitter because that wasmy problem.
I was always quitting on me andI'm saying one of the things I
use.
you're asking me what were thesteps?
first, you got to be a quitter.
if you're a quitter, quickquitting on you, it's like use
the same concept of quitting andgo ahead and be a quitter,
quick quitting on yourself.
(15:58):
It's quitting at its finest.
It's like change the narrativeso that you can have what you
deserve to be a part of.
And we are doing things andmaking things that are ancient
in the world.
If there's nothing new underthe sun that what we're creating
(16:18):
is an ancient.
you know talk that used to be acurrency.
Yes, you know.
you know you have, you have abasic opportunity to use what
you have to get what you want,and that that's essentially what
I did.
I used what I had to get what Iwant.
(16:41):
and that goes all the way downto, you know, having a dorm size
refrigerator and a kitchen aidmixer inside of what was my ex
husband's man cave.
That's where the cupcakecollection started.
And when I think about thesepeople who are bakers and they
think that they're less, thereare so many people who are
(17:04):
leaving corporate America jobsto come and be able to have the
piece that you get to have.
that It's like classes allunderstanding like how are you
leaving that computer job that'spaying you six figures to go
home and because you get to havethat piece of mind that I made
(17:24):
something with my hands and itgoes back to what God did in the
beginning.
He created something But whenhe got finished making it, he
said back and he said This isnot only good, this is very good
.
I'm just one of those people.
I'm one of those people wholeft the rat race, who stopped
(17:45):
trying to go get another thingand use what I had in my house.
I didn't want to be a baker.
I wasn't good at it anyway, butI didn't.
I didn't want to be one.
I wanted to be a scientist,because in my community, being a
doctor or lawyer or a teacheris what's respectful.
I wanted to be a doctor And soI was studying science at David
(18:12):
University, trying to become adoctor.
I couldn't apply the science tothe human body.
It took me 17 years to find outthat that same science that I
couldn't apply to human body, icould apply it to flour, butter,
sugar and eggs, and God gave mea recipe that I could use by
trying to dig my family out.
(18:33):
So I always tell people I amsuch a huge fan of other bakers
and now become this celebritybaker in my own right, but I'm a
scientist first.
I am making chemical reactionsevery day, and so I'm just
trying to change the narrativefor other other children to know
(18:56):
what they can do, so that theyknow this is science and
scientific reactions at its best, and you can be that And that's
a good thing.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
I love that And honestly, it made me think of
the parable You can be allthings through Christ honey.
So you want to be a scientist,me and you be a scientist,
You'll still be a superherobaker.
I'm a scientist for the day.
You can be all things And Ilove it.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
You can be all things and all things are working for
your good.
That's the other thing.
There are no mistakes.
All things are working togetherand sync for your good.
That means it's not over untilyou win, and what I love about
this is no, nothing is wasted.
There's no.
Every stupid thing that you'veever had to do is taking you
(19:49):
from where you are to where youwant to be.
So, when it comes down to thisbakery business, or baking in
business that you know yourlisteners are doing, we each
have something to provide.
We each are given a measure ofsomething to begin with.
None of us starts with nothing.
We each have a measure, and soit's like what do you already
(20:11):
have in your house?
Is it what's inside of yourfour walls?
For me, it was a little bit of.
It was $5.
That's what I had in my house.
I have $5 and I had someexperience in making other kinds
of businesses Because as a kid,i loved playing business.
So that's what I had in my houseand ability to start something,
(20:31):
ability to create an idea thatpeople could get around and want
to share.
So what is it that you have inyour house that you can start a
business with And it doesn'tmatter if somebody else is doing
it, it doesn't matter ifthere's another one on another
corner, because when I startedthe cupcake collection, it was
(20:52):
2008.
There were cupcake placespopping up on every corner And
if I had been discouraged bythat, i'd say, oh, that person
knows how to bake, or thatperson has you know all these
years of experience And afterall these years, the cupcake
collection is the last cupcakeshop standing in my area.
You know what I mean, and I wasthe one that came in with no
(21:16):
experience, and I'm saying thatto say there's no one as dope as
you.
There's no one who's going toput a spin on it like you're
going to do it.
So go ahead and make room to bewho you've been called to be.
There's a lesson that my fiveyear old taught me when I was
(21:36):
opening the cupcake collection.
I've been working for two yearslike it was a job, before the
store even opened.
When I saw another cupcakeplace coming before me, it was
just like God, really likeyou're only doing this because
you told me to do it.
And now here you let them getstarted before me And I'm
(21:57):
sitting in front of their store,crying in my car And my five
year old taps me on the shoulderand he says Mommy, just because
they're first doesn't meanthey're going to be the best.
And then we turn the corner andI sit in front of the place and
I cry And my five year old saysbut, mommy, there is room for
(22:19):
cupcakes.
And so what was he saying to me?
if you were the only one makingcupcakes anyway, you wouldn't be
able to serve everybody.
So the world needs you to comeinto the industry that feels
like it's flooded, and they needyou to put your spin on it so
that you can serve the peoplewhat they need.
I think it's my little languageAnd for me it's like you want
(22:44):
to tell me you love me.
Give me a cake, give me a goodcake.
There's not been a cake Ididn't like.
You know what I mean, but giveme a good cake because it took
time.
You couldn't just throw thatthing together.
And that's what bakers are.
They're people who wear rosecolored glasses mostly, who see
the good and other people, andthey're they're allowed
(23:07):
themselves to be used or theirtime to be used so that someone
else's beauty can can beelevated, can be celebrated, and
that was the thing that I feltlike I could do in the world.
Hubcakes were my way because Ididn't think it would take that
much to decorate them, but Ididn't know how much work it
(23:28):
actually took to make onebeautiful, and so my son could
have been more right than to saythere's, there's room, and
there's room for what it is,that whatever business you want
to bring to the table when itcomes to baking.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Many are you spoke on so much, because that is
something that so many of ourlisteners struggle with is
imposter syndrome.
People will say the market issaturated.
Well, i'm doing this, now she'sdoing it, and yeah.
And you just really hit thehammer on the head with that
statement.
(24:06):
You also mentioned you said youdidn't know about the
decorating, which brings me toanother point.
So many people a lot of timeshave shiny object syndrome in
this industry.
So they'll start with cupcakes,but then they go to macarons,
but then they go to chocolatecovered this.
They go to this and they'redoing things because they're
saying, well, if I do more, thenI'll make more than I'll
(24:29):
attract more.
What actually made you decideto somewhat niche down and say,
because you're the cupcakecollection, i'm going to do
cupcakes, and although you guys,you do off celebration cakes.
But what made you niche and say, okay, this is going to be my
main focus?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, i'm really good at making cookies.
I make some amazing cookies,but I make it for the people
that I love.
I'm a donut connoisseur I havebeen on the track to find the
best donut in the country Butcake is what I do well, and I
(25:08):
decided to only to not try toreinvent the will and only do
the things that I know how to dovery well.
I introduced cakes because itwas in the same vein, it was the
same recipe, was just bigger,and it allowed us to answer the
call that our clients wereasking of us.
(25:28):
We realized, especially duringthe pandemic, that we could
celebrate.
We were in this community tocelebrate with people.
A 10 year old doesn't know thatit's tornado today and their
house got smashed and so theycan't make cake.
It's still my birthday, so whatare we supposed to do with this
(25:50):
?
because they don't understandthat the world can freeze when
you're six.
They just know it's my birthdayand I was supposed to get a
cake.
Where is it?
And so we learned that we couldbe the best versions of who we
were at what we do.
Well, and that's that.
I just started out thinking thatcupcakes would be easy to
(26:13):
decorate, when in fact, it'seasier to decorate a cake.
How many bakers out there wouldagree it's easier to decorate a
cake than it is to decorate acupcake, like to make it
gorgeous, because cakes, can youknow?
you can pull out a offsetspatula, just whip around on
that thing and it's just lookslike a gorgeous, gourmet,
(26:34):
homemade something.
It's not as easy to do thatwith a cupcake because you got
to understand the pressure andget the right piping tip and the
right piping bag and the whatkind of materials are you going
to use?
so many things that go into it?
So I think that it was justdeciding to do what I was called
to do and do it well.
(26:55):
I had a cafe at one point thatdid coffee at sandwiches and you
know all kinds of that was partof my dream was to extend that.
As always would say I eat saladso that I can have cake, and so
it was just a way for me tohave lunch or have my cake and
either to.
(27:16):
But we we knew that our biggestthing was attracting people so
they could take home.
Take home Kate, so that theycould celebrate.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
What financial practices or tips can you share
with other entrepreneurs who arelistening?
you just really mentioned theimportance of niche and down and
and doing what it is you love.
What will be some goodfinancial tips you would share
with any?
Speaker 2 (27:46):
So the first, the first thing I would say is that
we live below our means.
We didn't go out buying a wholebunch of big stuff that we
couldn't afford.
We didn't have lots of creditbecause we couldn't.
I didn't have a good creditscores, i could have credit
cards, so we had to, we had tomake and we had to bake
(28:08):
according to what we hadavailable to us.
From that, i would always goand make sure that I paid Caesar
what belonged to Caesar.
So Uncle Sam was getting his.
I use that envelope system toget myself out of debt and I
also use the envelope system tocreate a solid, a solid
foundation for my business.
(28:28):
So at the end of the day, whenI would get paid from all of my
clients that were coming in, iwould.
I would separate the cash intodifferent envelopes.
Cash stuffing is still an likea primal or a very basic
accounting system that works.
(28:50):
You know you don't have to havea bunch of big systems in order
to know I put some money overhere, puts a.
You know I make some and I savesome for later.
There there was a candy that Iwould eat when I was growing up,
called now and later, and youeat some now, you save some for
later.
And that's what I do with withmy money I use some now and I
(29:13):
save some for later.
It's been the same concept thatwe've been able to use.
And so not only did we not getinto debt with our vendors, we
didn't get into debt with ouremployees either, as we began to
welcome them onto the cupcakecollection team, and we did that
.
You know very little at a time,we have friends and family and
volunteers and things like that,but how many of you know that
(29:33):
sometimes they can't do it?
You're like, please don't evenhelp me, right?
So when we started invitingpeople to be a part of our team,
it was about paying them everyweek.
Yes, it is more expensive forme to run payroll every single
week, but it is also allowingthem to be able to see forward
(29:55):
what they're doing with theirown lives.
And when you have somebody whoyou're helping to be able to
also get out of and remain outof debt, it propels them and
makes them want to work hard foryou, because people don't work
for businesses, people work forpeople.
And I would say another majorthing that you'll find is I
wrote it all in the book Andthis is a playbook.
(30:18):
This is a playbook for howyou're going to start your
business, how you can make itfrom scratch, how you I'm not
going to give recipes per se, asfar as you know put this cup of
this flower.
You know a half a spoon of this, but it is a recipe for you to
take your own thing, your ownspin and put some science behind
(30:42):
it.
So one of the first things Iwould say is how are you going
to start it?
made from scratch.
It's available on Amazon And itjust became a best seller of
the new releases on Amazon about10 days ago.
So I'm so excited about that.
But I would say that that's someof the practical things that I
(31:03):
did.
When I got money, i parted themoney out.
I didn't just think, oh, all ofthis is for me to spend.
I saved some And then I wentback and I bought more
ingredients so that I can makemore, and I treated it like a
job.
When you work a job every day,you get paid once every seven
days, or you get paid once every14 days, or every 21 days or
(31:28):
every 30 days, whatever thatlooks like, or whatever you can
do for yourself.
I decided what my pay cycle wasgoing to be And I got paid on a
regimen like everybody else Andthe rest of the time I was
recycling that money back intomy business.
And that's what I think thatsometimes we're artists And we
(31:48):
have this excuse of oh, i'm anartist, so I don't have to be
responsible.
But not only is work requiredof us, but stewarding over what
we make is also required of us.
And if you can't do it, getsomebody else to do it.
Absolutely, somebody isanointed to help you.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
We share on the podcast resources like Score,
where you can get time with afree mentor that will help the
Small Business DevelopmentCenter, because too often that's
what so many people are doing.
They're number one, they'reafraid to charge their worth And
then, because of that fear andbecause they just pull numbers
(32:33):
from the sky or they borrowother people's pricing, they're
never really actually payingthemselves.
And so we end up with a lot ofstarving artists, which I hate,
because I feel like I know youprobably do as well.
Abundances are birthright.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
We're not meant to struggle, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
I love that.
A lot of times, we strugglewith our price because we don't
know how to price, and so thegreat thing about being in a
business for yourself you get todecide what your worth is, and
I wore a shirt for all of themtoday.
I don't know if you can see it,but it's a shirt I created that
(33:16):
says wow, which you are worthyof winning.
I think a lot of times we don'tthink that we're worthy of what
we're asking for, and I thinkyour friends, especially, should
be willing to pay you more thanstrangers.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Yes, I never thought that People are always like
friends and family.
They're just kind of like no,if you're my family, you're
supposed to be rooting for me,Because if I win I can bring you
with me.
Why would I give you a discount?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Your friends and family should be willing to pay
you more than strangers are.
Absolutely, and I've beenliving on that for myself.
I'm not asking my friends fordiscounts because I know how
hard they've been working to getfrom where they are to where it
is that they want to be.
Now a big, gigantic brand thatI don't know I might ask them
for a discount.
I might ask them to please comeand fix what you broke.
(34:08):
But when it comes to my friendor when it comes to somebody I
know, or a because when you goto a baker, you're putting into
business or you're keeping intobusiness, your neighbor, someone
you know, is getting to go onthe high school field trip
because you bought a cake,because you told someone else
(34:31):
where to get a great cake or acookie or a bread, and we have
gone our life's work todifferent small little boutique
places and paid more Because weknow that we can trace those
ingredients, we know that ourbodies are going to be well
(34:54):
because of it, and those peopleare grateful that we came.
And I think that's the beautyof what's happening here You get
to have relationships withpeople.
We were in the mall the otherday Because the cupcake
collection.
The way I decide how we'regoing to put out a new store is
(35:15):
I bring our cupcakes, our mobilecupcakes, and so we'll go and
scout the area where people saythey want us to be And we'll
just set up shop there And we'llwork there for several weeks or
several months and just seewhat.
We're testing the market.
We're using scientific method,so we're testing the market to
see, we're asking questions Andwe're formulating a hypothesis,
(35:40):
and so the people will come outand patronize the store.
We ran into one of our favoritebakers.
Her name is Trudy And Trudymakes hand pies.
Is that what you call them?
The fried pies?
My children are obsessed, doyou understand?
obsessed with her pies.
And I was walking through thestore And Trudy is this
beautiful woman who has.
(36:02):
She just has a unique style ofher own.
I go Trudy, is that you?
And my son said is that my pielady?
Like, i didn't know her name,but he knew that the pie lady
had a name like that And he waslike, oh my gosh, it's the pie
lady.
And she was so thrilled at hisexcitement to run into her in
(36:24):
the store and then said meet meover here, i'm going to make
sure that I make you some pieAnd I'm going to even have you
over to my house.
You get to build relationshipswith people in the community And
what happens?
when you do something forsomeone else's child?
Someone else does something foryou when you need it.
(36:45):
So I use the example in thebook about a mechanic.
If my child's car is broken andI call a friend and say, hey,
friend, my child's car is broken, can they bring it to your shop
?
And the mechanic brings mychild's car into the shop, fixes
(37:06):
it extra well, even finds someother things that were wrong,
and say I know your son doesn'thave it right now, so I threw in
the little extras because heneeded it.
When that mechanic needssomething from me, i'm going to
do what I'm going to do.
I'm going to do it for her.
I will give her an extra, saythank you.
(37:27):
That's what you get to do inbusiness and in baking.
You get to build relationshipswith people that open doors for
not only you before yourchildren and their children's
children.
I believe that's ourresponsibility to put our foot
in the door and keep it open forthe people who are coming by.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Yes, Absolutely, minya.
The book has so many you saidit earlier it has so many
recipes for success, recipes forbelieving in yourself, recipes
for endurance, and those are allthe things that we go through.
And, as you were just speaking,because I know someone's going
to say, but I'm shy, i don'twant it right I believe I heard
(38:11):
you on Donald Miller, because welove all, i love all things,
donald Miller, and I think youeven said I'm shy.
But in today's world, withInstagram, with putting a face,
i always tell my students, i saythere's nothing special about
you, but it's just you, you know, because it's people don't buy
(38:32):
products, people buy people.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
So what would you say to the person who is saying,
well, i'm shy or I don't want toshow my face on social or stuff
like that?
because you mentioned, it's allabout those connections,
especially for those who arehome base, and a lot of our
other listeners have trucks,trailers, stuff like that.
We're in a connection business.
We're in a relationshipbuilding business And one of my
(38:57):
favorites is your net worth isequivalent to your net work.
So how can you ever make thoseconnections if you don't put
yourself out there?
How did you get over yourshyness to even have the courage
because there are some awesomestories in this book, mm, hmm, I
would say that I'm shy too.
Speaker 2 (39:16):
I'm very shy and it's always hard for me to talk
about me, me, me and I, i, i,everybody look at me like I
don't mind being the center ofattention, but I don't want to
be the one saying, oh, i didthis and I did that, right.
And so I would say that yousome of the highest earning
(39:42):
social media producers,youtubers you've never seen
their faces Just because you'reshy is not a reason for you not
to go out there and kill whatyou need to kill and drag it
home so that you can eat.
And I believe that shy doesn'tfeed your belly and it doesn't
pay the bills.
(40:02):
And when you get into aposition where you're hungry
enough, you eat.
You know my mother used to saythat all the time you ain't
hungry.
You know she would say that tome.
You're not hungry And I'm not.
I'm not saying that to say tosomeone that they're not hungry,
but you've got to look for thelesson.
What is it that you have that'sdifferent?
(40:25):
that's on the inside of yourhouse, that you don't have to do
it like I'm doing it.
Do it how you would be willingto do it, or get somebody else
to do it.
I made a list of 100 things Ididn't want to do anymore And I
found someone else to do themwho could do those things.
Well, and at first you alwaysdon't have an opportunity, but
(40:47):
in this age of technology thatwe're living in, you can
outsource just about everythingthat you need.
And listen, these kids, thesehigh school kids, are good at
the social media, you know, andsocial media is not the be all
and end all either.
(41:07):
Sometimes it's just going toyour church or your community
meeting and just bringing a cakethere and someone to say this
Oh, julie made that cake andleaving your cards there so
people can call Julie, and thenhaving more of those.
Sometimes you got to keep yourhand open to give some stuff
(41:30):
away.
You know, having thoseavailable in more than one place
and enough places so thatpeople can be calling you to
make something for them to.
It's OK to be shy, but courageisn't the absence of shyness.
Courage is moving even thoughyou are afraid.
That's what courage is, becausewithout, without fear or
(41:50):
without shyness, there is nocourage.
Because courage exists, becausefear exists.
So you got to move even thoughyou are afraid, and that's what.
That's what happened to me.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
I love that statement and I love what you said just
bringing stuff and dropping itoff.
Because I have a big saying weserve before we sell.
You should serve before yousell.
Even when we look at Jesus, youknow he could have easily
stepped out the Bible and saidlook, here I'm Jesus, i have the
answer.
But he didn't.
He washed feet, he performedmiracles, he sat with people, he
(42:27):
served before he actually sold,which what he was selling when
he was selling the salvation.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
I love it.
That's so good, so, so good.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
You're true, it's not as good as your book, though,
but I try.
You have really shared with usso much and just so many nuggets
and so many little gems.
For those who are bakers, asidefrom because you say it all the
time you've been flipping thatsame five dollars over and over,
(43:01):
and it's gotten you to to whereyou are now, when you operate a
multi-million dollar company,which is a blessing, aside from
financial success.
What are some other personalbecause I know it's not all
about that But what are somecharities or organizations or
things that are near and dear toyou that you can do now because
(43:22):
of the financial stability youhave?
Speaker 2 (43:26):
I?
that's such a good question.
I love giving away theinformation that I have in other
business oriented organizations.
So I serve at theEntrepreneur's Center, i serve
at Pathways, which has a women'sbusiness center, so people can
find me there And one of myfavorite organizations to work
(43:47):
with is Safe Haven.
Safe Haven is a shelter thatkeeps the whole entire family
together.
It's the only one in Tennesseethat allows the whole family, so
the father and the mother andthe children, to stay together.
And so we recently well, notrecently now, it's been, i guess
it's been two years now we'vebeen working with their Young
(44:09):
Leaders Council to createbirthday cakes for children who
are experiencing homelessness inMiddle Tennessee.
So I love that we get toprovide cake for them And then
from the proceeds that they makeas the Young Leaders Council,
they go out and they buypresents and gift wrap for those
mothers to be able to providegifts to their children.
(44:32):
So I love working with them andraising money with with with
Safe Haven.
I'm a huge fan of the YWCA andwhat they're doing for women who
have, who are coming out ofdomestic violence.
It's a subject that I talkabout extensively in the book.
There are things that I hadkept silent that were that had
(44:54):
happened in my life that mychildren never told anybody
about, and in telling my story,i felt it was important that I
share some of these stories sothat people would know that they
are not alone.
There are a lot of people whoare listening to your podcast
and they are.
They are suffering in silence,unable to make ends meet or
looking for a way out or anavenue in order to provide for
(45:19):
themselves or get a leg up, andI would say that I want you to
know that you're not alone.
There are other people justlike you, and I was one of them,
and so I love the YWCA for that.
I love work.
I've worked a lot with SecondHarvest Being being in middle to
the sea, we are one of thelargest areas that experience
(45:43):
food insecurity, which meansthat I know I'm going to
probably eat today.
I just don't know what it'sgoing to be or where it's going
to come from, and my childrenwere part of that statistic, and
so just getting that messageout that a dollar will feed will
feed make four meals for afamily if put into the right
hands, and so I love beingpromoting and being a
(46:08):
spokesperson alongside of SecondHarvest, for that reason as
well.
There's so many that I can'teven name them.
I love working with FH Jenkins.
It's a little private school inNorth Nashville.
It's the only African Americanschool that is parochial for
children of color in middleTennessee.
(46:30):
So I with a Christian base, soI love working with them as well
.
That list could just go on andon, and these are the things
that God has allowed me to do asI have found success.
Because you can't advance thekingdom of God if you don't have
any money.
Even God, even Jesus, hadpeople who were collecting the
(46:54):
money.
I mean, that was Judas'sproblem, right?
He was collecting the money andthen trying to hoard that money
.
Zacchaeus was a tax collector,so he had people around him who
were counting and collecting themoney.
Because you advance the kingdomof God with money first, first
service.
(47:14):
Like you said, you can't selluntil you serve.
So Jesus couldn't get peoplefollowing him until he served
them first, and then they beganto follow him and the money that
they lifted caused the messageto go further.
And that's what I'm trying todo.
I'm trying to keep my promiseto God.
If you make me successful, iwill tell others what they can
(47:36):
do if they believe, and the goalis hopefully to advance the
kingdom so that other peopleknow you don't have to live in
lack.
You can be the head and not thetail.
You can be above and notbeneath.
You can be the lender and notthe borrower.
Yes, that the rich rule overthe poor.
All of those things are justreminders that we are not
(47:57):
supposed to be in a place oflack.
Speaker 1 (47:59):
Menyong, that's everything, because we can't.
We cannot make an impact if wedo not have an income.
Speaker 2 (48:08):
That's so good, you just got nuggets.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
I have to write that one down And it's true, we can't
make an impact without anincome.
I should have went down to NewOrleans, because it's only our
way.
I hate crossing that bridge andput your cupcakes on this back
stand, but I'm gonna have some.
We're gonna represent.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
But We're gonna have way or something.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
You shared so many key things and key takeaways and
didn't want to go into the book.
I want them to actually readthe book.
That's gonna be everyone'shomework When this episode comes
out.
You actually only have 30 days.
When this episode comes out,you listen to it, you buy the
book.
You have 30 days to finish thebook and then you need to tag
Menyong social media and let herknow what it is.
(48:59):
You thought of it.
What is the biggest takeawaythat you want people to get from
the book?
Choose?
Speaker 2 (49:05):
life.
God was saying to me, when hewas waking me up in the morning,
to give me this whole idea ofthis bakery business, because it
wasn't my idea, it was his.
And he said, as he was wakingme up and giving me all the
instructions, i was writingeverything down.
When God got ready to stopwaking me up which, when they
(49:26):
get the book, they'll understandwhat I mean about waking me up
One of the last Bible verses Iread was Deuteronomy, chapter 30
, and then Joshua 1 and 9.
And he said to me I said, beforeyou like and death, lessons and
curses, choose life so that youand your children will live,
(49:48):
and that's what I want people toknow.
This is a gift that we've beengiven.
To be able to create and makefrom scratch, and to get up
every day and to do that thingthat you've been called to do is
about choosing to have life andto live it more abundantly.
I believe that God didn't comeand send his son and empty out
(50:10):
heaven for me so that I would bemediocre.
I believe that he emptied outheaven for me so that I would
live abundantly, which means tothe full.
And so what I heard God sayingto me was.
I'm not giving you any moreideas.
I'm not giving you any morethings for you to start and quit
.
This is the last thing that I'mgiving you And you can do it,
(50:34):
and you can do it witheverything you have, and that
will be choosing life, or youcan decide to ignore it and you
will be choosing to die.
And I think that we close oureyes and forever sleep for one
of two reasons Either we fulfillour purpose or we ignore it.
Speaker 1 (50:53):
And I wanted to fulfill the purpose that I was
planning on the Earth for Well,you have definitely fulfilled it
, and then some by being with ustoday, sharing your inspiration
to all the thousands of peoplethat listen in, and also just by
having the courage to bottleall that up and put it in a
(51:13):
memoir, and put it in a book andshare it with the world.
So we are so grateful for that.
Before I let you go, mignon,are you ready real quick to play
lightning round?
Speaker 2 (51:25):
Oh, i got some scared , i'll leave them all scared of
Okay, yes, it'll be fun.
Even if I don't know the answer, i'm gonna try.
Speaker 1 (51:33):
You got this Mignon.
what is your favorite color?
Speaker 2 (51:37):
My favorite color is right now is probably blush
paint.
Okay, i just think it's sopretty.
Speaker 1 (51:45):
All right, we'll take it.
What is your favorite dessert?
Speaker 2 (51:49):
My favorite dessert is cake.
I believe that cake is my lovelanguage, like, if you want, if
you're trying to get to my heart, bring me a cake, honey, and
let it.
let it be a coconut cake withsome rum, when you take it with
some rum.
Oh my gosh, i'll take it,however you bring it.
Who is your celebrity crush?
Oh, do I have one?
(52:11):
I don't know if I have acelebrity crush.
I believe that we are only sixdegrees away from the people who
we really want to meet anyway,and most of the time that's
somebody else's husband, and Idon't want to be, you know, i
don't want to be um covetedsomebody else's husband, so I'm
just waiting on God to send memine.
Speaker 1 (52:33):
So wait a minute, but I want a definite answer.
So are you maybe more like theIdris Elba type, the Michael P
Jordan?
Denzel, don't tell me more.
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (52:46):
I don't.
Even this is so difficult.
I don't even know who thatperson would be.
I'll come back to that one.
That's kind of lightning roundif I can't answer the question,
is it?
Speaker 1 (52:59):
Okay, and we're gonna skip the next.
Speaker 2 (53:01):
It might be it might be um Morris Chesney Oh okay,
now yes.
Yeah, that's who it would be.
Speaker 1 (53:09):
Well, okay, well, we will take that answer, So that's
awesome.
All right, we're gonna skip thenext question What is, which is
, what is your favorite book?
Because we're gonna recommendall of our listeners to go out
and to grab your book.
And so the last question whatis your favorite kitchen utensil
?
Speaker 2 (53:29):
My favorite kitchen utensil?
Oh, i love a good bowl.
Can that be a kitchen utensil Ialso love?
oh, that's not it, that's notit.
My favorite kitchen utensil isprobably a cake stand I like,
although first time when we cameinto this segment I was like
(53:50):
all of the cake dishes andthings that you have back there.
I love a beautiful pie plate ora cake stand.
I have a cake stand thatsomeone made me out of the trees
on their father's land.
It's gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (54:09):
Wow, that's okay.
Speaker 2 (54:10):
Yeah, I think my favorite kitchen utensil is a
cake stand.
It might be like a wooden spoon.
It's like pretty dishes.
Okay, well, I'm gonna use them.
I just want to look at themGood serving dish.
Speaker 1 (54:27):
Well, you have past lightning round with flying
colors.
Speaker 2 (54:33):
I was horrible on one of those pieces And then later
on I was like I should have saidthis person or that person,
It's okay, It's okay.
Speaker 1 (54:41):
We love all the answers.
We love everything you sharewith us today from the bottom of
my heart.
Thanks so much for coming onand blessing all those who
listen.
I know it's really going to bea treat.
Speaker 2 (54:54):
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Don't forget that they can buythe book on amazoncom and that
they want to collide with me.
They can do it on Instagram, atmignonfrancisecom, on Instagram
Awesome, or on thecupcakeelectioncom, where we're
open 24 hours a day and shippingour cupcakes with our
partnership with FedEx.
Speaker 1 (55:15):
Yes, I love it And we will have you guys check the
show notes because it's going tohave all the links to her stuff
as well as, like she stated,shipping nationwide If you want
to treat yourself to somecupcakes as well.
She gave us that link, Mignon.
Before you go, is there anylast little tidbit you'd like to
share?
Speaker 2 (55:33):
Oh, speak what you seek until you see what you said
.
One of the things that we do iswe talk against ourselves, but
we always have positive thingsto say about other people And I
would say use your words,because there's power of life
and death in your tongue.
Use your words to speak lifeover yourself and the things
(55:53):
that you were created to do, andI'm so excited about the ways
that all of them are going tonow start creating more of what
they were called to do, because,listen, there can never be too
much cake.
Speaker 1 (56:10):
So true, you guys heard it here.
First Check the show notes.
Thanks so much for speakingwith us today, beautiful.
Thank you for having me.
How amazing was it to hearMignon's testimony.
One of my favorite Christiansongs talks about doing what God
is famous for meaning themiracles, the things that he
(56:34):
went above and beyond to do, thedreams, the aspirations, every
single thing he touched, how hewas able to multiply nothing and
turn it into something.
You know that multiplication,that fame.
One of the first steps and youheard it from Mignon comes from
sharing your story.
(56:55):
It is so easy to look at someonelike Mignon who owns two
locations, a truck, who's builta seven-figure business.
You know, at times you might bestruggling to just make it to
five and to just make it to sixor seven, but sometimes we have
to remember that we can believeGod for eight and nine figure
businesses as well.
(57:15):
We have to take the limits offand not compare our day one, our
month one, our year one tosomeone else's day 10, year 15,
because we do not know the fullstory.
And so the memoir made fromscratch, is Mignon sharing her
story.
And you get to see, everybodygoes through something.
You guys, we all go throughsomething.
(57:38):
Life is going to always hand ussome form of a trial or a test
for an obstacle, but it's nothow you go through it, it's how
you grow through it and how youstill show up and allow your
gifts in order to change you andshape you and mold you so that
you can walk into the king orqueen, as well as the destiny
(58:00):
that God has for you so that hecan do what he is famous for.
If you guys want to check outMignon's book, i have the link
below.
Like she said it, you can findit on Amazon, and I hope that
this story has inspired you totap into your faith and to
believe, because you never knowwhat is possible when you share
(58:20):
your story, when you show up andwhen you just have the faith to
create something, even if youdon't feel like there's much
there to start with.
Thanks so much for listeningyou guys.
Take care and bye for now.
Hey, sweet friends, my name is Chef Schaumburg.
I started my baking businesswith a bottle of DeCerono and
one Bundt Cake Man.
Fast forward to today, fromnews to magazines, speaking on
national stages and more.
I can truly say that baking haschanged my life.
So now, as a bakery businesscoach, i get to help others have
the same success.
I've helped hundreds of mystudents across the world in my
(00:24):
global membership program createsix-figure businesses, mainly
from home.
The Baking for Business podcastis an extension of that, from
actionable tips to valuabletools and resources that can
impact you as a business owner.
I truly believe y'all.
We would never have been givena gift if we couldn't profit and
prosper from it.
So come on, darling.
What are you waiting for?
(00:45):
Hey, what's going on, sweetfriends, and welcome back to the
Baking for Business podcast.
Today we are in for a realtreat, because some lovely lady
just released a new memoir, andI'm sure you already know all
about it, miss Minion, if youare not familiar with the story
(01:09):
of the young lady who foundedthe cupcake collection, it is
really an amazing story and thebook has all the details.
But if you've ever wondered, isthis possible when I'm faced
with an obstacle or I need justa little bit more faith, or when
I don't see the end result, butI want to start.
The answer is it totally is,and today's guest has done so.
(01:31):
And then Welcome to the podcast, minion.
How are you doing beautiful?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I'm doing well thank you for having me.
I'm excited just looking at allthe pretty cake pans and
pedestals you have.
I love a good book, but all ofthose things, i just rather eat
out of those things.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I feel you.
I definitely feel you, minion.
Without going too much in thebook, though, you have an
amazing story.
So when we go back to thebeginning, for those who are
unfamiliar with you, how did youactually get started baking?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I was drowning in debt and brokenness.
We were losing everything thatwe had.
I was listening to Dave Ramseyon the radio.
He was telling people theycould get out of debt by having
a bake sale.
I wanted what they werescreaming about.
We just had sold everything,that we had to move to Nashville
(02:32):
and we didn't have electricityon a regular basis.
We didn't have water runningout of our faucets because we
willed it to, and I needed fieldtrip money for my children.
So I decided to try this thingthat he was saying.
I was stuffing cash andenvelopes, trying to make the
(02:53):
money last, make it stretch,when my neighbor knocked on the
door and asked me to makecupcakes for all of her clients.
I had been practicing thiscraft in my neighborhood, just
trying to figure out how do youbake and to create a recipe that
could be authentic and thatwould be mine.
(03:14):
And my neighbors were smittenwith what I was doing.
When my neighbor asked for meto make cupcakes for all of her
clients, it was going to be 600cupcakes and I didn't have
electricity And I really feltlike, wow God, why would you
give me this opportunity when Idon't even have the money to
(03:36):
take it?
And I heard God say but I feedbirds and they don't store up in
barns, they don't save moneyfor anything, but yet I feed
them.
And so I was like, okay, well,i'm going to take this last $5
that I have and I'm going to goto the store and buy the
ingredients I can buy And I'mgoing to get paid for the few
(03:59):
things that I'm going to be ableto make, and from that I would
take more of the money, go buymore ingredients and get paid
for the few things I was able tomake.
I did that for an entire weeksperiod and I was able to turn
that five into 600 by the end ofthe week, and when that
happened, i knew that I wantedto have more bake sales.
(04:22):
I knew I wanted to have moreencounters like this, because
this was going to be freedom forMignon to be able to do the
things that I needed and wantedto do.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
I love that.
And did you?
you said you knew you wanted todo more.
Did you sit down and come upwith a plan?
or when did you decide?
Because I'm sure before thestorefronts, it sounds like you
were home-based first.
So when did you decide toreally say, okay, I'm going to
(04:54):
turn this into a business?
and what did those steps looklike?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, i think I always believed it was a
business or going to be abusiness.
When I was a little girl, allthe other little girls in the
neighborhood were playing withBarbie and baby dolls and I was
playing business.
So I always knew that I wantedto be in business and I would
start businesses all the time.
It's just I would never finishwhat I started.
(05:19):
And this was about finishingwhat I started because I could
keep getting ideas.
I took a strengths test byGallup, the strengths finder,
and one of my top five strengthsis ideation.
So all my life I have beentaught to stick to something and
(05:39):
stop trying to come up with allthis stuff When I.
Getting ideas was a gift.
So I always knew that I wantedto do a business.
It just was a matter of I wouldalways quit and get bored with
things, and that just wasn't away to build wealth and a legacy
for my family.
So this this was about stickingto it and seeing it become
(06:02):
successful before I eitherpassed it on to someone else or
grew it into something that wasbigger than just myself.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
That is so true, so amazing, and so you started your
first cupcake collection in2008.
And you said the ideas.
You were always good with ideas, but sticking to it.
How did that look morepractically Like?
(06:33):
what were the actual steps?
Because so many people areafraid to do the first
storefront And I believe I readyou did it debt free.
You opened your firststorefront.
Why was that so important toyou.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yeah.
So I was raised to never be indebt, but the problem was I
didn't have a choice right.
We were.
We were losing everything andmany days we didn't even have
electricity.
So when, when I finally startedseeing a bit of success, i
really was kind of arrogant,like I don't want your money now
(07:09):
.
Now people are always willing togive to the person who has, but
that's also a biblical.
That's a biblical concept Hewho has gets more and he who
doesn't have even what he has istaken from him.
And so there are over 2,300promises in the Bible that talk
(07:32):
about money.
So I believe that work andbuilding wealth are kingdom
requirements, and those were notthings I knew how to subdue at
the time.
And so when you ask, like, whatkind of steps we can, you know
we can get into what it lookslike to go from having no money
(07:57):
at all to building a debt freebusiness that is employing
people and has becomedestination in the cities where
they are.
Mostly that's God, mostlythat's the favor of God.
There's a Bible verse that saysI decide what's going to win.
You know either this thing orthat thing, and so I have to
(08:21):
make sure that I'm constantlybeing in sync with what God is
telling me to do.
But more than anything, youknow we talk about the
scientific method.
In this book I'm going to giveyou a playbook in my new book,
made from scratch, findingSuccess Without a Recipe, i'm
going to give you a wholeplaybook on what it looks like
(08:44):
to start a business from scratch, from the whole imposter
syndrome where you're thinking Idon't have what it takes to
finding out you were created forthis.
To.
How are you going to take thefirst step?
So for me, the first thing is Istarted looking at other
successful people and startedapplying those things to my life
(09:08):
.
If I see someone like Beyoncebeing successful, then it's like
God.
Why is Beyonce successful inbusiness?
And when can there be someoneas a baker who's doing that kind
of level of business right?
And so starting meant startingfrom where I was.
(09:30):
I wanted to have a really bigstorefront.
I wanted.
We went scouting with realestate agents and all that kind
of stuff, losing my house.
I was trying to save my familyand I'm out here looking for a
storefront to start a businesswhen I'm known for quitting, and
so that never having astorefront never came to
(09:54):
fruition free.
So I was blessed to live in ahouse that was zoned commercial
and residential, which meantthat the bakery could be right
there in my house And while itbecame convenient and the most
probable place for it to go, sowhere I wanted it to be.
(10:17):
And I think sometimes we are socaught up in what somebody else
has or what somebody else isdoing and how someone else is
making, and it's just like whatabout what God has desired and
designed for you?
So I started with what I had,and that was a home that I was
living in that had a room thatwe could designate to this
(10:39):
bakery business, and that waythe overhead could be low and we
would be able to afford itbecause we're already living
here.
Well, the problem is wecouldn't even afford living
there, so we were losing thehouse on the day that we opened
the cupcake collection.
But leaving God.
If he is who he says he is, hecan do what he says he can do.
And so here we are now, 17years later, because it took me
(11:03):
two years to open that store,working every day like it was a
job, as if it were already evenopen, before the store ever even
opened.
And so I would say a lot oftimes people think that I'm
going to have this great idea,i'm going to tell people that
I'm going to do it and they'regoing to come, and they're not.
(11:25):
They're not doing, they don'tknow that you're going to build
it and they don't know thatyou're trying to build it.
And even once you build it, yougot to keep reminding them hey,
i built this thing And so,having, i was my own
photographer, i was my own PR, iwas my own marketing.
You know, i was the baker, iwas the candlestick maker, i was
(11:48):
the butcher.
You know what I mean?
I was everything and I didn'tknow how to be everything.
So I was just was flailing atit, but I wouldn't say that I
was failing at it.
I think there's there's adifference.
Flailing is like going underand they coming up for air and
then going under and coming upfor air, and I think that's what
(12:10):
what my life looked like at thetime I was flailing at.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Many, so many people in our industry.
That is what they they do.
They go into debt.
They're trying to create theseInstagram looking bakeries.
They do it all borrowing andyou're right on biblical
principle They do it being thetail and not the head, versus us
(12:38):
supposedly being the head andnot the tail.
And so I think it's so amazinghow you did it, how you looked
at your home and looked at thatarea and transformed it and made
the best you can out of what itcould be.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Yeah, And I think that's that is a valuable asset
that a lot of women are lookingover.
Four out of 10 businesses arestarted by women.
Every day, i was a stay at homemom when I started this
business.
It was the experience that Ihad in being their mom and being
(13:11):
the manager of our householdthat I use in order to start
this business.
At first I thought I havenothing.
How am I supposed to be able totake care of myself and this
family?
when I graduated from college.
But I haven't used my skill,you know.
But I had skill and I hadexperience and it was in
(13:33):
managing the lives of the sixpeople who were around me my
children and you know, and their, their things, that they were
in and bigger and out how tostuff money and cash, how to
stuff cash and envelopes andtake a, take a little bit And
add a little more to it.
Those were the things I usedAnd I think a lot of times we
(13:54):
just count ourselves as mothers,as women, for the experiences
that we can bring to the tablethat will benefit our family and
propelling us to where we wantto go.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
So true, because I'm just going to put it out there.
I've heard some baker say theyalways feel like they're less
than because they don't have thestorefront.
And I say, no, you're wholejust the way you are.
But if we can be faithful withthe little, how can we ever
expect?
and it sounds like you justcame out the bat swinging like
(14:27):
no, this is me, this is my gift,i'm believing in it and I'm
going to turn this home basedthing into something amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, i just wanted field trip money.
This is what happened to me,and I would say that God allowed
me to be successful because Imade him a promise.
If you would make me successful, i'll tell anybody who will
listen about what they can do ifthey believe.
And so he had a role and I hada role and we both had a job in
(14:54):
keeping our promise to you know,to each other.
I'm going to make yousuccessful.
you go out there and tell thosebakers who believe that they're
less than And I think you saidsomething so key just now little
becomes much.
replace it in a master's handsAnd it's just like that same
flour, butter, sugar and eggs inthe hands of somebody listening
(15:15):
to this podcast to versussomeone who doesn't know the
goal that they are working with.
You're not less.
you're not less just becausethat voice inside of your head
that's telling you you can't andthat you're not enough is the
one that's causing us to quit.
and I would say go ahead, be aquitter.
(15:37):
be a quitter because that wasmy problem.
I was always quitting on me andI'm saying one of the things I
use.
you're asking me what were thesteps?
first, you got to be a quitter.
if you're a quitter, quickquitting on you, it's like use
the same concept of quitting andgo ahead and be a quitter,
quick quitting on yourself.
(15:58):
It's quitting at its finest.
It's like change the narrativeso that you can have what you
deserve to be a part of.
And we are doing things andmaking things that are ancient
in the world.
If there's nothing new underthe sun that what we're creating
(16:18):
is an ancient.
you know talk that used to be acurrency.
Yes, you know.
you know you have, you have abasic opportunity to use what
you have to get what you want,and that that's essentially what
I did.
I used what I had to get what Iwant.
(16:41):
and that goes all the way downto, you know, having a dorm size
refrigerator and a kitchen aidmixer inside of what was my ex
husband's man cave.
That's where the cupcakecollection started.
And when I think about thesepeople who are bakers and they
think that they're less, thereare so many people who are
(17:04):
leaving corporate America jobsto come and be able to have the
piece that you get to have.
that It's like classes allunderstanding like how are you
leaving that computer job that'spaying you six figures to go
home and because you get to havethat piece of mind that I made
(17:24):
something with my hands and itgoes back to what God did in the
beginning.
He created something But whenhe got finished making it, he
said back and he said This isnot only good, this is very good
.
I'm just one of those people.
I'm one of those people wholeft the rat race, who stopped
(17:45):
trying to go get another thingand use what I had in my house.
I didn't want to be a baker.
I wasn't good at it anyway, butI didn't.
I didn't want to be one.
I wanted to be a scientist,because in my community, being a
doctor or lawyer or a teacheris what's respectful.
I wanted to be a doctor And soI was studying science at David
(18:12):
University, trying to become adoctor.
I couldn't apply the science tothe human body.
It took me 17 years to find outthat that same science that I
couldn't apply to human body, icould apply it to flour, butter,
sugar and eggs, and God gave mea recipe that I could use by
trying to dig my family out.
(18:33):
So I always tell people I amsuch a huge fan of other bakers
and now become this celebritybaker in my own right, but I'm a
scientist first.
I am making chemical reactionsevery day, and so I'm just
trying to change the narrativefor other other children to know
(18:56):
what they can do, so that theyknow this is science and
scientific reactions at its best, and you can be that And that's
a good thing.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
I love that And honestly, it made me think of
the parable You can be allthings through Christ honey.
So you want to be a scientist,me and you be a scientist,
You'll still be a superherobaker.
I'm a scientist for the day.
You can be all things And Ilove it.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
You can be all things and all things are working for
your good.
That's the other thing.
There are no mistakes.
All things are working togetherand sync for your good.
That means it's not over untilyou win, and what I love about
this is no, nothing is wasted.
There's no.
Every stupid thing that you'veever had to do is taking you
(19:49):
from where you are to where youwant to be.
So, when it comes down to thisbakery business, or baking in
business that you know yourlisteners are doing, we each
have something to provide.
We each are given a measure ofsomething to begin with.
None of us starts with nothing.
We each have a measure, and soit's like what do you already
(20:11):
have in your house?
Is it what's inside of yourfour walls?
For me, it was a little bit of.
It was $5.
That's what I had in my house.
I have $5 and I had someexperience in making other kinds
of businesses Because as a kid,i loved playing business.
So that's what I had in my houseand ability to start something,
(20:31):
ability to create an idea thatpeople could get around and want
to share.
So what is it that you have inyour house that you can start a
business with And it doesn'tmatter if somebody else is doing
it, it doesn't matter ifthere's another one on another
corner, because when I startedthe cupcake collection, it was
(20:52):
2008.
There were cupcake placespopping up on every corner And
if I had been discouraged bythat, i'd say, oh, that person
knows how to bake, or thatperson has you know all these
years of experience And afterall these years, the cupcake
collection is the last cupcakeshop standing in my area.
You know what I mean, and I wasthe one that came in with no
(21:16):
experience, and I'm saying thatto say there's no one as dope as
you.
There's no one who's going toput a spin on it like you're
going to do it.
So go ahead and make room to bewho you've been called to be.
There's a lesson that my fiveyear old taught me when I was
(21:36):
opening the cupcake collection.
I've been working for two yearslike it was a job, before the
store even opened.
When I saw another cupcakeplace coming before me, it was
just like God, really likeyou're only doing this because
you told me to do it.
And now here you let them getstarted before me And I'm
(21:57):
sitting in front of their store,crying in my car And my five
year old taps me on the shoulderand he says Mommy, just because
they're first doesn't meanthey're going to be the best.
And then we turn the corner andI sit in front of the place and
I cry And my five year old saysbut, mommy, there is room for
(22:19):
cupcakes.
And so what was he saying to me?
if you were the only one makingcupcakes anyway, you wouldn't be
able to serve everybody.
So the world needs you to comeinto the industry that feels
like it's flooded, and they needyou to put your spin on it so
that you can serve the peoplewhat they need.
I think it's my little languageAnd for me it's like you want
(22:44):
to tell me you love me.
Give me a cake, give me a goodcake.
There's not been a cake Ididn't like.
You know what I mean, but giveme a good cake because it took
time.
You couldn't just throw thatthing together.
And that's what bakers are.
They're people who wear rosecolored glasses mostly, who see
the good and other people, andthey're they're allowed
(23:07):
themselves to be used or theirtime to be used so that someone
else's beauty can can beelevated, can be celebrated, and
that was the thing that I feltlike I could do in the world.
Hubcakes were my way because Ididn't think it would take that
much to decorate them, but Ididn't know how much work it
(23:28):
actually took to make onebeautiful, and so my son could
have been more right than to saythere's, there's room, and
there's room for what it is,that whatever business you want
to bring to the table when itcomes to baking.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Many are you spoke on so much, because that is
something that so many of ourlisteners struggle with is
imposter syndrome.
People will say the market issaturated.
Well, i'm doing this, now she'sdoing it, and yeah.
And you just really hit thehammer on the head with that
statement.
(24:06):
You also mentioned you said youdidn't know about the
decorating, which brings me toanother point.
So many people a lot of timeshave shiny object syndrome in
this industry.
So they'll start with cupcakes,but then they go to macarons,
but then they go to chocolatecovered this.
They go to this and they'redoing things because they're
saying, well, if I do more, thenI'll make more than I'll
(24:29):
attract more.
What actually made you decideto somewhat niche down and say,
because you're the cupcakecollection, i'm going to do
cupcakes, and although you guys,you do off celebration cakes.
But what made you niche and say, okay, this is going to be my
main focus?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, i'm really good at making cookies.
I make some amazing cookies,but I make it for the people
that I love.
I'm a donut connoisseur I havebeen on the track to find the
best donut in the country Butcake is what I do well, and I
(25:08):
decided to only to not try toreinvent the will and only do
the things that I know how to dovery well.
I introduced cakes because itwas in the same vein, it was the
same recipe, was just bigger,and it allowed us to answer the
call that our clients wereasking of us.
(25:28):
We realized, especially duringthe pandemic, that we could
celebrate.
We were in this community tocelebrate with people.
A 10 year old doesn't know thatit's tornado today and their
house got smashed and so theycan't make cake.
It's still my birthday, so whatare we supposed to do with this
(25:50):
?
because they don't understandthat the world can freeze when
you're six.
They just know it's my birthdayand I was supposed to get a
cake.
Where is it?
And so we learned that we couldbe the best versions of who we
were at what we do.
Well, and that's that.
I just started out thinking thatcupcakes would be easy to
(26:13):
decorate, when in fact, it'seasier to decorate a cake.
How many bakers out there wouldagree it's easier to decorate a
cake than it is to decorate acupcake, like to make it
gorgeous, because cakes, can youknow?
you can pull out a offsetspatula, just whip around on
that thing and it's just lookslike a gorgeous, gourmet,
(26:34):
homemade something.
It's not as easy to do thatwith a cupcake because you got
to understand the pressure andget the right piping tip and the
right piping bag and the whatkind of materials are you going
to use?
so many things that go into it?
So I think that it was justdeciding to do what I was called
to do and do it well.
(26:55):
I had a cafe at one point thatdid coffee at sandwiches and you
know all kinds of that was partof my dream was to extend that.
As always would say I eat saladso that I can have cake, and so
it was just a way for me tohave lunch or have my cake and
either to.
(27:16):
But we we knew that our biggestthing was attracting people so
they could take home.
Take home Kate, so that theycould celebrate.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
What financial practices or tips can you share
with other entrepreneurs who arelistening?
you just really mentioned theimportance of niche and down and
and doing what it is you love.
What will be some goodfinancial tips you would share
with any?
Speaker 2 (27:46):
So the first, the first thing I would say is that
we live below our means.
We didn't go out buying a wholebunch of big stuff that we
couldn't afford.
We didn't have lots of creditbecause we couldn't.
I didn't have a good creditscores, i could have credit
cards, so we had to, we had tomake and we had to bake
(28:08):
according to what we hadavailable to us.
From that, i would always goand make sure that I paid Caesar
what belonged to Caesar.
So Uncle Sam was getting his.
I use that envelope system toget myself out of debt and I
also use the envelope system tocreate a solid, a solid
foundation for my business.
(28:28):
So at the end of the day, whenI would get paid from all of my
clients that were coming in, iwould.
I would separate the cash intodifferent envelopes.
Cash stuffing is still an likea primal or a very basic
accounting system that works.
(28:50):
You know you don't have to havea bunch of big systems in order
to know I put some money overhere, puts a.
You know I make some and I savesome for later.
There there was a candy that Iwould eat when I was growing up,
called now and later, and youeat some now, you save some for
later.
And that's what I do with withmy money I use some now and I
(29:13):
save some for later.
It's been the same concept thatwe've been able to use.
And so not only did we not getinto debt with our vendors, we
didn't get into debt with ouremployees either, as we began to
welcome them onto the cupcakecollection team, and we did that
.
You know very little at a time,we have friends and family and
volunteers and things like that,but how many of you know that
(29:33):
sometimes they can't do it?
You're like, please don't evenhelp me, right?
So when we started invitingpeople to be a part of our team,
it was about paying them everyweek.
Yes, it is more expensive forme to run payroll every single
week, but it is also allowingthem to be able to see forward
(29:55):
what they're doing with theirown lives.
And when you have somebody whoyou're helping to be able to
also get out of and remain outof debt, it propels them and
makes them want to work hard foryou, because people don't work
for businesses, people work forpeople.
And I would say another majorthing that you'll find is I
wrote it all in the book Andthis is a playbook.
(30:18):
This is a playbook for howyou're going to start your
business, how you can make itfrom scratch, how you I'm not
going to give recipes per se, asfar as you know put this cup of
this flower.
You know a half a spoon of this, but it is a recipe for you to
take your own thing, your ownspin and put some science behind
(30:42):
it.
So one of the first things Iwould say is how are you going
to start it?
made from scratch.
It's available on Amazon And itjust became a best seller of
the new releases on Amazon about10 days ago.
So I'm so excited about that.
But I would say that that's someof the practical things that I
(31:03):
did.
When I got money, i parted themoney out.
I didn't just think, oh, all ofthis is for me to spend.
I saved some And then I wentback and I bought more
ingredients so that I can makemore, and I treated it like a
job.
When you work a job every day,you get paid once every seven
days, or you get paid once every14 days, or every 21 days or
(31:28):
every 30 days, whatever thatlooks like, or whatever you can
do for yourself.
I decided what my pay cycle wasgoing to be And I got paid on a
regimen like everybody else Andthe rest of the time I was
recycling that money back intomy business.
And that's what I think thatsometimes we're artists And we
(31:48):
have this excuse of oh, i'm anartist, so I don't have to be
responsible.
But not only is work requiredof us, but stewarding over what
we make is also required of us.
And if you can't do it, getsomebody else to do it.
Absolutely, somebody isanointed to help you.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
We share on the podcast resources like Score,
where you can get time with afree mentor that will help the
Small Business DevelopmentCenter, because too often that's
what so many people are doing.
They're number one, they'reafraid to charge their worth And
then, because of that fear andbecause they just pull numbers
(32:33):
from the sky or they borrowother people's pricing, they're
never really actually payingthemselves.
And so we end up with a lot ofstarving artists, which I hate,
because I feel like I know youprobably do as well.
Abundances are birthright.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
We're not meant to struggle, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
I love that.
A lot of times, we strugglewith our price because we don't
know how to price, and so thegreat thing about being in a
business for yourself you get todecide what your worth is, and
I wore a shirt for all of themtoday.
I don't know if you can see it,but it's a shirt I created that
(33:16):
says wow, which you are worthyof winning.
I think a lot of times we don'tthink that we're worthy of what
we're asking for, and I thinkyour friends, especially, should
be willing to pay you more thanstrangers.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Yes, I never thought that People are always like
friends and family.
They're just kind of like no,if you're my family, you're
supposed to be rooting for me,Because if I win I can bring you
with me.
Why would I give you a discount?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Your friends and family should be willing to pay
you more than strangers are.
Absolutely, and I've beenliving on that for myself.
I'm not asking my friends fordiscounts because I know how
hard they've been working to getfrom where they are to where it
is that they want to be.
Now a big, gigantic brand thatI don't know I might ask them
for a discount.
I might ask them to please comeand fix what you broke.
(34:08):
But when it comes to my friendor when it comes to somebody I
know, or a because when you goto a baker, you're putting into
business or you're keeping intobusiness, your neighbor, someone
you know, is getting to go onthe high school field trip
because you bought a cake,because you told someone else
(34:31):
where to get a great cake or acookie or a bread, and we have
gone our life's work todifferent small little boutique
places and paid more Because weknow that we can trace those
ingredients, we know that ourbodies are going to be well
(34:54):
because of it, and those peopleare grateful that we came.
And I think that's the beautyof what's happening here You get
to have relationships withpeople.
We were in the mall the otherday Because the cupcake
collection.
The way I decide how we'regoing to put out a new store is
(35:15):
I bring our cupcakes, our mobilecupcakes, and so we'll go and
scout the area where people saythey want us to be And we'll
just set up shop there And we'llwork there for several weeks or
several months and just seewhat.
We're testing the market.
We're using scientific method,so we're testing the market to
see, we're asking questions Andwe're formulating a hypothesis,
(35:40):
and so the people will come outand patronize the store.
We ran into one of our favoritebakers.
Her name is Trudy And Trudymakes hand pies.
Is that what you call them?
The fried pies?
My children are obsessed, doyou understand?
obsessed with her pies.
And I was walking through thestore And Trudy is this
beautiful woman who has.
(36:02):
She just has a unique style ofher own.
I go Trudy, is that you?
And my son said is that my pielady?
Like, i didn't know her name,but he knew that the pie lady
had a name like that And he waslike, oh my gosh, it's the pie
lady.
And she was so thrilled at hisexcitement to run into her in
(36:24):
the store and then said meet meover here, i'm going to make
sure that I make you some pieAnd I'm going to even have you
over to my house.
You get to build relationshipswith people in the community And
what happens?
when you do something forsomeone else's child?
Someone else does something foryou when you need it.
(36:45):
So I use the example in thebook about a mechanic.
If my child's car is broken andI call a friend and say, hey,
friend, my child's car is broken, can they bring it to your shop
?
And the mechanic brings mychild's car into the shop, fixes
(37:06):
it extra well, even finds someother things that were wrong,
and say I know your son doesn'thave it right now, so I threw in
the little extras because heneeded it.
When that mechanic needssomething from me, i'm going to
do what I'm going to do.
I'm going to do it for her.
I will give her an extra, saythank you.
(37:27):
That's what you get to do inbusiness and in baking.
You get to build relationshipswith people that open doors for
not only you before yourchildren and their children's
children.
I believe that's ourresponsibility to put our foot
in the door and keep it open forthe people who are coming by.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Yes, Absolutely, minya.
The book has so many you saidit earlier it has so many
recipes for success, recipes forbelieving in yourself, recipes
for endurance, and those are allthe things that we go through.
And, as you were just speaking,because I know someone's going
to say, but I'm shy, i don'twant it right I believe I heard
(38:11):
you on Donald Miller, because welove all, i love all things,
donald Miller, and I think youeven said I'm shy.
But in today's world, withInstagram, with putting a face,
i always tell my students, i saythere's nothing special about
you, but it's just you, you know, because it's people don't buy
(38:32):
products, people buy people.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
So what would you say to the person who is saying,
well, i'm shy or I don't want toshow my face on social or stuff
like that?
because you mentioned, it's allabout those connections,
especially for those who arehome base, and a lot of our
other listeners have trucks,trailers, stuff like that.
We're in a connection business.
We're in a relationshipbuilding business And one of my
(38:57):
favorites is your net worth isequivalent to your net work.
So how can you ever make thoseconnections if you don't put
yourself out there?
How did you get over yourshyness to even have the courage
because there are some awesomestories in this book, mm, hmm, I
would say that I'm shy too.
Speaker 2 (39:16):
I'm very shy and it's always hard for me to talk
about me, me, me and I, i, i,everybody look at me like I
don't mind being the center ofattention, but I don't want to
be the one saying, oh, i didthis and I did that, right.
And so I would say that yousome of the highest earning
(39:42):
social media producers,youtubers you've never seen
their faces Just because you'reshy is not a reason for you not
to go out there and kill whatyou need to kill and drag it
home so that you can eat.
And I believe that shy doesn'tfeed your belly and it doesn't
pay the bills.
(40:02):
And when you get into aposition where you're hungry
enough, you eat.
You know my mother used to saythat all the time you ain't
hungry.
You know she would say that tome.
You're not hungry And I'm not.
I'm not saying that to say tosomeone that they're not hungry,
but you've got to look for thelesson.
What is it that you have that'sdifferent?
(40:25):
that's on the inside of yourhouse, that you don't have to do
it like I'm doing it.
Do it how you would be willingto do it, or get somebody else
to do it.
I made a list of 100 things Ididn't want to do anymore And I
found someone else to do themwho could do those things.
Well, and at first you alwaysdon't have an opportunity, but
(40:47):
in this age of technology thatwe're living in, you can
outsource just about everythingthat you need.
And listen, these kids, thesehigh school kids, are good at
the social media, you know, andsocial media is not the be all
and end all either.
(41:07):
Sometimes it's just going toyour church or your community
meeting and just bringing a cakethere and someone to say this
Oh, julie made that cake andleaving your cards there so
people can call Julie, and thenhaving more of those.
Sometimes you got to keep yourhand open to give some stuff
(41:30):
away.
You know, having thoseavailable in more than one place
and enough places so thatpeople can be calling you to
make something for them to.
It's OK to be shy, but courageisn't the absence of shyness.
Courage is moving even thoughyou are afraid.
That's what courage is, becausewithout, without fear or
(41:50):
without shyness, there is nocourage.
Because courage exists, becausefear exists.
So you got to move even thoughyou are afraid, and that's what.
That's what happened to me.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
I love that statement and I love what you said just
bringing stuff and dropping itoff.
Because I have a big saying weserve before we sell.
You should serve before yousell.
Even when we look at Jesus, youknow he could have easily
stepped out the Bible and saidlook, here I'm Jesus, i have the
answer.
But he didn't.
He washed feet, he performedmiracles, he sat with people, he
(42:27):
served before he actually sold,which what he was selling when
he was selling the salvation.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
I love it.
That's so good, so, so good.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
You're true, it's not as good as your book, though,
but I try.
You have really shared with usso much and just so many nuggets
and so many little gems.
For those who are bakers, asidefrom because you say it all the
time you've been flipping thatsame five dollars over and over,
(43:01):
and it's gotten you to to whereyou are now, when you operate a
multi-million dollar company,which is a blessing, aside from
financial success.
What are some other personalbecause I know it's not all
about that But what are somecharities or organizations or
things that are near and dear toyou that you can do now because
(43:22):
of the financial stability youhave?
Speaker 2 (43:26):
I?
that's such a good question.
I love giving away theinformation that I have in other
business oriented organizations.
So I serve at theEntrepreneur's Center, i serve
at Pathways, which has a women'sbusiness center, so people can
find me there And one of myfavorite organizations to work
(43:47):
with is Safe Haven.
Safe Haven is a shelter thatkeeps the whole entire family
together.
It's the only one in Tennesseethat allows the whole family, so
the father and the mother andthe children, to stay together.
And so we recently well, notrecently now, it's been, i guess
it's been two years now we'vebeen working with their Young
(44:09):
Leaders Council to createbirthday cakes for children who
are experiencing homelessness inMiddle Tennessee.
So I love that we get toprovide cake for them And then
from the proceeds that they makeas the Young Leaders Council,
they go out and they buypresents and gift wrap for those
mothers to be able to providegifts to their children.
(44:32):
So I love working with them andraising money with with with
Safe Haven.
I'm a huge fan of the YWCA andwhat they're doing for women who
have, who are coming out ofdomestic violence.
It's a subject that I talkabout extensively in the book.
There are things that I hadkept silent that were that had
(44:54):
happened in my life that mychildren never told anybody
about, and in telling my story,i felt it was important that I
share some of these stories sothat people would know that they
are not alone.
There are a lot of people whoare listening to your podcast
and they are.
They are suffering in silence,unable to make ends meet or
looking for a way out or anavenue in order to provide for
(45:19):
themselves or get a leg up, andI would say that I want you to
know that you're not alone.
There are other people justlike you, and I was one of them,
and so I love the YWCA for that.
I love work.
I've worked a lot with SecondHarvest Being being in middle to
the sea, we are one of thelargest areas that experience
(45:43):
food insecurity, which meansthat I know I'm going to
probably eat today.
I just don't know what it'sgoing to be or where it's going
to come from, and my childrenwere part of that statistic, and
so just getting that messageout that a dollar will feed will
feed make four meals for afamily if put into the right
hands, and so I love beingpromoting and being a
(46:08):
spokesperson alongside of SecondHarvest, for that reason as
well.
There's so many that I can'teven name them.
I love working with FH Jenkins.
It's a little private school inNorth Nashville.
It's the only African Americanschool that is parochial for
children of color in middleTennessee.
(46:30):
So I with a Christian base, soI love working with them as well
.
That list could just go on andon, and these are the things
that God has allowed me to do asI have found success.
Because you can't advance thekingdom of God if you don't have
any money.
Even God, even Jesus, hadpeople who were collecting the
(46:54):
money.
I mean, that was Judas'sproblem, right?
He was collecting the money andthen trying to hoard that money
.
Zacchaeus was a tax collector,so he had people around him who
were counting and collecting themoney.
Because you advance the kingdomof God with money first, first
service.
(47:14):
Like you said, you can't selluntil you serve.
So Jesus couldn't get peoplefollowing him until he served
them first, and then they beganto follow him and the money that
they lifted caused the messageto go further.
And that's what I'm trying todo.
I'm trying to keep my promiseto God.
If you make me successful, iwill tell others what they can
(47:36):
do if they believe, and the goalis hopefully to advance the
kingdom so that other peopleknow you don't have to live in
lack.
You can be the head and not thetail.
You can be above and notbeneath.
You can be the lender and notthe borrower.
Yes, that the rich rule overthe poor.
All of those things are justreminders that we are not
(47:57):
supposed to be in a place oflack.
Speaker 1 (47:59):
Menyong, that's everything, because we can't.
We cannot make an impact if wedo not have an income.
Speaker 2 (48:08):
That's so good, you just got nuggets.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
I have to write that one down And it's true, we can't
make an impact without anincome.
I should have went down to NewOrleans, because it's only our
way.
I hate crossing that bridge andput your cupcakes on this back
stand, but I'm gonna have some.
We're gonna represent.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
But We're gonna have way or something.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
You shared so many key things and key takeaways and
didn't want to go into the book.
I want them to actually readthe book.
That's gonna be everyone'shomework When this episode comes
out.
You actually only have 30 days.
When this episode comes out,you listen to it, you buy the
book.
You have 30 days to finish thebook and then you need to tag
Menyong social media and let herknow what it is.
(48:59):
You thought of it.
What is the biggest takeawaythat you want people to get from
the book?
Choose?
Speaker 2 (49:05):
life.
God was saying to me, when hewas waking me up in the morning,
to give me this whole idea ofthis bakery business, because it
wasn't my idea, it was his.
And he said, as he was wakingme up and giving me all the
instructions, i was writingeverything down.
When God got ready to stopwaking me up which, when they
(49:26):
get the book, they'll understandwhat I mean about waking me up
One of the last Bible verses Iread was Deuteronomy, chapter 30
, and then Joshua 1 and 9.
And he said to me I said, beforeyou like and death, lessons and
curses, choose life so that youand your children will live,
(49:48):
and that's what I want people toknow.
This is a gift that we've beengiven.
To be able to create and makefrom scratch, and to get up
every day and to do that thingthat you've been called to do is
about choosing to have life andto live it more abundantly.
I believe that God didn't comeand send his son and empty out
(50:10):
heaven for me so that I would bemediocre.
I believe that he emptied outheaven for me so that I would
live abundantly, which means tothe full.
And so what I heard God sayingto me was.
I'm not giving you any moreideas.
I'm not giving you any morethings for you to start and quit
.
This is the last thing that I'mgiving you And you can do it,
(50:34):
and you can do it witheverything you have, and that
will be choosing life, or youcan decide to ignore it and you
will be choosing to die.
And I think that we close oureyes and forever sleep for one
of two reasons Either we fulfillour purpose or we ignore it.
Speaker 1 (50:53):
And I wanted to fulfill the purpose that I was
planning on the Earth for Well,you have definitely fulfilled it
, and then some by being with ustoday, sharing your inspiration
to all the thousands of peoplethat listen in, and also just by
having the courage to bottleall that up and put it in a
(51:13):
memoir, and put it in a book andshare it with the world.
So we are so grateful for that.
Before I let you go, mignon,are you ready real quick to play
lightning round?
Speaker 2 (51:25):
Oh, i got some scared , i'll leave them all scared of
Okay, yes, it'll be fun.
Even if I don't know the answer, i'm gonna try.
Speaker 1 (51:33):
You got this Mignon.
what is your favorite color?
Speaker 2 (51:37):
My favorite color is right now is probably blush
paint.
Okay, i just think it's sopretty.
Speaker 1 (51:45):
All right, we'll take it.
What is your favorite dessert?
Speaker 2 (51:49):
My favorite dessert is cake.
I believe that cake is my lovelanguage, like, if you want, if
you're trying to get to my heart, bring me a cake, honey, and
let it.
let it be a coconut cake withsome rum, when you take it with
some rum.
Oh my gosh, i'll take it,however you bring it.
Who is your celebrity crush?
Oh, do I have one?
(52:11):
I don't know if I have acelebrity crush.
I believe that we are only sixdegrees away from the people who
we really want to meet anyway,and most of the time that's
somebody else's husband, and Idon't want to be, you know, i
don't want to be um covetedsomebody else's husband, so I'm
just waiting on God to send memine.
Speaker 1 (52:33):
So wait a minute, but I want a definite answer.
So are you maybe more like theIdris Elba type, the Michael P
Jordan?
Denzel, don't tell me more.
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (52:46):
I don't.
Even this is so difficult.
I don't even know who thatperson would be.
I'll come back to that one.
That's kind of lightning roundif I can't answer the question,
is it?
Speaker 1 (52:59):
Okay, and we're gonna skip the next.
Speaker 2 (53:01):
It might be it might be um Morris Chesney Oh okay,
now yes.
Yeah, that's who it would be.
Speaker 1 (53:09):
Well, okay, well, we will take that answer, So that's
awesome.
All right, we're gonna skip thenext question What is, which is
, what is your favorite book?
Because we're gonna recommendall of our listeners to go out
and to grab your book.
And so the last question whatis your favorite kitchen utensil
?
Speaker 2 (53:29):
My favorite kitchen utensil?
Oh, i love a good bowl.
Can that be a kitchen utensil Ialso love?
oh, that's not it, that's notit.
My favorite kitchen utensil isprobably a cake stand I like,
although first time when we cameinto this segment I was like
(53:50):
all of the cake dishes andthings that you have back there.
I love a beautiful pie plate ora cake stand.
I have a cake stand thatsomeone made me out of the trees
on their father's land.
It's gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (54:09):
Wow, that's okay.
Speaker 2 (54:10):
Yeah, I think my favorite kitchen utensil is a
cake stand.
It might be like a wooden spoon.
It's like pretty dishes.
Okay, well, I'm gonna use them.
I just want to look at themGood serving dish.
Speaker 1 (54:27):
Well, you have past lightning round with flying
colors.
Speaker 2 (54:33):
I was horrible on one of those pieces And then later
on I was like I should have saidthis person or that person,
It's okay, It's okay.
Speaker 1 (54:41):
We love all the answers.
We love everything you sharewith us today from the bottom of
my heart.
Thanks so much for coming onand blessing all those who
listen.
I know it's really going to bea treat.
Speaker 2 (54:54):
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Don't forget that they can buythe book on amazoncom and that
they want to collide with me.
They can do it on Instagram, atmignonfrancisecom, on Instagram
Awesome, or on thecupcakeelectioncom, where we're
open 24 hours a day and shippingour cupcakes with our
partnership with FedEx.
Speaker 1 (55:15):
Yes, I love it And we will have you guys check the
show notes because it's going tohave all the links to her stuff
as well as, like she stated,shipping nationwide If you want
to treat yourself to somecupcakes as well.
She gave us that link, Mignon.
Before you go, is there anylast little tidbit you'd like to
share?
Speaker 2 (55:33):
Oh, speak what you seek until you see what you said
.
One of the things that we do iswe talk against ourselves, but
we always have positive thingsto say about other people And I
would say use your words,because there's power of life
and death in your tongue.
Use your words to speak lifeover yourself and the things
(55:53):
that you were created to do, andI'm so excited about the ways
that all of them are going tonow start creating more of what
they were called to do, because,listen, there can never be too
much cake.
Speaker 1 (56:10):
So true, you guys heard it here.
First Check the show notes.
Thanks so much for speakingwith us today, beautiful.
Thank you for having me.
How amazing was it to hearMignon's testimony.
One of my favorite Christiansongs talks about doing what God
is famous for meaning themiracles, the things that he
(56:34):
went above and beyond to do, thedreams, the aspirations, every
single thing he touched, how hewas able to multiply nothing and
turn it into something.
You know that multiplication,that fame.
One of the first steps and youheard it from Mignon comes from
sharing your story.
(56:55):
It is so easy to look at someonelike Mignon who owns two
locations, a truck, who's builta seven-figure business.
You know, at times you might bestruggling to just make it to
five and to just make it to sixor seven, but sometimes we have
to remember that we can believeGod for eight and nine figure
businesses as well.
(57:15):
We have to take the limits offand not compare our day one, our
month one, our year one tosomeone else's day 10, year 15,
because we do not know the fullstory.
And so the memoir made fromscratch, is Mignon sharing her
story.
And you get to see, everybodygoes through something.
You guys, we all go throughsomething.
(57:38):
Life is going to always hand ussome form of a trial or a test
for an obstacle, but it's nothow you go through it, it's how
you grow through it and how youstill show up and allow your
gifts in order to change you andshape you and mold you so that
you can walk into the king orqueen, as well as the destiny
(58:00):
that God has for you so that hecan do what he is famous for.
If you guys want to check outMignon's book, i have the link
below.
Like she said it, you can findit on Amazon, and I hope that
this story has inspired you totap into your faith and to
believe, because you never knowwhat is possible when you share
(58:20):
your story, when you show up andwhen you just have the faith to
create something, even if youdon't feel like there's much
there to start with.
Thanks so much for listeningyou guys.
Take care and bye for now.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.