Summer is flying by!  I saw that "back to school" displays are already out in stores this week....sorry teachers!  With another June in the books, I'll show you the weddings that took place!

First up was a June 4th wedding at Wisconsin Riverside Resort.  It was 248 cupcakes: ​chocolate chip cookie dough, raspberry cheesecake, reverse red velvet, caramel apple, vanilla and chocolate chocolate; all displayed on one of my tiered cake stands.  I loved leaving these flavors as they naturally appear.  I think it really added visual appeal to the display.  

​On June 18th I had a 100 cupcake wedding (white chocolate mocha and vanilla raspberry) at a private location.  The cupcakes were displayed on my wooden crates and the cutting cake incorporated a sunflower to fit their theme.  This wedding delivery was a little unique because I was in plain site during delivery!  I usually try to come and go before guests arrive, but due to the venue being outdoors and it being hot outside, the couple preferred that I come right before dinner was served.  The environment was very laid back and since the couple wanted non-melted cupcakes I had no problem with delivering with the guests out and about.  Bonus:  I wasn't trying to be sneaky, but we didn't manage to get in and out without the bride ever seeing us!

Next was a double wedding weekend on the 25th.  I apologize for the photos in advance- I failed to ask for the lights to be turned on so my photos of this wedding are very dark and blurry.  (The couple was getting married in the same building so my main priority was to just get in and out of there!)  Good news though!  I have been in contact with the photographer from the wedding and they will be sending me what they have.  I will post those on the Facebook page as soon as I get them!

This wedding was 100 cupcakes at University of Wisconsin-Platteville: chocolate strawberry and key lime with abstract chocolate toppers.  The display was made up of my white wooden stairs and silver spiral holders.  This wedding had a fun wedding cake topper featuring a kitty cat, painted silver touches on their cutting cake, and some fun chocolate toppers to add interest to the cupcakes.

The second wedding from the 25th was picked up by a friend of the couple.  I don't yet have any pictures of wedding, but I hope to have some very soon!  They will be posted as soon as possible.  There were 200 cupcakes: cookies n cream, marble, chocolate peanut butter craving and raspberry cheesecake.

Now there is only one wedding left before I'm due!  2017 is booking up fast so I am trying to squeeze in as many wedding tastings as I can.  Contact me as soon as you can if you need to do one! Thanks for another week of orders and I hope to see you at Friday's open day!!

This has been something I've debated over ever since opening the doors of Steph's Sweet Treats.  Not this exact system, but just in general.  What the heck am I talking about? Getting an edible image printer of my own!  There are several benefits to having my own edible image printer, but also some pretty big potential downfalls.​

I can currently do cakes with custom edible images on them, I just don't print them in house.  (Above are two examples of images that I have had printed for cakes.) It can be inconvenient for me and the customer, as well being pricier.  So why do I do this way??  Because I probably only print three edible images a year....and to have your own system you need to print at least once a week to keep your printer unclogged and working properly!

So you can see my predicament.  I can get an edible image printer, but if I'm not printing regularly, then I will be replacing $100 printer heads every time I print an image...which would make even less sense for me to do!  So why am I even bringing it up if it clearly won't work?  Because there's a system called PhotoCake that would allow me to offer my customers A LOT of options for edible images, including a whole lot of custom images using licensed/copyrighted images!!  Yay!!  It's not just licensed images, it can be just your photo, or something like a graduation theme with or without a personal photo.

I really push the fact that I follow copyright/licensing laws at Steph's Sweet Treats.  Which means I can't replicate logos, sports teams, and characters in any way.  If they are on a cake it needs to be done with purchased toys and toppers.  This system would allow me to give customers a wider variety of options when they want a character or licensed image cake.

Now I just have to figure out if my customers would actually use this new feature if I get it for Steph's Sweet Treats.  It would take some time to get the word out, but would this be something that interests you??  My theory is: if I don't have an order using the printer that week, I can print an image that would likely be popular/get used relatively quickly (for example Finding Dory just came out so there may be some kids looking to have Finding Dory parties soon).  But then again....I could also get stuck with 40+ images at the end of the year....so I can't decide what to do!

I basically need to know from you, my customers, if this was something Steph's Sweet Treats were to offer....would you take advantage of it or want a cake with an image?

Below are some examples of images/cakes that could be done with these images.  There's over 1500 images available with the system, so these are just a few to show you the kinds of images available.  Customers would be able to add their own photo into images (like the 1st birthday image, Aaron Rodgers image, Finding Dory image, and Paw Patrol image); have an image that is the main focal point of the cake, licensed image or not, there are so many options (examples: ready to pop image, deer image, Frozen image, 2016 image, and Superman); or even do images around the outside of the cake instead of the top (like the My Little Pony image-there are a lot of neat patterns available in this option too!)

So there are over 1500 images available, but I don't even have to use them!  If you just want your photo or your company's logo, I could do that too!  The possibilities are endless....but I need to figure out if it interests you guys!

Thanks for another week of orders and I hope to see you at next Friday's open day!  

Can you believe it's June already?!  Some may say that means it's wedding season, but I've been lucky enough to bake for quite a few weddings already this year!  And if you ask me, the time I get hit the hardest for weddings is September and October...so let's just say all year long is wedding season!

I kicked off 2016 with the biggest cupcake wedding I have had (not counting multiple wedding weekends).  The wedding was on January 9th and had 600 cupcakes!  This gorgeous wedding took place at the University of Wisconsin Platteville and used the cupcakes as part of their centerpieces.  Flavors: brownie batter, lemon poppy seed, vanilla raspberry, chocolate chip cookie dough, and red velvet.  They also chose to make the cupcakes a little more decorative than usual by having me add white glittered cupcake wrappers.  The end result was the perfect mix of rustic and elegance!

It's not very often I get a Friday wedding, but I got one on March 18!  This rustic themed wedding was at Barn 23 and consisted of 125 cupcakes in vanilla and chocolate and a wood log style cutting cake that was chocolate with banana cream filling.  The setup combined my wooden crates and wood slabs provided by the couple.  I also alternated the style in which the cupcakes were frosted-half had the signature swirl and half were rose (or rosette) style.  Another great mix of rustic and elegance!

The third wedding of the year happened to be at the same location as the first and the night after the last wedding (on March 19)!  This time there was 352 cupcakes and 3 dozen cookies (vanilla, vanilla strawberry, chocolate peanut butter, and dark chocolate).  The couple used stands and trays from the venue to display their monogram cookies and mint and pink colored cupcakes.  The table was full to the brim with these goodies and I loved the colors!

The last wedding for March was on March 26 at the Quail Run Golf Course in  Richland Center.  There was 175 cupcakes (marble, vanilla raspberry, and chocolate peanut butter).  This wedding combined my wooden crates and wooden stairs to go with the theme of their wedding.  They also chose to do some fun swirling of colors in their frosting (can't see in picture to the right).  Some of the cupcakes were plain yellow and gray and then some had yellow and gray swirled together.  It's always fun to do a little something extra to the cupcakes to draw in people's eyes (and taste buds!)

Now onto April!  The above wedding was 200 cupcakes at the Belmont Convention Center- blueberry white chocolate, chocolate chip cheesecake, carrot and funfetti (plus some gluten-free red velvet).  The couple used my tiered white stand to display their cupcakes and cutting cake.  I loved how the couple chose to leave some of the flavors as they would come naturally (like blueberry white chocolate and chocolate chip cheesecake) and incorporated their wedding colors into the others.

The next weddings were from a double wedding weekend! (April 16).  My mom went to The River Inn in Boscobel with me to deliver the wedding in the top photos- 225  ultimate marble, funfetti, smore and chocolate chip cookie dough (plus a two tiered lemon raspberry naked cake).  I absolutely loved how they had the cake tables set up.  I mean those hanging tissue decorations are swoon worthy!  The left display was provided by the couple and the right wooden tiered stand was rented from me.  I thought it was so fun to be able to do two tables instead of one!

The bottom wedding was taken to Turner Hall in Monroe by my husband.  It was 550 cupcakes (not all pictured): vanilla, vanilla raspberry, chocolate peanut butter, monster cookie, carrot, triple salted caramel, and almond cheer.  The couple provided the display crates and told me to set them up however I saw fit.  Since my husband is such a trooper and did the setup all by himself, we drew it out the night before so he knew were everything would be before he got there.

The next wedding, on May 7th, was for a classmate of mine.  All customers  are special to me, but it always feels a little more special, and like such an honor, to do the wedding of someone you know personally.  

The wedding was 410 cupcakes vanilla and chocolate at the Belmont Convention Center and were used as centerpieces for all the tables.  What I found neat about these red plates was that the lighting/reflections hit the cupcake liners giving them a red tint!

The last wedding for May (May 14) was also for a couple who went to the same school as me!  And I must say....I was super excited for this wedding because it was at Sugarland Barn in Arena and I had yet to do a wedding there.  I meant to take a picture of the beautiful barn interior, but I totally forgot!  We were setting up right before the ceremony so the need to get in and out made me forget!  Anyways, the couple provided the setup (which I loved!).  I love when setups have multiple aspects and levels, so this one definitely fit that!  It was 300 cupcakes - monster cookie, vanilla strawberry, and dark Irish (and a two tiered white cake with strawberry filling).

Now you are up to date on all the Steph's Sweet Treats weddings thus far in 2016!  Thank you for another week of orders and I hope to see you all at the open day Friday!!

It's been several months since I've done one of these blog posts, so I thought it's about time I do one!  The growth of Steph's Sweet Treats has led to the opportunity to do even more fun and unique orders.  Here's a behind the scenes look at a few recent orders!

I'm known for my cutout sugar cookies (if you haven't tried them, please do!).  But when I opened Steph's Sweet Treats I wasn't going to do the whole decorating of cookies things.  Not sure why, but my cutout cookies have just always been simple....great cookies, great frosting, and that's it.  Nothing fancy; just plain yummy.

However, as the business grew, so did the demand for decorated cookies...so I gave in!  I am not a fan of royal icing; I find that it lacks flavor and is just too hard.  So I came up with an icing alternative for decorated cookies.  It still hardens to the touch like royal icing, but it is not as hard and still has flavor.  Opening the door to decorated cookies has led to some very fun orders, including the one from above!  These cookies were not only extra special because I loved the colors and designs (there was also some with the wedding date on them), but because they were ordered by my best friend for a high school friend/fellow cheerleader.  

Not all of the decorated cookies are iced.  I have done some with the traditional frosting as well.  These don't allow for as much detail and run the risk of smearing/the design getting squished (although I do use layers of wax paper between the cookies to help avoid this).  All of which I let people know when they are deciding between icing and frosting.  I had the pleasure of doing almost 200 cookies for Dean Clinic of Dodgeville for Health Care week.  This happens to be where my doctor is, so it was pretty cool when my doctor told me how they enjoyed my cookies!

 These next two cakes were for the same family and same weekend.  They got to have a double celebration of a birthday and gender reveal!  And did I mention two super fun cakes!?  

They both presented new challenges to me, which I loved.  The customer sent me photos to base the cakes off of and then I had to make them come alive.  The horse silhouettes were the aspect I thought would be the most challenging, but it wasn't!  I was soooo pleased and happy when I tried and was successfully able to paint on buttercream!  I have painted on fondant before, but never buttercream.  It worked and I was so pleased with the end result.  This cake also needed flowers.  Don't get me wrong, I love making fondant flowers, but they can be very timely to make, resulting in more expensive for customers.  So I have a stock of a few different kinds of flowers on hand and they worked perfect to make this cake extra special.

Now I always love a gender reveal cake...so of course I was excited about this one!  I had fun making the fondant aspects of this cake; although I'll admit the boots were probably one of the most difficult things I have had to sculpt.  They may not look difficult, but they were!  

Fun fact:  I have now been able to bake for all three of Cheyenne's birthdays since opening Steph's Sweet Treats! Here are year one and two:
-Farming themed smash cake
-Minnie mouse themed rosette cake (following copyright laws of course!)

Last but not least, I'll give a little information about a tiered cake from last weekend.  I don't get to do a ton of tiered cakes, but they have definitely picked up this year...in fact I had three different tiered cake orders last weekend!!).  This one was a for a surprise 30th party and hunting lover. I gave the customer some design options and we decided on a different look for each tier.  To make things easier, I delivered and set up the cake at the venue before the big surprise.  (If I don't set up, tiered cakes come in VERY large boxes and are very heavy when fully assembled....so people don't always have the space or capability to haul them around).

When I got the venue the customers kids were super excited to watch me set up the cake and it was great to see their reactions in person. I hope the birthday boy was excited and surprised by his party and cake!

Thanks for another week of orders everyone!!

​I take pride in responding quickly to my customers.  Whether it's a Facebook message, email, phone call, or text message; I try to get back to people as soon as I possibly can.  Even though I take pride in my fast response rate status on Facebook...it can be exhausting!

These days technology has made people (myself included) use to the idea of constant contact.  Sure it's great to be able to contact Steph's Sweet Treats, or other businesses, whenever you want...but as time goes on as a business owner I find myself not wanting to be available 24/7.  For example, when my phone is ringing on Sunday night, going off in the middle of making supper, or I"m getting questions in the middle of a 12 hour baking day....I sometimes just want to wait to respond.  

But I struggle with it so much!  I've had people really like how quickly I get back to them...so it's hard for me to just say "it can wait."  This is definitely my problem, not the customers for contacting me; so PLEASE do not think that.  I'm sure all of you can relate in some way, shape or form...especially if you are a business owner!

I too am guilty of this.  I'm the person that sends an email and taps my fingers waiting for a response.  I've been known not to have much patience so it's probably why I feel this strong need to get back to people.  I'm slowly growing out of this habit as I am learning that people do not need instant responses.  So I guess this blog post is to warn everyone that I will backing off the constant contact I have put out there for the last two and half years.

Steph's Sweet Treats has grown tremendously.  Which is oh so amazing...but also means A LOT more inquires, questions, calls, etc.  Lately I feel like my head is spinning with all the incoming things and my feeling that I need to respond immediately. With a baby on the way I know my need to not be so readily available will increase...and I know that once the baby is here I will not be able to respond as quickly.  

If I can get back to you immediately I will.  But please be understanding if it takes me longer than you are use to.   I have slowed down on responding to people after 4:30 pm, on weekends, and when I am busy baking.  I turn the sound notification off on my Facebook after a certain time now (because being woken up in the middle of the night made for a cranky baker come morning), and overall I try to tell myself that it can wait.  So just know that I am not ignoring you, I'm simply busy at the moment, baking, sleeping, or taking my evening or weekend to myself.  Once I get organized and have a moment to sit down and respond to everything, I will.  

So keep those orders coming because the growth has been amazing!  Just know that I will respond to you as soon as I can :)  Thanks for another week of orders and for a sold out open day last Friday!

Don't get me wrong, I love all my orders and get excited to fill everyone's orders...but there are times when I get extra excited to fill an order.  This usually means I get to do something new, over-the-top, or something I've had my eye on.  In this case...the cake was all of the above!

The cake that was floating around Pinterest, Facebook, social media, etc. was a wood slab cake with a plaid inside and an ax coming out of the top.  Naturally, I wanted to make it!  Unfortunately, there are some technical things that needed to be done and known...and the only way to get them...pay a subscription to the site...

Then, a bride emailed me wanting the cake for her cutting cake!  (Minus the ax).  I was immediately excited and gave her a few options.  To do my own version of the cake, which would be close but could have some differences to the pattern inside and maybe the outside since I didn't have the exact methods that were used; or to add the website fee to the cake so I can get the inside scoop and apply it to the cake.  She opted for the website fee and getting the inside scoop...and here's what the end result was!

Sorry to plaster you with what may look like the same photo over and over...but I felt like I couldn't take enough pictures of the cake and just kept taking them (for your sake, I didn't put them all up!).  I did veer a little from the information I obtained from the site for the top of the cake, which was supposed to be done with an airbrush.

I just hand painted it instead....because while I have an airbrush...I've only used it once.  Not because I don't want to use it...but because I somehow managed to make it not work properly after only one use!  Oops!  And I have yet to figure out how to get it going again.  In the end, I was happy that my airbrush was broken because I LOVED the outcome of the hand-painting.  I liked it more than the airbrushed version.

To make this cake even more exciting...it was plaid on the inside!  It's a little hard to see, but the couple was kind enough to have pictures sent my way so I could see the inside.  I couldn't exactly cut the cake, take a picture and put it back together now could I?!  

As you can probably tell my my over enthusiastic photo taking, and blabbing, I love this cake!  It's always stressful when something you've never done comes your way, but at the same time...sooo exciting!  So I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I do!

Thanks for another week of orders, and I hope to see you at Friday's open day!

 Even though there really isn't a time of the year where there aren't any orders (knock on wood), there is definitely a busy season in baking....and it's about to hit!  I know it's hard to plan ahead, but if you have big events and parties from April-October PLEASE contact me as soon as you can to schedule things.  For example, I can only book so many graduation parties per weekend, so if you have a graduation party to plan, contact me now before it's too late.

Easter is only a little over three weeks away.  Since I have a wedding that weekend, I will have to limit the number of other orders I take.  If you would like to order for Easter, here are some ideas:
- Cake decorated for Easter
-Cupcake cakes (bunny, cross, spring flowers, etc)
-Cutout cookies (or decorated cutout cookies)
-Carrot cake cheesecake...yes this exists!!
​-Cupcakes (decorated or not)

Graduation season may seem like it is a long ways away...but it's not!  It's almost here!  If you are planning a party or know someone planning a party, please contact me as soon as you can or let the person know to contact me soon.  Even if you don't have exact numbers yet, holding your spot is key since I can only take so many a weekend....especially when parties overlap with weddings.

When most people think of graduation parties, they think cake, but you don't have to do cake!  You can do cake, cupcakes, cookies, or any combination of the above.   I can incorporate school colors (college or high school), career choice, hobbies, interests, and/or sports. Depending on the size of the party, I'd say people usually go with all cupcakes or a cake plus cupcakes.  If the party is smaller or just for family it's common to just do a small cake. Here are a few cakes to give you some ideas.

Weddings are all year round, but definitely pick up from June-October.  Even if it's not exactly wedding season right this minute, I have been doing a lot of wedding tastings and do have at least a couple weddings a month starting this month.  When I have weddings, it makes it even more important for people to give me notice for their orders.  I hate turning people away, but the likelihood of that happening goes up drastically if you contact me with less than a weeks notice during wedding season....especially this year since I will be farther along in my pregnancy and taking less orders.  

If you still have a 2016 wedding that you haven't booked yet, I have very limited availability, so contact me as soon as you can.  If you aren't getting married until 2017, it's not too soon to book!  The sooner the better...dates go quickly.  Don't forget to refer someone to Steph's Sweet Treats. If you know someone getting married, you refer them, and they book...you get a gift certificate!

So if you have parties and events already planned out for the next months, please contact me as soon as you can!  Thank you for another week of orders and I hope to see you at next Friday's open day!

​I don't want to bombard the blog with baby stuff, but since I am pregnant, I figure an occasional update is called for/appropriate.  At 16 weeks (and 3 days) I'm moving on through my second trimester, and can now reflect back on what it was like for me to bake during the first trimester.

​Baking in the first trimester really wasn't all that different for me than my normal baking.  I lucked out in terms of morning sickness and only had mild nausea and then had to deal with hot flashes.  One thing I did/do have....tiredness!  I've never been much of a napper...I have a really hard time falling asleep in the middle of the day unless I'm sick or something.  Probably because I'm too worried about what other things I could be getting done...darn you Type A personality!

Well that quickly went away because I literally felt like I couldn't keep my eyes open.  This is a real struggle when you get up in the wee hours to bake.  If I got the luxury to get home early or if it was the weekend I would easily fall asleep on the couch or chair if it was between noon and 3 pm.  And then by 8 pm I was ready to go back to sleep!  

I go to bed early as it is since 3 am rolls around in a hurry...and even though I'm no longer in my first trimester I still find myself wanting more sleep.  Not so much in the middle of the day anymore, but in the evening I just want to go to bed. I will not feel bad about going to bed early!  No sleep and late nights are on the way so I will soak up the sleep while I can!

The only other real change I made was to make a conscious effort to take breaks.  I barely ever stop what I'm doing or take a real break when I have a day full of orders.....so the first trimester left me doing "the potty dance" a whole lot! I now make sure I have my snacks and meals at times I normally would....and I sit down to eat!  Crazy I know!!  I use my stool to actually take breaks, and I use it when I'm done baking and move on to decorating.  Using a stool isn't super convenient....I have to get up a lot so there's not really much sitting, but the resting/leaning still helps.  

The above pictures are pretty blurry and I didn't take a whole lot of time editing them....but I've been trying to document week by week by just snapping a quick picture on my phone and putting some tidbits with the pictures.  So here are the pictures from weeks 8, 12, and 16!  The next update will be at the end of March....when we find out the gender!  I have no preference, just health, but man oh man I can't wait to find out!  I was fine...until the ultrasound got scheduled...now I just want to know right this second!

Before I end this post I thought I'd throw in the post I put up on my Facebook page..in case you missed it:

As I pay my yearly business taxes I must say thank you to all of my customers. You may think this is an odd thing, since businesses have to fork over large amounts of money to the government, but it reminds me that I am fighting a fair and moral business fight.
Steph's Sweet Treats got started because people beyond my friends and family started wanting my baked goods. Which is good, this is how most businesses start..word of mouth. However, as soon as I saw this happening, I made the transition to no longer baking from my home; I went through the process of opening a legally licensed kitchen. (I even rented a licensed kitchen for an order that was non family related before my bakery was ready and I paid taxes on the order).
What does this mean? I follow copyright laws, I follow the codes of the health department, I pay licensing fees and inspections, and I send a very large portion of each and every order to the government. Combine all of these things, and it makes if very hard to watch illegal bakers in the area who are not licensed, do not follow copyright, code, OR pay such a large sum to the government, grow and get away with it.
Worst of all, their customers don't realize they are only encouraging them to continue business illegally. You don't need a legal business to put up a facebook page or website, so many many people get away with it and customers are none the wiser to the persons operations.
This is why I am saying thank you for those of you who choose Steph's Sweet Treats. I urge you to continue support small LEGAL businesses. Thank you everyone who supports me; I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate it!
Sorry had to get that off my chest and out of my brain.

As always, thanks for another week of orders!

It's been awhile since I did a "story behind the order" post, so I thought I'd do the first one of 2016, third one overall.  If you've never read one of the behind the order blog posts before,  I just give you a peek behind the scenes/background on a few orders. How do I pick which orders to talk about?  They usually have special meaning to me, were particularly fun (even though all orders are fun!), were something new I got to try, or were a big hit on Facebook.

First up, let's talk about Barbie.  I'm sure most of you have seen a 3D Barbie cake at some point since they are pretty popular... despite their popularity, I had yet to have someone order one!  So I was pretty excited to make this cake.  If you haven't noticed, Barbie is tall!  Which means a Barbie dress cake is VERY large!  This cake was 4+ layers of cake....I say + because there was some carving and sculpting at the top to get the dress shape and cover enough of Barbie's torso.  Barbie's top included, the cake measured around a foot tall.  

This isn't the first big cake I've had the pleasure of making for this customer.  I got to make the super fun monster cake pictured below when they welcomed a new baby into the family.  They sure know how to order fun cakes!

Next up, a super fun first birthday cake....and again, something I've been wanting to make.  I love seeing cakes with little elephants holding balloons, so when I was asked to make one, I was excited!  There was also a lot of different fondant details in this cake which is always a fun treat for me.  The elephant and flower got made a few days in advance so they could harden up enough to go on the cake.  The other details (chevron and polka dots) were made right before decorating so they were pliable enough to go on.  The cake also went with the polka dot smash cake pictured.  It was a first birthday and golden birthday celebration that I was thrilled to be a part of.

The next order was given to my husband's aunt by my mother-in-law.  Every year she gets her flowers for her birthday...so this year she wanted to combine her love of chocolate cupcakes with flowers!  She told me to do whatever I wanted, so I took inspiration from a popular cupcake bouquet that went around Pinterest and was sent to me by several people.  I think this mini bouquet turned about pretty darn cute.

Lastly, is a cake near and dear to my heart.  I was so excited to tell my Grandpa and Grandma Carley that I was expecting and keeping it a secret for so long made me want to make it a special reveal for them.  So what better way than to use a cake and my grandma's birthday?!  They have been the best grandparents I could ever ask for....supportive, loving, and always there for me.  I can't wait for them to be just as meaningful to our little one!

Thanks for another week of orders and for making the Valentine's Day open days so amazing!

I'm sure you can tell by now, that I like to write very honestly on this blog.  In the spirit of being honest...I thought I'd write about something nobody tells you about running a business.  What am I talking about?  Dissatisfied customers! Something every business owner fears! No matter what kind of business you run, if you deal with people, you are bound to have somebody be dissatisfied at some point.  Before I go on, let me say this has not happened to me a lot, but I'm not immune; it's happened!  Most people like to keep these incidences hush, hush, but since I'm pretty darn real....so I'm talking about it!

Now if the above message (the sign on the front counter in my shop) could always be true, I would always be fine...but I'm not.  I know every business has it's critics and complaints.  Look up any company and you are bound to find lovers and haters...but of course, when I opened I was naive enough to think I could avoid it.  Wrong!  Again,  this doesn't happen regularly, but I've been open for over two years now and have had a few "dissatisfaction issues" come up.  As a business owner, I think you have to get use to the idea that they will always be there.  Why will they always be there if you have a good product?

Because people will try to get away with A LOT...if you let them.  I said "dissatisfaction issues"  in quotes for a reason.  I've had a few issues with being suckered for a gift certificate or people looking for money back when it was not warranted.  But out of fear of an upset customer, I gave it to them. I had to learn the hard way...I cannot just give people money or a gift certificate merely because they say they have a problem.  I can't throw money back at people for just anything...because that word will spread around in a hurry and I will become a doormat for people to stomp on and get money from.  So I have told myself not to...and it's hard!  Of course, if it was warranted or my fault I would of course compensate a customer. 

Like I said, I learned the hard way....I put up a sign that said any damage to an order once it leaves my facility is your responsibility, not mine ( I check to make sure everything is A-OK before it leaves; I cannot control how everyone transports and chooses to store items).  I also cannot refund based on people's personal preferences.  

This is why I did a clarification on my Facebook page recently on the difference between my vanilla cake and my white almond cake.  There's a big difference...your order should reflect on your preference/taste.  I had a very confrontational customer-well not exactly the customer, but their relative-telling me off about the order, insisting they get money, and even threatening to turn people away from me (even though I did specifically ask if they wanted vanilla or white).  But guess what?  I made several other vanilla cakes at the very same time, very same batch as this persons.  

​So of course I had to make sure it wasn't something I did wrong (in which case I would have compensated the person), so I contacted others customers from that weekend and asked them to tell me honestly what they thought.....the guests loved the cakes, complimented them, and had no leftovers.  So what am I to do???  All I can do is apologize because it is my worst nightmare to have someone upset, but I can't give them money back.  That's like going to the movie and asking for your money back because you hated the movie, but everyone else loved it. You can't do it.  

Now you may think I'm crazy, and "the customer is always right," but if I did that I would be opening my business up for a whole lot of scamming and people just looking for freebies left and right.  I've also had a few people lie about things being wrong (I know because I did my background work and checked to see if things were okay with others, or again, other matching orders for that weekend).  You can tell when someone is lying too...because if I tell them I've checked things out, they will come up with a new complaint or a problem that isn't even possible to have with their order.  

I'm by no means trying to bash anyone or say anyone who complains to a business is lying...but it happens a whole lot more than one would think.  I could never imagine doing that to a business, but maybe that's because I'm a business owner myself and I know the damage it could do to a reputation.  I want every customer satisfied always...but it's a business, and I've had to learn you just can't make everyone happy. 

For this reason, I've created a binder full of thank yous, positive emails, reviews, etc.  For the days something brings me down, brings me to tears, makes me doubt whether or not I'm good enough, or all of the above.  My husband is there to pick me back up; make me stop crying; remind me that I am great at what I do; tell me every business has to deal with this kind of thing; and I go through the binder to remind myself the positive FAR outweighs any negative I have ever gotten.  

Which brings me to the next thing you may not think of when running a business..the internet!  Everyone has instant power to make or break your business with a click of a button and a few taps on the keyboard.  You never know if the person behind the review or post is being honest or not.  I can look at some of my favorite places on Facebook or other websites and find mean reviews or experiences that are completely different from my own with the company or restaurant.  

When I first started my Facebook page the mobile version was different than it currently is.  You'd go to my page (or any page) and the first thing you'd see was stars for reviewing.  This setup meant a lot of people were trying to scroll down or "drag" the page and would unintentionally click a star rating....low ratings!  Since these were left before I even opened or at the very beginning of my business, I knew most of these people had never heard of me or had anything I had ever made before...so I contacted them.  Most people wouldn't go that far, but lets face it... internet ratings make a big impact on a business.  Every one of those people had no idea they left the ratings, it was a mistake, and they deleted them.  

That is all except for one.  If you go to my reviews on Facebook, you'll notice a one star review.  Now why am I calling this reviewer out??  Well one, they'll never see this...and two, it's bogus.  I have figured out who the person is, but they have never met me, never had my baked goods, and just want to hurt my business.  Why?  For very childish reasons.  The person is the ex mother-in-law to my cousin.  Crazy right?!  Apparently the relationship didn't end well and she wanted to take it out on my cousin and their family...even if we've never met, never had an issue...and even if I know nothing about the situation...it was still taken out of me.  I've tried several times to have them take it down and tried several different ways.  First I messaged them and they proclaimed "oops" and they'd remove it...nope.  Nothing has worked, so I've given up.  It's just another example of how people can take down a business whether what they say or do is the truth or not.

If you operate a business you can probably relate...if you can't, then you have been beyond lucky and I bow down to you.  I hope you've enjoyed this bit of honesty; it's been kind of therapeutic I must say!  Dealing with any negative makes all the positive I get regularly receive that much more cherished.  Thank you all so much for all the love and compliments you send me; and thanks for another week of orders. 

Sorry for the long-winded post!  Hope to see you Friday and Saturday for your Valentine's Day cupcakes!!