The Little Prince Cakery

Welcome to ‘The Prince & Me’. Thanks for stopping in to read my very first post! With the end of lockdown in sight and Spring around the corner, I’m feeling a renewed sense of optimism and in the spirit of new beginnings, now seemed the perfect time to launch my new business, the ‘Little Prince Cakery’. But let’s rewind – how did this baking start-up come about?

People launch start-ups for all kinds of reasons; they encounter a problem with no solution, spot a niche in a well-established market, want more control over their professional lives. Some are born entrepreneurs, while a major life event can push others to make the leap.

If ever I needed a life-changing event to spur me into action, 2020 had me spoilt for choice. The explosion of coronavirus devastated lives and economies on a global scale, and on a personal level, I gave birth to my first child, Ted. This is a life-changing event at the best of times, but after countless miscarriages, operations, a complex delivery during a world-wide pandemic, and severe post-natal depression, it had been a long and exhausting journey.

Maybe my struggles had made me braver, or recent events had made life seem short…fragile. Maybe I was just running out of excuses, but I didn’t need any more prompting. After five years of doodling cake designs on magazines, I launched my business specialising in wedding, celebration and cupcakes.

Prior to taking the entrepreneurial plunge, I worked in communications for 15 years (not counting the 18 months I spent living in Luxembourg – but that’s another story for another post). I’ve been extremely lucky with my corporate career. The work is interesting, satisfying, and I’ve worked for companies that genuinely help the world, but I’ve always slightly envied those people with a ‘calling’ in life – that innate sense of what you should be doing, paired with an obsessive passion for doing it. I was never the kid who knew exactly what they wanted to be when they grew up. I naturally lean towards ‘taking each day as it comes’ and try to do my best with whatever opportunities present themselves. For me though, work was work and I pursued my interests in my free time. And yet, in recent years I’ve felt a shift in my priorities. I began thinking more deeply about what I love to do and how I could make that a bigger part of my life. I started to see the benefits of planning long-term and being more deliberate about what I wanted to accomplish, and something I didn’t want to miss out on was the experience of building something myself and becoming my own boss.

Occasionally, I’d talk to my husband about running a cake business from home but for a while it remained a pipe dream – like when couples imagine relocating to France and fixing up a chateau, or chat about what they’d do if they won the Euro Millions jackpot. While I was working full-time though, I struggled to carve out space to develop the idea. As dark as recent times have been, lockdown has at least provided me with the opportunity to find my feet and get my business off the ground.

First, I had to know if I had the artistry and skill required to provide luxury cakes. I’ve been making novelty cakes for friends and family for years, and they have always been impressed, but I needed some objective feedback. I asked everyone I knew to promote my offer on their social media platforms; that I would be making celebration cakes at base cost for six months only and anyone planning a celebration should get in touch. I instantly received a flurry of orders, with many customers insisting on paying more than agreed when they saw the finished product. I also received fantastic feedback following their events.

I had a quality product (tick) but I was entering a competitive market-place. I needed to give customers a reason to pick my cakery over every other specialist cake business out there. Why buy from the ‘Little Prince Cakery’?

I considered the values I wanted my brand to embody and what it meant to me, and kept coming back to the same thing – family. I wanted my business to be family run, for the ingredients and end product to always match the quality I would expect for my own family, and for every customer to feel as welcome and looked after as a family member. This is why my cakery prioritises the personal touch – hand written thank you cards sent to every customer for example. I also knew instantly that I would name the cakery for my son. After all, he did inspire me to take the entrepreneurial plunge, but I struggled to come up with a fitting title. In the end, all credit went to his Granny. Ted’s ‘miracle baby’ status has seen him absolutely doted on by his very large extended family – so much so, my mum jokingly appointed him the ‘Little Prince’. It was perfect – it captured a little of his cheeky character, and tied in nicely with Leamington Spa’s royal connections.

Next, I considered how to set my product apart from what was on offer elsewhere. Again, it was about linking my goods to my family, what we like and where we live. I’m currently developing a line of cupcakes with flavour combinations based on seasonal local produce, and decoration themed around the culture and history of Leamington Spa.

Since lockdown, I’ve seen a big shift in consumer behaviour with an increase in supporting small businesses and shopping local. This has also given me added confidence to enter a such a competitive market.

In terms of actually setting up and running my business, I rely on a few key resources that don’t cost the earth:

• Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest are powerful platforms for small businesses. They provide free access to a wealth of information, facts, insights and audiences all from my sofa.
• Google: I google EVERYTHING. I spend hours asking google questions, researching competitors, and looking into trends and online publications.
• Amazon: It enabled me to become a professional photographer overnight for £60 on a lighting box. Although this did come on the back of a five year addiction to buying baking equipment – so maybe not as cheap as I’m making out!

I’m incredibly excited about the future and making my business a success. For me, baking and decorating cakes embodies so many things; it’s creative, therapeutic (it was my salvation when I experienced depression), celebratory, and it conjures up feelings of family and friendship. I can’t wait for that rush of happiness at post-lockdown gatherings up and down the UK, and at my own reunions, all of which will have a beautiful cake at the centre. The care and attention that goes into baking a show-stopping dessert is my way of showing people how important they are to me. It’s a fantastic feeling, and the idea of doing that all day, every day for as many people as possible? Well, it’s not work if you love it.

After a year of immense highs and lows, the ‘Little Prince’ was born – and so was his cakery. Why not make your long-awaited reunions extra sweet? Get in touch and I’ll make you a royally special cake!

I’d love to hear your comments. Keep checking the ‘The Prince & Me’ for new recipes, baking trends and my start-up adventures.