Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Heppner.
Katie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My journey started towards the end of college, watching Ace of Cakes and Cupcake Wars in my free time. I was working in a preschool while finishing up my Early Childhood Ed degree in Illinois. My mom and I are super close but we needed something to do together. We took a Basic Cake Decorating Class at Joann’s and it was a lot of fun. The class itself was pretty slow-paced for my liking so after it was over, I decided I would just teach myself some tricks. I figured I could probably learn enough from the internet, watching cake Gods like Duff Goldman and contestants from the cupcake shows I loved so much.
I would make cakes at home for practice and bring them into work. Everyone loved having my “leftovers” and they started asking me to make them for events at the school; Kindergarten Graduation, Parent night, the Art show, etc. From there, parents at the school started asking me to make cakes for their kid’s birthdays. I wasn’t any good at all, but I was willing to try! Years later I transferred to AZ, where I again made cakes for parents at the school I was working at, quit my job to nanny, had my first son, decided to stay home shortly after that and with full support of my husband, took up cakes as my main job to help out with our income and continue to grow our family. Here we are 10 years later (five years since “opening” my home-based business, KatieCakes) with our 4th baby boy on the way and I’ve made hundreds of cakes and thousands of cupcakes!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Overall, I think it’s been pretty smooth. Each cake challenges me in different ways. Being self-taught, there are times I get a request for something I have never attempted before. I never bite off more than I can chew, but I work hard to make it perfect and I’m happy to say the hard work pays off. I love the reaction people have when they see their cakes. It’s so incredibly rewarding.
The nice thing about running a home business is that I only take on what I know I can handle. I push myself to do it all and naturally, every time I add a kid to our family there’s the whole “how can I be there for them and still put out 6+ orders a week?” We’ve dealt with some medical issues with my 2nd child that took me out of work for most of his first year of life but that’s the beauty of a home business and having an incredibly supportive family/friend base. You can take the time to manage your home life when you need to and it will still be there for you when you’re ready to go back. I do this job because I love it, but I’m a Mom first. Always.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
So I mostly focus on cakes and cupcakes, but I’ve recently been branching into Paint-Your-Own, or PYO, cookies. Each cookie is about 5″ round and comes with a paintbrush. It’s basically a watercolor coloring page on a cookie, so you can paint it AND eat it! They are a huge success around the holidays and a fun way for me to switch things up a bit at the end of the year.
I’m most proud of my ability to take someone’s idea for a design and turn it into something creative and unique. I recently had a woman contact me saying “my sister is getting married and wants a cake that’s half Marine dress blues and half traditional white wedding cake and she’s been told by many bakers it can’t be done. PLEASE can you help?”, and without hesitation, I messaged her back “of course I can do that for you!” and I did. I’m so happy with how it turned out, too. I think that’s what sets me apart from other bakers. My clients have a vision for their cakes and it’s my job to make it happen. I’m not a “here’s a book of cakes you can choose from” decorator. That’s literally what I was told when I had to pick out my wedding cake. When you come to me for a cake, we work together as a team so you can get exactly what you are wanting out of your custom cake order.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
One of my best friends and fellow home-bakers Crystal and I were featured on “Halloween Cake-Off” on Food Network this year where we got to be on a show with Duff Goldman. Talk about life coming full circle. I mean, his show was why I wanted to take a decorating class, to begin with! And, while we didn’t win this time we had an incredible experience and we desperately want to redeem ourselves. The rainy weather in Cali was not kind to our cotton candy face and shriveled it up before they even had the chance to judge us. Of course, I know getting back on Food Network isn’t within my power, that’s a goal of ours.
I’ve got baby #4 arriving in January, so I’ll be picking work back up sometime towards the end of February. I’ve already got cakes on the books for that month, so while all my boys (ages five, four, two and newborn) are still little I’ll continue to run this business the way I have been, taking on as many cakes in a week as I can while still being a kick-butt mama. Once they are all in school, I’ll be kicking it up a notch! Harder cakes, more orders, possibly getting my goods in a few stores around town.
Pricing:
- Cakes- Starting at 3.50/serving for frosted, 4.50/serving for fondant
- Cupcakes- Starting at 2.75 for plain frosted, prices vary for custom toppers
- PYO Cookies- $5/each, comes with paintbrush
Contact Info:
- Website: www.katiecakesbakery.wordpress.com
- Phone: 6306188006
- Email: cupkates4you@gmail.com
- Instagram: @katiecakes_bakeryaz
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/katiecakesbakery4
Image Credit:
Kaitlyn Heppner
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