Meet Lesley Whatcott of Lesley’s Creative Cakes and Flowers in Gilbert

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lesley Whatcott.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It started in 2009. I was presented with the challenge of planning and executing a wedding in less than 10 days. I had always loved the thrill of taking on new challenges. The event went so smoothly, that by the end of the night I looked to the other servers and said; “I guess my New Years resolution is to open my own business!” Word of mouth spread fast, and the calls started pouring in. The opening of my business happened to coincide with the economic downturn. This presented me with the added challenge of meeting my client’s high expectations with their modest budget requirements. My thought was some orders would be better than no orders. If I used one cake to feed between 100-150 guests, that would be advertising in itself, and eventually, I would get more clients.

Since we had left a sweet taste in their mouth, we quickly went from a home-based business to a shared kitchen. In six short months, we outgrew that space as well. With a still sluggish economy, banks were being more than conservative with small business loans. Piece by piece my small business was built on Craigslist. While closing businesses were going out and unloading all their equipment, I was scouring the valley to get the next best deal. I would barter with people, explaining that if they could lower the price, even more, I would make them or their family a cake in return. My first commercial oven was purchased a Craigslist ad. It turns out that it was the first paying customer I ever had. I had done a wedding cake for them 10 years prior.

It was 2010, and we created a cake for the Barro’s family. They mentioned a location on the baseline that they had outgrown. There was still a year and a half lease on the building that we could fulfill. At the time we did not want to risk moving in and the property management company upping the rental amount. Our very tight budget meant we needed low rent at a locked in rate. I started contacting the property management company. It was a run-down, dark, and dirty pizza place with no character. I made several attempts to lower their price, however, they were not budging. Finally, I called again in January of 2012, and once again asked what they wanted for the old pizza joint. They asked what my intent was with the building. After explaining my intent was to open a bakery, he asked when I was going to stop calling. The response was simple,” once you lower the rent and help a small business owner out, I’ll stop calling.” This location had so much potential; if he would just give me a chance to prove that I can make it work. After months of scrubbing and reorganizing, I opened Lesley’s Creative Cakes, Flowers, and Catering. Since then, we have been making desserts for many wonderful people all over the valley.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nothing is ever a smooth road. We’ve definitely had our speed bumps. Maintaining an online presence with limited funding coming in. Working overtime for 9 months just to make it through the summer when the season dies because of the heat. Doing whatever it takes to get good reviews, and keeping a positive outlook when we don’t get a good review despite how hard we worked. There are always new challenges to find solutions for.

Please tell us about Lesley’s Creative Cakes and Flowers.
We’re best known for our variety of desserts. We mostly specialize in specialty and wedding cakes, but also make small goodies like brownies, lemon bars, and cupcakes. We’re very proud to say that we never freeze our cake and everything is made fresh just for the customer’s order.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would get organized sooner. Things flow so much easier when everything has it’s place and there are spreadsheets!!!

Contact Info:

• Address:2401 E. Baseline Rd. #103, Gilbert, AZ 85234
• Website: www.lesleyscreativecakes.com
• Phone:4802212588
• Email:lesleyscreativecakes@gmail.com
• Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/lesleyscreativecakes/
• Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Lesleys-Creative-Cakes-Flowers-Catering-249190831758152/
• Yelp:https://www.yelp.com/biz/lesleys-creative-cakes-gilbert

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