Business isn't always all roses and chocolate

As a tribute to my single status, I had planned on an Anti-Valentine's Day girls night out with a friend. Ha! I should know the cake business had plans of its own. After a 200-cupcake tree, doll cake, tennis shoes cake, heart cake and a two-tiered birthday cake, I was beat! I had to cancel. Luckily, my friend understood and took a raincheck.

On one of my favorite cake forums, established business owners will always warn us newbies that starting a business is like starting a new life. There is so much to learn and do in order to have a successful business. Most of the hardest work is done before one even opens the door. I'm talking of competitive research, researching marketing strategies, researching your target audience, establishing your business' identity, etc... The list literally can go on for days. As hard and overwhelming as it is, these 'to-dos' are necessities.

So where am I in the process? I am in the middle of it all. I've already put my foot through the door. Whether I was invited or not, I love the party and I'm won't be going anywhere for a while. Is it tiresome? Do I sometimes wish I can rid myself of the party clothes and just veg-out on the couch? Absolutely. But as any girl will tell you, we will suffer for the sake of fashion. I will suffer for the sake of having a successful business. My family knows this. My friends know this. And now you know it.

As of next week, I will start a business course specifically designed for small/marco business owners. This is a huge step in further developing and expanding my business ideas. (Yes, I said ideas.) It's nerve-wrecking, but worth it. I'm living a life I love and I am determined to make the best of it.

SOO SORRY!!!

Just a real quick sorry for the WRONG Twitter feed! I just now noticed it and wow - I was surprised. I'm not sure for how long it was like that, but until they can work out the problems, I've take the feature off.

If you want to follow me on Twitter - please visit www.twitter.com/KreacionesKity. That is the ONLY Twitter account for Kreaciones Kity.

Again, I apologize for the confusion. Hopefully, I'll be able to work out the problems soon and put the Twitter feed back up.

Full-time job + starting business + volunteerism = NO TIME

If someone would have told me six years ago that I would be opening my own business, I would have found it hard to believe. Six years my mind was deadset on being a reporter. I envisioned myself working for The Kansas City Star or a local television news station. Running a custom bakery was definitely not in the plans. But as we all know things happens and plans change. And quite honestly, I could not be any happier.

These past few weeks have been CRAZY and AWESOME! Not only have we been able to put together some great school and church events, we've helped support other local businesses and artists in the process. While this is also a bit of a 'downtime' in terms of cake orders, it does not mean I've rested! On the contrary! I've met with a new customers for their 2010 weddings and quinceañera and equally exciting, I'm developing new products. These new products are going to be great for when the store opens.

I don't think anyone in the process of opening or developing their new business fully knows what to expect. On one of my favorite cake forums, the question of "how to start a business" comes up all the time. I always want to scream - say good-bye to weekends, Friday nights, family and so much more. And really this can go for any business. If you want to open a business, you have to be willing to make sacrifices.

New Menu Ideas

French Toast Maple Bacon Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by Kreaciones Kity

I know I've talked all summer about the opening of Jose Fiestas Rental, but it's taken longer than we ever anticipated. This has truly been a big step for us all and while there have been times that we're grown impatient, we know when all is said and done it's going to be great! 

The experience is also exciting and nerve-wrecking at the same time. I know I'll pretty much have to give up my weekends (not that I don't already). Demands will be higher, expenses will add up more quickly and it won't be so easy to finish things up at 2 or 3 in the morning and then just head up on to bed. But on the plus side, I am SUPER excited to expand the business!  Jose Fiestas Rental customers will know get to know Kreaciones Kity and vice versa. I can't think of any other party shop in town that offers people what we will be offering.

So on this train of thought, the Kreaciones Kity menu will be expanding on so many levels! We're talking gelatina, a wider variety of cupcakes, Mexican treats and who knows what else. I have so many ideas in mind as to what I want to offer. Family and friends are either going to love or hate me during this waiting period. I'll be testing out new recipes and perfecting skills they have yet to see. They will be my test tasters - for better or worse :)

Es un ranchero en plena moda que le gusta el buen vestir....

Part of running a business is expanding your knowledge as to be able to offer your customers more. This is exactly what I did when I took a one-day class with cake decorator extraordinaire Bronwen Weber of Frosted Art Bakery & Studio. Bronwen and her husband Francois Long taught an awesome class on how to make a 3D cowboy. Now, given the fact that one of my favorite songs in the entire world is "Ranchero Chido" how could I do a cowboy any other way?

So birth of "Ranchero Chido" begins. It's actually a pretty simple concept. All you need is the right tools. I started out with a PVC structure Bronwen and Francois provided us. They gave us tips on how to create our own for future uses. It's funny to see the progression of "Ranchero Chido". As you can see from the right, he's pretty bare.

Next step was to give the poor fella a real body! There he goes! Sadly I think that's what cakes does to all of - a big panza! :) The craving cake is tricky and much easier said than done. Unlike with other forms of art, you really can't "add" more cake once you've taken it away. Especially when you are craving something like this. It's always better to start small.

See? Now he's starting to take shape. I think this is definitely one of my favorite parts of 3D cakes. You totally have to have a vision of you want to make. Yes, it may not always turn out perfect or EXACTLY as you envisioned, but what does in life? And this is just cake! Cake is meant to be fun and creative.

Now let's get some clothes on this fella!

So, yes I know that "Ranchero Chido" wears su saco rojo, but we didn't have red. And even if I did - it was going to take forever to get it red. I'm digging the pink though. I think it worked out prefectly!








Another favorite part of this cake - doing the face! Omg - it was so much fun! It completely took me back to ceramics classes. I looked it!

Bronwen and Francois did show us two different techniques (they actually showed us different ways to do everything throughout the course of the class), but I opted for the more 'realistic' way.

And ta-dah! Say hello to "Ranchero Chido"! I honestly cannot tell you how

AWESOME Bronwen Weber and Francois Long were. Talk about SUPER nice, down-to-earth people. They were great instructors, fun to be around for the day and all-in-all just seemed like two people who genuinely love what they do.





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The class was a great learning experience. I can't wait to implement what I learned into the business. This industry is evolving so much and customers are becoming more and more educated about what can be made out of cake. It's a very exciting time to be part of the cake world.