3A – Your Entrepreneurship Story

My first, and last (with the exception of this course), experience with entrepreneurship was my Capstone class at Palm Beach State College. It was a required course to obtain my AS-Business Management degree. It was the semester I learned, entrepreneurship is definitely not for me...and I'm ok with that.

The Capstone course is all about writing a business plan for a business you think you might want to start. Being that I was at the prime of my cupcake baking fun, I thought it would be fun to develop a cupcake business. Each week, a new part of the business plan was due. I thought it would be easy to put it together, I wasn't looking for retail space, and I didn't want to have employees. It was going to be a "cupcake" walk, and did I ever get a reality check.

Throughout the course we were required to do a lot of research. We had to locate the local competition; compare our ideas with what was already out there; and develop our niche for our business. During this research, I learned I wasn't the only one trying to sell cupcakes from their home. I also learned, my fixed costs were more than I anticipated. It never dawned on me to calculate the amount of electricity I would need to keep an oven at 350 degree for 8 hours to bake at a minimum 300 cupcakes per day. It didn't dawn on me that the air conditioner would have to run longer, and harder in order to keep our home cool. It didn't dawn on me that our water bill would increase as a result of the additional dishes that would accumulate throughout the day. I didn't anticipate how much storage I would need. Of course, there were other things I had to account for, but these were the item I did not anticipate at all.

My niche for my business was to do a baker's dozen. Based on my research, the retail cupcake shops sold single cupcakes, and cupcakes by the dozen. The at-home cupcake bakers had a minimum order of 24. I decided to have something different, and that's where the baker's dozen came in. I also decided I would only have three standard flavors, and one flavor of the month. The flavor of the month would identify with a holiday or a theme. Unfortunately, after asking family and friends what they thought about this idea, they said they may purchase from me once or twice, but since I only offered a limited selection, they would be forced to look else where. I didn't blame them. The retail cupcake shops and other at home cupcake bakers offered at minimum 10 flavors, and several different frostings. Although I thought I was keeping it simple, I ended up looking like I was a frugal entrepreneur.

At the end of the semester, we had to do our sales pitch. It was difficult, but I had to admit my cupcake business would operate at a loss for the first five years. Zero money would made and not once would I break even. I had to admit, my idea failed. It was disappointing to say the least, but at least everyone in the class enjoyed the cupcakes I brought in for the presentation.

The entire experience was stressful, but also fun. As of today, the retail cupcake shops I researched for the project are no longer in business. Some at home cupcake bakers are still going strong, but there are not as many within the same radius as there used to be. At the end of the assignment, I decided I'll just stick to baking for my daughter's birthday, and if my family and friends ask, I'll bake for them too.

This photo contains the cupcakes I baked for my business plan presentation:
1. Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Peanut Butter Frosting
2. Strawberry Cupcakes w/ Whip Cream Frosting
3. Red Velvet Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting