How You Can Promote A Small Baking Business?
How good are you at pushing yourself and taking brave steps to elevate your business?
You know those things we really should say yes to, but we can often find ourselves saying no, for fear of it being too far out of comfort zone, then shortly after we kick ourselves for potentially missing and amazing experience or opportunity… that nearly happened for me.
I was asked to teach on TV a few times in the past and each time I have turned it down and regretted it! We don’t know when another opportunity may present its self so we really should grab these chances with both hands and ignore any self doubt. Harder said than done I know. But I put my worries and insecurities aside and said YES!
Learning to be brave and stepping outside of that comfort zone doesn’t come easy to many of us, some of us really struggling with putting our faces out on our social media accounts its a big step
BUT the best thing I ever did with my business was getting my face out there for my business as it offered a way for my audience to connect with me and I was able to build the amazing community I now have with over 250.000K people in this amazing kind and supportive community.
How Did It Start
ITV very kindly reached out to me and invited me to come and teach some of my cupcakes. When they mentioned Katie Piper who we can all agree is an amazing human being there wasn’t really much to think about, before I knew it action stations!
We booked in a phone call sent a few e-mails back and for the and went from there a date was set! A few months later I was rocking up to the ITV Studio to film …
Behind The Scenes:
So how was it filing for TV?
A car was sent to collect me, I was there for around 5 hours, given my own dressing room. Had a meeting with the team behind the scenes, we did a run through to confirm what we were doing lighting and positioning etc.
Then I headed to hair and make. The make up artists were adorable and did their magic, added some lashes for me as mine are non existent lol
We then discussed a few changes to the tutorial to accommodate time restrictions and its was go go go!
Action
I was walked onto set, my microphone was added and tested, my hair was brushed and powder added to hide the shine. The studio lights were HOT! Im a pretty warm person anyway but with my hair situation it’s like wearing a bobble hat under the mid day sun….lol 🥵🔥 I tried to be calm and serene, focusing on what was expected of me but underneath I was far from being as cool as a a cucumber lol
When you doing something so big out and of your comfort zone there is so much to think about, you also want to savour and enjoy the experience. Everything happens so quickly on a TV set and there’s around 30-40 people all doing their roles to make these amazing shows.
Meeting Katie Piper was a joy, she’s just an all round genuine kind person. After I taught Katie, Patrick Grant from the Sewing Bee and Brenda Edwards from Loose Women to decorate some cute portrait cupcakes.
I gave the remaining fondant and cupcakes to Katie to take home and create with her little ones for half term. As cupcake decorating really is for everyone professional bakers and with the kids at home.
The Portrait Cupcake Tutorial
I taught everyone how to create some very simple yet fun fondant portraits. Covering the cupcake with buttercream, a layer of fondant and then how to create the fondant shoulders, neck and head. Then we moved on to adding ears, a smile and eyes all very simple steps. Personalising is always fun as you can add eye lashes, earrings, cheeks, collars and of course a hair style of your choice…. Katie, Patrick and Brenda all did a great job!
If you would like to watch the tutorial and learn how to create your own portrait cupcakes
You can watch the episode on Series 3 Episode 16
What Have You Done To Be Brave Recently? what could you to push your baking business?
What was the last thing you did that was really Brave? that pushed the limits of your comfort zone? For those of you with your own baking business what have you done recently that was brave to push your business forward? If you haven’t done anything recently, what could you do?
4 Ways you could consider being brave and pushing your own cake business:
1. Radio Advertisements: could you reach out to a local radio station? Develop catchy radio ads highlighting your unique selling points? Sponsor popular local radio shows or segments? Participate in local radio talk shows to discuss your business and special offers?
2. Television Advertisements: Could you participate in local TV interviews or segments about baking or small businesses. Reach out and apply to baking shows and competitions?
3. Social Media Marketing: If you haven’t yet shown you face on social media, could you start and get connecting with your customers? Can you regularly post high-quality images and videos of your cakes on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Host social media contests and giveaways to increase engagement?
4. Local Events and Sponsorships: could you participate in local fairs, markets, and community events to showcase your cakes? Sponsor local events such as charity functions, school events, or sports teams. Offer cakes for special occasions and corporate events to increase visibility?
Choose one you feel most comfortable with and then start implementing a combination of strategies to effectively help promote your cake business and attract a larger customer base.
I hope this blog helps you to realise that was can achieve bigger and better things for our small business and that it’s a really good idea to jump out of those comfort zones and push ourselves. If I can go on television in front of millions you can too!
