Benita Pearlin, lovingly called Beni, started her brand My Little Cupcake on Sept 7th,2018.
It all started with cupcakes so she got the brand name with cupcakes. Also, her little daughter Ana was 1-year-old when she started and Beni used to pamper her by saying my little cupcake and there came to its name.
The reason behind baking
Basically, I am a sweet tooth. I am not much into cooking but I love desserts. Baking different desserts and trying out new recipes makes me happy. It’s like a celebration at home daily. My home always smells vanilla or chocolatey which is awesome. It allows me to bring my creative side to life. Baking has opened new doors which I didn’t know existed. I love trying new things. This has allowed me to explore more food.
Support system
I am financially independent and take care of all sorts of expenses by myself. My husband helps me with a few things like procuring things and taking care of my daughter while I work. So he's been my biggest support so far.
Baking journey
It's been almost 3 years since I started My Little Cupcake. At the initial stages, I didn’t have orders for weeks. So I baked some cupcakes and went to all the bakeries in my area and asked them to sell them. Some agreed but some didn’t. Then it was difficult for me to deliver cupcakes daily to bakeries with my 1-year-old. So I quit that and looked for ways to sell. I heard about events being conducted in malls and Buva houses. I surfed the net and found a few contacts and booked a few pop up stalls twice a month. The expense was huge for stalls and I couldn't afford it since there was not much of a profit. Then I started spreading the word among my family and friends. Few of them trusted me and gave orders for their celebrations. When I don't get orders I used to bake and decorate the cake just to post pics on my Insta handle so that people will know what i'm capable of. I donated those cakes and cupcakes to orphanages nearby. When word spread I got like 3 orders a week. I promote my page on a daily basis spending thousands of bucks. As I gained followers I got more orders. My chocolate cake was a hit. So people came back to me again with orders for their celebration. After that, I decided to take it to the next level and took a masterclass in Chandigarh for tall cakes. From then on my business picked up. I used my money to invest more in buying professional equipment and quality ingredients, now I get 3 orders per day. I would say I am content and happy with my growth so far.
Struggles faced
I was born with something inside me that refuses to settle for average. I don't know what it is but I am glad I have it. I am the first woman entrepreneur in my family. So I didn’t have any idea of how I should run a business. In fact, I never expected that My Little Cupcake would be this huge in almost 3 years time. The most struggle I faced was taking care of a business, household chores and my baby girl. Juggling between all three without a nanny or a maid was very difficult. I used to prepare baked goodies, pack them and cook meals and take my daughter to pop up stalls and we sit there for a whole day selling my cupcakes on one side and feeding her on the other side. But I was never tired of doing this because it was a passion that I was holding onto. I was never bored of this job. I was so happy baking and taking care of my daughter as well. When she grew up she took up my interests. She does some fondant figurines and plays with them while I work on the other side, or she involves herself in some baking activities. So we both loved doing this together.
The other one I faced was clients were ready to order but they wanted it home delivered for free. At that time we didn’t have so many delivery services and clients didn’t agree to send through bikes or cabs on extra charges. So I delivered my cakes up to 25kms in scooty with my daughter in the hot sun or my husband offered his help to drop a cake whenever he had time. This was really difficult since after travelling 20kms and delivering cakes for free, clients refused to pay for a cake if there is even the slightest cream touch on the box. I have even fully refunded for many orders at the beginning for even the slightest cake damage by the delivery partner.
Last, I was not able to make a profit for the first 1 and a half years. Since I was investing again and again in buying equipment, moulds, pans, stencils, backdrops, etc. I couldn't save money at first. I didn’t want to borrow money from my husband either. I wanted to manage my business on my own. So I planned and had a bucket list for every month of what to buy first and my most needs to the least required and purchased accordingly.
Difference between you and other Baker's
The major difference is I am a single woman army, there is no team and I want my brand to offer something unique to my clients that other bakeries don't offer at an affordable price. I don't want to be a high-end baker to bake only classy expensive cakes but to be an affordable one for everyone so that My Little Cupcake is part of everyone's celebration. That's why I created a precise menu with customized cupcakes to designer cakes with dessert table packages for a reasonable price so that I don’t leave any clients, slip away from my hand. Also, I don't do any repetitive designs from Pinterest or fellow bakers, I like to give a unique touch to all my cakes so I design based on the theme they require rather than taking reference from the internet.
Your signature product
MLC'S signature products are customized cupcakes and couture tall cakes with dessert spread and rasmalai cake. I love creating miniatures on each cupcake based on my client’s request and I love even more creating tall structured cakes. I am not a big fan of fondant cakes. So I wanted my clients to know their option of having themed cakes in non-fondant as well. That's why I started working on the tall cakes with themes with dessert, spreads like cupcakes, cake pops, cake sickles, cookies, doughnuts and macarons which will be coordinated to the same theme. This really gained a huge success rate and helped me grow more clientele. And rasamalai cake is one yummy must try from MLC'S menu.
Types of products available
MLC offers cupcakes, celebration cakes, macarons, brownies, pies, tarts, cheesecakes and dessert spreads. My menu is always upgraded whenever I try new things. So the possibilities are endless.
Your future plan
My future plan is to grow consistently with a decent amount of orders per day and definitely expanding to a team.
Love, Team She
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