Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brittany Mathes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Brittany, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear your thoughts about making remote work effective.
I own what is called micro bakery. A micro bakery is a small scale bakery that I have designed and currently operate from my home. Think commercial refrigerators, double ovens, several mixers, and 50 lb bags of sugar. You will find all of these things in my home to help me propel my business along.
Truthfully, I’m grateful I am able to grow my business remotely. There are many pros, including increased profit margin, reduced costs, and setting up your own hours. I started with just one refrigerator and mixer in a small house. When the demand started to increase to point I could not keep up, my husband and I decided to move into a larger house with the concept that it must accommodate my bakery needs. We intentionally designed the kitchen and the flow in order to maximize efficiency and growth. Currently, I am at capacity and am in need of a commercial kitchen. This has been tricky and frustrating as our current economy does not offer much support for small-business owners.
There are some pitfalls of course. One of the biggest one is location of my micro bakery. While I am located in Knoxville, this city is quite large. Some customers may need to drive 45 minutes or so to reach my location. I would love to be located in a more central location so that it reduces driving times for many of my customers. Almost all of customers are aware of this and still support me, which I am forever grateful! Another pitfall is of course limited space to grow. I can only accommodate so many orders before I ran out of storage space. I have many goals to expand and large scale production is one of them. Until I am able to own a commercial kitchen, I will continue to move forward and grow as much as I can. Lastly, as a small business owner, sometimes we lose our customers to the big chains. While I know many small businesses understand the convenience of such big chains, it can be discouraging when there’s a lack of support to help us grow.
Just like any other restaurant and bakery, a micro bakery is no different in terms of hard work and long hours. However, I LOVE what do! I didn’t start out with the dream of owning a micro bakery and in fact, I have a bachelor and two master’s degrees that are completely left field from the culinary world. What pivoted me to this career change was the love to serve the community through food, or in the case sweets! I have been able to build this business through sheer determination to sell amazing products, not only with taste but presentation too. With each mistake I made, I learned and grew from it. Also, it never hurts to have a can-do attitude and outgoing personality!
Brittany, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a small business owner of a micro bakery called All Mixed Up Cakes. We are a small team of my husband and I, an administrative assistant and a delivery assistant. Each person plays a vital role to keeping All Mixed Up Cakes running efficiently. What started as a small passion during a summer break turned into a licensed and insured business with several employees. I am always asked how did this occur, especially considering I have a background in teaching/counseling and not in the culinary world. I tell them “I just started.” I chose to go back and get my certifications, learned a lot from reading and many trials and errors, and I kept building my business as I gained more confidence in my skills. My business was born in a small kitchen and grew into a micro bakery with many commercial products. My goal is to increase that growth into a commercial kitchen of my own with more employees and serving the greater Knoxville Community!
Currently, we offer wedding and custom cakes and many small treats. Such treats include: macarons, mini tarts, whole tarts, cheesecakes, cupcakes, deluxe brownies, cookies, and more. Our philosophy is focus not only on taste, but presentation. We pride on ourselves to make the desserts the star, whether that’s creating a four tier stunning cake or designing a dessert bar that offers a variety of tastes, colors and textures. Our delivery/set up assistant has more than 10 years of experience in wedding catering and has set up some beautiful arrangements with the desserts.
I truly believe that our quality speaks for our company. We’ve had the pleasure to design some beautiful cakes and desserts going to many wonderful local companies, such as Blackberry Farms, Blackberry Mountains, and RT Lodging. Or course, I am most proud of all my customers who leave completely satisfied with their order and who continue to support our small business!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Quality products! It’s so important to be consistent with the products and what you show. I think some customers are wary to buy from local bakers, especially who work from home. Sometimes we a client may order is not what is promised. Just because someone thinks they can sell a cake or treat from home, doesn’t always mean they have the talent and business skills. Running a successful business requires many hats. That being said, I always maintain consistent products, both in taste and presentation. I also think this helps with networking as others who see this product spreads the word and builds a solid reputation.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
Communication, communication, and communication! Also, great customer service!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.allmixedupcakes.com
- Instagram: Allmixedupcakes
- Facebook: Allmixedupcakestn
Image Credits
@blackmountainphotography
@allyrobinsonphotography