Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tiny Baker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Tiny, thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

Idea to reality – What a journey and adventure! There isn’t much better than family and food, especially together! We have always been a very close family and have always done so much together – everything from traveling and vacations down to cooking and baking. Tiny Baker, LLC, is a family-owned and operated small business bakery. We opened doors officially February 12, 2018, on First St. in Union City, Tennessee. There were only 3 of us when we first opened, but quickly added another family member to the business – Tom and Cindy McWilliams (Dad and Mom), Ana Edmaiston, and Jane Minnick. Dad, by career was a C.P.A., Mom our baker, Ana – our very incredibly talented cake decorator, and Jane our business manager.

Our story first begins all the way back in 1994 when God called us to be missionaries and sending us down to Guatemala. While there, we were blessed in the opportunity to adopt Ana when she was just a day old. Over the next decade, we also lived and worked in several other countries in Eur-Asia before finally moving back home to the United States. During our travels abroad we got to see much and learn about these and other various incredible cultures and delicious foods. It has always been evident the skills and abilities God gave each of us and how we have been able to work together so well utilizing all of our gifts and talents. The idea of a family business has been a dream for all of us for many, many years. Ana went and graduated with honors from University of Arkansas -Pulaski Technical College with a degree in Baking and Pastry Arts having also won awards in various cake decorating competitions. Jane graduated with honors from University of Phoenix with a degree in Business Administration. God has always provided for us and opened the door for us to start a family business that we always dreamed of – and Tiny Baker was born. Everything, while so much work, seemed to come together so smoothly – everything from floor plans, recipes and menus, equipment and supply orders, inspections, etc. Dad was such an incredible and instrumental part of getting us started and building such a firm business foundation. Sadly, we lost Dad to cancer back in March 2019, but we are incredibly grateful that he was able to help get us started and that he had the opportunity to see us grow and thrive the way we did. We know he would be so proud of how far we have come. We have now been in business for nearly 5 wonderful years and have worked very hard to get where we are. Being a business owner is a lot and very hard work. More hours are put in working than many know or realize, but if one is doing what they love, there just isn’t anything like it! All this hard work has paid off as last year we were able to purchase our very own building with much more space and lots of history in our community. We worked literally 7 days a week for nearly a year doing virtually all of the renovating and repairs ourselves and are incredibly proud of the end result. All of the hard work has paid off! We moved and opened in our new location on 3rd Street here in Union City, Tennessee this past January 14, 2022. We are VERY blessed to do what we love and with whom we love. Dad used to say so often “God is good ALL – the time, and ALL the time – God is good.”

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Tiny Baker, LLC. is a family-owned and operated business. It truly takes all of us to be able to do what we love and do. While this is/was a second career for Mom and Dad, Ana and Jane are using their degrees in and for the business.

We are a bakery that offers a wide variety of baked goods but specialize in custom cakes. We can do everything from stock cookies (chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, oatmeal raisin, etc.), decorated sugar cookies, cupcakes, petit fours, cheesecakes, bread, cannoli, and tiramisu, to birthday cakes, wedding cakes, tiered cakes, carved and sculpted cakes.We have done cakes that have sounds, lights, and have done a cake that actually has moving parts! Virtually everything we do is homemade – made from scratch.

Weddings are an important and intricate part of our business, and we take great pride in being a part of a couple’s special day. We understand and want every detail to be absolutely perfect, especially the wedding cake. This is why we have a gorgeous room designated for wedding tastings and consultations where the bride and groom (and/or bridal crew) can sample their top 4 choices of cake flavors, fillings, and frostings and have the opportunity to discuss everything from size, design, delivery, etc. We believe in one-on-one interactions with our customers and want them to have the absolute best experience as possible.

Not only do we make cakes, but we have so much fun hosting parties at our bakery. These parties are for children and adults alike! Most often these parties are celebrating a birthday, but certainly not always the case. Just recently we had a group of ladies in a book review club who often do various things together, come and decorate their very own mini cake. We have three different parties that we offer – the first being a pizza party where each participant gets their own pizza dough (again, homemade) that they get to flatten and add toppings to, eat, and then decorate and take home their very own 4-inch personal cake. The second kind of party we offer is just the cake – no pizza. Since moving to the new location, we have started making and offering soups and sandwich type foods, which has been a huge hit! The third party is similar to the second, but we actually serve a meal from our food menu – this meal can be customized in advance by the attending party or party coordinator. All participants also get their very own cloth apron they get to keep and take home as well. All of these are so very fun and we stay VERY busy with these parties!

To say we have been busy would be an understatement! We have had lots of fun expanding, learning, and growing.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

There are a several things actually that we believe has helped us become and stay so successful. First and foremost, our work ethic has been a necessary tool. Working hard and with all your heart is so very important to owning any business, especially a small business. Secondly, do what you love. The saying is true, you will never work a day in your life if you do what you love. Truth is, it is a LOT of work, but it is much more enjoyable if it is something you are good at and enjoy. It certainly helps if one is lucky enough to get to work with those they love (family). Having the opportunity to provide a service to our community is both an honor and a joy. It has been an incredible journey working for and with our community and has certainly been a blessing. Truthfully, being able to do all of this and in and for the glory of God is the greatest joy. Putting all of these together is a beautiful recipe for building a good reputation. How not only we carry ourselves, treat and deal with our customers, and of course our beautiful and delicious baked goods has created, we believe, a good and strong reputation in the community.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

We would have to say this has been two-fold for us, both of which have been very effective for us, but only one of which we really had direct control over. Outreach and advertisement for us has been the most beneficial tool and strategy. Today, many will admit, social media is not only the cheapest, but the most beneficial form of advertisement and strategy for growth. We use Facebook literally every week. We have found it the fastest means of not only communicating with our clientele, but advertisement as well. it is great for as just stated advertising new products as well as showcasing goods and completed orders of cakes, cookies, cupcakes, etc. The second effective means of growing clientele we have less direct control over, but quite honestly is probably just as if not more effective and that would be advertisement via word of mouth from customers. We take great pride in what we do and the people we serve, and it shows. We try to make every experience a great one and for each customer to feel like family. We work very hard having the mentality and put for the effort into each order that we would for ourselves and our family. If something with an order is wrong, we really try to do everything we can to make things right -that is very important to us. This is the kind of mentality and service we strive and work hard to continually provide.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/tinybakeruc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tinybakeruc
• Other: https://maps.app.goo.gl/3qESnCXNRwrScjb87

Image Credits
Jane Minnick, Tiny Baker – Owner/Business Manager Ana Edmaiston, Tiny Baker – Owner/Head Cake Decorator