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

Shannon, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I worked with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools as the “baker” for 8 years and once I left in 2012, I still longed for the desire to bake. My kids, boyfriend and mom didn’t care much for bakery items so much of it went to waste. After a few weeks, my boyfriend( now husband) , came up with the idea to turn it into a business. I initially started with the idea of just baking for special holidays. The first holiday was Mothers Day and it has grown so much since then.

Shannon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As mentioned, I worked with the school system for many years and that gave me a lot of customer service experience. My favorite customers then were elementary aged children. They showed me what it was like to be happy about a cupcake. I then decided to start upselling cupcakes to parents for children’s birthdays at school. Made sense right? Why let the parents buy the cupcakes from the store and bring them to the school? We make them in-house and can have them fresh and ready to serve when the child came to lunch. That helped build my selling skills. I am an all around a people person and I like to get to know people , which helps me learn what type of person they are when it comes to what they like. Now, this helps me when deciding how “extra” to be on decor for their orders. I was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) in April 2018. This was a big hit to the family and my business. I was down for months. While down, I was determined that once I was able to get back to working and baking, I would be bigger and better than I ever was, and I refuse to let this disease win. Here I am ,almost, 5 years since my diagnosis and 10 years since starting my business and I am celebrating big time. So many fun announcements in the next few weeks for Kupkake Kouture Charlotte.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Consistency. I stayed on the course. Like every small business, Any business really, there are struggles and challenges that, unfortunately, break some people. I decided to fight to become a better business owner and to continue to fight challenges that may arise. With the team of brand ambassadors that I have and my immediate support system, I refuse to let them see me give up. There are alot of bakers and treat makers out there that I admire and I know that my products may not be the GREATEST, but in my mind, Kupkake Kouture Charlotte is THE GREATEST!

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

Alot of our Kupkakes (customers) come from word of mouth and social media.

“A customer talking about their experience with you is worth ten times that which you write or say about yourself” -David Greer

I live by this. While I know social media and websites are great, I love knowing that the experience my Kupkake (customer) had with me or any part of my business was memorable, that what matters most to me. We let our google reviews speak for themselves:

https://g.page/r/CQz-VKx_PMeVEAg/review

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kupkakekouture-clt.com
• Instagram: kupkakekoutureclt
• Facebook: Kupkake Kouture Charlotte
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx9PcDcdedV3Q1IM-7CDh-Q
• Other: TikTok: Kupkakekoutureclt

Image Credits
Eyellusionz Photography