We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Catherine Coughennower . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Catherine below.

Catherine, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

In November of 2020, I had the bright idea to make my husband a cake for his 50th birthday, at that time I had NEVER baked a cake or anything else in my life!!
I made a 3-layer Chocolate Oreo Cake and it was probably the ugliest cake I’d ever seen but the taste was DELICIOUS!! I thought to myself, “I should keep practicing”. I immersed myself in blogs and videos and taught myself the ins and outs of cake decorating.

I started practicing and posting pictures on my Facebook page. Friends and family members started asking me to bake things for them and they actually wanted to pay me for it, lol! I could not believe it. In all honesty, I was afraid to venture out and start this business; I just did not have a lot of faith in myself. Seeing other bikers on social media and the AMAZING work that they did, I just did not think I was good enough.

I started following another baker on Instagram and her sole purpose was to teach fellow bakers how to be successful in starting and managing their own cake business. I decided to invest in myself. I decided to believe in myself. It was very scary. I knew once I started there was no turning back. It was not easy in the beginning but I vowed to never give up.

There are a lot of independent bakers out here trying to make it; trying to be the best, so trust me when I say the people of Kansas City can find custom desserts anywhere. What sets Frosted by Catherine apart from the rest is my personal touch from start to finish. I limit the amount of orders taken so I can give personalized attention to my clients and create an amazing product for their special occasion. I also use high quality ingredients and seek out locally sourced ingredient when possible – I get farm fresh egg from a little girl who has her own little business by selling egg from her family farm, it just makes my heart smile.

Being a part of my clients special occasion brings me so much joy and is what motivates me to want to continue grow and elevate my business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Catherine Coughennower and I live in Kansas City, MO. Born in Ft. Worth, Texas I moved to the Midwest in 2004 and have made Missouri my home. I am married to my wonderful husband, Todd and together we have 3 grown daughters.

I never planned on having a custom cake/dessert business. I truly didn’t. I wanted to celebrate my husbands 50th birthday by ordering him a cake (during the pandemic) but could not find anyone to bake it so I decided to do it myself. I never baked a day in my life but with internet as my guide I figured it out.

At Frosted by Catherine I offer custom cakes and cupcakes along with what my customers would say the BEST cinnamon rolls in Kansas City!! I also specialize in custom wedding cakes that are soft and elegant in nature. At Frosted by Catherine I believe in the less is more approach and just love fresh floral accents.

What sets me apart from others is that I produce cakes with high quality ingredients that helps to incorporate a flavor that is second to none! I pride myself as being Kansas City’s personal baker because I make it a point to never take on a lot of orders – this allows me to offer a very personal touch to each order that I produce.

What I am most proud of is that in such a short amount of time I have been able to gain a small following of loyal clients that love the work that I do and appreciate the quality of the end product. I want customers to now that if they choose Frosted by Catherine for their custom baking needs that their desserts will always have a personal touch and will be baked with love.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Growing clientele was one of the hardest and still is one of the hardest challenges I face. One thing I invested in at the beginning of my journey was a business/marketing coach and she is awesome. The first thing I learned was to not be afraid to reach out to people. I started by taking free samples of my goods to my doctor’s appointments, dentist appointments, the dog groomer, and even my favorite baristas at Starbucks! The only thing I asked for in return was a review or a post on social media. This method of marketing has definitely helped me grow my clientele.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building my audience on social media is an everyday job. I started building my presence by first reaching out to family and friends and asking them to follow me and then asking them to ask their friends to do the same. I then began to follow other influencers on social media to learn the ins and outs of creating content that others would want to enjoy. I am still a student but I am learning more and each day. The best advice I can give to those starting to build their social media presence is to not be afraid to get in front of the camera. Videos and reels are key to getting yourself out there. People like to get to know YOU, so be personable.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.frostedbycatherine.com
• Instagram: @frostedbycatherine
• Facebook: Www.facebook.com/frostedbycatherine

Image Credits
Kenny Ellison (3 Shots Photography) Amber Nixon Photography