We were lucky to catch up with Cathy Blatnik recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Cathy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
When COVID shut our world down as we know it, my son went from in-person school to “virtual” learning. This type of learning was not great for my son, because his two main diagnoses are Autism and Epilepsy. We had unexpected “extra” time and we started receiving more “virtual” private speech therapy from his speech therapist. She started teaching Dominic, my son, about the concept of “if you bake something, I will pay you.” She knew he loved to bake, so it was a perfect “fit” for him. Since I also had some “extra” time, I did a bunch of research to see if maybe we could have a business baking out of our home. I quickly discovered that Michigan has a “Michigan Cottage Food Law.” We didn’t need to rent a commercial kitchen, we could bake out of our home kitchen without being inspected by the “Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.” It was basically no “start-up” costs. It was intimidating because of so many rules and restrictions! I almost didn’t start because I thought nobody would buy our products. We did our first order in November 2020 for a friend who has a son a little younger than Dominic. She wanted us to bake him birthday cupcakes. Just three weeks in, my dad who I was very close to unexpectedly passed away in Maryland. Because of COVID, we couldn’t attend his funeral. Everything was put on “hold” until early 2021, Once I created a Facebook page, everything changed! We now have over 1,300 followers and just did our 455th order.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have been baking since I was very young (I just turned 60 this past July). My maternal great-grandfather has his own bakery in Butler, Missouri, so you can say baking is in my “genes!” I started bringing Dominic into the kitchen with me when he was very young. Throughout the years, I have taught him the “basics.” There is a big misconception out there that those with Autism are not hirable. There is a very high rate of unemployment. Those with Autism have many strengths like being very detail oriented, but during an interview, they may not make eye contact (a very common characteristic of individuals with Autism). It’s not like someone was going to knock on our front door and offer Dominic a job, there was not an opportunity, so we created one. Dominic LOVES to bake, he shares that passion with me, so it was a natural “fit” to start an in-home baking business. Sometimes, those with Autism and other disabilities are put into a job that may not “fit” with their strengths. My thinking was to create a job that Dominic would enjoy. Our goal since our very first order in 2020, was to have a brick-and-mortar building and only hire those with disabilities, the more severe the better, because those are the individuals that sometimes have the hardest time finding a job. EVERYONE can do something!! We have had a few opportunities come our way, but it’s not the right “time.” Dominic can still get Special Education services until he is 26, he just turned 19 at the end of July. He LOVES going to school!
How did you build your audience on social media?
For us, Facebook has been the best way for us to share Dominic’s “story.” I already had some Facebook familiarity because I manage/help manage five other Facebook pages! I have learned a thing or two along the way. I would say the very most important thing is to post OFTEN. People also love pictures, so if you can, always try to post a picture along with the post. I don’t go more than three days without posting something. Don’t get discouraged. We hardly had any followers in the beginning! Hang in there, because once people find you, the numbers will start picking up.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Many of our recipes are well-loved, family recipes. I had already had many years of family and close friends liking our products. If our baked goods didn’t taste good, then they probably would have told us that (most likely publicly on Facebook). We get a lot of our current customers through word-of-mouth. If you want to find a plumber, etc. don’t you ask your friends who to stay away from? or who is great? Through almost three years, we have built a pretty good reputation of being on time, not making mistakes with our order and building that “brand loyalty.”
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