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

Deanna, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

When I first started my journey, I had grand visions of becoming the “next big thing” in the cupcake world. I knew my limitations—I wasn’t skilled at decorating kakes or kupcakes. People kept advising me that to scale up, I needed to either learn how to decorate or hire someone who could. Initially, I hesitated to bring in a kake decorator, but it soon became clear that I lacked even the basic design skills. Trust me, my early attempts looked like a child’s unfortunate art project. I am not exaggerating.

Realizing that growth required professional help, I embarked on the search for a talented decorator who would be willing to lend their skills to my business. Cake decorators and bakers often take immense pride in their work, with each creation being a personal expression. Asking someone to contribute their artistry to my brand felt like an insane request.

One day, I took to Facebook and posted an ad seeking a dekorator for my kakes. The response came swiftly from Kim.

Kim had been a home baker for nine years and wanted to focus solely on decorating without the hassle of baking. Our needs aligned perfectly. This was a match made in heaven. With her dekorating prowess and my baking skills, we could now offer not just delicious kupkakes but also stunningly beautiful kakes. This collaboration transformed my home business into a thriving brick-and-mortar establishment. We went from being known at local vendor markets to becoming one of the top kake destinations in the area.

Scaling up was daunting because it meant relying on someone else’s abilities and trusting them to kreate something people would want to buy. But meeting Kim was serendipitous, and I feel incredibly blessed to have found her. Our partnership has made the kompany unstoppable, and I am excited about what the future holds..

Deanna, 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?

My name is Deanna Robinson, and I proudly consider myself a “kupkakologist.” My mission is to change the world through kupkakes. Kupkakes have been around for centuries, but I aim to revolutionize the way people view and taste them forever.

This journey began when my son wanted to sell cupcakes in the neighborhood. When he made them for me, I “kindly” advised him that we could do much better. After he tasted my kupkakes, he exclaimed, “OMG, Mommy, you could sell these!” That was the moment the seed was planted.

Starting this business was terrifying, and running it still scares me. It took a great deal of faith to launch a company selling something that isn’t new. I realized that if I was going to sell something as timeless as kupkakes, I had to be exceptional. I had to be the best. I believe I have achieved that. There is no better kake than the one I make, and I can promise you that.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When asked which story best illustrates my resilience, my two older daughters had different ideas. One suggested, “You should tell them about the time you got in a car accident, broke your back, and went to work the next day.” The other said, “No, you should tell them about how we were super poor, but you still hustled every weekend.” Then they added, “Or what about when you had to separate your kids and send two of them to live in California because your divorce was so bad?”

The truth is, I have lived a very hard life. Some of it was self-inflicted, while some was due to circumstances beyond my control. What it comes down to is that I will never let anything stop me from achieving my dreams. Before I knew that building an empire was my dream, a broken back wasn’t going to keep me from work, my ex-husband’s abuse wasn’t going to stop me from growing, and being poor wasn’t going to make or keep me depressed. I realized that nothing can stop me from finding my happiness. When bad things happen, I pivot. When things start looking down, I start climbing up. This world is not made for the weak, and I refuse to let outside circumstances determine who I am and where I am going to go.

So, “What story from my journey illustrates my resilience?” All of them. Because nothing short of death will keep me from being who I’m supposed to be.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is a basic one. Before starting this business, I thought that as long as I catered to everyone, there would be no reason people wouldn’t buy from me. Boy, was I wrong. I had to learn that “not everyone is your customer.”

I realized this when I was trying to price out a kake for someone. No matter what I did or said, they wanted more for less. They wanted the world, and I just couldn’t give it. When I understood that not everyone would be my customer, my whole outlook changed for the better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thekidkakes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekidkakes?igsh=MW82MzR6ejFoeDd5Yg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deanna.robinson3?mibextid=JRoKGi
• Yelp: https://yelp.to/VIcTrGqgNi

Image Credits

Mike Hernandez