We recently connected with Elyse Purbaugh and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Elyse thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

The custom cake industry has become a luxury for many customers in the sense that they want the cake to be part of an experience. It is often on display with a fabulous table setting, a balloon garland and/or themed backdrop within a specific venue. “Smash cakes” have become more and more popular, a practice that did not exist when I was young but has grown in popularity. In this case, the cake is not even being served to guests but is something to witness and something for guests to feel a part of. Customers who want every element of this experience are willing to pay top dollar. This can be very profitable for local cake artists, especially when they are outsourcing high quality ingredients and valuing their time spent consulting, baking, and decorating.

What about the customers, however, that want to enjoy a custom cake at home? That are working with a budget and are hopeful for an experience and a delicious custom cake but at a much lower price point? We do not want to close off business to customers because of pricing, but charging labor and ingredients and customization can still often times yield luxury pricing. The misunderstanding is that custom bakers are not production facilities – we cannot pump out 20 cakes at a time and afford to charge $30 for them. Similarly, we try to share that there is a large difference between using storebrand shortening and imitation vanilla in your cake and/or frosting vs. Cabot butter and vanilla that costs $100+ a bottle. And there is significant time planning your cake long before the baking even starts. Many bakers try to share this on social media outlets – that when they subtract materials and time spent on a cake, they are often making minimum wage. And yet it becomes a place where many customers react negatively to pricing out custom work. Maintaining profitability while paying rent in the city, overhead, payroll, etc. is a challenge, and telling customers “grocery store cakes exist for a reason” is not always the answer – you will consistently lose that business.

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

What sets us apart in the industry is the customer service and standard. Not only are the products made with high quality ingredients, our team cares deeply about the work that goes into making them. We are hopeful that this shines through on retail Saturdays and in conversations around designing your custom cake. It is important that customers feel heard and valued, especially if their money is going toward a product and/or service. Creating a welcoming, enjoyable environment was always a goal of mine in designing Weesh Bake Shop – I wanted customers and employees to feel a certain joy when they were inside. This comes down to knowing repeat customer names and faces, listening to feedback, supporting to right any wrongs, and creating a positive environment.

Similarly, we hope that customers understand the care and love that has gone into creating the poptarts. We recognize that they are a high priced item and always share the work that goes behind the process. We make the dough, roll it out, cut it, fill it, crimp it, bake it, then finally decorate. In between, making fillings. Did we mention social media? Don’t forget to photograph it, edit the picture, post it onto Instagram, make it available for pre-order, create a listing, so on. It’s no easy feat and this many steps takes time and materials. Going even further back, it took quite some time to master and develop the recipe. While many bakeries sell poptarts made of flaky pie dough, I argue back that this is not your nostalgic poptart texture. Poptarts are more like a shortcrust pastry, more tender cookie-like, which we have worked very hard to make it what it is. We love customers to try it and see for themselves how unique this product is in the market.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I went to school for Early Childhood Education and taught 1st Grade before receiving my Master’s Degree in Literacy and working as a Reading Recovery teacher for a number of years. I was managing the business on the side and renting kitchen space in Belmont, baking after school hours and working to keep my head above water. Baking was and continued to be a quiet activity that I enjoyed because it was a creative outlet. As many teachers and parents know, working with young children can be mentally and physically demanding – a quiet activity with my hands after school became my “therapy” and I came to enjoy the art more and more.

I always said that I would do both as long as possible, but the business grew unexpectedly and I felt spread thin in all areas of my life. It felt important to me to see it through – to meet the business where it was and foster the growth. When I opened Weesh in Roslindale in 2021, I went to part-time literacy work at the public school I was working in and had more flexibility with my business. At the same time, I was still able to work with students and support them in reading and writing, which continued to be such a joy for me.

As an educator, I believe we become accustomed to taking care of everyone but ourselves, ensuring that our family and friends and students are happy and looked after. Teaching throughout COVID and being more mindful of mental health has caused me to reflect more carefully regarding the self-care in my life. This was a key milestone that led me to take a leave in the public schools. It has allowed me freedom to hire a wonderful team to support the bakery and help it continue to grow, recognizing that taking care of my physical and mental needs come first as a business owner, partner, family member, and friend.

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

I was very hesitant to hire an employee because many business owners begin with the mindset that they do not want money taken out of their pockets. They think that they can do things better and faster and more efficiently, so there is a fear about spending money for support. There is such a strong level of control with certain things that you care deeply about – your product becomes your “baby” that you have watched grow and nurtured with love. You have to hand off responsibilities and have this “baby” in someone else’s hands and trust that they will care the same. At the same time, you cannot teach that level of care and sometimes have to be mindful of the employer/employee relationship you are fostering. I had to unlearn communication with my team – how am I communicating feedback? How are they receiving feedback? If they are making mistakes, how do I shift? Is it because I am not supporting them enough in the process, or are they better fit to work elsewhere or on another job within the business? Those hard realities can be tricky if employees make products that reflect your brand and business and if you feel like there is a mismatch. And in hiring, I have thought more carefully about those that have care and love for the product, but also those that are receptive to feedback and do not take criticism personally. They work to shift and know that feedback is helpful, especially if I am communicating it in a way that is supportive and promotes growth.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.weesh.com
• Instagram: @weeshbakes
• Facebook: Weesh Bake Shop
• Yelp: Weesh Bake Shop
• TikTok: @weeshbakes

Image Credits
My headshot is Linda Campos. The single storefront shot is Michael McCluskey. Otherwise, I have taken all other photographs.