We were lucky to catch up with Emily Atnip Becky Waibel recently and have shared our conversation below.

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

We dreamt of this business for many years before it actually happened! We even had our eyes and hearts set on the perfect little spot to have our bakery! It wasn’t possible because Emily moved to Texas after earning a degree in education to pursue her teaching career. Becky worked for Pioneer Catering at Martin Luther College in New Ulm for 25 years an has always had a passion for baking! Becky baked for people as a hobby for many years out of her home and the demand was there for personalized and home baked goods! With many moms working no one had time to do their own baking! New Ulm also didn’t have a bakery like this! In 2019, Emily moved back to New Ulm with her husband. Emily no longer wanted to teach and so we started talking more seriously about opening up a bakery! The building we always talked about came up for sale so we knew it was meant to be! Covid set us back for many reasons, but here we are 2 months from celebrating our 3rd birthday! It’s been a joy working side-by-side with my mom! We knew this would work because my mom had a great following of people, the demand for a good product was there, and because we could work with each other! Not everyone can work with their mom!

Emily Atnip, 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?

We are a mother-daughter duo, and baking is our love language! We both grew up in New Ulm. Becky is one of eight kids growing up on the family farm, she had plenty of experience baking almost nonstop for her appreciative brothers and sisters. Becky worked for Pioneer Catering at Martin Luther College in New Ulm for 25 years and has always had a passion for baking! She was always asked to bake for other people which is how she developed the idea of having a business but it wasn’t until Emily moved back they decided to start this new business adventure together. We bought a brick and mortar building which is a historical building and one of the oldest in New Ulm prior to the pandemic. It took over a year to get everything approved and up and running! We moved into the renovated kitchen space in September of 2020! We bake for all events-birthdays, baby and wedding showers, retirement parties, graduations, anniversaries, gender reveals, weddings, and more! We bake for pretty much every occasion you can think of because who doesn’t like a party or making each moment sweeter!! Although our speciality is cupcakes and cookies, our menu has expanded to cookie sandwiches, cake pops, and more! Our bakery is mainly pre-orders and then usually once a month we are open for a pop-up! What is a pop-up?! It is when we post that we will be open (usually around a holiday) and we will be open for business with all sorts of yummy treats like cupcakes, cookies, scones, muffins, bars, and other seasonal items like apple pie bars in the fall or rhubarb torte in the spring! It gives us a chance to be open to the public and bake other items that are not on our main menu! Our cupcakes are our specialty as they are one of a kind and filled with a filling! We are always coming up with new creations!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We pride ourselves in the work that goes into each sweet treat. Our reputation started from word-of-mouth and that’s what got my mom’s name out there! Everything she bakes is consistent which keeps people coming back! Emily absolutely loves coming up with new flavors and creations! It always kept me motivated in the classroom too! I loved finding new lessons and changing things up a bit! It keeps me motivated! Becky brings the old with the new! She has all the recipes her mom used to make that people no longer make which brings so much joy to our customers when they walk through the door saying I haven’t had that in years or my grandma used to make that!!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

It has not been a smooth road, but like everything else you keep pushing through! Neither of us has a business background, so starting a business was not in our wheelhouse! We had a few good people to help us through! My mom told me that if we wanted to start a business that it was on me! I just realized that I had to ask a lot of questions, and seek out the help we needed when it came to loans/banking/finances/taxes, writing up our business plan, mapping out the kitchen, getting state and local approval for everything, finding the equipment and so much more! There were many times when I wanted to quit, but on those days somehow another doorway would open and we would figure it out! The only thing we really knew was that my mom could bake and people loved what she baked!

Never did we imagine opening a business during a pandemic! COVID-19 caused widespread cancellations and rescheduling of events, we had to come up with a way to make money! We had loans and a building to pay for along with our own personal bills! Pop-up events, advertised via social media, proved to be outrageously popular. They became such a pivotal part of our business and income! We wouldn’t have survived without these as they brought people through the doors!

Another change in our business plan which ended up being a blessing in disguise was that we wanted to start out being a coffee shop, but the pandemic forced us to change our plans when they wouldn’t allow indoor seating! We quickly realized our little shop couldn’t accommodate people and all of our supplies! So, we had what we now call our pop-ups which is where we post on social media that we will be open until sell-out! On one of those days, we have more than just our typical cupcakes, cookies, cake pops, and cookie sandwiches-scones, muffins, monkey bread, maple twist, bars, and many other baked treats that my mom’s mom use to bake that people no longer make!

Fast forward over a year later and we now are seeing inflation in the cost of goods. We thought getting through a pandemic where all large events like weddings, graduations, retirements, and other parties were canceled was going to be the hardest, but this is even harder! The cost of everything has gone up! People start budgeting and once again we are still pushing through! Our business has proven to be successful even in the most challenging times! We just keep a positive attitude about it all knowing we were meant to be where we are!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.beckybakesmn.com
• Instagram: @beckybakesmn
• Facebook: Becky Bakes

Image Credits
Emily Atnip