We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gabby Camacho a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Gabby, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My mom is not only the inspiration for our business, but she’s also our number one fan, mentor, and investor. She’s basically everything all wrapped in one, which I guess is a parent anyway! My mom has always been a realistic person, making sure I knew that I could do anything I want, but I need to know exactly how I’m going to get there, it won’t just come true. I grew up in the kitchen cooking and baking with her since the age of 5. At first she wanted me to learn how to cook so I could become self-sufficient. To me, cooking was easy, baking was hard. So anytime we baked, I paid extra close attention because I had trouble with numbers and measuring, and baking is something of a science. She helped me read and understand recipes, but also taught me to trust my palette. If we followed a recipe to the tee but it still didn’t taste right, we made notes on the recipe to tweak for next time. We did it for years until we perfected each cookie. At this point, it was all just a hobby. But when I moved to Colorado in 2024 and told her I think I want to start a mobile bakery, she didn’t bat an eye. She just said “alright, and do you know what needs to be done to do that?” and we got to researching. At no point did she ever call me crazy, say it would never work, or that baking is a hobby. She’s only ever reminded me of what it will take to make this successful. Because of that, I have no other perspective than this will be a successful business.
Gabby, 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 mobile bakery located in Arvada, CO. We specialize in classic homemade cookies, brownies and sweet breads. Our mission is to bring the comforting taste of classic, homemade cookies to the community. We focus on perfecting timeless flavors with quality ingredients, all while keeping our prices affordable and accessible. We believe that everyone deserves a sweet treat, and our goal is to become a neighborhood favorite where families, friends, and businesses can gather, enjoy, and feel at home.
Since we’re mobile, we solve the problem of having to go out of your way to visit a physical location of a bakery. We go to you, whether it’s for pop up events, a corporate event, or celebrations. We cater to any event, no matter how big or small. We even do same day delivery of up to a dozen cookies if you’re in the mood for something sweet! We understand that cookies fit into just about any aspect of our lives, and our goal is to be there for them whenever you need us. We deliver in the Arvada area, but also offer pickup. We try to make the process as easy as possible, so all you need to do is visit out website, click on what you want, and we’ll take care of the rest.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
A lot of people will say that you need to have a social media presence if you want anyone to notice you. While I do agree that social media is important, it’s only one part of growing clients. The other part is your customer service in person, whether you’re selling or networking. I heavily rely on my communication skills to grow my clientele. Everyone that’s been a returning customer has been someone I met in person and got the chance to talk to. Treating people with kindness and respect will get you farther than thinking “how can I make a buck off you?” Yes, the point of business is to make money, but I want to build a loyal customer base that grows through positive word of mouth, not viral videos. Knowing that communication is one of my strongest skills, I’ve grown clientele by walking into businesses and asking to speak with the decision maker. I bring them a sample of our cookies, explain our mission and commitment to be involved in the community, and a lot of the time those businesses want to work with us, help us grow! We get referrals from them, host pop-ups at their stores, and provide sweets for their company events. From there, the word of mouth spreads, people visit our website, check out our social media, and place an order. We use our social media as a way for our current clientele to stay updated on where we’re headed next, and showcase our tasty treats that we know they love.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
We’re fortunate in that starting a cookie business is not that expensive in comparison to other industries. Since I’ve grown up always baking, I already had many of the basic tools needed to bake in bulk; a large stand mixer, baking trays, cooling racks, ingredient storage. Not to mention, I always have a pantry full of baking supplies. All I needed to get started was an initial ingredient grocery run, and some packaging I got from Amazon. I built my own website for free, started a Facebook page and Instagram for free, and just started posting to let the community know I was out there. After a few months, I met someone who could professionally do my website, and got a discount. I joined the Arvada Chamber of Commerce, which is a monthly fee, and I got liability insurance which is another monthly fee. All in all, it was a couple thousand to get up and running, and the profits help pay off the start up costs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.239sweetstreet.com/
- Instagram: @239sweetstreet
- Facebook: Sweet Street, LLC
