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

Iris, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

In May of 2019 my daughter was one and half years old and I had just moved from Los Angeles to Kansas City to be closer to my mom. I’m a single parent and the idea of going back to work was hard for me. I realize that I was fortunate to have the time I did with my daughter as she was growing. A friend of mine owned a coffee shop around the corner from my house and encouraged me to start doing pop-ups with my cupcakes. I had prior experience in gluten free and vegan baking but I had never run my own full shop. When my friend’s shop was relocating to a bigger location he suggested I take over the space. I found myself with an opportunity to go back to work a couple blocks from my daughter, control my own schedule and do something I loved.

I am someone who is gluten free for medical reasons and vegan for moral reasons, opening The Littlest Bake Shop allowed me an outlet for experimenting with gluten free, vegan baking. I quickly discovered that my shop was the only dedicated gluten free and vegan bakery in Kansas City and that we were filling an unmet need for the allergen community. When the pandemic hit we hadn’t even been open for a year. We quickly shifted to a pick up window only format. This allowed us to expand our kitchen.

The expansion of the kitchen lead to more room for things like preparing hot meals and adding an espresso machine. We began working with local farmers and coffee roasters and our menu grew beyond cupcakes and cake to include a full brunch, lunch and drink menu.

Iris, 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?

I think this may have always been my destiny. When I was in 6th grade I was tasked with creating a yearbook page and I chose to write about baking my first loaf of bread. I spent years working in the film industry and was always the one with show up on set with a hot meal or a birthday cake for someone on the staff. After going through a difficult break up and leaving a job of 12 years, I assessed where I was in life and what would make me happy. This lead me to baking and selling at the Brentwood Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles and then eventually a cookie mix business out of an artisan craft center in the Port of LA.

The Littlest Bake Shop began with cupcakes on a lark, they were fun to make, easy to produce in volume, delicious and versatile. That I was baking gluten free, vegan cupcakes was just the icing on the cake, literally. We are the only dedicated gluten free and vegan bakery/restaurant in Kansas City. This means that people who have allergies and can not risk cross-contamination are able to safely eat at our shop.

I am very proud that what began as a small cupcake shop has now grown into a full cakes, sweets, and meals. We may be littlest but we are mighty…

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

I have grown my business at scale. What I mean by that is that when we opened we used a very small amount of money to get started. I had the tiniest oven, I used the counter that was in the space and the fridge that was already there. I bought a small oven and some paint from Home Depot. Yes, there were things I would have loved to have started out with but every item we have added to the shop has been done as we grew. I refused to let my business begin in the red. We were making a profit by the second month we were open. I never took out loans, I started the business on a few thousands dollars and DIY. Eventually as my business grew I needed to invest in larger items like an espresso machine and a bigger oven. I purchased large items using no interest credit cards and paid them off within the period required. I have only hired staff on an as-need basis. I would rather put the money we make at the shop into things like staff and product than branded packaging. Every choice I’ve had to make had to be weighed on a want versus need basis.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I believe we get the most customer engagement from Instagram. I do utilize boosted posts to target local audiences. Through instagram our customers can see whats available at the shop immediately and stay in the loop on what fresh baked items or lunch specials are popping up that day. I have found a lot of our new customers have been following us on Instagram for a while before they finally make it into the shop, but once they do, those new customers turn into loyal customers who we continue to engage with our regular postings.

Contact Info:

• Website: LittlestBakeShop.com
• Instagram: littlesbakeshop
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelittlestbakeshopKC
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-littlest-bake-shop-kansas-city