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

Katherine, appreciate you joining us today. Along with taking care of clients, taking care of our team is one of the most important things we can do as leaders. Looking back on your journey, did you have a boss that was really great? Maybe you can tell us about that boss and what made them a wonderful person to work for?

I had the privilege of working with such a great man, leader and boss, who I now get to call friend. As I started out in this baking business, I was still employed at a law firm. My boss was not only someone I looked up to and respected but this very busy man took the time to encourage me, helped me to understand business finance and guide me as I was building up my business. He helped me to create my LLC, get my business license and connected me with vendors to help me grow. Even after I left the firm to venture on my own in my baking business, he continued to support, mentor, cheer me on and became one of my biggest fans. To this day, I am so honored to call him friend.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

In 2020, during the height of the Coronavirus Pandemic, I was furloughed for 30 days. During this restless time, I was scrolling through Instagram and became mesmerized with cupcake decorating videos. I purchased some piping tools the very next morning and discovered shortly that I had a hidden talent for making buttercream floral cupcakes.

Once I got a good grasp of working with a variety of piping tools and handcrafting the cupcakes, I started giving them out to friends, who encouraged me to start selling them. This gave me a great opportunity to be creative, connect with my community, and have some fun in the process. What came next was to find a niche in the market place as I did not want to compete with other bakers and Blooming Kupcakes was born.

The cupcakes became so popular that I soon had a thriving small business. We use natural ingredients in all our cupcakes and don’t add preservatives to prolong their shelf life. They are best eaten within 24 hours after pick up. We bake them for any occasion, celebration or just because.

We are a gluten-free family, and I must say, our GF cupcakes are also very delicious! Today, my husband, Andy, has taken over all the baking to give me more time to design all the gourmet floral cupcakes in over 50 flower varieties for all types of occasions like birthdays, bridal and baby showers, weddings, memorials, corporate events, real estate closing gifts, and the list goes on. My floral cupcake bouquets are also very popular for birthdays and wedding anniversaries. They are the perfect gift and a unique edible experience.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

As I mentioned earlier, I started this business while I was furloughed during the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020. I did not expect this part-time hobby to turn into a full-time job, but it did. Once I returned to work after 30 days of being furloughed, my cupcake business started to take off. I was working 8 hour days at the law firm and would rush home and bake/hand-craft cupcakes till 1 am in the morning. This took place for nearly a year and I was getting burnt out. I reached out to Mignon Francois from The Cupcake Collection in Nashville, to see if she would mentor me or answer some questions. I did not hear from her for over a month. Then one day, I received a call from her during my lunch break. She spent an hour on the phone with me, read scripture, lifted my spirits and gave me great practical business advise like, “when do you feel most productive during the day?” When I answered “in the morning”, she responded “then why are you giving the best part of you to someone else’s business rather than your own.” That struck a cord with me. I went home and discussed it with my husband, we prayed about it and then on Monday, I submitted my resignation at the firm and have been running my business full-time for the past 2 years.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Funding a business can be challenging. I was blessed to have had a full-time job while working part-time in the evenings. For 1-year, I saved up while having a dual income to be able to supplement my business, order supplies and take on orders. Since going full-time, I have been able to supplement my yearly income with orders and it’s been wonderful being my own boss.      

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bloomingkupcakes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloomingkupcakes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BloomingKupcakes
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-halbeck-78b7081a/