We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lupe Flores. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lupe below.
Alright, Lupe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
My baking journey started years ago thanks to my beautiful niece, Jenalyse. She asked me to make her a 3 tiered cake and I had never baked a cake in my life! There was no way I could say no to her little face so needless to say, I did my very best and put out a tiered mermaid cake for her! Of course it wasn’t my best work, but I enjoyed every minute of that process and kept telling myself I know I can make this better! So I continued making cakes once and twice a week until I perfected my craft and fell in love with it from day 1! I’ve been baking ever since and it’s been about 10 years now. My career was in the medical field. I’ve worked in the medical field for the past 15 years and baked on the side on my down time. I would come home from work directly to my kitchen to start baking and sometimes would bake until 1 or 2am! It sounds crazy, but I love baking so it never seemed like a “job” to me. My last job was as a clinical supervisor for a pain management and neurosurgery practice. I did enjoy my job as a clinical supervisor, but it definitely was not my passion. I wanted to enjoy every single day of my life to it’s fullest versus coming home drained or stressed. So I decided to leave my 9-5 job and follow my PASSION. It was the scariest most exhilarating thing I’ve done! It’s a big risk to take, but when you believe in yourself, have amazing people around you who support you and have the wonderful feedback of your clients to cheer you on it makes it so much easier to push forward with your dream. It definitely was my long time DREAM to open my own baking business. Maybe in the future I’ll do something with the savory side of things, but for now I’ll stick with sweets! I’ve known for years that being a cook/baker and bringing a smile to people’s face is my purpose in life. I am very grateful to be able to make my dream a reality with God’s blessing and lots of hard work! I knew I wanted a unicorn to represent my brand and myself since they are my spirit animal! Anyone who knows me knows I love them and knows I’m a colorful person. Plus I love the magic, beauty and happiness they represent. I also knew I wanted a gender neutral unicorn to be relatable to all. I want my company to convey inclusivity and acceptance of all. I designed the logo myself and gave my “drawing” to an amazing artist, Lisa Taranchenko, who brought it to life better than I imagined! I decided to go the mobile route with my business as I love “bringing the party” with me and not being stuck in one place. It’s been great learning and experiencing all the different settings and environments and meeting wonderful people throughout. All of it has been so worth it and I have enjoyed the journey and still learn something new as time goes on. Being a businesswoman is very empowering, but also humbling at times as there is so much to learn in the process. I have many new ideas and concepts for my brand alone so there will be many exciting things to come for The Sugary Unicorn other than just sweets! Stay tuned!!
Lupe, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My baking journey started years ago thanks to my beautiful niece, Jenalyse. She asked me to make her a 3 tiered cake and I had never baked a cake in my life! There was no way I could say no to her little face so needless to say, I did my very best and put out a tiered mermaid cake for her! Of course it wasn’t my best work, but I enjoyed every minute of that process and kept telling myself I know I can make this better! So I continued making cakes once and twice a week until I perfected my craft and fell in love with it from day 1! I’ve been baking ever since and it’s been about 10 years now. My career was in the medical field. I’ve worked in the medical field for the past 15 years and baked on the side on my down time. I would come home from work directly to my kitchen to start baking and sometimes would bake until 1 or 2am! It sounds crazy, but I love baking so it never seemed like a “job” to me. My last job was as a clinical supervisor for a pain management and neurosurgery practice. I did enjoy my job as a clinical supervisor, but it definitely was not my passion. I wanted to enjoy every single day of my life to it’s fullest versus coming home drained or stressed. So I decided to leave my 9-5 job and follow my PASSION. It was the scariest most exhilarating thing I’ve done! It’s a big risk to take, but when you believe in yourself, have amazing people around you who support you and have the wonderful feedback of your clients to cheer you on it makes it so much easier to push forward with your dream. It definitely was my long time DREAM to open my own baking business. Maybe in the future I’ll do something with the savory side of things, but for now I’ll stick with sweets! I’ve known for years that being a cook/baker and bringing a smile to people’s face is my purpose in life. I am very grateful to be able to make my dream a reality with God’s blessing and lots of hard work! I knew I wanted a unicorn to represent my brand and myself since they are my spirit animal! Anyone who knows me knows I love them and knows I’m a colorful person. Plus I love the magic, beauty and happiness they represent. I also knew I wanted a gender neutral unicorn to be relatable to all. I want my company to convey inclusivity and acceptance of all. I designed the logo myself and gave my “drawing” to an amazing artist, Lisa Taranchenko, who brought it to life better than I imagined! I decided to go the mobile route with my business as I love “bringing the party” with me and not being stuck in one place. It’s been great learning and experiencing all the different settings and environments and meeting wonderful people throughout. All of it has been so worth it and I have enjoyed the journey and still learn something new as time goes on. Being a businesswoman is very empowering, but also humbling at times as there is so much to learn in the process. I have many new ideas and concepts for my brand alone so there will be many exciting things to come for The Sugary Unicorn other than just sweets! Stay tuned!!
Currently my business features gourmet cupcakes, gourmet specialty apples, mini cakes, cake cups, brownies and other confections. I strive in turning basic desserts into elevated and fun bites! I love creating unique flavored cupcakes with ingredients that aren’t usually seen in cupcakes. I also love making themed cupcakes and cupcakes featuring candy and other desserts. I love to make them more than just cake and frosting. Topping them with greatness is my ultimate goal! Each week I try to put out one or two new flavors so be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook @thesugaryunicorn!
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
My baking journey started years ago thanks to my beautiful niece, Jenalyse. She asked me to make her a 3 tiered cake and I had never baked a cake in my life! There was no way I could say no to her little face so needless to say, I did my very best and put out a tiered mermaid cake for her! Of course it wasn’t my best work, but I enjoyed every minute of that process and kept telling myself I know I can make this better! So I continued making cakes once and twice a week until I perfected my craft and fell in love with it from day 1! I’ve been baking ever since and it’s been about 10 years now. My career was in the medical field. I’ve worked in the medical field for the past 15 years and baked on the side on my down time. I would come home from work directly to my kitchen to start baking and sometimes would bake until 1 or 2am! It sounds crazy, but I love baking so it never seemed like a “job” to me. My last job was as a clinical supervisor for a pain management and neurosurgery practice. I did enjoy my job as a clinical supervisor, but it definitely was not my passion. I wanted to enjoy every single day of my life to it’s fullest versus coming home drained or stressed. So I decided to leave my 9-5 job and follow my PASSION. It was the scariest most exhilarating thing I’ve done! It’s a big risk to take, but when you believe in yourself, have amazing people around you who support you and have the wonderful feedback of your clients to cheer you on it makes it so much easier to push forward with your dream. It definitely was my long time DREAM to open my own baking business. Maybe in the future I’ll do something with the savory side of things, but for now I’ll stick with sweets! I’ve known for years that being a cook/baker and bringing a smile to people’s face is my purpose in life. I am very grateful to be able to make my dream a reality with God’s blessing and lots of hard work!
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
There are two books that truly had an impact on my journey in opening my own baking business: How to be a Boss B*tch by Christine Quinn from Selling Sunset and The Food Truck Handbook by David Weber. They are excellent books filled with great information, inspirational words and fantastic advice for growth and success. I definitely recommend these to anyone who is moving towards entrepreneurship or feeling stuck in their journey or anyone who just needs motivation in their business life.
Contact Info:
- Website: n/a
- Instagram: The Sugary Unicorn
- Facebook: The Sugary Unicorn
- Linkedin: Guadalupe Flores
- Other: Email: [email protected]