We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Priscila Leal-Arizpe a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Priscila, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?
A lot of people think that it is so easy to have a successful business because many hardly show their back story or are afraid of what people will think when they hear their start up story. The truth is, it is NOT easy but it IS worth it in the long run! I started my business 13 years ago, NOT KNOWING I would get to where I am now. Starting up my cake business, I had to save up enough money to invest in materials, tools, ingredients, NOT KNOWING if this business will crash or rise. That is a big risk that people are not willing to take especially not knowing the outcome. At this time, I had to take in any kind of order to get the word out of my work, I would sometimes even give things out for free. I worked 2 up to 3 jobs while starting my cake business, because it was just not giving enough profit. There were MANY moments when I just wanted to give it all up. But having a business, you have to understand that there will be high seasons, and low seasons. So I did feel like giving up, But I had to be persistent and CONSTANT no matter what the situation looked like. With so much effort and so much sacrifice of personal time, and sleep, I got to a point in my business where it started to pick up so much, I was able to leave my two jobs, and even be precise about which cake orders I would or would not accept. This was definitely 8 years later! But What I am getting at is having that perseverance and risking it ALL. So now that I understand how the wave of this business functions throughout the year, I make sure to take on as much sometimes more than I can on busy seasons, So I can prepare for the slower seasons, and that helps a lot- understanding the highs an lows of a business and understanding that it will not always be a busy time!
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?
My name is Priscila Leal-Arizpe, and I am the owner of Dolce Vita Bakery- where I specialise in contemporary wedding cakes. My cakes are very well known for being very artistic. I like to say that I make art in the form of cake. When people come to me, they always let me know that they are amazed by the uniqueness of the work that goes out of Dolce Vita Bakery, because it’s not your traditional wedding cake! I enjoy when I meet my clients for the first time. Wedding planning is tough, ESPECIALLY since you only get to do it once and your done, for the majority of the time! So many couples have no idea what they want, how to express themselves nor understand how the cake business works, which is why I’m here to help! My work very much reflects who I am, my thoughts and what I feel and make with my hands. I like to say that my cakes are very much influenced by life itself and the journey I go through in MY life. A lot of inspiration comes from natural elements, fashion, and even architecture some times. During my consultations, I can definitely feel out what the couple are really looking for as far as design and I have the opportunity to show them who I am with my portfolio. This way, we can really create a one of a kind design that will satisfy both them and I. Not only is my business very well known for it’s cake designs, but flavors as well. I like to take my clients on a journey with each cake slice. I love experimenting with flavors and combinations. I think that’s what got me into the cake business to start with! When you find the right combinations of flavors, it’s like opening a lock on a treasure chest! At first, clients are sceptical at trying different flavors that they are not used to, however, once they do, they can’t put the fork down! Each slice is like delighting yourself to a gourmet dessert, and that’s what I am proud of.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I think that the BEST and EFFECTIVE strategy is actually a very simple one that we don’t see as often now a days, and it’s being helpful and accommodating! When dealing with clients, you have to have GREAT customer service. It’s all about the experience! When people acquire services from Dolce Vita Bakery, I want it to be a FULL experience, and I want it to be a great one! My business and brand reflect a very luxurious, and high end service, so that is what I want to give my clients. Being kind, being flexible and being HELPFUL is what helped grow my clientele. Because people love being treated kindly and would like to repeat the process or recommend someone to this kind of business.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I have had many pivots in my business, but it has always been for the best and for growth. Actually, at the moment I am at my biggest pivot, and that is changing my clientele! A year ago I had decided to change my clientele from custom celebration cakes, to fully working wedding cakes. It was definitely a pivot that was not from one day to the next, In one year, I managed to change the aspect of my business, the look, portfolio, advertising, but it was with time. I am now at a point where I am doing 80% weddings and 20% custom orders and I am deciding to risk that 20% of income and investing it in promoting, and moving in more events, and consultations, and reaching out to wedding industry opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: dvbakery.net
- Instagram: @dvbakery
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/dvcake
- Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/dolce-vita-bakery-irving-tx-2070785 https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/dolce-vita-bakery/633db391a8f96074.html https://www.zola.com/wedding-vendors/wedding-cakes-desserts/dolce-vita-bakery
Image Credits
Sky Visuals LLC