We recently connected with Priscilla & Michael Sweet and have shared our conversation below.

Priscilla & Michael , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

Priscilla had been making cakes on the side for a little while. Not much intention behind building a business but more of a hobby. I remember that phone call. I was a full time retail manager and had just gotten off my shift. I worked long hours/days so every time I went to my car I just kind of hung out to catch my breath, catch up on missed messages and braced myself for the 1 hour drive home in traffic.

Before I even put my car in reverse, I received a phone call from a mysterious number. I never answer my phone to phone numbers I don’t know but something told me I should. It was a lady who had gotten my number from one of my husbands friends. She was looking for someone to make an Italian cookie tower and Disney Themed cake pops for her daughters wedding. She said she would provide the recipes ( major win!) and she wanted each table to have 12 cake pops – all themed after a Disney movie and mini cupcakes. My head was going in circles and my heart was beating so fast. I had never done this before – I was making basic birthday cakes, never baked specialty cookies – much less this many! So we had the conversation and I told her I would get back to her with a quote. I took a day or so to compose my excitement and then called her back and she agreed without hesitation. Looking back, I cringe at how much I charged her lol – Severely undercharged.

So come the weekend of the wedding and it was all hands on deck. I asked my mom if she could take a day off. I requested a few days off from work as well and my husband also took a crash course in baking. I had no idea how long this was going to take. It took us about 22 hours – non stop – to make over 300 Italian cookies, and 120 cake pops – each with a hand made detail of Disney element made of fondant. Step 1, complete. Step 2 was transp0rting all the cookies and the tools to the venue to assemble the tower.

I called ahead of time to make sure we could use the space and thankfully they had one we could use. Michael & I took all the goods there and now the real work began. Assembly. It took us 3 hours to assemble the cookie tower and very carefully carry this, what Michael figured was a good 40 pounds) about 60 feet over cobblestone to the table. we made it. Fully in tact, every table had its display of cake pops and it smelled amazing. I remember one of the family members coming into the room and exclaiming with such joy “It smells like an Italian bakery in here!” Michael and I just looked at each other with such satisfaction it was like we gave each other a high five with our eyes. Mission accomplished.

Forward to post wedding – she called us with rave reviews and how amazing everything was. Full circle it was the most stressful experience, but it was this celebration that made us realize we wanted to do it again, and again and heck maybe build a business!? So here we are :)

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

When Silver Rose Bakery owner and lead designer, Priscilla, first began her baking career as a six-year-old in a Connecticut kitchen with her mom and grandma; she had no idea that she’d grow up to become Mrs. Sweet. (Yes, that’s their real last name. I know, right!?) When Michael and Priscilla met, it didn’t take long to realize that they shared a lot more than a love for one another. They share dreams, a relentless work ethic and yeah, a bit of stubbornness. It’s true that until Silver Rose, Michael hadn’t exactly baked anything, at all, ever. That’s ok though, his bride had that part covered with the recipes she’d created over the years, which are still the foundations for the cakes they make today. He’s also a super quick learner and loves what he does, so he caught on fast.

When Michael and Priscilla first started toying with the idea of building a bakery in 2013, they knew they didn’t want it to be like any other bakery. Make beautiful and delicious desserts? Of course. They knew there was something else though. They knew they wanted to do more. Neither of them have ever been big fans of the corporate world. Maybe it’s that stubborn streak in both of them. Always supporters of small business, they wanted to create a community with Silver Rose that would focus on helping future entrepreneur bakers become owners of the SRB brand. The Sweets have been lucky to have incredible support in their journey. As a way to pay it forward, their mission is to create a business for bakers who have the same dreams of owning their own bakery but are lacking that support and guidance.

With Michael’s vision and Priscilla’s drive, Silver Rose will continue building an industry-shaking bakery and working hard to provide a Sweet experience, cheerful memories, and lasting smiles to their customers.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

As we’ve come this far in our business, 2 things come to mind with how we feel we have grown our business. One is consistently providing a quality experience. Two is networking.

We have made customer service the number 1 priority in our business. From how we schedule our consultations ( including the hours we offer, methods to book, methods of communication, etc) to our speed of communication. We pride ourselves in making sure we keep the conversation going. It still boggles our mind when folks call in to say I’ve called 4 other bakeries and left messages and haven’t heard back! From the initial inquiry to the delivery, our customers stay in the loop.

When we first started we actually went to people’s homes to conduct cake tastings. Sometimes as late as 7pm because we felt why should those people who work full time schedules have to take time off work to choose a cake? People were super appreciative and we booked 98% of those consultations. We stand by our email and respond in a timely manner. We created links to schedulers and provide both virtual and in person options so folks can choose what works best for them. So creating an experience where the client is in control felt like the right thing to offer.

Two is networking. We were invited to networking groups and we finally found Business Networking International. We’ve been proud members of BNI for over 4 years and it has helped our business tremendously. It is a paid membership yearly but it’s an investment we make in our business. Plus the dollars we make from that source along pays for a few years and then some in membership fees. Point is – if you sit behind your computer at home waiting for clients to come to you – you will never grow your business. People do business with other people they know, like and trust. How can you do that if they can’t see you? or get to know you? We go to many event with business cards on hand and talk to people.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It will forever go down in history as Hail 43. The Fall weekend that put our entire team to the test not only in production but logistics as well. So in a normal weekend we have maybe 4 – 6 weddings, 8 on a heavy weekend. October 20, 2019 we had 14 events from Friday to Sunday. Including a very special wedding for, American Model & Miss USA 2018 Sarah Rose Summers and her now hubby – Connor Combs, AND a grand opening of a church in Prescott, Arizona for 2,000 guests.

Our small team of 3 worked for 48 hours straight! We literally did not go to sleep starting Friday morning. We woke up Friday worked through the night watched the sunrise on Saturday worked through the night, watched the sunset and sunrise on Sunday. Its crazy what your body can handle when pushed to those limits. We did spend the night in Prescott as this was the last delivery of the weekend at 7pm. I think when I say we crashed – we crashed hard. You don’t feel the pain, you don’t feel the angst, adrenaline just keeps pumping through your body to get stuff done. We’ve been hit with many tough weekends – thankfully no caketastrophe’s – but just in terms on quantity.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.silverrosebakery.com
• Instagram: @silverrosebakery
• Facebook: @silverrosebakery
• Linkedin: @silverrosebakery
• Yelp: @silverrosebakery
• Other: Pinterest: @silverrosebakery

Image Credits
SJA Studios AZ Wed Pics Patrick Julian Photography