We were lucky to catch up with Ricardo Gudino recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ricardo, appreciate you joining us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

In the beginning I was working in a specialty cupcake shop when cupcakes were a craze. I then had the opportunity to become the owner and this is when I had to learn how to build and maintain a team of employees. It was scary and I doubted myself. I even had people tell me that I might not succeed. I went from being a part of the team to having to run the team. It took time for them to be able to trust me as their new leader.

I began posting on Craigslist because I didn’t know where else to post. I learned the hard way about how to separate myself from being a friend to being a true leader. I thought if I was friendly, It would build trust but in the end I learned I needed to have clear boundaries in order to be most effective.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I moved to Las Vegas to pursue a degree at a culinary school and began to experiment with different disciplines within the industry. I discovered the what excited me the most was being in a bakery. Seeing the joy on someone’s face when I made a beautifully decorated cake brought me so much fulfillment. I knew deep in my heart that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I wanted to run a business and work for myself. This is when I decided to buy into the boutique cupcake business I had been working at for 10 years. Shortly after buying the business, the cupcake craze began to be less popular and I knew we needed to shift our business model and rebrand. This is when “Caked” was created. A custom cake business in Las Vegas that provides customers with many cake flavor options and beautiful custom designs. Our customers love our cakes. We have a keen eye for detail and a deep sense of pride in our work – this is what set’s us apart.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I am currently in a time when I need to make some bigger decisions about my business. We had been very successful and it’s time to make decisions about how we want to move forward and grow. I’ve gotten very far based on my own experience and decisions I’ve made inside the business. I now see it’s time to bring in some outside support to help me grow by business in an efficient and effective way. Creating a team around me that can support this growth in ways I might not necessarily see. I am excited about this transition.

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

Yes, I bought my current business. It was a unique business deal and I feel like I got lucky in how it all played out. I bought the business for a discounted amount and agreed to pay off the debts from the previous owner. It all worked out well for me in the end and I am grateful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cakedlv.com
• Instagram: @cakedlasvegas
• Facebook: caked
• Yelp: Caked Las Vegas