We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rosy Rodriguez . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rosy below.
Rosy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
Like many things in life, my journey towards where I am at today as a professional baker was not a linear path, nor was it predictable. The whole idea behind this business was short term – my husband and I were straddled with debt when we were just married and I wanted a way to contribute towards our financial goals. We lived in a good community at the time and I figured I could sell some baked goods on social media here and there to make an extra buck or two to help our family out, but by no means was I passionate about baking or was very good at it.
Then, at no exact moment, things started to click and I had awakened a desire to master this craft. Over the span of 8 months since I had sold my first batch of cookies, I had learned how to bake amazing pies, New York style bagels, even French macarons. It was at this point I asked myself: am I really good at this?
It was at this point I had realized the saying “if you build it, they will come” is absolutely true. I was fortunate enough to have increased my design and baking skills considerably, and about 2 years in, the opportunities started coming from all sides. My sister asked “Rosy I love your vanilla cake, can you bake for my wedding?”. Then that turned into people asking me if I could bake birthday cakes for the kids. Then THAT soon turned into making sweets for big business events and gatherings. Pretty soon I was overwhelmed and needed to get organized.
Luckily, my husband, who is pretty business savvy, advised me alot along the way. Once we moved to Kansas City I was able to specialize a bit more and focus my attention on events like birthdays and weddings. Picking a niche was the most critical part of the journey, because it marries together your ability to stay focused while still enjoying what you do!
Now I am 7 years into this business, and loving it even more than when I started! If there is one thing I’ve learned: it’s easier to scale back than to scale forward.
Rosy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Rosy’s Bakehouse creates delicious memories for your life’s biggest events by designing and baking bespoke cakes and custom desserts in Kansas City! My two areas of specialization are weddings and birthdays. Complex or unique designs are my favorite challenge, as well as the beautiful painted buttercream floral cakes.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
From the very beginning, the most important thing to me has been customer satisfaction. Each person that I bake for needs to know that their cake or dessert is getting 100% of my time, love, and attention, and I think that comes through in my work.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
3 years ago my family and I moved from a small town in Kansas, to the middle of Kansas City. We made the move in the middle of wedding season, and I got right to work! I never pumped out so many wedding cakes in my life. But as the wedding season slowed down and I began to think about the trajectory of my business, I knew that I wanted Rosy’s Bakehouse to switch from a small order dessert business, to focus solely on creating cakes for life’s most memorable moments.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rosysbakehouse.com/
- Instagram: @rosysbakehouse
- Facebook: Rosy’s Bakehouse