We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Lowitzer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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?

For years, I was working multiple jobs while trying to grow Scratch. That old saying that the 9-5 pays the bills, the 5-9 builds the empire was my reality. I was working 60+ hours a week between all my jobs. It was intense, and the struggle seemed like it was never going to end. I finally took a huge leap in the fall of 2021, and quit all of my outside jobs. I solely focused on growing Scratch, full time. Many people thought I was crazy for taking such a risky jump in the middle of a pandemic, sliding economy, historic price increases and unprecedented supply chain challenges. It was scary – albeit terrifying at times – but I believed in myself, and my circle of friends and family had my back. The Mobile Cupcake Trailer, lovingly deemed The Purple People Feeder, entered the picture around this time, too. That didn’t go without it’s own set of challenges, delays and heartache. The last few months of 2021 were so hard. Entrepreneurship is much like a roller coaster; one day you’re in a low, doubting your every move, and the next day you’re on a total high, confident and ready to take on any challenge. Shortly after the holidays was a turning point for me. Business completely exploded. I have new opportunities all around me – for both custom orders and events with the trailer. I have the most amazing customers, putting every event they have for the year on the books with me. My growth, both in business and personally, has jumped leaps and bounds. It’s all so exciting! I’m so very thankful I have made it to this place right now. Small business isn’t for the faint of heart. But if you can hang on, it’s quite a ride and worth every single sacrifice I’ve made.

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

Scratch by Sarah was born from a concept that I thought was widely practiced – baking from scratch. I came to find out that it was actually becoming a lost art form. I grew up in a family of bakers, and learned how to bake and cook at an early age. To me, it was the norm. It wasn’t until a coworker asked if they could pay me to make them some cupcakes that the lightbulb turned on. And here we are, almost 7 years later!

I specialize in custom order gourmet cupcakes and bespoke buttercream cakes for just about any occasion – or no occasion at all! What sets me apart is that everything is baked and made from scratch, by me, fresh to order each time. I use high quality ingredients, and zero preservative, which produces a superior product. I believe in giving a customer something that looks AND tastes awesome, without compromise. My style is more on the abstract side, and when a customer grants me creative freedom (which is like winning the lottery) I can really give them the wow factor. I’ve worked so hard for my 5-star rating on my Facebook page, and I’m really proud of what I can offer to people for their special events and celebrations! Getting to be a part of that, and seeing the smiles and shock on their faces, is the best part of my job.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Consistency in product and great customer service. I have strived to get better as each year passes, and my older work will show that growth, but the most important thing in my business has been ensuring that each customer gets the absolute best product I can give, and a great experience to go with it. Word of mouth has taken it from there.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I decided I wanted to get a mobile trailer made, I had no idea what an uphill battle that would turn into. I was unable to source a prebuilt aluminum trailer that was in my price range and timeline, so after months of hitting walls, I pursued having one custom built. The two month timeline turned into three, then almost four. The builder didn’t hold up their end of the contract, and there was a lot wrong with the trailer by the time I got it in my possession. It was a paperwork nightmare to say the least. Then I ended up having to get it repainted, resealed from top to bottom, have electrical work tested with weeks of troubleshooting, the existing entrance door ripped out and a new one installed, new tires, and finally the signage put on. I wanted to give up so many times. It was just issue after issue, with no end in sight for months. My amazing husband was so supportive, and together we tackled it and got it up and running in October of 2021.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.scratchbysarah.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/scratch.by.sarah
• Facebook: facebook.com/scratchbysarah
• Other: TikTok @ cake dealer_sarah