Today we’d like to introduce you to Robin Black.
Robin, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Twelve years ago, while living in Ohio, I started watching the TV show Cake Boss. I was fascinated by how they could turn the cake into a delicious work of art. I wanted to learn how to make this happen. We moved to Texas and I looked for a part time job. I called around the local bakeries to see if they would hire someone with no experience. Most of the businesses said no, except for a small bakery called Sweet Art Bakery in McKinney. The owner allowed me to do a three month unpaid internship working eight hours a week. I learned so much at Sweet Art Bakery in such a short amount of time and loved it. I was hired as a part time employee after the three month trial. The Texas Cottage Food Law was passed in 2011 allowing people to run a bakery from their home lawfully. So, in 2013, I decided to venture out on my own and start my own business from my own home.
Has it been a smooth road?
Stepping out on my own and starting my own business was extremely frightening to me. By nature, I am an introvert and I have social anxiety. The thought of having to interact with strangers was my biggest obstacle. Thanks to technology, I found that most of the interaction with the customer is done through email, so it was not so bad for my social anxiety. Email also helps because it creates a paper trail with all of the cake details that I can go back and re-read if I can’t remember all the details of the order.
Another obstacle is that I have no other employees and run the business by myself. I take the orders, draw up designs, and email quotes. I also do business shopping, accounting, baking, decorating and sometimes deliver to my customers. So this limits the number of orders I can take each week. The most I can manage by myself is about four orders per week if they are spread out. Running the business solo, I would never be able to make enough money to pay the bills. With that said, this is more of a hobby, which I love, rather than an actual job.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I create custom cakes, cupcakes, cake balls and cake pops for any occasion. I never went to culinary school and my artistic techniques are self taught with the help of YouTube videos. What makes me most proud is when I successfully finish a difficult cake design that I didn’t think I would be able to create. When my customers give my business shout outs on social media, this makes me proud as well. My customer’s praise validates the hours of hard work spent on their order. Most customers don’t realize that it usually takes approximately one and a half days to create a “simple” custom cake. Bigger cakes with more extensive details can take up to four days to create. During the busy cake season (April and May), I will spend about fourteen hours per day in the kitchen working on several orders at a time.
What I believe sets me apart from others is my strong attention to every detail. If it doesn’t look good and up to my standards, then I will start over and try again until it looks perfect, I have also been told time and time again that my products not only look great but they taste great as well.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes, the North Dallas area is a great place to start out. There is an abundance of customers because the population is dense in our area.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thecakeagent.com
- Phone: 214-551-7877
- Email: cakeagent@gmail.com
- Instagram: cakeagent_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cakeagent/
- Twitter: @CakeAgent_
Image Credit:
Aimee McCall
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