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 Location: Buellton
Established: 2002
Employees: 4
Wedding cakes, desserts, confections, and classes
www.decadenceweddingcakes.com
Dawn Peters was born to be a pastry chef. When employment opportunities in her industry became scarce, she knew she had to create a job for herself. With encouragement from her friend, she enrolled in WEV’s Self-Employment Training course to gain the business skills she needed. Dawn created a job for herself when there were little or no other opportunities available. She started by renting kitchen space for trade of her pastry chef know-how, and slowly built her clientele.
Now, Dawn boasts an extensive client list of local customers and brides from all over the country, along with having her own commercial kitchen. Her creativity and intuition allow her to reinvent herself and take advantage of the right opportunities. Today, her business supports her family and community in a sweet way.
What prompted you to go into business for yourself?
I started my own business because I needed a job! I was working at the Alisal Guest Ranch as their pastry chef and they hired me to build a bakery over 2-3 years. However, they didn’t need someone with my skills to stay on. As I was wrapping things up with my job, I met my future husband Todd and didn’t want to leave! There wasn’t any other work available at the time. A friend of mine said, “you’re in the right place, with the right skills, to start your own business!” Pastry chefs are very communal, not territorial or competitive.
My friend told me about WEV. I heard about the class, started a week later, finished the class in December, quit my job in February and started my own business in 2002! I rented my kitchen space by being their relief chef two days a week – it was a way to build a business. I also taught at Allan Hancock College. In the beginning it was hard! I worked in a couple of other jobs the first 4 years until the business could support itself. It takes awhile to build your client business. Most of my clients come from Los Angeles. These days, people are not having destination weddings so I’ve needed more local business.
What has been your biggest business challenge?
Finding and keeping the right people. Working in a kitchen isn’t as glamorous as people think it is. Everyone thinks it’s just about decorating, but that’s just 10% of what I do – kitchens are hot, dirty, and you have to wash dishes. The average cake takes 12 hours to make; more complicated cakes take 18-22 hours to make. You have to really like to do it; you have to be born to do it! Labor is the hardest challenge.
You also have to constantly reinvent yourself. That’s the tricky part because you’re so busy and there’s no calling in sick – there’s no one to call! Missing a tasting means giving up the client. Retail work is a lot of work for very little money. You make compromises to keep your name out there, so people don’t think you’ve vanished off the face of the earth.
What has been your biggest business success?
My biggest success has been affording and building a commercial kitchen. This is a lean year and I’m still in business! I got lucky by accident – I built a commodity and I now have two renters. That income provides a cushion for when business is slow.
Who is your ideal customer?
Someone having a celebration, especially destination weddings.
What has been the biggest surprise about owning a business?
All of the governmental regulations!
How do you juggle all the pieces of your life (family/work/self/volunteering) to make it all come together?
I create boundaries and parameters, and focus on setting priorities.
What advice do you offer other women who might want to start their own company?
Think things through and look at your numbers, they’ll tell you everything. That answers all your questions. You really have to look at the economic feasibility of what you want to do. It’s important to look at all of the details and make sure they’re in place: economic feasibility, target market, personal abilities, support system.
How did WEV help you to achieve your goal or dream?
The SET program outlined the legal and financial aspects of setting up a business, as well as giving me the tools to look at my business.
Is there something you learned from WEV that you use every day?
Prioritizing and confidence.
What does ‘success’ mean to you?
Having a business that supports myself and the community.
What is the biggest reward you get from your business? What makes it all worthwhile?
Having the freedom to create and work with other like minded professionals. I also enjoy being involved in the community and giving back. One of my client’s is a missionary in Haiti and works at an orphanage run by childhope.org. Haiti has 80% unemployment; most of the young ladies in the orphanage have little to no options for jobs. They’re trying to create vocational programs for women, and one idea is to teach them to bake using the facilities at the orphanage. I’ve gotten many donations of baking and cooking equipment that will be shipped to the orphanage. I will take my recipes and convert them to the metric system, shrink them, plus rewrite recipes based on ingredients available there. Eventually I’d like to go to Haiti and train the trainers in the orphanage.
How do you picture you and your business in: one year? 5 years? 10 years?
In a year, I hope to have established retail accounts and an internet business. In 5 years, I’d like to have a division of Decadence providing alternative baking products including gluten free and vegan. In 10 years, I hope to be in a position to sell Decadence as a profitable, well-respected business and retire.
Is your business being affected by the economy now? And what are you doing to deal with this challenge?
There has been a significant decline in destination weddings, which is how I make the most profit. I have been testing other forms of retail as well as making the most of my biggest asset - renting my commercial kitchen.
Photography courtesy of Liz G Photography: www.lizgphotography.com |
