If you are an avid follower of this blog or a 'Liker' on Facebook you may have seen me hinting about a new business venture. Well I am excited to say that I now have a name, website and a launch date! So what is it I hear you cry!

The business is called MakeMoneyWithCakes and the website will be launching on 7th October 2015. I also have a Twitter account and Facebook page, feel free to follow me...and wish me luck!

This sounds exciting, can you tell me more:

MakeMoneyWithCakes is a cake business consultancy for UK independent cake designers who want expert help and advice in starting their new cake business journey or growing their existing, often struggling, business.

Why are you the right person to help me:

As an independent cake business owner myself, I understand what you are or will be going through, as I have most likely been there.  From launching The Vanilla Pod Bakery as a home business in 2009, to running it from an external premises in Cheltenham with a team of five, to bringing it back home last year,  it has given me a vast amount of business experience.  I know the feeling of how wonderful it is to be self-employed to the flip side of how utterly scary it can be when things go wrong.  I am now at stage with The Vanilla Pod Bakery where I have time to work on it, instead of in it,  as well as time for myself, an enjoyable life, and a full order book, to the point where I am constantly turning business away as I am already fully booked.  I have created a business that fulfils my needs and works on on my terms to fit in with my life. And I want to help you do the same.

For the past 6 months I have been developing and testing MakeMoneyWithCakes with two brilliant cake designers, finding out what cake business start-ups need in 2015. It turns out quite a lot. From helping them focus their initial idea, to marketing advice, to building their confidence and whole host of other strategic help and coaching.

Through helping these ladies I have seen their business grow and confidence build dramatically. I am confident that I can help you with your cake business and together take it to the next level.

What are the benefits of cake business consultancy for me:

As briefly mentioned above, the cake business consultancy will help you develop your business knowledge and increase your business confidence. I know, and you know, that you can create fantastic cakes. I am not here to help you with that aspect but I am here to help you build a sustainable and enjoyable business that makes a profit, whether you want a part-time income or a full time venture.

In a nutshell MakeMoneyWithCakes can help you:
*Learn how to price your cakes so that you make a profit
*Overcome business fears
*Build your business confidence
*Learn how to effectively market your business
*How to not to undervalue yourself and your work
*How to target your ideal customers
*Learn how to quote for cakes that get orders
*Help with systems and processes to make your cake business run smoothly
*Where to source legal and accountancy advice
*How to say No to cake orders
*Accountability
*Plus much more.

I am really interested in working with you, how do we start the ball rolling:

Well, as I haven't launched just yet I don't want to give to much away, but to start with I will be offering three different packages based on one-to-one mentoring. As the business grows I will be providing online self study courses, webinars, ebooks, freebie business advice plus lots more.

If you would like to take advantage of an early bird launch discount and find out more about the packages, sign up to my VIP list here:

And the winner is.....
So who won the 2015 National Cupcake Champions, well it wasn't me but it was a fantastic lady called Helen Bollen who run's Mrs B's Cakes in Wiltshire.  Her delicious sounding Spiced Apple and Blackberry cupcake stole the show and she was delighted to take the crown.

Mrs Bollen said: "I am absolutely trilled beyond words to win this. It is something I have been working towards for the last four years and it is going to mean so much to my business".

The 2015 Cupcake Champion and Category Winners

The Cupcakes after Judging

My Experience of the Day...
I had a fantastic time at the event. The finals took place on Monday, 14th September at British Bakels in Bicester. There were 60 finalists and it was so lovely to meet them, and the sponsors, while chatting about cake. Everyone was who I met was lovely, and a big shout out to Michelle Alles of Fab Fairies and Wicked Tarts, Yvonne Donald of Kake and Cupkakery, as well as Hester Sabery from The Cake Couture.

Chocolate Masterclass

As part of the day we were also treated to two chocolate masterclasses from sponsor Barry Callebaut. I use Barry Callebaut belgian chocolate all the time (it is delicious) and it was wonderful to be shown different techniques for creating fantastic chocolate desserts and how to temper using a microwave.

Lovely Chocolate Products

At the end of the day we all left with huge smiles on our faces no matter where we had come and a wonderful Barry Callebaut chocolate goodie bag.

Treats made during the masterclass

 My view on the competition....
It was the first time I had ever really entered my cakes into a 100% baking competition. I make cakes for a living and I love creating them for my clients. However, the world of baking competitions is completely different.  I have entered wedding cake competitions and business competitions, I am used to them and know what to expect, I have even won a few of the those. But cake baking competitions, wow, the are scary and I was unbelievable nervous.

If I did it again, I would put a lot more effort into the decoration. I focused on the taste of the cupcake and didn't think about adding a little pizzazz to the look of it (rookie mistake!). I also realised that while I love baking, my passion really lies in the business side of cake creation.  I find it so interesting listening to other peoples cake business journeys which leads me on to my new venture (wow, this is scary just announcing it). Launching on October 7th 2015, I will be starting a new business to help cake makers realise their dreams of starting their own bakery business, as well as helping cake bakers to fire up their existing business. The new business is called MakeMoneyWithCakes and you can read more about it here.  I am super, super excited about this. 

Me with some of the chocolate from my goodie bag

Happy National Cupcake Week

It is here National Cupcake Week, the best week of the year! A celebration of all things cupcakes. And to help celebrate the week I thought I would share a delicious Vanilla Pod Bakery Jammy Cupcake recipe:

National Cupcake Competition

Congratulatory Email

Tropical Carrot Cake

Inside Tropical Carrot Cake