The document summarizes the founding and history of Spoonful of Sugar, Sweets and Such bakery in Mt. Sterling, KY by co-founders Danielle King and Donna Cassidy. It discusses the challenges of starting a business with no experience or capital and opening a bakery when the town only had big box options and no other bakeries. It then details the bakery's growth from opening one day a week in 2012 to becoming a full-time business with employees by 2015 through hard work and gaining community support. The struggles discussed include gaining customers' awareness, managing employee schedules, offering competitive pay, and educating customers on fresh products.

2. Spoonful of Sugar, Sweets and Such
Mt. Sterling, KY
Danielle King and Donna Cassidy – Co-Founders
Stephen Powell – Executive Chef

4. Starting a business from scratch
● Lack of knowledge
● Lack of finances
● Lack of customer base
● Lack of real estate

5. Why did I do it?
● No local bakery (Big
Box companies only)
● Pan au chocolat was not
on the top ten wanted
items
● Mt. Sterling Population
6895 (2010 Census)
● Downtown had
● 1 restaurant
● 4 retail shops
● 3 Lawyers offices
● 4 Banks
● 17 empty storefronts

6. IF YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN MY BANKER.... you
would have told me NO!!!!!!!!

7. What makes you successful?
● Passion
● Understanding your vision
● Sustaining your business of at least 3 years
● Appreciate no sleep
● Appreciate working harder than everyone else
around you
● Good support system

8. Formula for a bakery???
● Mt. Sterling needed a bakery +
● Downtown needed life +
● I loved to make bread and pastries +
● Donna Cassidy loved to make sweets +
● = Successful Bakery

9. The struggles
● We both had full time
jobs
● Was afraid of more debt
● We had to become
experts in pastry and
dessert
● How could a bakery be
sustained
● Lets do one day a week
● Bought all used
equipment
● Went to French
Culinary Institute, NYC
● Goal was to cover
expenses

10. ● 2010
– Purchased a building that had been unoccupied with a
business since 1997 (Took 2 years to complete)
● 2012 Opened Bakery
– September 2012
– Worked on Wednesday afternoon preparing
– Thursday 4 am – Opened at 8 am till sold out

11. 2010

12. 2012

13. ● 2014
– Hired full time chef, Stephen Powell
– Expanded hours to Tuesday through Friday 8 am to 2 pm
● 2015
– Purchased sister building to make dining area
– Expanded then to Tuesday to Saturday and extended
hours to 7 pm.
● 2016 – We are still here..... with 6 employees

14. Challenges after opening
● It took 2 years for some people to know we existed
● Needed help getting our name out there
● Managing employee time to cover peak hours
● Offering competitive pay to keep excellent
employees on a “survival budget”
● Educating customers on fresh (increased cost) vs
frozen

15. What I learned....
● Community support is key
● Advertising budget is important
● Banks are your friends
● Be prepared for catastrophe
● Don't underestimate the power of signage
● Be okay with keeping in simple