The calm after the storm

So I did a crazy thing and decided to pay a very large amount of money to be in a very large bridal show here in Charlotte. I was frightened by the price tag at first, but Adam convinced me that it wold be worth it if I sell at least 3 cakes afterwards. We called in his mother for reinforcement and I devoted the last 2 weeks of my life to nothing else but that show and my first real cake order here in Charlotte. I made 7 dummy cakes for the show because I had to spice things up after the last show. I had to show what I was capable of. The three of us on the EK team worked damn hard to pull this off. The results were fantastic, and without each of us contributing, and my parents sending supplies from NY, it would not have been as nice as it was. The booth was stunning and comfortable to be in and the samples that we made were awesome. I met some of the coolest people in the industry and I feel like a little fish that was at least allowed to swim with the bigger fish. Doing this show was a good move because it not only spread the word about EK Cakes, it also gave me more confidence that people are totally going to dig my product. I hoped they would.

The next big chore is finding a great accountant and lawyer that are ready to work for us. Easier said than done, I'm afraid.

Slight Progress...

So Adam and I have almost officially finished converting the garage into the bakeshop. We sealed the floor ourselves, organized and put things in place with the help of our parents, and we had our inspection by the Department of Agriculture. We had no idea what to expect on our big inspection day, but luckily, we met yet another nice southern lady (so far they are all so sweet!) who approved our bakeshop and gave us the "O.K." to go forth and sell. She went over our ingredient labels and gave us a list of common allergens that we need to list on our products. Everything went very smoothly, and we were amazed at how simple the process was. What a relief it was to just get that part over with.

I attended my first bridal show today at the Hilton and had a fabulous time. I like talking to the potential clients and getting a chance to answer their questions on the spot. The show seemed to be of good size. There were 2 ballrooms full of vendors with random booths in the hallways. I think that if the show was much larger and involved many more people, the brides would totally forget everything and just be confused. I don't know how many times I have picked up business cards and totally forgot what they were for when I decide to clean out my purse.

Anyway, I hope the show sends lots of business my way. I like business.