Happy Sugar Baking Land

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Sharing vs. Sharing

Preface:  I want to begin this week's Shop Talk with a reminder.  This series began and continues from the point of view of a full time business owner.  This is a business blog, aimed at those who are running a cake business.  While much of what we say crosses the boundary between pro and novice, today is definitely aimed at the former.

Those who closely follow us on Facebook, Tumblr, etc. may notice we don't post a ton of cake photos.  In fact, rarely is a better term!  The reason is selfish; our designs are our designs and we don't always want the world to see them.  It's not about pride in our work, or sharing, we love to answer questions and help people out, but when it comes to our "intellectual property," we're guarded.

See, we've been in the cake game long enough to remember when everyone held their decorating techniques close to their chest.  It's not that we were waging some cold war of secrets, a talented cake decorator should be capable of figuring out how to make any cake, but there was definitely more of a desire to keep to ourselves.  We'd appreciate each other's work, but much like Coke, we weren't giving up the family recipe anytime soon.

Now we live in the world of "sharing."  Images of cakes are being posted by the second.  From Facebook walls to Flickr to Cake Central and blogs, cakes are everywhere.  We're cake nerds, we love seeing the beautiful designs, love it, but is this transparency better?  Yes and no.  Like the title of this post says, there is sharing and then there is (over) sharing.

And let me clarify, for the purpose of this blog, "sharing" refers to photos.  I'm not talking about someone lending some advice or dropping a tip to a frustrated caker tackling fondant for the first time, rather the sharing of our completed work (designs) on a daily basis.  This is something new, a sign of the times as we move towards cloud computing and a standard of social media that has us sharing every moment of our lives, both professional and personal.  Hey, one of Facebooks primary buttons is "share," look at the impact Pinterest has made, so it makes sense that in this system, there is the potential for a global audience to see our cakes.  There is also the potential for that audience to take our hard work and creativity and pass it off as their own.  This is the double edged spatula of cake decorating!

When Do I Share? 

You can't share everything, it's just not wise.  If you want a competitive advantage of any kind, some times you need to hold back.  Even if you are teaching a class on say, buttercream roses, you shouldn't show them everything.  It might be great for a hobbyist community, but as a career cake decorator, you need to have your own bag of tricks that is solely for your business.

If you have a basic line with limited options that you offer, then there's no need to hold back on sharing.  Simple designs, Wilton techniques, things that are already widely produced don't trip the alarm.  If you're incorporating pre-made decorations, it's probably safe.  A Barbie cake, seen all over, is safe.  Licensed character cakes are safe.... er, wait.... they're not, but you have to go back to the copyright post for that one;)  You get the point.  A topsy turvey cake is no longer new.  Cheetah print has been done.  Those types of cakes are shareable.  Quality work is quality work regardless of design, so go for it.

How much should you share?  There's no right answer.  This post is more reflection than hardened business theory.  I think the key to that question is the question itself.  Take the time to ask yourself for every cake you make, "should I share this?"  Are you risking something that makes you you?  A certain color palette, a fantasy flower, a unique stacking design.  Ultimately, your style is what will sell cakes, what will make you money.  Don't be afraid to pump the breaks now and then.  There is no monetary reward for being first!!

What About Watermarking?

Hopefully we can all agree on the importance of watermarking the images you opt to share online.  First off, know that a watermark will never protect against someone using your ideas and designs in their own work.  It's very presence online qualifies it as "inspiration."  If you are protective of a design, don't put it online for all to see.  You must decide how to temper pride in your work with protecting your creative voice.  

Secondly, applying a watermark to an image is not as simple as putting a line of text on the bottom of the image or a small logo in the corner.  Raise your hand if you've seen photos from a red carpet or charity event with those big walls of logos behind the celebrities?  Like this:

Awww, the darling Zooey Deschanel...... and Starz and Yahoo! and the Hollywood Film Festival!!  You can't escape it can you?  There's a reason they repeat those logos so much, so you cannot possibly avoid them.  Watermarks should be the same, unavoidable.  

You might say, "I put my name across the middle of the cake!  And even a copyright symbol!"  Great, does it cover the awesome handcrafted marzipan topper you spent a week making?  No?  Then someone can and unfortunately as we've all learned, most likely will take the image and crop out that section for their own purposes.  Overall, we're a great community, but there are some rotten apples out there.

Here's an example.  Kati's Cakes recently posted an awesome Hunger Games inspired cake on our wall.  I always notice her images because she makes sure to slap her name across the cake (not underneath!) and has a logo in the corner for good measure.  This is a good operating procedure, but it's not perfect.  Here's the cake as posted:

 

And here's 30 seconds on an online photo editor (Lunapic):

Is it a perfect crop?  Not at all, it doesn't show the awesome tree work on the side or the whole mockingjay design but it is enough for someone to say "I can do Hunger Games cakes!"  Or to add to a brochure or a website or even *gasp* use as their avatar!  Kati's name is in the best location for a single line of watermarking.  She's made it difficult for the scoundrels of the cake world, but if it were repeated two or three times, then we're talking fool proof.  

"Won't that clutter up my photo?" you ask.  You betcha, but the only cure for the cake stealing blues is to make the image unusable.  Reva says it all the time, if you want to claim you can make a cake, go for it.  You still have to execute!  

If you care about being credited for your work at all times and keeping someone else from taking that credit, it is a necessity.  These aren't the images you will use in advertising, or your shop books etc.  These are the ones you share on social media.  Watermarks are visible, but your friends on Facebook will still be able to see how awesome you are;)  

We love ICES.  We love the Cake Camp and the CCC.  We love showing beginners how to get their feet wet.  But none of that is about being a professional business owner.  If you want to take it to that level, or maintain that level, you need to be able to skillfully navigate the hobby side and the professional side of the cake community.  

It is too easy to snap a pic on your iPhone and have it up on Facebook in less time than it takes for you to formulate the question, "should I share this?"  If the answer is yes, my advice is to take a breath and wait till you can apply the proper watermarks and control how your image is seen.  

For us, it comes down to a mixture of being a little old school, being a little protective, and our policies on client confidentiality.  I'm not saying we need to all stop posting photos, but maybe you hold one or two back every once in awhile.  Maybe you only leave them up for a month, cycle out your photos on a regular basis?

This is just our opinion and I hope it generates some good back and forth.  Ironically, I hope our call to caution on sharing leads to some serious sharing!!  The fact is, people have entered contests using other people's cake photos, so we need to give it some thought.  Maybe nothing changes for you, maybe everything, but let's get the conversation started.  The best part about running your own business is being your own boss, which means you get to be in control.  Let's be in control of our business!  

Till next time cakers!!

 

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Brochures

The other night, we were invited to an event for a well known bakery that produces wonderful breads and pastries.  I won't mention their name because they have a terrific line of products and I respect them immensely.  In one corner they had a small table dedicated to their modest wedding cake business.  It's not where they make their money, but they offer it.  We've talked about the need to ABR, "always be researching," so I snagged one of their brochures to examine later.  I love 'em, but it was terrible.

Brochures in our industry today are universally awful.  Reva came home from a bridal faire with a handful a few weeks back and they put me to sleep.  Let me ask you a simple question.  Why would you spend a nice chunk of change on printing up full color tri-folds and load them up with nothing but words?  These things had, on average, three photos of their work.  

Rule #1: Brochures don't sell cakes, you sell cakes!

You have this great opportunity to showcase who you are and you waste 60 to 70% of the available real estate on eye blurring lists and text?  No!  Bad business owner!!  Add another photo, make your logo bigger, but don't spend all this money to give them all the information one can stuff into a brochure only to have them toss it on the way out of the bridal faire.  

They want to know if you're cakes look good.  You run a business.  You've made lots of cakes I can assume.  You have photos.  USE THEM!  Wow them with the visual, peak their interest, then sell them yourself.  Which brings me to...

Rule #2: A brochure is the chance to start a conversation, not end it.  

Nothing can stop a conversation from happening faster than the list of flavors.  I saw one brochure that had 28 flavors listed for cake and another 18 for fillings.  Then they listed the same flavors under cupcakes!  It was a full page of information that your client doesn't need until the consultation.  There is no bride walking around today that believes a bakery cannot reproduce the flavors she wants.  None.  We all make the same flavors, so instead of the list of chocolate, french vanilla, white, champagne, red velvet..... and on and on and on, use that space to show yourself off!!  All you need is a line like "all popular flavors available," or what we like to use "ask about our specialty flavors!"  Think about that sentence.  "Ask us."  Now you're pushing the conversation, you're giving your brochure new life because it is no longer a slab of redundant information, it is a calling card.  It will connect you to the client, not distance you.

Remember Rule #1, you have to sell your cakes.  There is no website, Facebook, nor piece of paper that replaces you.  

Rule #3: A brochure is not a menu!

This rule is two fold.  First, leave the numbers out of it.  Adding prices to your brochure can and will turn off clients.  It will also lock you into those prices.  What if supply costs change?  What if they want something not covered in the brochure and they walk out because they think you're trying to rip them off?  People see stuff in print and they think it's law.  Leaving out the financial will also make your marketing money go farther.  I've had to reprint brochures to replace outdated information which means I've had to throw valuable marketing materials in the trash.  Money down the drain.

Secondly, there are too many variables to what we do as cake decorators to possibly list in a brochure.  If you try, you end up with a list of 15 or so combinations and the client will think that's all you do.  I mean, they took the time to make the list, so that must be their limitation, right?  I don't need to talk to them then, so... end of conversation.

Rule #4: It's a fancy business card!

I mean it, a brochure is nothing more than a fancy business card.  It's a means to enhance your contact information to a targeted audience, usually at bridal shows or from visitors to your shop.  It should have phone numbers, web links, even a QR code to lead them to the places where it is more appropriate to load them up with information.  Use the rest of the space for visuals.  As the old adage says, "a picture is worth a thousand words."

Rule #5:  It's a bio, not a biography!

I have also seen huge sections of brochures dedicated to bios about the baker that read like Russian literature.  If you want to put a head shot in the handout and a few lines about your training or a funny sentence about your hobbies or pets, great.  It humanizes you and you never know what might spark that connection to a client.  For Reva, I always love to put "after she's done baking, Reva plans on becoming a cheesemonger."  A) it's true, don't make stuff up, and B) countless people have said "I love cheese too!"  There you go, now we've separated ourselves not by some lifeless list of fillings, but by being the cake decorator who moonlights as a cheese enthusiast.   

All these rules point back to the simplest rule in the world, K.I.S.S.  Keep it simple sucka!  (I always like "sucka" more than "stupid," but you know, feel free to substitute your favorite "S" word)  Avoid redundant information.  Don't repeat yourself in the brochure or in your consultation.  If you want a list of all you do available, print it up on simple legal sized paper and make them ask for it.  It's all about the conversation.

Well, I hope that helps a little bit as you count up your marketing budget.  We've made all these mistakes.  We've had too many words, too many options, lead the reader down conflicting paths of cake and pastry.  Like in anything, don't expect brochures to do all the work.  You have to earn your clientele.  Always remember, anything you put out there should be a conversation starter and you'll do just fine.

Next week, we talk more shop;)

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Charity & Donations

I actually had a different Shop Talk lined up for today, but then something very odd happened over the weekend.  Something that has never happened to us in nearly 10 years of Merci Beaucoup.  We had a charity auction turn down our donation.  *insert head scratching here*

Since I know you want to know, the story begins with Reva being approached to donate to a charity auction (to remain nameless you nosey cakers!).  Nothing new, happens all the time, and in this instance we really wanted to donate a very personal experience over just a gift certificate.  So, we offered a private, in-home decorating class for four (4) people where we'd supply everything needed and Reva would teach them to decorate their own cake.  By the end, each person would walk away with their own "cakesterpiece" to take home, plus you know, tote bags and buttons and stuff.  A very private class with a TV chef.  If someone approached us to do this, the price tag would be close to $2000.

The charity rep loved it, and for a week or so, I began prepping the presentation items they would need on the night of the auction to entice bidders.  The person in charge of the auction however, hated it.  With a subtle form of "snootyness," she informed us it was basically too low rent for the rich women who'd be at this auction.  "They don't want a class."  What was the auction managers mistake here?  Well, first, don't backhand insult Reva, you'll lose.  She devalued Reva's time and experience by implying it wasn't good enough for her auction and, going all the way back to our original Shop Talk on Pricing, you know you need to value your time!  But her major mistake was she couldn't wrap her mind around a great experience that, given to them for free, would've generated money for their cause.  Regardless of how "low rent" her opinion of it was, I can guarantee it would've brought in bids.  Nope, she wanted a cake, cause it was easier for her to understand and so she approached our offer in a negative way in order to essentially bully us into giving her what she wanted.  It was a poor negotiating tactic and well, it failed.  

The thing is, we've done cakes for auctions and frankly, they don't bring in a lot of money.  Any potential bidders have to need a cake for something, so you immediately exclude a good chunk of the people in the room.  An in-home class with a TV personality?  That is a mini party for you and your friends (you know there'd be wine!) or maybe for your daughter who wants to go to culinary school and can be had at anytime of the year for any reason you'd like.  It's its own reason really!  It's an experience and you know what rich people love?  Experiences.

But why you ask didn't we just cave and give her a cake?  We are trying to position ourselves as educators.  It's becoming a big part of our future business plans which will include books, videos, and of course, classes.  It would be good for us to market our classes to this group and therefore, would make our donation valuable to everyone.  The "just a cake" request didn't fit the "donation equation."  

The "donation equation" derives from the three basic reasons to donate your talents to a charity.

1. Advertising/Marketing
2. Emotional Connection
3. Taxes

Now, of course there are reasons that fall under just being a human being, but as a business, these are the factors you need to look at when evaluating your participation in an event.  It's not unlike viewing a consultation with a bride as a two way street; the fit for you and the charity should be good for both sides.  Let's work backwards.

Taxes

This is so obvious, do I really need to elaborate?  As your business grows, it is a smart idea to bulk up your tax deductions with charitable contributions.  Different gifts reap different results come tax form time, so consult with your accountant for the best results.  Large companies, the Apples etc., set up foundations and give big financial gifts, but as a small bakery, events like a charity function or auction will be your primary opportunity for donations.  Usually, these groups are on the ball and will send you a receipt or some type of statement showing your contribution.  This will be your paperwork to back up your deduction.  If time passes and they haven't sent you anything, do not feel bad about making that call to get the paperwork you're entitled to.  After all, they need to do that paperwork to get their own ducks in a row, so even thought they're a charity, they're also a business and you two have done business together.  Be benevolent, but also be professional.

Emotional Connection

We all have our causes, issues that have touched our lives in one way or another.  Find those charities that align with your own values and you will definitely feel a lot more fulfillment from your involvement.  Whether they reach out to you or you send an inquiry letter to them, helping out a cause you support is a great way to build your donation equation.  But you also need to make sure it's the proverbial good fit.  Donating 500 cupcakes for a dinner gala to benefit diabetes research might not have the desired effect.  Desserts are celebratory in nature, so somber events can also be a tricky mix.  The emotional connection is good, but it can also blind you to what's best for your business and your professional reputation.  Choose wisely even when being led by your heart.

Marketing

Advertising is all about reaching your target audience.  It's why Budweiser spends so much money putting ads up in football stadiums.  They get to blast a concentrated section of their target audience all at once.  The classic, more bang for your buck scenario!  Your donation will be a calling card to a specific group of people that you would like to impress.  It can be a tasting for hundreds of people, all in the course of a few hours.  If they have a program with your name, even better!  Hang a banner or two at the event?  Of course!!  Charity donations are an opportunity to earn new clients, one not to be squandered.  You're spending some money, but getting a tax deduction, getting some good karma points AND you get to advertise!  Win, win, win!  That is a lot of bang for your buck and, as have some of the charities we've worked with, sometimes you get cool plaques or thank you letters you can hang in your store which turns that good work into more positive marketing for everyone who enters you business.  That's like four wins now!  Win, win, win, win!!

Our donation denial this week fit all three of these reasons, but the counter offer did not.  I mean, I can't tell you how to value each set of reasons, but I would guess two out of three would be a good start!  At this time, in this situation, a cake just isn't the right donation for us.  Stepping back and evaluating each opportunity will be key to a successful course of charity work in your business.

I'm sure I didn't need to convince you that giving to charity is a good thing.  I did want to emphasize how it can affect your business.  As far as what you decide to donate, we could go on for days.  Use your imagination though and think of new ways to maximize your gift.  It could be as simple as individually wrapping cookies and placing a business card in each one (or a coupon?) or offering to stay at the event to cut the cake so you can shake hands with the guests and get some face time with all those happy, potential clients.  Obviously, we have a certain vision at this point in our lives, so we developed a specific gift to meet those goals for the unnamed charity above.  Gift certificates, desserts for an event, a wedding cake, whatever you think you can provide that will be of benefit to the cause should be appreciated.  "Should be appreciated," he mumbles in a mildly bitter tone.  And if you need to turn it down, you need to turn it down.  There's always a next time and there's always a nice way to remind the charity that they should remind you about the next time;)

 Basically, donations are awesome, but don't get taken advantage of just because the person asking/telling you has a colorful ribbon on their lapel.  You're the professional, you know what you can offer that's of value to both sides and you shouldn't be afraid to assert your position.  A simple, "I'd really love to help out, but I'm not sure I can make that happen" will diffuse most situations.... "most" he mumbles bitterly.  Be flexible when you can, but donate on your terms to best serve your business.  Now, get out there and give till it hurts... or rather, till you can feel a non threatening tinge in your bones that is in line with your business plan!!  I really need to work on my slogans.

Next week on Shop Talk, we're gonna get all "hippie" on ya!

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Bad Customers

Customers, we need them.  We don't always want them, but we need them.  I think we've all had that problem customer, the one with the unreasonable demands on our time and resources.  The one who wants to change their design two days before the wedding.  The one who doesn't understand why handmade sugar flowers cost more than real flowers.  The one that we wish had never walked through our doors!  It's alright, we're friends here, you can admit it!

I was going to title this week's Shop Talk "customer service," but that's just really a fancy way to say "doing your job" isn't it?  Or, selling your product without getting yelled at!  Customer service is just a business phrase that makes customers feel like they're important.  "Look, we're getting service!  Aren't we special?!"  No, you're a customer.  You're entering into a simple barter agreement for goods or services.  I get something, you get something.  I intend for it to be pleasant for both of us, but if it gets out of hand, "I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."  My point?  Business catch phrases are not necessarily business policy.

You know another phrase that makes customers feel important?  Who has heard "the customer is always right?"  Everyone, no?  Of course you have, it's one of the biggest mantras in retail.  It is also the bigggest lie.

The "customer is always right" is often attributed to Henry Gordon Selfridge, a business man who originally used the phrase in advertisements for Marshall Field & Co. (now Macy's).  He later went on to start Selfridge's in London and was rich and successful.  Because of this he wrote a book with the absurd title of "The Romance of Commerce."  Clearly the man adored his bank account.  In it, Selfridge lauded the ancient business practices of Greece, China, and the East India Company speckled with his words of wisdom which amounted to little more than the kind of things one would hear from a coach before the big game.  Among them was the nugget "the customer is always right" and it is a three headed monster of doom.

The intention of the phrase was to instill in your employees the idea that you should behave as if the customer is always right, even if they are not.  In other words, don't be rude.  It's not meant to be taken literally as so many entitled customers, or even worse, young business owners feel it does today.  You want you're company to be seen as putting the customer first, but in reality, your business comes first, every time.  Every decision you make should be to advance your business goals and protect your brand.  Smart customers understand that while bad customers try and exploit it.

If you are operating a small business under the idea that the customer is always right, you are destined for failure.  I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but it's true.   It was a turn of the century advertising slogan and nothing more.  It was also used in conjunction with a sizable department store where the volume of business could allow for the occasional concession to an irate customer.  But let's face it, irate customers seldom have cause.  

Don't confuse emotion with cause.  If you messed up, make it right.  If they ordered a four tier cake and you only made three, it's cause.  If the invoice says chocolate and you delivered lemon, it's cause.  If they didn't realize their future father-in-law was allergic to strawberries and they had to call an ambulance to the reception and they want to yell at you about it, it's emotion.  You smile, you listen, you secretly clinch your fist behind the counter, you will totally bitch about it later to your friends, but then you pull out the order form and point out what they signed off on (you do make them sign it don't you?) and send your sincerest wishes for their father-in-law's speedy recovery.  And remember, unless you poured arsenic in the batter, you never "ruined" someone's wedding.  That's emotion talking.

Question: Customers who like to flaunt "the customer is always right" to gain free or discounted items are generally bad customers?  True, this is a customer fact!  I will stand by that till the day I die and it all comes down to the increasing sense of entitlement that is sweeping our society.  The current economy doesn't help, but people everywhere, especially younger generations, want more for less and it's not that that is wrong by itself, it's they feel they deserve it.  A customer deserves your attention, they deserve basic human respect, but they don't deserve anything they do not pay for and as the business owner, you set those parameters.

Two of the most shocking examples of entitlement I've ever seen both occurred at the same Sur La Table about a year apart.  The first involved a man who refused to accept the answer given to him by the assistant manager.  She told him that if he wanted to talk to the store manager, he could return tomorrow and even went so far as to say he could knock on the door about a half hour before they opened because the manager would be there. He didn't like that idea and insisted they call the store manager.  When they very kindly reminded the man it was the manager's day off, he said in a very loud voice, and I quote, "Well, he has a cell phone doesn't he?  Call him.  Unless you're telling me you don't have his cell phone number, which is a lie."  

WTF?  Dude wanted to invade another human being's well earned day off because why, he worked in retail?  Maybe he should have the right to drop by the company's owner's place and use the swimming pool too?  No, of course he can't!  And he doesn't have the right to ask for someone to come into work on their day off either.  He was being unreasonable and rude and before he left, flung some misogynistic remarks at the women behind the counter.  Buying a frying pan did not earn him 24 hour access to every employee in the company.  Bad customer.

I was at the same store recently and a woman was trying to return an item.  She had the receipt, she had the product in good condition, it was a simple return.  The cashier handed her back her money and the woman said, "wait, this item is $199 and you only gave me $170."  "Well," said the cashier, "it was on sale when you purchased it, so I can only refund you the purchase amount."  Instead of saying oh, whoops, didn't notice that, sorry, the customer said, "that's unacceptable.  It's $200 and I want $200 back."  Do I need to go on?  Do I need to point out how this customer was a complete and total idiot?  No, because you're smart business people, but I will say that this customer did go on.  And on and on and on.  She wasn't going to leave without money that was never hers.  She didn't deserve it, but she felt entitled to it.  Bad customer, possible petty thief.

And the thing is, I know we all want positive word of mouth so we tend to bend over a little to make that happen, but the simple reality is, unless Oprah is standing in front of you, the average customer has neither the pull nor the ultimate drive to do any serious damage to your business reputation.  The internet is flooded with people barking about something (heck, myself included!), very few actually listen (except you awesome Shop Talk readers who are amazing!).  I had a customer storm out yelling she was gonna tell all her friends and "ruin me."  Three days later one of her friends came in and bought a cake so we obviously know the pull she has with her friends.  People still respond to positive reviews way more than negative ones.  In my experience, do not live in fear of word of mouth.  If you're doing a good job, that performance will always win out.

"The customer is always right" is like the right to bear arms.  I don't disagree with the constitutional right to own a gun, but there is no way in a billion years that our founding fathers ever envisioned the type of massively destructive weapons or ammunition available today.  Similarly, Selfridge had no clue that society would evolve 100 years later to a place where people are constantly taking advantage of each other.  He never saw a customer come in and try and scam him out of a free pair of gloves because after all, the customer is always right!  He lived in a different time.  The phrase is from a different time.  It's outdated and it must go.  

The phrase is so false because it's not about right or wrong, it's about being a professional.  The Shop Talk message has always been about acting like a professional and presenting yourself to your clients as a professional.  No one is wrong, no one is right.  There is a product and a price and a negotiation.  It's business.  If it doesn't work out, there is no failure, there is no blame.  What I hope to impart to you today is that it is okay to step back and admit that this is not gonna work out.  Whether that's you have to let someone leave angry or you recognize a bad customer/problem bride and make up some pleasant excuse why you cannot work together, it's okay.  You can't please everybody and that is a phrase I can get behind!

Now take note, I'm not writing this for customers, I'm writing this for you, the cake shop business owner.  Customers should be treated well, they should be cared for and given the best customer service you can afford, but you can ever forget that you are the professional.  Your time is important, your ideas are important, your business is important.  Bad customers are real and one who's every wish is fulfilled regardless of whether or not it was earned can negate the value of all of that a lot more than one unhappy customer.  

Just remember all the friendly, happy customers you've experienced and let go of the bad ones.  Sometimes we dwell on the negative too much.  The truth is most of our clients have been great and we have loved helping them out with cakes for their big events and I bet you feel the same way.  Concentrate on the positive, be a professional, and never let some old sourpuss interfere with how fun and awesome it is to make cakes for a living!!

 

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Cakes and Copyrights

I started drafting this "Shop Talk" on copyrights back on July 3rd.  I can now see September from my couch!  I have never had a bigger headache in composing a post than this tangled web of double speak and vagueness known as copyright law.  In front of me is a small yellow pad filled with handwritten notes.  I had to create a whole new bookmark folder just for all the links and websites I've come across.  I've watched hours of online videos.  There is literally an endless stream of copyright information and all of that combined with my first draft of over 14,000 words (!!) has pointed me to one very simple answer: I am not smart enough to figure this out!

If you want to know if you can reproduce a copyrighted image, the smart money is on that technically you cannot.  For those of you who read up on our Facebook contest dilemma last week, the safest path is to just avoid it all together.  But obviously that is not what we want to hear as a business trying to sell cakes and satisfy customers.  We want to know what we can do, we want answers and solutions.  Prepare for disappointment my friends.

Copyrights vs. Trademarks

When cakers talk about getting sued by big a corporation, without fail Disney comes into the conversation.   It's not necessarily because they are an evil group of fun haters who want little children to have horrible birthday parties, it's because their characters are trademarked.  I know the title of our post concerns copyrights, but that only covers and protects the expression of ideas.  Trademarks are the ones that cover logos and brand names and how they are sold or used to identify products and companies.  Some logos can be both copyrighted and trademarked but only if there is enough "authorship" in the logo to be considered worthy of a copyright.  Copyrights are about works of art (books, paintings, songs etc.) so something like the Nike Swoosh is more of a trademark.  That is why Disney has it's characters trademarked, not copyrighted.  They are more an image than an idea.

Why is that an important distinction for you as a decorator?  Because by law, trademarks must be enforced.  Disney has to actively monitor and obtain legal action against companies violating their trademark or they could lose it.  Trademarks are meant to wholly and completely define the image of a company and if you let someone else use it then you are saying that (in the case of Disney) Mickey Mouse does not represent your company anymore and you could lose trademark protection of that character.

So, if you're asked to faithfully recreate something that is a trademark, there is a greater risk of gaining attention.  Think about what it is they (client) want to do.  A fully sculpted Mickey Mouse, that could be a problem.  An Xbox cake?  Well, the logo is trademarked, but the shape of the console?  Not so much.  What about recreating the mop scene from Fantasia?  Just the dancing mops cleaning the floor all by themselves is part of a copyrighted film (story), but you're not including any trademarks (no Mickey!).  That would be harder to prove you were violating anyone's rights because you are interpreting a work of art which leads me to the murky world of....

Fan Art

Does the world of cake decorating fall under fan art?  That is the question I have been asking myself since I started this topic.  I live in the world of comics and walk around convention after convention in an industry where fan art is everywhere.  It is expected, so when an artist sells a sketch of a character that they didn't create (say a Stormtrooper) no one really bats an eye.  Now, you can't obviously make and sell a comic with Spiderman in it, you can't order up 5000 prints of your Spiderman art to sell online without the license, you can't charge people to come see it in a museum, but when I approach you at your booth and ask for an 8x10 of Spiderman jet skiing with Ewoks while Batman watches from the pier, no one cares.  In fact, creators are often excited to see someone else interpret their property.  So, as cake artists, are we then creating fan art?  Maybe-ish??

Prepare for the ideas of "derivative work," "parody," and "fair use!"  I really need a glossary on this Shop Talk!!  Generally fan art is considered a "derivative work," hence you are using the settings and characters from a previously copyrighted work, but in a new way through your own artistic eye.  That covers probably 90% of what most of us do on cakes.  However, it is still unlawful to display or distribute (sell) this derivative work unless it can fall under fair use!!  When evaluating whether a work could be considered "fair use," a court would look at a number of things including how much of the original work is used, the interpretive nature of the new work and most interestingly to us as cakers "the economic effect that the derivative work imposes on the copyright holder's ability to make and exploit their own derivative works."  (To clarify, a sequel to Toy Story is considered a derivative work of the original movie regardless of who makes it.)  

In other words, while it could be within the right of the trademark holder to sue you, if you made a $50 birthday cake commissioned by a client, it would take a hard hearted judge to levy a penalty against you, at least nothing substantial, because you hardly are stepping on the toes of a big corporation like the proverbial Disney.  Now, if you are advertising that cake in a magazine or catalog to the entire country, then you are definitely interfering with the ability of the trademark holder to make money off of their property and that would be trouble.  Hint: the internet goes across the entire country.

The loophole's loophole is the glorious idea of free speech through "parody."  Now, this, as far as I can tell, has not really ever been tested in the cake world, but when you think of comedic parody such as Saturday Night Live or movie parodies, the courts have afforded some pretty extensive protection to the idea.  Political cartoons have also fallen under parody when they've done things like put Mickey Mouse ears on someone to denote they're acting like a child etc.  Can a cake fall under a parody?  Honestly, you would need a pretty sharp lawyer, but I would think the possibility is there.  Time may tell.

Blame The Client!

There's a lot of common sense arguments that we could apply to these situations like "the client asked for it."  Think of my Spideman with Ewoks commission example above.  I asked for it, so what's wrong with that?  Well, did your mom ever throw that "if he jumped off a bridge" argument at you?  You're an adult, you're a business owner, your actions are your own.  You do not get to blame someone else.

I've talked about it in our posts on consultations and it remains the theme of "Shop Talk."  You are a professional, act like it.  Explain to the client how you are taking a legal risk with their request and then tell them how you can interpret that theme to give them what they want but in your own creative way.  Convince them your idea will be better, but if they say no, and you feel uncomfortable taking money for the design, remember the safe route and just say no.

The Cricut & The Cake Pan

A quick primer on the idea of "licensing" a property.  Some companies can buy the rights to distribute a copyright or trademark from the holder.  Toys, posters, coloring books, things like that.  Even beer can be licensed so say a company could brew the Danish Carlsberg recipe on American soil.  You buy the right, the license, to recreate that image or product.  So when you see super markets selling Spiderman cakes, it's because they are using decorations sold to them under a license.  Hint: if your client brings in a toy they bought for you to place on top of the cake, you didn't recreate anyone's trademark now did you?

I know a lot of you are Wilton faithful and you might be thinking, "well, what about the Spongebob cake pan I bought at the store?  Can't I use that to make cakes?"  Sure you can, but Wilton obtained the license for that image and that design based solely on the disclaimer that it is for "home use only."  They are selling you that pan considering you to be a hobbyist and legally, after that, they are washing their hands of you!  There is no transfer of rights from when you buy that licensed pan to use it commercially.  The simple answer to this then is to learn how to carve and sculpt your own cakes.  Sorry if this is harsh, but "Shop Talk" is about being a business and a professional and if you're baking and decorating the Wilton line of pans and selling yourself as a professional decorator with those designs, you have bigger problems than copyright law.

Now, the Cricut Cake is a whole different idea of licensing.  Shortly after the release of this machine, Provo Crafts tried to post on their website that the images and designs they were selling in their cartridges were intended for home use only and for crafting and hobby and were not to be used to decorate any cake being sold for profit.  The problem here is, no one owns the image of numbers.  There is no trademark holder on "7" out there!  A loosely outlined bear shape is not definable enough to warrant a trademark.  The Cricut is a tool and the for the most part, their designs are too vague and too common to be considered anything that deserves protection.  And once you start layering the cut outs and placing them on a cake, clearly you are into fair use/derivative work territory.  They also tried to do this after they sold you the product.  There's a reason we cannot complete a download of software without clicking "agree" on the user agreement.  You cannot backdoor someone into a contract.  Provo has since backed off of this because simply put, it is virtually unenforceable. 

The same goes for your generic Wilton (or other brand) cake pans.  A ball is not a trademark.  A skull, a train, a castle, these are all too generic to be protected.  Remember, Wilton is washing their hands of you after the sale, not trying to enforce any laws.  It is the licensed products of trademarks you have to be careful of.

Beyond The Cake

This is a little off topic from decorating, but I did want to touch on copyright issues in other areas of our business, specifically, our shop names.  There's a decorator in Australia who calls herself "Grace of Cakes."  I'm sure she thought this was super clever, and while I don't know about the international copyright laws or how Food Network and the producers of Ace of Cakes protected themselves, clearly this is flirting with a lawsuit.  It's like if I opened a theme park in Anaheim and called it Mizneyland.  Okay, they're gonna catch on.  If you make cakes using a Cricut and you market them on your website as your "Krikut" line of cakes, they might catch on.  Calling Spongebob "Spongerob," they're gonna catch on.  Simply put, be your own person, don't mimic someone else.  We have a hard enough time with copyrights in decorating, we don't need to invite that into our own brands!

My Brain Hurts!

In summary, the thing about all of this is scale and exposure.  Supermarket chains need to use pre-approved licensed products because they are large and attract attention.  If you're shop is next to Disneyland, you could attract attention.  If you're in New York or a major city, you could attract attention.  If you are doing a 5 foot tall Donald Duck for Make A Wish, you could attract attention.  

But, if you are just a local bakery and you have the occasional client who wants a birthday cake for 20 kids with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle piped on it, and you don't use that image to promote your business or add it to your example books, you should be okay.  I'm not saying you won't get sued, but discretion is key.  It will also be helpful to hone your ability to interpret a theme.  There's lots of ways to use color and the imagery associated with a trademark without recreating the protected symbol.  Because after all, you want to market your abilities and artistic sense, not someone else's right?  

But know this, if you're making money off of someone else's property, they have the right to come after you, period.  Managing your risk is the best option. 

Now, this post was, like I noted earlier, significantly longer in my first draft.  We're treading on legal subjects and I am no lawyer.  If you have one, consult them for their "real" opinion.  All I tried to do in this final draft is give you some talking points and buzz words to use in your own research.  My final advice is nothing more than that, advice.  

Please, please, please share your own experience and stories and research in the comments below!!  The more we can all talk and share our thoughts on this very tricky subject, the better it will be for all of us.  If you found something that contradicts what I've written, please let me know!  This is only the beginnings of a very long conversation and I am one very moderately intelligent man trying to make heads or tails of it all;)  Best of luck to everyone, especially me!!

And next week on Cake Talk, if I can stop my brain from throbbing after copyrights, we will discuss the customer!

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Networking

Really, this should be Chapter 1 in the "Shop Talk" book, and maybe it will!  Networking is the cornerstone of starting any business, one you will probably engage in before you even start selling your wares.  Your relationship with your industry and the business community around you is as important, if not more so, than your relationship with your clients.

Wait, hold up a second!  I should ask, does everyone understand how networking is different than marketing?  Marketing is selling your business to potential clients (customers).  Marketing is about generating revenue by creating awareness and positive buzz about your business to people looking to open their wallets.  Networking is business to business (B2B).  It is creating a web of colleagues and peers, like minded business owners and connected businesses.  For a cake decorator examples include florists, caterers, photographers, and cake suppliers.

Can you market to those you network with?  Absolutely!  Unless it's another cake decorator!!  It drives me crazy when I see shops posting on Facebook pages like ICES with comments like "hey, looking for a delicious cake? Call me."  No.  I make them too, that's why we're here, to talk about cake, not try and sell it to each other!  Okay, pet peeve venting over, on to the show.

Enter the Chamber

I recently had a conversation with one of my nearest and dearest friends about a coffee shop she was opening in Brooklyn.  She was asking for advice on getting her name out in the community and such and one of the first things I said was "join the chamber."  Now, the caveat is, if you don't have a brick and mortar shop, don't spend the money unless you really plan on participating in all of their events.  But if you have a shop, it can give you some traction, especially early on, with the local business community.

First of all, you'll get a plaque.  Plaques and awards and official looking documents always lend an air of legitimacy to your business.  Plus, they're cool.  Customers will trust you more with a chamber seal hanging by your register.  Second, they will promote and attend your grand opening.  At our grand opening, we had at least 40 chamber members (looking for free cake of course) and were presented with proclamations from the city and the county.  Sure, they're in a drawer as I write this, but if I got a frame big enough they'd look great on the wall!!  Third, the chamber is in with the local papers and will announce your grand opening with them and probably the paper will send a cub reporter out to photograph and cover your opening.  They usually have someone assigned to the chamber so you'll now have a contact at the paper.  Fourth, the chamber is filled with successful business owners who like to throw parties.  Lots of fundraisers and events for you to attend and shake hands or even better, bring your sweets to and win over the crowd!  

Our chamber had monthly breakfasts at various locales where we would meet up to hear about news from the community.  Each member then got 30 seconds to stand up and do a little "commercial" about their business.  For us, this is what really helped grow our profile in the community and raise awareness of what we do.  Meetings like that work to create a small army of business owners that can represent you in the community as they market and network during the course of their business day.

A couple warnings starting with you make cakes, be prepared for the donation phone calls!  You will get hit up for a lot of donations.  Make sure they're real donations for real events and that you're not being taken advantage of by some chamber member who wants a birthday cake.  Deliver to the event, not the chairman's house;)  Secondly, not all chambers are as good as ours.  We have an active chamber that strives to be a part of the community, you might not.  Research your chamber and if they seem like a dud, spend your networking budget somewhere else.  Of course, if you have the money, you could just join to get the plaque!  And finally, you get what you give.  Just signing up isn't enough, you need to participate.  Hint: one meeting every fourth month is not participating.

Group Therapy

Especially in larger cities, the networking group is a common sight.  They have titles like "Business Pros of The Lower Valley" or "Springfield Business Professionals."  They like the word "professional!"  But you get the idea, it's a club comprised of local business owners.  A good group will be a cross section of businesses from the entire selected area, not just the "fancy" side of town.  You will rarely find members from national chains like Target, but you'll probably see franchise owners alongside the mom and pop store fronts. 

Once you recognize the networking groups in your city, you will need to decide which one(s) to join.  Some will require a fee, some have application processes and interviews, some have wait lists, others might be aimed at businesses with a certain level of annual revenue (the fancy side of town folks).  Ask to see a mission statement (if it's not online already), talk to members etc. and make sure the group is a good fit for you.  Will you get enough out of your involvement to make it worth your time?  Do you even have the time to make meetings or attend events sponsored by the group?  You need to interview them as much as they will interview you.

Enter the sub category, and possibly the most useful to you as a cake business, of the wedding specific networking group.  A more accurate description would probably be a "referral group."  We all know what Wedding Wire is right?  Well, think of Wedding Wire on a localized scale.  These groups will be a collection of every vendor a typical bride and groom will need to plan their weddings.  Members are usually required to refer each other as they meet with potential clients and some groups might even offer incentives to do so.  There are wedding networks that only allow one business per category, such as cake, and others that will allow two or three.  If they have a dozen other cake shops already, joining won't do you any good.  A hint of exclusivity is a good thing...

...but it can also be a negative. I'll be honest, I have mixed feelings about these groups.  While the informal and "honest" world of networking with colleagues is one thing, the gang mentality of a group of wedding professionals can create a closed circle of localized bullies that is neither good for clients nor the business community as a whole.  I guess it all depends on what side of the fence you fall, but I've kept deposits because a bride's florist talked smack about us during their consultation and convinced her to cancel us in favor of their group's cake maker of choice.  Sometimes knowing the group your considering can also mean knowing those outside the group.  Make sure you're not joining up with one that engages in such anti-networking activity.  Everything is a client's choice, so you will work with every florist in the industry at some point.  You don't want to show up to a delivery to find a florist with a grudge because of the way your group operates, especially if they're bringing flowers for your cake!  You will represent the group and the group will represent you.  Choose wisely.

Handouts

Make a list of the types of businesses where some free samples could go a long way.  Teachers and realtors, the types of folk who have a lot of contact with the community.  Network with them, and you've got a believer who will spread the word all over town just like what you did with your fellow chamber members.  Added bonus: This is a wee bit of marketing too as it never hurts to have a realtor who likes to send sweets to their clients!

Business Cards

Thanks to Vista Print, this is often the first thing you will do when you decide to start your business.  Designing your business card is a step to legitimacy and boosts your confidence as you move toward the world of the self employed!  You don't have to be this guy, but don't just jump on the cheapest and quickest card you can.  If you hand over the Avery 5371 printed at home, it says you're not serious yet, you don't have the infrastructure to handle the business I could send your way.  Same goes for the free Vista Prints.  Upgrade to the glossy at least!

This article on Webdesigner Depot has 100 creative cards that should give you an idea of how much of an impact your card can have on your networking dollar.  Plus, it's fun to see the crazy ones like this:

There's so much involved in successful networking, I don't think I could even call this "Networking 101!"  It's more like 41!  Just remember that every time you step out to represent your business, there is potential to network.  No matter how unconnected someone's business might seem, they're trying to create their own slice of the American dream just like you and they could have an idea or a connection that you've never thought of before that will help both of you.  Never forget, you're not just a cake decorator, your a business owner.

Next week on Shop Talk, we discuss the awkward world of customer relations!!

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Human Resources

Welcome back to another edition of Shop Talk here on Merci Beaucoup's official blog, Happy Sugar Baking Land.  I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for the tremendous response to this blog series!  You've all been really kind and the compliments etc. make this cake spouse feel very good!  And because of all this, I will have a big announcement concerning Shop Talk very soon, so keep reading! Now on to the show!!

Hopefully, you are growing your business at a nice steady pace and developing a strong foundation.  If so, this will undoubtedly lead to you needing help.  No, I'm not talking psychiatry, but if you need a number for that, let me know;-)  I'm talking about the complicated and frankly frightening world of employees!  Careful, they bite!

We were very lucky, as you saw on Amazing Wedding Cakes, in that we could turn to our friend and colleague Marc.  We knew him both personally and professionally and that we could depend on him to provide Merci Beaucoup with quality workmanship.  Unfortunately for all of you, not everyone is gonna have the kind of collaborative relationship to call upon that Reva and Marc share.  That means you're gonna have to put on the "big kid" pants and venture out into the scary world of human resources!!

Do Your Homework!

Before you start getting into all the possibilities of being a boss, do your research!  There are waaaay too many variables for me to get into in this little blog, but make sure you gather everything you need to properly employ a fellow caker.  Double check insurance rates and requirements, payroll regulations, will you be offering any benefits, how do you plan on handling reviews and raises, overtime, breaks and lunches, contracts and non disclosure agreements, non-competition clauses, ADA requirements, and on and on and on.  Every city, every county, every state will be a little different on all of this.  If you have a lawyer, consult them.  Make sure you do everything right as much as possible.  

I will offer that an area young bosses make big mistakes is in breaks and lunches.  I was a manager at Lifetouch, the school portrait company, and corporate mistakingly advised us on when our crews should take lunch.  It was like a 15 minute mistake, but it was a 15 minute mistake that happened every day for 30 employees over 2 years!!  Our little territory ended up paying out over $50,000 to rectify that mistake in meal penalties and overtime etc.  The simple lesson, do your homework!!!  If you don't understand something, ask a fellow business owner or consult an expert.  Ignorance will never relieve you of liability in a lawsuit.

Interviews

Before we get to the "who" you should consider for your young "padawan" (Star Wars nerd test), let's discuss the process of actually figuring out if they're the right fit.  

My biggest complaint about the world of getting hired these days isn't the internet or the economy, it's that the people in charge of hiring are basically ignorant morons.  Is that harsh?  No, it's true and if you've had an interview in the last decade you know I'm right.  I cannot, no, I can tell you how many times I've been turned down for a job only to find out that the person they hired quit or was let go within a week of starting that position.  Five.  Five times I've been told I'm not right for the job only to discover they hired the wrong person for the job.  

Most "Human Resource Managers" B.S.'d their way into the job or the big boss just handed the responsibility of shaping their company to some low man on the totem poll.  They have no clue how to actually read people or evaluate their worth.  Here's a clue, if they have a question sheet ripped from "Hiring for Dummies," just walk out.  

Don't be that brand of ignorant moron.  Do not print out some form from the internet and expect it to tell you anything about the person sitting across from you.  This isn't a bank.  It's not Wal Mart.  We make cakes, a very personal, creative industry, so sit down and chat.  Look at their portfolio, ask them about their classes, their favorite shows and cake decorators, their inspiration, get to know them.  If you want to ask them to do a little test, you can, but again, I don't know how much that is gonna to clue you into their ability to represent your bakery.  You can earn skill, you cannot earn passion and creativity.

Reading Resumes

This section is as much for shop owners as it is a warning to job seekers.  I minored in English at university, but I majored in Communications.  So, how one attempts to contact me can either impress me or turn me off real fast.  

Rule #1: Typos.  This is just unforgivable in this day and age.  When I see a typo, I either think they couldn't be bothered to proofread their email etc., or the autofill on their iPhone sabotaged them... which they then failed to proofread.  If you can't take the time to proof your cover letter, why in the world would I think you were worth hiring?

Rule #2:  Grammar.  This is tough, because there are cultural and generational divides when it comes to slang and tone and a whole bunch of other things, but truth be told, I'm a grammar snob.  I easily trash a dozen emails a week, from potential clients even, because they have written me something so incoherent, so backwards, that I know I cannot communicate with this person.  Again, if you don't proof or care about the quality of your English, why would I want to work with you?  Not to mention, chances are you're not going to take the time to read the careful email I'm gonna send you back, ignoring my inquiries and directions.  Hence, now I'm wasting my time.  You're not writing a text, you're not emailing your buddy, this is business.  If you can't write in a professional, respectful manner, following the most basic rules of grammar, don't bother writing at all.

Rule #3:  Don't pad!  I know the difference between taking a class at Michael's and spending two weeks with Ron Ben Israel.  I also know what you did in the pastry program at Le Cordon Bleu.  Let it speak for itself, don't list your day on sourdough in your skill set!  Simple, concise resumes that honor the experience are best.  You're not gonna convince me you are a pastry chef after your 4 months at a Panera.  Just be honest and let me decide if you have the right experience.  

Interns

One positive from the cake boom of the 21st century is that there is an endless supply of pastry school students looking for internships.  Use them!  We've had a few in the past and they're great.  They want to learn and generally understand the importance of doing some of the lower end duties so they can get the total experience.  Make sure the local schools know who and how to contact you and chances are, they will.  Hit up the junior college and get in touch with your local Wilton instructor.  

There are paid internships (do your research!) and that can be a good way to go as well as it will attract better talent, but most interns will be students and will work for free.  As such, treat them well!  You will need to offer them a reason to be there, teach them something.  If you're not at that point in your career, an intern is not for you.  You have to offer them value as well as getting free work out of them.  Ask them what they want to learn and if you can give that to them, it's a good fit.  If they want to learn buttercream flowers and you're strictly a fondant person, neither of you will be happy.  Not to mention, it's probably a good idea to buy them lunch once in awhile!

Now, the downside is most of these interns will only be with you for a short time, but there is always the chance you will hit it off and they'll return come graduation!

Freelancers

Another way to go is to find a freelance cake decorator that you can call in when things get crazy.  Enter Marc.  Marc worked for us on a freelance basis.  He actually works for a number of people and if you have the skill and don't want to open your own shop, it can be a fun and exciting way to go.  As a shop owner though, if you happen to find a freelancer you trust, you need to set up guidelines concerning the ownership of the work, posting photos online etc.  A freelancer can leave at any time, but they shouldn't be taking your intellectual property or even worse, your client list with them!  Thankfully, 99% of you will never actually work with a freelance cake decorator, so you don't have to worry about it, but I wanted to make you aware of the option.

The Regulars

Now, if you plan on hiring the traditional employee with the wage and all, do your homework!!  Not just the do's and dont's of HR laws etc., but make sure you know your budget and whether or not you need full time or part time, weekends only, all of that.  Evaluate your needs.  Freelancers can come in whenever, interns can be moved around class schedules and the like, but an employee needs a schedule and they expect a schedule.  If they are relying on the job to pay bills, you can't wave them off the day before their shift because you don't have the work or money to pay them.  They will quit.  

And much like interns, employees need to learn.  I'm not big on reality TV (insert your "but aren't you..." comments here) but one show I really enjoy is Tabatha's Salon Takeover.  She's a no nonsense business woman and her advice to these hair salons is universal.  One thing she always stresses is the need for each salon to have an educator, someone who either once a week or once a month holds a training session for the staff to go over and teach technique.  We should be doing the same thing!  

A properly trained employee is an asset, one you have to stop and explain things to all the time is a liability.  Make time outside of your normal business hours to hold classes with your employee(s) and bring them up to speed.  Watch videos with them, learn together, just make an effort to progress their skill.  You'll earn loyalty and improve your business.  Remember, when they get good, you can take days off!!!

The Bad News

If you take on employees, at some point you will have to unload employees.  It's just the natural order of things.  Now, I don't know all the rules, and they will vary depending on your state, county, city etc. (do your homework), but make sure you understand the rules for firing someone.  And no matter how you word it, you are firing them.  Don't dress it up and pretend you're doing them a favor.  You're not, but you can be a compassionate human being and give them what they need both physically and emotionally to move on. 

At one time I explored a certain MLM opportunity with an insurance/financial institution.  I spent a couple days in a classroom setting learning about insurance procedures and while I bowed out shortly after, the teacher was a fascinating guy who had once worked security at a big, west coast Washington Mutual campus with about 400 employees.  He would tell me these stories about firing people that were amazing and he got called in to testify often when former employees would sue WaMu.  See, there are all kinds of things you cannot do when firing someone.  For example, did you know you cannot do it in a room with the door closed?  You also cannot sit between the employee and the door.  Basically, there can be no blockage of exits!!  Crazy huh?  He had to testify that that stuff didn't happen.  I doubt you'll have these situations in your small shop, but you never know.  Do your homework!

Again, I cannot stress enough that human resources is a strange and complicated labyrinth.  Not the fun Labyrinth with David Bowie and Muppets, but a murky, confusing one with all kinds of traps and pitfalls to make your life miserable if you allow it.  Follow your gut when hiring, and remember that personality and a happy work environment can overcome talent most days of the week.  Just do that homework, consult those who know, and make sure your ducks are all lined up in a pattern that ducks would like.  I think the row make 'em nervous. 

Next week we talk shop about something your shop needs talking to about!!

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Branding Part 2 - The Logo

Let's get logo my friends!!  That was supposed to be like "let's get loco" only I said "logo", get it?  Man, tough room.  Maybe I should go back and re-read the first part of Branding on getting too cute ;)  Do as I say, not as I do, right?

Well, what I said to do was carefully select your name, and now that you've overcome that hurdle, it's time to visualize that name into a logo!  You'll need an image that represents your company on everything from business cards to shirts to web pages and maybe even a tattoo!!  Seriously, anyone tattoos our logo on them, they get a free cake and that's a challenge!  But if you're more traditional like say, letterhead traditional, then choosing your logo is as important as choosing your name.

Logo-a-go-go!!

Remember our "iconic simplicity" theory from "Branding: Part 1?"  It might go double for logos, even triple.  Take for example the golden arches of McDonald's.  In any language, you know what that is and what awaits you behind the door.  I don't even have to describe it to you, you can see it in your head.  Mercedes Benz, it's in your head.  Apple, it's in your head.  Pepsi, it's in your head.  Even Starbucks has altered their logo recently to remove "Starbucks" because their mermaid has become so recognizable!  That is success!  

I'm not saying you can control how iconic your logo will become, let's not pretend we're gonna develop the infamous lips design of The Rolling Stones, but you can certainly take steps to avoid some common pitfalls.

To Clip Is Not Art!

Let's not beat around the bush, Rule #1: avoid clip art!!!  I just did a simple search for "wedding cake clip art" and within a a few minutes found multiple people using the same generic cake clip art in their logo.  You are turning me into an ad for Google people!  If it's free and it's clip art, someone is already using it!  Find a friend, find a relative, do a trade with a local artist or an art student, but get something that is yours, not yours and mine and ours.

A Clip Art Tale of Woe:  Soon we will elaborate here on our first shop, the now defunct Michele Pastry Cafe, but that is a long story filled with lessons for us all and will have to wait.  But there is a lesson in clip art to share.  When we were looking to brand the new shop, we worked with a young graphic designer who took our color scheme and came back to us with with a cute little cake logo with a butterfly in a soft blue palette, I even thought she snuck in an "R" for Reva on the side.  However, about a year after we closed Michele, an artist friend of mine saw it and said "oh, I just saw that on a new clip art program I got."  Sure enough, a higher end clip art program was offering that butterfly.  Now, I will give it to our "designer" that at least she didn't use some freebie from the web, but still, we were lead to believe she created this just for us when all she did was cut and paste and send us a bill.  Anyone could've had that logo.  

The Hummingbird and The Cupcake

That's why when we were gearing up for Season 3 of "Amazing Wedding Cakes," we had this logo created:

We are beyond fortunate to have such a wonderful friend in artist C.J. Metzger.  She took Reva's whimsical sensibilities and meshed them with her own vision to come up with our little hummingbird trying to get a sugar buzz off a buttercream rose.  You fly that fast you need some sweets don't ya?  It's simple, it's original, it has the ability to portray what we do even without words.  It's kind of funny too, since we're not really a cupcake place (we rarely do them), but for the scale of the bird and the simplicity factor, that is the direction we went.  

And now it is everywhere!  We make buttons and shirts and business cards and headers for websites and on and on and on and all with the peace of mind that C.J. gave us something truly original and with the potential to become iconic. 

Art Patronage

Whether you have a friend or colleague willing to work on the cheap to create your logo or you need to hire someone, it's important to open up the communication.  C.J. is a friend, so it was easy to work together.  She gave us 4 pencil sketches to chose from before she painted up the piece.  Yes, our logo is actually an original painting as well that hangs in our living room!  Get options.  Don't just accept the first thing down the pipe if you're not in love.  If the design isn't working out, ask what other ideas they have.  

One thing you want to make sure to tell your artist is to limit the colors used.  When it comes time to print, if you have a dozen colors, it can get pricey.  Since ours is a painting, to recreate it in full and faithful color would require a 15 color process!!  For a shirt with that screen print. we'd have to charge like $40.  Whoops!  So we have to have it slightly altered digitally to mute some of the colors and bring it down to a more manageable number.  Darn that cute hummingbird!

When it comes time to receive your artwork, don't forget to ask for it in a number of different file formats.  You should be getting a JPG, a GIF, a PNG, and a PDF at least.  As you maneuver through different printers etc., they will use different formats, so be prepared for every occasion; have a low res and high res version available.

Putting the Font in Fondant?

Let's discuss your type of type!  Let's face it, our industry is all about frills and curves and lace and delicate imagery.  From scroll work to Lambeth piping, the ability to work in intricate patterns is what can really separate the beginners from the pros.  However, the exact opposite can be said for your choice of font!!

My drawers are littered with old business cards in which we went with some pretty script font with a fancy name like "porcelaine" or "renaissance."  All of these cards have one thing in common, they're impossible to read!  Script fonts look pretty and all, but the smaller the writing gets, the thinner the lines are and therefore, harder to read.  If someone can't read your name or title or phone number or, *gasp*, your company name, you're in trouble.  Always give it the business card test.  This will be your smallest form of marketing, giving out thousands in a single year, so you have to be able to read it at that scale.  It needs to be bold and clear, save the fancy script for invitations to your grand opening!

I'm staring at a box right now that has "Lowe's" on the side.  (It's filled with styrofoam cake dummies if you must know.)  They're probably 2.5 inch letters and I could read this box from 100 yards easy.  Think about Starbucks or Target and how big and blocky they are.  I'm not saying you can't find a more "artsy" font to use, but if it won't let you raise it's size to 72 pts. or higher in your word processor, it's probably not a good idea!  Research fonts (not just the ones in the pull down tab in your word processor!), there are thousands and thousands, and pick something that is a good medium for your style sensibilities and the need for it to be legible.

Examples

When I was pinning up note cards to the board with "Shop Talk" ideas, it was this logo from 4 Goodness Cakes in Texas that inspired me to break up the "Branding" card into multiple parts, giving logos there own entry.  A great example of simplicity and brand recognition, the first thing I notice is the color palette.  We are guilty of this more than most, but the cake world is filled with pinks and light blues and browns to the point of being cliche.  Here we get a nice blue and green combination, a little more masculine or perhaps "powerful" is a better word.  You also get that oversized "4" which to me, is reminiscent of your local news channel's logo, something we are familiar with and that instills a level of comfort.  The cake shape tells you all you need to know and the type is bold and easy to read.  All in all, when I saw this, I thought it was an excellent logo, easy to print up on shirts and merchandise and I can see it hanging on a sign or the side of a van.  

Another logo that struck Reva's eye recently was this cute one from Ruth Rickey.  Her exact words were, "it's Ruth!"  Crafting your brand in your image can be a real homerun, like this one.  It is cute and puts a face on a company that also bears her name.  And notice the limited color palette on both of these?  Easy to print!  How about the font?  Bold and readable!  I love it when my genius is backed up by other people's genius;)  

Pay Later or Pay Now!!

If you cannot afford or find an avenue to get your perfect logo right away, then by all means don't toss money at a temporary fix!  No, clip art is not the answer, but if all you can do is grab a line art cake and type over the top of it in an online photo editor, then save your cash now for something better down the line.  You don't want to have to change your logo in 2 years because you couldn't get what you wanted in the first place.  It's an important step for sure, but patience will pay off in the long run if you're tight in the bank account.

Alright, that's all I've got on branding for today!  Tune in next week for more Shop Talk when we discuss... something!  I really don't know what yet, I haven't decided, but you know me, I'll blabber on for 2000 words without fail;)  Have a great week everyone!!!

 

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Branding Part 1 - The Name

Hands down, one of my favorite TV shows right now is Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory on MTV.  I actually worked in the skateboard industry out of college (where a lot of my concept of "branding" was born) and met Rob a couple times.  He's a smart, charismatic dude and a sharp business man.  On one episode of the show, he tells his cousin Drama, who has his own clothing line called Young and Reckless, that he has to "live his brand."  They play it up in the show as meaning he needs to do crazy stunts, but when you look into the heart of that phrase, it's pure gold.

You have to live your brand, you have to be dedicated to it and love it and flaunt it at all times and that can become impossible if you're brand blends in with everyone else out there in the market.  Before you start your business, you need to give serious consideration to the who and the what of your future brand, you need a strategy. 

What's In A Name?

The answer is everything.  It's all in the name!  Take for example ours, Merci Beaucoup.  How did we come up with it?  The short answer is it was on a stamp Reva was using to mark her cake boxes.  The long answer is we wanted something French, something that evoked the rich history of pastry from that nation.  We loved the Eiffel Tower and the fleur de lis as design elements and we knew that if we used a foreign language, it needed to be a common enough word or words that the majority of English speaking Americans would get it.  We could debate how successful we were with that last part as more than a few people called in the early days asking for "Marcy," but it's been pretty good otherwise.  

Philosophically, the name Merci Beaucoup fits into our concept of dessert being a sweet "thank you" at the end of the meal.  A wedding cake in particular is a way to thank your guests for attending your special day.  Simply put, we're helping you say "merci beaucoup" to your friends and family.

So let me ask you this, did you put that much thought into your name?  Or better yet, do you think you've put enough thought into your name?

Originality

I love our fans, you guys and gals have given us so much love and been so awesome.  We are proud to be a part of this cake community, but sometimes... sometimes you baffle me.  I recently asked people to link to their pages on Facebook so I could find them and "like" them back.  More than a few required me to search their business name to find their page (see "tagging" in our Social Media post!) and I got back about a dozen businesses all with the same name or a very close rearrangement of it.  It took a lot of effort to find the correct page.  Before you commit to your new brand, Google it.   

I think most of you know that Reva spent a short time working for a place called The Cake Divas.  At that time, they were in a back and forth over trademarks with a woman who called herself The Cake Diva.  What's in an "S" right?  Well, as of an hour ago, a simple Facebook page search turned up nine different businesses using some form of "cake diva."  Beware the buzz words of our industry!  Beware using titles like diva or boss or princess.  Do your homework, don't fall into a crowd.

The Artist Route

Awhile back an artist buddy of mine, the great Otis Frampton, Tweeted something to the effect of "if you're an artist online not using your real name, you're an idiot."  Now, I'm paraphrasing Otis' words, he's much too nice to call you an idiot, but his intention was clear: if your brand is yourself, you shouldn't be confusing potential clients by also marketing a persona. You have to chose, one or the other.

If your brand is you and you want to establish yourself as a cake artist, then using your name is a great idea, but don't go overboard.  You don't need to be Princess Sheila's Cakes.  Sheila's Cakes is just fine.  You don't need to inject common adjectives like "yummy" or "sensational."  If you choose to use your name, then keep it simple, keep it direct.  If you specialize, like cupcakes or cake pops, include that but don't mislead either.  Don't call yourself Sheila's Perfect Pastries if you don't actual make pastries.  And hint, cake pops are not a pastry.  Okay, now that I've annoyed someone named Sheila out there....

Remember to Google!  If you have a common name like Jenny, I'd bet you good money there are at least 20 variations on "Cakes by Jenny" out there already.  Reva is not a common name, and there is another woman out there operating as Reva Cakes or something like that.  Luckily, we chose Merci Beaucoup, but if you want the personal touch, be open to try new things like initials etc.  Explore, play, write a hundred different ones down and take a poll of your friends.  But most of all, through all my advice especially, chose something you're comfortable with!  If you're gonna use your name, you've got to be proud of it!

Quick quiz: what is the name of Buddy's shop on "Cake Boss?"  Even if you're a super fan, you might have a hard time deciding if it is Carla's or Carlo's.  The fact is TLC has marketed him as the Cake Boss and while there is no doubt as to the benefit to his business for his time on "Cake Boss," the average viewer (not super cakers like you!) has no idea what his shop is really called.  Not to mention, someone didn't Google!  The Cake Boss bakery software has been around longer than the show.  Conflicting brands anyone?  

I see the same thing here in L.A. with High Voltage tattoo.  That is Kat Von D's shop widely known as "L.A. Ink."  High Voltage is painted across the top of the shop, but they still have a giant window sign of the "L.A. Ink" logo, or else no one knows it's her.  She has Kat Von D, High Voltage and L.A. Ink, three brands fighting for attention in one small store front!  Yikes!

The Cutesy Route

The subheading for this should be "beware your own sense of humor!"  I call this the "Site for Sore Eyes" syndrome.  At this point in time, there is no play on words, nor cute spelling, nor witty baking reference that has not been used somewhere in the world.  We've all seen the "cup cakery," we've all been willing to "bake your dreams come true," we've all "got what it bakes."  We've seen "Kakes" and we've seen "Kups."  There's nothing wrong with trying to be witty, or of course being true to yourself and your new brand, but the cutesy route is kind of like the Dark Side of the Force; once you start down that path, much evil awaits you.  You need to think twice, think thrice, then think 22 more times before committing to the cute, or even worse, the "kute!"

Example:  I will change the names for their protection, but I recently came across a name that was akin to Karla's Cake Kreations.  Thankfully, they avoided a horrible mistake in calling it "Karla's Kake Kreations," better known as the KKK!  But what did happen was they got cutesy with the spelling of one word and not the other. You have to think forward, you have to cover your angles.  "Cake Kreations" looks awkward and like perhaps you actually think that's how you spell "creation."  This isn't switching the "R" backwards in Toys R' Us!  Purposefully misspelling a word is a bold move, and one that can give the impression you're not a serious business owner.

Being too cute can lead to a feeling of unprofessionalism and if there is one recurring theme in these Shop Talk blogs it is that to be a serious business owner, you need to present yourself as a professional.  The choice is yours, the portmanteau possibilities abound, but think and Google and make sure it is a brand you will feel proud of in 10 years.  That is to say, something like "iCakes" is probably not the best option.  Plus, Apple will totally sue you ;)

Embracing Your Environment

Honestly, I gotta say, Charm City Cakes is a brilliant name.  You can basically never go wrong with a nod to your neighborhood, city, or state.  Not to mention the three "Cs" offer up some interesting logo possibilities.  Interesting street name?  Use it.  Love your neighborhood?  Use it.  Empire Cakes, Rose City Cupcakes, Five Burroughs Cakes, Panhandle Pastries, Great Lakes Cakes, Big D Cake Pops, Windy City Sweets, 4th Street Bakery, it goes on and on.  I just made all those up, but chances are, I could Google and find at least one of them in business today.  Geography is a great way to create a sense of community and immediately involve yourself with the locals.

KISS

Keep it simple silly!!  This is a lot coming from a guy writing you a 1500 word essay on naming your business, but the goal of any great company is to be as iconic in simplicity as possible.  Ford.  Four letters and yet one of the greatest brands ever created.  Sony.  Coke.  Apple.  Gap.  Elvis.  They don't even tell you what they do in their name, but the brand is so strong, you read that list and think electronics, soda, computers, clothes, music without thinking twice.  It doesn't matter what you're selling, the easier it is to print on a sign, the better.

Putting "cake" or "bakery" in your name is not a bad idea, but don't list everything you do like your filling out a resume.  A (bad) example would be say "Mike's Midtown Cakery and Cupcake Shoppe: Purveyors of Cake Pops, Cookies and Designer Treats."  Where should I have stopped?  "Mike's Midtown Cakery" right?  That pretty much said it all, I didn't need to spell out all the other stuff and frankly, calling it a "cakery" implies I make cakes, adding the other stuff is confusing my business model.

Another way to look at the KISS rule is too much dilutes your brand.  I see a lot of smaller cake people also offering things like party planning.  That's great!  Run two businesses, but don't cheap out and try and market them together.  "Joe's Cakes and Event Planning" sounds like you're not sure what you want to do with your life and therefore, maybe you're not that good at either.  It's like having your dry cleaner double as your notary!  Business cards aren't that expensive, have one for "Joe's Cakes" and one for "Parties by Joe."  

So, have your name yet?  Wanna rethink it?  Feeling doubtful about the potential power of your brand?  Good.  If you want to succeed you need to be tough on yourself, you need to be willing to accept your mistakes.  Picking a name should be hard, it should take time because it's the foundation for your entire brand.  And when you do decide, love it, share it, live it!

In two weeks we'll return with Part 2 of our Branding discussion where we address the finer points of choosing your logo!

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Photography

Those who know me, know I've always been a photography nerd.  I was often seen cruising around my high school with my trusty Canon EOS 650, snapping pix for yearbook or just because.  I was the guy who lugged around a point and shoot before it was so easy to take candids with small digital cameras and your mobile phone.  Well, before mobile phones really!  I always had a pocket full of 35mm and was ready to go.  Wait... is that why that girl at Scandia asked me if I was happy to see her?  Blast, I was never good with the ladies!

Naturally, when Reva began Merci Beaucoup, I was more than keen to take up the photo end of things, often snapping 40 or 50 shots of even the simplest cakes.  We'll get to how I manage those files later, but in today's media soaked world, you need to be on top of documenting your work visually and a savvy business pro will do a lot more than setting up a Flickr account or creating a desktop file.  Strike a pose shop talkers and let's get....

Candid About Cameras!

If I had written this a couple years ago, we'd be talking megapixels and memory cards, but in today's digital marketplace, unless you're buying a pink Barbie camera for $20 at the checkout stand of a backwater gas station, chances are it is a fairly good piece of technology.  Still, you want something better than your camera phone.  Those are great for quick tweets, but even with the advances in cell cameras, they still look blah.  Your website or example books will look unprofessional filled with your iPhone pix, so grab a dedicated camera.

This is the point where I'm supposed to recommend something isn't it?  The big digital SLRs are awesome (the Nikon D90 et al.), but unless you have a lot of expendable income, they're not necessary.  A good solid point in shoot by a trusted brand will be fine.  I always like Canon, but have had great luck with Olympus over the years.  Well, except for the time I dropped one in a toilet in Michigan, but that's another story!  We have one of each right now.  Our Canon Sure Shot is newer, and has slightly better quality in low light, which is great for those darkened banquet rooms.  Just make sure you do a little comparison shopping online first and that you find the best camera you can for your budget. 

Memory Lane

Not all memory cards are equal!  There are different classes and the higher the class, the faster it will write information.  It's not imperative that you have a "pro" card (like a class 10), but I do notice a difference and if you're shooting any sort of video through your camera, especially high definition, you need a quality card.  HD will not write to the $10 card next to the checkout.  It is also a good idea to have a spare card in your bag, so budget that into your spending.

The image here is from the brand PNY.  It is readily available and the most affordable brand on the market.  (They also make good thumb drives.)  From my experience, they've been great and beat the hell out of the higher priced brand names like SanDisk.  

The Power of Three

I'm talking tripods folks and not the skimpy cheap ones either!  Invest in a quality tripod, do not pick one up in the camera aisle at Target!  If it is less than say $80, chances are it will not be solid enough to withstand travel in your car and repeated set up and tear down.  It could even fall over in wind or from faulty leg mechanisms.  You need it to be solid, durable, and stable.  If you are taking photos of your cakes to post on the web or social media etc., you should bite the bullet and invest in a good tripod now, not later.  Personally, I recommend something from Manfrotto.  I have a "3029" which is a simple little tripod that has survived multiple environments for over six years now and it shows no sign of fading.

Of course, without one there's never three!  I also love having a monopod at the ready.  They're smaller, easier to lug around, and in good lighting will provide you with the stability you need to take good close ups of your cake.  I also prefer them when using a video camera as they give me the mobility to move around quickly.

WARNING:

Have you seen these suspects above?  They are cute and portable and will attempt to win you heart, but they are not the answer for your cake photos.  They simply do not have enough versatility for the wide range of situations that will pop up over your cake career.  Save them for your family camping trips!

Technique

Nothing is worse than a straight on, vertical photo of a tall cake.  There's no scale, there's no flavor.  It looks like it belongs in a dry encyclopedia from the 60s.  Go Dutch!!  Put some tilt on your lens, get the camera up high and look down at that gorgeous topper you just made or sling it down low looking up with an ant's eye view.  Experiment!  Yes, you can grab your basic eye level photo, but if there is a flower on there that looks incredible or first class piping, don't walk away without a good picture of your work.  

Coverage

Take photos!!  Take different angles, close ups, shoot looking up, shoot looking down, shoot shoot shoot!!  Get yourself in the picture, get the flowers in the picture, the cake cutter, take a pic of it in the car etc.  It is always better to delete crappy photos later than realize you only took two and they're both fuzzy.

A Home Studio

If you want to take some good shots before the delivery, you might want to consider investing in some lights or having a well lit area in your kitchen etc. where you can set up the cake.  Movable track lighting is a good source of light, allowing you to "fill in" shadows.  The most important thing is to have a clean background.  The area should be free of clutter.  Save the spattering of corn starch and dirty spatulas with the cake sitting on a turntable for your informal Facebook updates.  When photographing for your website or books, you want the cake to be the center of the attention.

The Upload Conundrum

OMG, do I have cake photos all over like five computers!!  My life is buried beneath cake photos!!  We could talk for days about all mistakes and successes in managing our photos, but here's a few highlights:

• First, buy a dedicated external hard drive for your cake pictures.  Something in the 500 GB range at least.  
• Second, upload everything, but save and sort only the chosen few.  The sooner you can look at your pix and make editorial decisions about which ones are best, the better.  A good rule of thumb is to not keep more than 10 shots of any one cake.  
• Third, create folders in your hard drive.  Divide by date, or theme or whatever works for you, but small folders with under a 100 photos are easier to navigate when looking for that one particular cake.  Has "weddings" gotten too full?  Then create weddings 2 and 3 and 4 or weddings 2006 part 1.  
• Fourth, keep a folder marked "best" in which you put those photos that just stand head and shoulders above the rest.  There's some magic in the shot and you know it is worthy of being your fan page's profile pic or the cover of a magazine.  
• Fifth, after you have the top shots, make decisions about where you want to put them online.  Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr etc.  But wait!!!  Before you do that, watermark them!  Slap your name across that thing like you're tagging a New York City subway train!  That's your cake, own it!
• Sixth, buy another external hard drive and backup your first one!  You can never backup enough!!

Study Up!

There are great photo books in your local bookstore as well as an endless amount of advice and videos online about photography.  Check something out, and give yourself a good primer, especially on lighting.  I like DIY Photography online, a good site with a range of articles for beginners to pros.  Also look at different photo heavy magazines for inspiration, not just cake mags.  Truthfully, most photographers snapping cakes for a magazine just want to get the job done and collect a paycheck, so seeing how different objects are represented in more artistic endeavors can only help you.

All in all, have fun with it and let your imagination take over!  Like I said, better to delete crappy pix than not have a good one.   

Alright, next week we will get to the subject of branding!!  Have a great week cakers!

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Efficiency Tips

I posted on Facebook awhile ago asking if there was anything in particular people wanted me to address here in our "Shop Talk" series.  The majority of responses seemed to be in need of some tips and tricks on managing their time.  Understandable, especially when you look back at our first "Shop Talk" about pricing and the importance of valuing your time.  Obviously if you can streamline your process without sacrificing quality, you can raise the value of your time without necessarily raising your prices.  That makes customers happy and you happy.  Win win!!

The tips below are just some of the things we try and do to keep ourselves focused and moving along.  Everyone works differently, so these are not rules, just suggestions.  Your mileage will vary.  Efficiency though is not just about where do I place the mixer or when should I bake, it is about your environment and your habits.  Such as....

Take a Break!

I thought it'd be cute if I led off with how to stop work first.  I'm a smartass that way, but it is absolutely true, you have to know when to step back and sit down.  The return on your time (how much work you get done and the quality of that work) drops dramatically the more you try and "push through" a project.  Yes, there are times when things have to get done and you need to suck it up and finish, but as you go make sure to give yourself that snack break or a few minutes to check your email or phone a friend.  Maybe you want to watch the latest episode of The Office, do it.  Get off your feet, enjoy a beverage, it all helps keep you operating at peak efficiency.  Just remember, take it easy in moderation, you've still got work to do ;-)

White Noise

As a writer, this is a huge debate amongst my colleagues.  Teachers would always tell us to work in silence, but the truth is, a lot of us perform better with a little background noise.  It occupies parts of our brain that aren't focused on our current task and gets us firing on all cylinders.  Music can, and most likely will, help you make it through your day easier.  It also makes you happy!!  We even have a DVD player handy and "watch" movies while working.  An added bonus of this type of white noise, is it gives you good time markers.  If in your head you thought stacking the cake was gonna take an hour and suddenly the music stops on that hour long CD.... uh oh!  You're not working as fast as you thought.  Maybe you need a quick break and then double your efforts?

Information Overload

When taking orders, you need to know everything.... EVERYTHING!  Ask about florists, venues, colors, what kind of table the cake is gonna sit on, where is that table and on and on and on.  Know the wedding as much as you can and that will sit there, in the back of your mind, helping you in the decorating process.   Have all that info handy, along with sketches etc., maybe up on a nearby bulletin board.  If you have to go digging through files to double check what color the eight foot flower bouquets on either side of the cake table are, you're wasting time and adding unnecessary frustration to your day.  Take everything you know and make a checklist!  If you can order it in the sequence it needs to be done, even better.  You should earn a doctorate on every cake you create.

Mise En Place

There's an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations where he goes back to the restaurant he used to work the line on and hops back into the fray.  It is a great episode, one every aspiring chef should see, but what I recall most vividly is his preparation for the night.  The way he folds his towels, where he wants his ingredients, the selection of knives, everything has to be in its place or "mise en place."  Take the time to prep your area and have everything you need around you or at least know where it is so you can grab it quickly.  This goes back to the checklist above.  Know what you need, gather it, and you can move forward concentrating on decorating.

Cleanliness is Next to Buttercream

You got time to lean, you got time to clean!  Okay, I know, we rarely have time to lean, but it rhymes better than "if you notice your workspace is dirty, you should probably tidy up."  Your tools, your table, your mixers, everything should be kept as clean as possible while working.  I'm not talking spotless, but have your towels handy and wipe down surfaces quickly and move scraps etc. to the garbage as you go.  Don't save it for later, because later you're gonna be too tired to want to clean.  Or you can be like Reva and have your husband do it!  What a schmuck.... wait a second, that's me!

Storage

This feels like a never ending battle in our kitchen!  We buy so many different types of storage at different stores for different things at different times that it becomes really hard to sync them all up.  Buying in bulk would be the best option, and with a cookie cutter collection topping 1000, believe me I am getting close to figuring out a permanent solution for that disjointed pile!

Ideally, you want to have the same brand so that they stack nicely and won't slide all over the place.  Also avoid "snap" type lids that just sit on top.  You want some sort of locking mechanism that secures the lid to the bin.  The snap kind warp and fall off and if the bin is too full they won't snap into place at all.  You end up with a bunch of open plastic containers and a garbage full of lids!  It gets messy.  

Recently I discovered these plastic bins at Office Depot called "Really Useful Box."  They have over 40 sizes ranging from .14 liters up to 145 liters!  (They're British!)  I originally got a few small ones for buttons, but I really like them and will probably use them for more stuff down the line like petal dust, molds etc.  Pretty affordable too and they have a bunch of colors if you're so bold as to try and color code your supplies;) Check 'em out at Office Depot or their website I linked above.  I think Staples has them as well.  Now if only they'd give me free swag for mentioning them... hint hint Really Useful!!

A Trip to Sears

... or somewhere you can take a look at a good selection of toolboxes.  Yes, I'm talking Craftsman tool chests with wheels and everything.  I've been wanting to get Reva this one at Lowe's that is taller than both of us and has a stereo in it, but there are great smaller ones with plenty of storage and even a couple models with a work top and cup holders!  They're great for your growing collection of rolling pins and spatulas and all the other little tools you'll collect as you go.  And while you're there, check out smaller, handheld tool boxes because....

Caking On The Go!

When you start doing more deliveries, it will be extremely helpful to assemble a kit of all the basics that you might need on site to fix and finish off the cake.  A couple spatulas, scissors, ribbons, tape, glue gun, pins, dowels and skewers, a knife or two and then we always have some pastry bags with buterrcream or anything else we would need for that specific cake.  This kit should be cleaned after every delivery and then repacked and kept separate from your regular tools.  That way, a couple of additions and you're ready to go every time and you don't have to think about it, you're just (mostly) prepared automatically.  You can even keep it in your car in case you stumble upon a cake disaster on the freeway and jump in like an off duty doctor!  "This cake is losing filling fast, I need 400 cc's of buttercream stat!"  

That's just the tip of the iceberg really.  Efficiency is all about personalizing your space and your habits to get the most out of your time and your abilities.  It could be realizing its time to invest in a bigger table or a cushy floor mat to keep your feet happy or it could be discovering you like to have an apron on with a couple of your favorite spatulas in the front pocket.  I do highly suggest the toolkits and the mise en place, but you're gonna have to be aware of what works for you so you can do your best work.  

If you have your own ideas and habits you like, please share below in the comments!  

On the next Shop Talk, we dive into the more advanced business world of branding!!

Merci Beaucoup Shop Talk: Facebook, Twitter, Blogs & Beyond

Right now I am sitting in the Cincinnati airport, feet up, next to a window looking at my plane, which is delayed.  So what am I doing?  Facebook.  I've just spent two hours in the airport (and an $8 wifi fee) on Facebook networking and talking cake.  Well, and some chili too;)  And before this I was in the Toronto airport (free wifi thank you very much Canada) doing the same thing.  

My point being, you've got to put the "work" in social networking.  It's not a magic bullet or a free marketing ride where you just sign up and awesome happens.  The internet is a crowded, loud environment that is becoming increasingly difficult to filter through and receive the information you want.  Even harder is trying to send that information to your target audience.

All Hail Facebook

As I write this, the Merci Beaucoup fan page has roughly 2300 Facebook fans (today we stand at 2536).  What this means is our fans are amazing, we love you!  What it does not mean is that everything I post to my wall will reach all 2300 plus every time.  Facebook calls them "impressions," roughly the number of times that post has appeared on someone's feed.  An impression is how many opportunities someone had to see it, not necessarily that they did see it!  How many posts do we overlook in our own feeds everyday, right?  For every nugget of information you post, only a select few will see it.  Post it again, some of those same and maybe a few new ones.  It is a system of diminishing returns, but in order to spread the word as much as possible you have to keep posting.  It's frustrating for the poster and if you're not careful, you can lose fans because you're telling them about your shirts all the time.  And I do worry about that!  I want to sell our shirts, I know the FBers have expressed interest, so I keep posting because I have to, but I try not to bury them in an avalanche of marketing either.  It's a delicate scale.

First of all, you need a "fan page" for your business.  Underlined, bold, fan page.  If you are using a personal page as your business page... how do I put this nicely.... you're not, ummm... "using your full brain capacity."  Personal pages are for you, a person.  In fact, FB heavily frowns on people not using their real names on their personal pages and you even risk their monitors deleting your account because it is "Cakes by Carl" rather than Carl Hawk.  Yes, they do that, and yes, I just used my dad's name as an example, but no, he does not make cakes;)  There's absolutely zero reason for you not to create a fan page, so do it.  Do it right now, then come back and read why.

Now, that you have a fan page, while on that page look to the right of the screen.  You will see a link that says "use Facebook as _____."  Click that and now, wherever you go on FB, you go as your business.  When you leave comments, you leave them as your business.  When you like other pages, you like them as your business.  This makes it infinitely easier for other people to find and like your business.  

I've asked a number of times for people to leave their business pages in our comments so we can like them back and less than three people have commented as their business.  I had to do a lot of searching to find pages and in some cases, they had a name that was also being used by up to 10 other cakers!  If they were "using as," it would've taken me seconds, two clicks worth, to find and like them.  

"Using as" also allows you to like other pages and then easily tag them in your status updates etc.  If you don't understand tagging, you need to go to the Facebook Help Centre and learn all you can about tagging and fan pages.  Tagging turns your name or your business name into a quick text link so that people can go to your page.  It is a must as you interact with other pages and people on Facebook, because you should be interacting!  That's the "social" part of social networking!!

"But why can't I just use my personal page?"  What?!  I told you to go make a fan page already!  Alright, listen up my hesitant friend: your personal page requires people to request your friendship, and if I'm using Facebook as Merci Beaucoup, I cannot, being a fan page, request your friendship.  Even if you accept everyone's personal requests (which, depending on how active you are online could take hours, days or weeks), it is still a closed system.  The fan page is open, and all someone has to do is click "like" and they are connected to your business.  You don't have to do anything to allow them access, so why make it harder for people to interact with you by only having a personal page?

The cake community is fun and diverse!  There's a lot of great cake people and we've made some really cool friends.  That happened from interacting.  Write on their walls, respond every time they write on yours, go to popular cake pages like Wilton or Cake Camp etc. and leave comments and like other people's posts.  You need to be active and you should be doing a lot of it "using as" your business.  And hey, if you really really like someone, you can like them as your business and as yourself!!  Win win!

WARNING:  Do not be "Cake Shop X".  I haven't called this shop out on FB, and I'm not gonna name them here, but If you spend a lot of time on FB you know who I'm speaking of, you've seen them post on dozens of pages, multiple times a day, but they only post a link to their fan page, nothing else.  Do you see where they're going wrong?  They don't comment, they don't say "hi," they don't share stories or answer questions or do anything to make themselves a valuable member of the group.  They just want you to look at their page and like them, which I understand, but they don't even bother to say that in their posts!  What they don't seem to understand is we're all cakers.  We're not trying to sell our business to one another, we're trying to connect and learn and grow and have fun!!  You can't be that page that is essentially nothing more than spam, sitting there lifeless on other people's cake pages.  

Take the time to Facebook a little each day.  In just the last few weeks I've made a number of online friends and we share tips and photos and stories and I'm trading shirts with 4 Goodness Cakes and it's awesome.  It's fun and exciting and it creates community and that is important to help our industry grow strong.  Work outside our industry as well with fellow local businesses, wedding vendors etc.  Just remember: tag, use as, and interact!!

2nd WARNING: Do not tag famous or popular cake designers in your photos.  If you want to post pix to their wall and say "hey, what do you think?" that is fine.  We all love looking at cake right?  However, tagging someone to a photo implies a connection to that cake or that design and usually results in that person either removing the tag, or removing you.  Be friendly, not pushy.

Tweet Tweet!!

Twitter is the kind of social media application that I find more people are aware of than understand.  If you haven't played around with Twitter yet, it essentially takes the most basic component of Facebook, the status update, and builds your entire network around it.  There's no photo albums nor fan pages, no farms to harvest, it is just you saying what you want in 140 characters.  You can add links to websites or photo albums, but it is essentially just words.  

Our account is @mercicakes.  Remember that you only have 140 spaces, so keeping your name short and easy is ideal.  (When other tweeters reply to you, your user name counts against that 140 total.)  There's a lot of chatter on Twitter, so it's no simple task to gain followers, but keep at it.  Much like FB you have to follow a lot of other people and interact with them so they will follow you back.  Don't forget, this is netWORKing!  You can tag and reply to other accounts easily, and you should.  Get the conversation going, because there's a lot of people just searching Twitter for keywords, maybe "cake," and the more you talk about it, the greater the chance they'll find and follow you.

If you don't want to bother with Twitter, do it anyway.  It's super simple and you can link it up to your Facebook account so that when you post on FB, it automatically tweets the same thing on your Twitter account.  Remember what I said about the internet being crowded and loud?  That doesn't mean you hide in a corner!  You have to have as much presence as possible and if you sync with your FB page, then you don't have to spend as much time on Twitter, but by now you're getting the point that you should right?

Take a Tumblr

While in Toronto, a friend of mine who is a content manager for websites, told me I should just go ahead and start a Tumblr page.  My own argument on the crowded internet thrown back at me, I realized she was right.  I knew people who had Tumblr accounts and Merci Beaucoup should be there as well!  

I know, you're still trying to figure out Facebook and Twitter, so what the hell is a Tumblr?  The best way I can describe it is it's the love child of traditional blogging and Twitter.  You have a stream of information into which you can plug literally anything short of smell-o-vision.  They pop up in your feed, not unlike Facebook, but without all the other updates such as what pages you just liked or who's photo you just commented on, making it cleaner.  One feature I love so far is that I can add multiple photos to a post and when people see it, it plays like a slideshow.  Very cool.  It is slick looking and highly customizable, and of course, you can sync it with all your other accounts!  That is, if your brain's not exploding yet;)

Once again, we are Merci Cakes on Tumblr.  Short and sweet.  Click the link to see what it is all about and start your page today.  It's a great option to traditional blogging, but if you're so inclined....

A Word on Blogs

Blogging just because you feel like you should is the internet equivelent of drunk dialing.  You need to have a purpose, you need to be focused and you need to edit!  Combined with spellcheck, editing is the difference between enticing readers to stick around and return or clicking away to watch kittens on YouTube.  And let's face it, surprise kitty is a tough opponent!  You need to offer value.  If all you want to do is show off photos of your cake, use Facebook or see Tumblr.  So whether you do it yourself or have help, be careful and considerate of what you write and how you write it.  A blog can be very powerful, but it can also be a liability.

Create Your Sphere

I know this is all confusing, but you will get it when you play around with it I swear!  One last thing though is to make sure all of your networks are connected together.  If someone finds you on Facebook, there should be links there for them to get to your Twitter, your Tumblr, your Wordpress, your website, your Etsy, your Flickr and on and on and on.  Everything should reference everything else as much as possible.

What's the Point?

So, now that I've made you read all this, you may be asking "what will I gain from all this social networking?"  "Will it boost my sales and expand my business?  Chances are.... no.  At least not in the way as like traditional advertising.  Facebook pages are not billboards or radio ads, they're not half page full color placement in a local magazine.  What they can be is an easier way for your existing clients and friends to refer you.  It's a referral tool, so don't hang your hat on it as a way to expand your business.  You will still need to do all the other advertising and face to face networking you can, just add the internet side to the mix and understand it is part of modern day marketing and public relations.

You are also laying a foundation so that when the day comes that you do need to make a big announcement, or reach a lot of people, you have a network in place to do so.

For us, social networking has been a way to communicate with fans of the show and to help grow our community of cake friends and colleagues.  It is a way to share our craft and help one another and it is a powerful and wonderful experience.  It is our prime motivation for doing as much as we do and it should be for you as well.  A strong cake community is what we want to see online.  So again, what will you get out of all this internet craziness?  Friendships, and that is the point;)

Next week on Shop Talk we tackle the idea of efficiency in the kitchen!!

P.S. If you have a question about MySpace, hop in a time machine and dial it back to a day when it was relevant!  #sarcasm

P.P.S. Look up "hashtags."