Sleepless in the Kitchen

Q & A with Liz Berman, owner of The Sleepy Baker

1. How did you find yourself getting involved in the baking industry?

I started off with a traditional career as an HR professional. When I had children I started to make them homemade cakes for their birthday parties and the more I baked, the more adventurous I became! Never before had I had a job that was such an outlet for creativity. Suddenly, word caught on about my cakes and the requests started coming in! Next thing I knew I was making cakes until 4am and The Sleepy Baker was born.

2. So, why Cake?

While I make all kinds of baked goods I’ve come to find that people are really embracing the importance of cake at a function. It can really serve as the centerpiece so people put a great amount of thought into it. It’s fun because I’ve come across some crazy and challenging requests along the way. A couple called me to make an armadillo wedding cake, just like in the film Steel Magnolia. Everything from the inside of the cake was dyed red and I remember people asking me as I was setting up the cake at the site, “Okay, so this is the groom’s cake?” Nope. That was their wedding cake! The bride told me I was the first person to take their request seriously.

Cakes are all about experimentation and creativity!

3. Any trends you’ve picked up on in the baking industry?

In the baking industry people are really pushing the envelope but with cakes I’ve found that people stick to traditional flavors and the creativity lies within the actual cake design or cake fillings. People want to try something different like bourbon flavored buttercream! I’ve had lots of requests for coordinated elements for an event: a larger cake with a smaller cake along with coordinated cookies & cupcakes, for example.  Also HUGE cakes are so popular - with all kinds of internal structures involved. My six year old sketched out her own cake for her birthday- people are really getting into it!

4. What have you learned about being a small business owner?

Well not only did I have to learn how to run a business on my own, but I’m a self-taught baker too! This is really something you have to learn from experience, but the ability to take risks is what it’s all about. After all, some people never get to wake up every day and do what they love if they aren’t willing to take a chance. To me, the concept of failing is better than not trying at all! It’s a tough thing to just embrace and it took me about 8 months to decide to leave my career in HR to pursue this full-time. Plus, it’s a continuous challenge that I am completely alone in my professional endeavors. I do my own dishes, answer my own calls and keep up with my own deadlines.

5. Any advice to aspiring bakers?

Test your product over and over again! When I’m creating something new I always have my family try it out first. You never want to give your first batch to the customer! Also, when you have a product that’s great, don’t change it. Never mess with a good thing! You have to learn to use the feedback you receive and spin it to something positive. Learn from it. You can’t cry in the corner but you can take advantage of the feedback and evolve from it. That was a big obstacle I faced and it took a while to learn how to channel negativity into something positive.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll learn to live with being sleepy!

http://www.thesleepybaker.com/