Episode 5: Susie Sarich
Founder and CEO of SusieCakes
SPEAKERS
Scott Robson, Susie Sarich, Intro, Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Scott Robson
Okay everybody I am so excited to introduce to you today Susie Sarich, the founder and CEO of Susie Cakes and you know all about Susie Cakes if you're in California or Texas.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Oh really? Oh, I can't wait.
Scott Robson
Literally, you see the Susie Cakes boxes in everybody's houses, everybody just is obsessed with them. The quality is is unbelievable. Susie's mission, the Susie Cakes mission is connection through celebration and they offer a sweet experience to help guests celebrate life's special moments. Susie believes that our celebrations connect us to each other. And a delicious slice of cake can immediately bring a bit of celebration to even an ordinary day.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Hecks yeah,
Scott Robson
I mean, hi, we only more cake in our life.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
More cake please now.
Scott Robson
More cake for us all. So one of the things that I am, I think I'm most excited to talk about today is I was just so struck by her company's commitment to creating careers in the hospitality industry for women. She developed this after witnessing women exit the industry due to how demanding these hours were. So this is really a part of how her business was created. I'm so excited to introduce Susie to everybody.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Can't wait.
Intro
Welcome to less than likely a podcast featuring honest behind the scenes stories of real entrepreneurs and they're less than likely journeys and creating successful businesses. Kate and Scott chat with founders from all industries and stages in business development to bring you the real, the brave and the messy of building something larger than yourself while being human.
Scott Robson
Susie, thank you so much for coming on. We're thrilled to have you here.
Susie Sarich
I'm happy to be here as well.
Scott Robson
What was really funny so Kate and I were talking the other day we were prepping for this. And something that's really funny that came out is that both she and I also worked in bakeries.
Susie Sarich
No way, that is crazy!
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
And we were tying it both to like our first entrepreneurial moments too.
Susie Sarich
This is great.
Scott Robson
I have such strong, wonderful feelings about my bakery experience, getting that early in the morning and doing all the things that's needed from a bakery standpoint. But yeah, what about you?
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Yeah, my best friend's mom had a bakery in on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. And when I was moving back to New York after college, because I went, I went to school in NYC and moved home to Maryland. When I was moving back, she was like, just come up and be a part of my mom's bakery. And will we started our own company together, she and I, and I was you know, working with her mom and helping her with her business. And so I didn't know it then. But it definitely has informed a lot of my experience.
Susie Sarich
See, I just think sugar leads to goodness. And here's three three great examples of it. Right,
Scott Robson
So Susie, to kick things off, I'm wondering if you could tell us a little bit about your background. And also why Susie Cakes for you was such a less than likely business?
Susie Sarich
Sure. Well, the story really starts back in Chicago, which is where I grew up. And both of my grandmother's, their names were Mildred and Madeline, lived across the alley from each other. It's true. And that's how my parents met. My dad was a firefighter. And I spent a lot of time in their homes because he was working 24/7 shifts, and my mom was also working. So they were you know, they were caring for me and raising me to some degree. And they were very stoic women of that generation where, you know, you just do everything for your family, and they came to this country to give everybody a better chance at opportunity. And so they instilled in me from a very young age, you know, you can do whatever you want. This is why we're in this country and don't let anything hold you back. And don't let anybody you know, crush your dreams or your aspirations. And it was like from a very young age and all of these conversations were taking place at their kitchen tables, over some great dessert, right so there was a lemon cream pie or oatmeal cookies or a pancake and they were great bakers, both of them. And so this memory of food and baked goods in particular is also around this life lessons of becoming the woman I am today. I didn't know it at the time, right? I just thought it was hanging out with my grandmother's and it was fun and I was eating cake. But they really are key to who I am so fast forward. I knew that hospitality was in my future because you know when I was a little girl I used to have my girlfriends over for sleepovers and I'd make an amenity for them and I in and we had very humble beginnings and you know we used to vacation at the Holiday Inn in Wisconsin and I'd bring home the shampoo and the soap and make a little amenity for my girlfriends. And when we had family dinner parties I would want to play waitress and so I always knew that is you know kind of serving and being hospitable and warm and making people feel good in your home was always something that I loved. So I went to college for Hotel and Restaurant Management at Cornell and was very fortunate to get into that program because I think it really did set me on the course for you can make you can make a business, you can have a business, you can be in the business of hospitality and make a living and have a career that you really love. I didn't know that was really a thing. And that was a great experience. And my goal when I graduated, I didn't know I was what I was going to do, I knew I was going to have my own business of something that I did not know what it was going to be. So I didn't have this, I'm going to be in the bakery business from the time I was, you know, 21. But what I what I wanted to do was work for best in class, entrepreneur-led businesses in the hospitality industry, and learn everything I could from them. So I started out with Hyatt Hotels when the Pritzker Family was still running the business and you know, that's a Chicago based brand and learned from them. I learned from Richard Melman at Let Us Entertain You enterprises. He's like the restaurant, you know, king of Chicago, and has been for many, many years. And I worked for Ian Schrager Hotels who recreated, you know, the lobby as a social space and Isaac Tigrett, at House of Blues, you know, who really brought the eater-tainment business to be? And so my goal was, what are these guys doing? What are these people doing that inspires their team, that builds a strong culture? And how do I do this in whatever I decide to do?
Scott Robson
So when you were working for all these incredible leaders in business in the food and hospitality space, how long were you in that space for, I'm curious?
Susie Sarich
This was over the course of about 10 to 12 years. Yeah.
Scott Robson
Wow. So this, this was like, the time when you get out of college, and you're really learning a lot of lessons. What were some of the lessons or the things that you saw, knowing that you wanted to start a business that you're taking in and saying, when I start my business, these are some of them, I want to incorporate into it.
A lot of it was process and procedures like consistency, right? Because all of these commonality of all these companies is that they have a multi units, right? And you want to have a consistent experience when you go to Hyatt here or a Hyatt in New York, etc right? And so that was very much instilled in me that from day one, I wanted to have that at whatever business I did. The second big piece was importance of people. And all of these companies truly value their team, their employees. So I saw, what is it that gives team members recognition, keeps them excited to come into work? That was the second piece about you know, really valuing your people. And the third was never losing sight of that passion, like, what's the spark that started this business, right? And making sure that that does not get lost as you grow and doesn't get diluted. And I think that's what a founder brings to the table when they are leading a company is they bring the heart and the soul really, and that needs to be infused through the teams, so that the guests can have that same passionate experience.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
You know, Suzy, it's amazing hearing you talk, it seems like you had your eye on the prize from like, a very young age, right? I am not hearing at any point in time. You saying like, Oh, well, it was kind of figuring it out, you know. You had your eyes on the prize. Can you recall when that clarity came and where that moment was when you said oh, I'm going to have my own business.
Susie Sarich
Yep. I knew that the light bulb went off for me and what the business was going to be, was, in my late 20s, I started noticing a lot of women were leaving the business because it was very difficult to have, you know, I don't even say a family anymore...I say a date on a Friday night, right? Because you're always working 24/7, right, and not seeing your family for Christmas, and always dealing with drunk people in a ballrooms before New Year's Eve. And so I loved it. And I thought there has got to be a better way where women could have progressive careers in hospitality without having to be on 24/7, righ?, And have to work when everybody else is not. And kind of what is that business model? And I just, you know, I reported to a lot of great men who are mentors of mine, but at that time in this is in the late 90s, all of the VPs and above, and most of these organizations were male, and I don't think it was because there was sexism involved, I think it's just men got higher up in hospitality companies, because they were the ones working 24/7 while their wives were having children, you know, and it's just just kind of how it was. And I thought there's got to be a way to do this different. So that was kind of piece one, right where I started thinking like, what's the business model around hospitality, and it doesn't have to require working, you know, late nights and weekends and holidays. The second piece came when we were living in San Francisco and This is now in the early like 2000s. And if you recall, this is when desserts were being deconstructed so you would get a pineapple upside down cake. And there would be cake on one part of the plate and pineapple on the other and whipped cream on the other. And you're thinking, this is not how this cake should look. And everybody was trying, you noticed, right? Yeah,
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
I just want a piece of cake please.
Susie Sarich
Yeah, and everybody was trying to all... pastry chefs in that era, were just trying to go over the top with spun sugar and marzipan, like, all this craziness, right? And what people really wanted when they got done with dinner, whether they were at a high end restaurant, or you know, something more casual is a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, or apple pie, right? Or a pound cake. Like nothing that, you know, needs to be infused with lavender oil or rosewater. Like there was so much commotion in desserts, especially in San Francisco at that time, I'm just like, oh my gosh, I just want a cake. And then that was the light bulb. It was like, I have all of my grandmother's that my both my grandmother's had passed, I had all of their three by five handprint recipe cards that got passed down to me because I was the one who was always in the kitchens with them. And I said "This is it," right? This is like the world right now needs real desserts made with butter, flour, sugar and eggs. And I have the recipes to do this. And so the whole thing started coming together around that. Additionally, what played to my favor is that... this is also when the food labeling became federal law, right? So you would go into the grocery store, and you'd see that your chocolate chip cookie and one of those awful clamshell container things had 85 ingredients. And I think people were going ooh, a chocolate chip cookie should be five ingredients, right? Like, I don't want to eat all this stuff. And so there was a consumer awareness around what am I what am I putting in my body? And people really starting to question that. So it's like here, I've got these great recipes that are butter, flour, sugar, eggs, I can honor women of the greatest generation who gave up so much so that we all could have the careers we have today. And allow women in this industry who are smart and motivated and want to contribute and have a fulfilling career. But we don't have to be open 24/7 Like we can be closed on Thanksgiving Day and sell the pies the day before. So all of this came together. And then I started a business plan.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
You know, one, it's just it's amazing how perfect right it all comes together. I know that I'm sure your journey was not perfect. But I'm really curious, your this industry that you are now in was not there when you started it right. So you created it in many ways, a whole new industry. How did you build that model?
Susie Sarich
Yeah, well, it was interesting, because to your point, no one was really doing multi unit scratch baking bakeries, right. And so my intent was like, Well, this is my point of differentiation, right? The kitchens will be open, so that people can see, it's real butter, it's flour, these are real human beings making this it's not coming off an assembly line. I wanted it to you know, be warm and smell good. And have a you know, invoke these, you know, nostalgic feelings with people. Because I think that cake has the unique ability to transport us to a special moment or memory or person in our lives. Right. So there's this emotional piece of it that I wanted to capture because that was like so core to me, right cakes just equate to love for me and think so many people, even if it's somebody who didn't have cakes growing up, but when a birthday cake is sat in front of you with lights, and everybody's singing to you, you are like on top of the world, right? You just feel you feel cared for that somebody's celebrating you. So I made the mission of the company to be connecting through celebration, because I felt that you can have really great products, but you also have to have a bigger purpose. And that was my personal bigger purpose. And that's what I wanted to bring to people I thought this piece of life was lost... like where are the parents coming in with their kids after school and having a cupcake or chocolate chip cookie and just sitting there and talking to each other? Right? Instead of this rush, rush rush,go through the drive thru. You know, like, how do we slow down a little bit? I still believe this is true today. 20 years later.
Scott Robson
Yeah. The joy of eating.
Susie Sarich
Yeah, the joy of eating. Yeah. And being with a person. And this was all pre social media and phones. And now I feel it's even more important today. Like, it's I think the company has stayed so relevant besides just having really outstanding baked goods. And I know that that is a keystone of why Susie Cates is successful. But there is this deeper thing that I do believe that brings people back.
Scott Robson
When you first started Susie Cakes... I'm curious if you could talk a little bit about some of the early challenges that you faced getting off the ground.
Susie Sarich
Yeah, there were many. So I wrote this business plan and I'm thinking okay, you know, I've got a great idea. I've got great recipes. I've got experience. I've got education, now I need funding. So I thought I've got this really well written business plan,it was based in a lot of research and a lot of trips, I did one trip around the not to every state but to many different cities and went to bakeries and I would write down what did I like about them, what I didn't like about them. I love that chalkboard, it's too big. I definitely don't want to do digital chalkboard, like you name it, I was like deep, extremely detail oriented. So this awesome business plan, go to the first bank: No, not a viable business model. Okay, next bank next bank, after like half a dozen banks, I'm like, Okay, well, this is not looking really good. You know, but I was, I don't know if the word is arrogant, but it was just I thought that these bankers didn't know what they were talking about. But the more people told me "No", the more I started to get deflated, really. And the straw that broke, almost broke this camel's back was I went to the SBA, which is in the business of helping small entrepreneurs start their business. And it was either a banker at that meeting, or one of the SBA guys, but I just I will not forget that the words were Susie, baking is a hobby, not a business, you should stay in the hotel industry where you've had so much success. And I was just like, Wait, did this just happen right now?
Scott Robson
It sounds so sexist. Even when you say it, it sounds like go back to the kitchen.
Susie Sarich
It was so bananas. And I'm like, okay, and it then became like, wow, like, maybe you shouldn't be doing this. Like, maybe this is just a pipe dream. And this is a bad idea. And..
Scott Robson
I mean, how do you... when you're getting this feeback?
Susie Sarich
It's hard.
Scott Robson
I mean, I feel like a lot of would be entrepreneurs with stop and say, yeah, maybe this isn't for me.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Were there women in the room ever, when you were in those conversations?
Susie Sarich
I don't think there was actually, I don't think there's... I think it's such a different landscape today for women, because there's other women helping them along. Right. And so it's a very, it's different now. It's not perfect, but it definitely is better. And so I did start to doubt. And there were even you know, some friends of mine they'd be like, I don't know, is this really a good idea. Like do people in California eat cake.?Like it's not the Midwest, Suze like, people are, you know, whatever, they drink juice, and... And so I did start to doubt and then it'd be like, No, everybody likes cake. Everybody has a birthday party. Everybody has a wedding. Everybody has an anniversary party for their parents like no, there, we need cake here. And so I realized that getting funding was not going to be an option through traditional methods. So I made 100 copies of the business plan. And I started giving it to everybody from the guy who owned the drycleaners to my cousin's dental hygienist in Palm Springs, like, I was talking to everybody who would even listen, and I think I just broke people down, frankly, I think they're like, Oh, my God, okay, like, let's just give her $5,000. Right. And so, you know, the initial money for the first Susie Cakes came 100% through friends and family. And you know, my mom took money out of her retirement fund, like it was definitely a thing.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Can I ask about what I mean, right now, like crowdfunding is absolutely something that is really viable for a lot of small businesses, there's an entire industry there. Was that something that you saw your fellow entrepreneurs pursuing?
Susie Sarich
No, I didn't. I don't even think that was, I wasn't aware. But I don't think it was a thing because this was like, 2004. Yeah. So I don't think it was a thing. And so I just had to do everything I could to get every dollar I could from whomever, so that first like LLC agreement was so crazy, because there were so many people in it, right? It was like my one you own one half of one share at 1%. But it was people who just, you know, my dad's best friend, I was pitching to him. And I remember he said to me, you know, "I'm not betting on the horse. I don't know anything about this business at all. But I'm betting on the jockey. And this is one jockey who I know is going to just win this race." And that gave me it's like, you just need that glimmer of hope from somebody to be like, Yeah, well, like Uncle Tony believes in me. And those are the things that kept me going. And one piece of advice I always give to entrepreneurs or people with a business idea is just don't let naysayers break you down, like do everything you possibly can. I would have rather my dad said, I'd rather see you do this and fail than not do this at all, because it's so what you feel you need to do. Right. And I think that's important for anybody to have that advice, like, go all in, and you're better off seeing it through and failing than not having tried at all because no one has regrets about trying things.
Scott Robson
What's wild to me is that before we got on today, I was doing a little research around what is it to be a woman entrepreneur trying to get funding even today and last year 2021 eclipsed any sort of previous records that were available as far as the amount of VC funding that was invested, and yet women owned ventures only received just 2% of that still. Tha's actually down from the high in 2016 so we actually went backwards
Susie Sarich
Yeah, backwards.
Scott Robson
Which I'm sure COVID played a role in that and a lot of other things too, but even the fact that it's just 2% just blew my mind.
Susie Sarich
Yeah, that's a sad number.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
When you were having the naysayers having the many "No's" from the bank, you know, I imagine that even as you were fundraising from your friends and family, you also got some No's. And honestly, you know, I hear that a lot. When I talk to my clients and other fellow business owners, a lot of people are like, What are you thinking?
Susie Sarich
Have you've lost your mind?
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
What is it that made you so sure? What were you able to hold on to that made you feel like No I gotta keep seeing it through. And I know, we haven't even gotten to the other hurdles that you have in your experience, right, we're just talking about getting the cash in the door.
Susie Sarich
It was the not wanting to let my grandmothers' down, like that was so strong for me. And even though they weren't here, I felt that I would be a disservice to them, and everybody else who came to this country for their children or their children's children to have opportunity, and I just, I just felt like I needed to I don't know, it was just it was a very strong intuition that this had to be seen through. The other thing, though, I don't think I'd be sitting here talking to you today, if I didn't have at least one person in my corner, right? Like you, even though you have this, like, Okay, this is what I meant to do and I feel this with all this conviction, you still need somebody at the end of the day to be like, "you're going to be okay, you're going to be here, I'm going to be right next to you." And for me, that was my partner, Houston, he has been an unbelievable support of me on this venture in every way. And I'm not sure if he wasn't encouraging me when everybody else was kind of beating the idea down if I'd be here. So I always tell entrepreneurs or I suggest to them that you know, find that one person who's like your biggest advocate who lifts you up on everybody else's and bring them as close in as you possibly can.
Scott Robson
Yeah, and I know that Houston on top of being someone you always want in your in your corner, he also has a very well rounded background in the hospitality industry too. How does that look like for the both of you working side by side, I'm wondering if each of you plays different roles, or you have different strengths?
Susie Sarich
You know, we're, we are really good balance, because what I do well, he doesn't, what he does, well, I don't, and he is incredibly practical, and very black and white and data driven. And I am very intuitive and impulsive, and can be emotional, and, you know, kind of go all in, right? Like I just go in running out where he's like analyzing what's going on, is this safe? Should we do this? You know, all these things. And so he's been, you know, just a really good balance for me in life and in business to give a counter to this fiery soul that we have over here. Yeah, but one, you know, fun story. I don't know if it's fun. But it is interesting that we had after getting the money that we thought we needed, we just kept getting headwind after headwind towards us, during construction from the city of Los Angeles, that you know, the pipe that you put in was, you know, a quarter of an inch too small, you need to re drill the whole floor. And that's another $30,000. You need a grease interceptor, the size of a VW car, even though you don't have any grease in your bakery, like there's just so much ludicrous bureaucracy, right. So it's like, first of all the banks were not helping. Then, the city who should be wanting to help people open businesses, to hire people, to start paying taxes, you know, all of that...it just seemed that nobody wanted to be helpful. And this issue with this grease interceptor came down to we were out of money, and we needed $25,000 to do this, and I appealed to the city. And you know, good luck with that. I went in front of the city council and explained like, there's no grease at Susie Cakes, we don't have grease, I don't understand why would need a grease interceptro, I'm not making French fries, I'm not doing donuts, like we're baking cakes. And they said, No, this is this is law. So that afternoon, we talked and that was when I was like, I don't even know should I even be doing this anymore. And he says that I have an idea, just you know, give me a couple of days. And he sold his car to make that last 25,000, his car was very sentimental to him because he used money that he inherited when his dad passed, and his dad wanted to have a special car and he sold that car for me to have that last 25,000. So all these things made me feel like this was a meant to be type of thing.
Scott Robson
But it also shows a couple of things right now, Houston is the guy that number one, that we would want in our lives. But number two, it shows the absolute dedication you had to this dream, and that no matter what was going to come up, you're going to figure out a way to get around it and that to me is a powerful lesson for so many people. Like don't let these things stop you, don't let these bumps in the road get in the way or take them as... I think we take things as signs, right? A lot of time we get into this is a sign. Yeah. Like, what are you committed to? I think that's such a powerful story in regards to that.
Susie Sarich
Or it's a sign up of you need to build resilience, right? Because all of that stuff made me prepared for all the things that were gonna happen the next 15 years once the business got off the ground, right. And so, you know, all of it is just life and you build on your experiences. But yeah, it certainly was, you know, there were some very dark days.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Yeah, I was thinking about how it felt to have now not only people who were supporting you, in terms of, yes, you, you got it, let's, let's go, but also financially. What was it like to build and overcome challenges with a lot of other people who had skin in the game now. What was that like for you?
Susie Sarich
You know, I always felt a great sense of responsibility, and didn't take that lightly whether somebody wrote a check for 5000, or 25,000, or whatever the number was, it was important, it was their money. And so from the get go, our LLC was structured that the investors would get 75% of their money back before I even started taking a salary. And I almost had to do it that way, right? Because there was so much risk for them, honestly, like they could love me all they want. But you know, it's important, I think, for anyone in a business is to really understand, you know, the importance and what that agreement is with people who give you money, like it was very clear that I wasn't gonna be asking everybody what cake they wanted me to feature for Easter, right? Certainly people gave opinions, but it was kind of a you're investing in this business, but you are not helping run this business. And having clarity around that I think is important for people as well.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
One of the things Scott and I were talking about was that you have built so much of your model around supporting women, creating careers for women. And as we said, this was an industry that you were developing. So I'm curious, did you get pushback about the model about what you were planning on building? And whether it would work?
Susie Sarich
Yeah, there was definitely a question of would this work? Would people buy a higher priced baked good, right? Would people stop going to the grocery store and make a special trip to a place to order the cake. And I think that many of the things I did from the get go, whether it was we used to, I used to call everybody back who ordered a cake, who pre ordered a cake to see how the cake was and how their celebration was. And I got this out of Danny Meyer's book, Setting the Table. I wasn't that creative to come up with that. But I read that when he first opened his first restaurant, he would call every reservation back the next day to see how their dinner was. And I was like, What a great way to build loyalty, and show guests we want to be here for all of your life's milestones, right? Like whether it's your kid getting their, you know, first A at math when they've been challenged, or it's your wedding day, like Susie Cakes wants to be part of your celebration, so I did the callbacks. I created a position called the celebration specialist and this was someone totally dedicated to sit down with you when you came into the bakery, and talk about your event and your cake. And make sure that if you're getting cake for your dad, and you want the 18th hole of Pebble Beach to be on the top of the cake, we can do that for you. So I tried to insert these unique features into the bakery. So it wasn't just a bakery to get good baked goods. It was a place to have an experience and feel that your business was valued.
Scott Robson
Yeah. When did you start to think I think this might be working. When was that?
Susie Sarich
Oh I love this question. So when we first opened, I think there was four, four or five of us. And one was a intern from Cornell and all we had her doing was sifting flour. It was totally crazy. And you know, we opened the door and I knew that people weren't just gonna come in but we had no money for marketing, right. And so I would often go out with a tray of cupcakes or whatever we had ...the traffic on San DeSanti was horrible then, it's horrible now but the advantage is cars just stopped in front of the bakery. So we'd go out with a tray and people first thought you know people in LA are they're skeptical of everything. They're like shaking their head like no get away from my car. Crazy cupcake lady right? But then once in a while like someone would take it and they're like, Oh, this is really cool. And I kept thinking God wouldn't be great if a news station came and like just started you know, recording this it would be like the greatest publicity ever. But even though news station didn't come I think there were enough influential people in those cars who lived in Brentwood who then started being like you know what, let's go give that woman a chance like let's go see what Susie Cakes is all about. Like she literally was walking San Desanti with a tray of cupcakes. The other thing I had to my advantage is that I wasn't a baker trying to run a business. I'm a business person trying to run a bakery. Like it's two different things and I think had I been the baker and I think why a lot of great artisan, one location baker's are so great is because they have a really talented baker, but that person is in the back. Right? And so they're gonna make the best croissants they can or baguettes for the day. And when they sell their 40 they're done. For me I was always out front talking, I'd sales and marketing in my background. And it was always about how do we get this cake in as many places as we can. It's from the early onset. We said yes to everyone who asked for a donation, whether it was a book fair at a local school to black tie Lupus fundraiser at the Four Seasons. Because I knew that supporting the community that supported us A) it's the right thing to do. But B) it would, it would allow Susie Cakes to get into more people's mouths, really. And then once they tasted it, I knew that they would come back to us. So I'd say six months in Scott, I knew that sales were building consistently, right? So our sales curve was going up. People started asking about, oh, you should have a place in Malibu or have you thought about Calabasas? And what about you know, down on Manhattan Beach, and people started asking... like, oh, that's, you know, this is a very good sign. And I had never thought Susie Cakes was going to be a one location bakery, I opened it 100% with the intention of being a household name and a national brand. That was my goal, then it's my goal now. People always ask us and I just want people when someone says I need a cake, where should I go to say Susie Cakes whether you're in Miami, Florida or Boston, right? And so that was the goal. And so I learned all my standard operating procedures from the companies I've worked for before. So from day one, they had a standard operating procedure on how to answer the phone. So it's again, me and the intern, saying like, Thank you for calling Susie Cakes. This is Susie, how can I help you? People thought I was crazy, right? They're like, Okay, you have one shop, you have no customers, right. But you you're answering the phone in a certain way. But that allowed when we were able to, you know, six months in have now now we had real numbers. We had money in the bank, that people were like, oh, yeah, now we'll give you money, right? Because now you've proven it right. And so I'm like, we need to start expanding and do that as soon as we can. And because we had all the procedures set at the first store it made opening the second store that much easier. So yeah, about six months in. So I was very, very, very fortunate at that point.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
And is that when you started fundraising again?
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Susie Sarich
Yes, yes.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
What was your next step?
Susie Sarich
So then the next step was re circling back with all those people who had gone in round one and then saying dinner now you know anybody because now there's real proof behind the pudding, no pun intended. And so then it was like those introductions became larger. So like, kind of that net of friends and family extended to their friends and family. And, you know, people just got behind it. And I knew I didn't want to keep doing this fundraising. So instead of raising money for one location, we raised money for three, all at once, because I said, I want to stop doing this. And also it kind of mitigated risks for investors, because it's like, okay, well, if she opens up Calabasas, Newport Beach and Manhattan Beach and one of those doesn't work out, I still have two other businesses to offset that, right? So it mitigated risk, gave us a break from fundraising, and allowed us to, you know, really set a nice real estate strategy for growth.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Again, I am so struck by your vision and clarity of like, okay, I know exactly what I'm going to build. And I know what my next step is, and I'm going to go after it. Like there's such an eye on the prize. I'm so curious, what had you stumped. Like, where, at what point did you say, I don't know how to figure this out, if at all?
Susie Sarich
COVID. I would say, honestly.
Susie Sarich
Yeah, honestly, it was the first time that something so seemingly unsurmountable was dropped in our lap. That was truly the moment was I like, I really don't know what to do. I just, I was literally at a loss for a game plan, for structure navigating through it. And there was strong possibility back in you know, the early time in the pandemic, I'd say those first six months, that we did not know if we were going to make it through.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Fair
Susie Sarich
We were getting shut down, opened up, shut down, opened up. People were afraid to come to work, people were afraid to go out. I mean, it was just an excruciatingly difficult time. And at that juncture, I mean, all I can say is that I at that point, had built such a great team around me that because it this is the classic, it takes a village right to get through something like COVID. Nobody does that alone. And we really leaned on each other. And it made me grateful that I spent so much time in hiring people. We're always, we take a long time to hire somebody, it's easy cakes, and that I have the right group of people to get me in the company through it.
Scott Robson
I can't even imagine how difficult and stressful that must have been and, you know, I'm wondering, Susie, what did you learn during that time that that just helped you to keep the doors open?
Susie Sarich
I think what we were able to do, because I think you have to be nimble and pivot, right in life in general, right, you've just you got to say, Okay, I have no control about what's been put in front of me, but I can't control how I respond to it. Right. And so I always just kept for really the sake of the team, like, we're gonna get through this, we're gonna make it you know...still staying optimistic, even though like, in my heart, I was like, I'm not sure what's happening right now. Right. But I still needed to have that outlook and lens and had to say, okay, what can we do that allows us to bring any amount of money in right now, underneath these circumstances, right. So what I learned is that being open to completely different things, and for me completely different was only selling one type of cake. Like, that's how we started coming out of COVID. Like, well, if we have one option... because I had no, we had no people working. There was like two people in a bakery when there used to be 20. So it's like, what can we do? Okay, let's just make our best selling cake, the celebration cake, like let's say one thing and one size, and you can't get an inscription and get way back to basics and way back to the most simplistic of things. And so we had to keep turning right, turning left, turning right, turning left, but we really created a very different business model than I started out with, by the end of everything that we're still utilizing now.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
That must have been sohard for someone who had put so much thought and care,
Susie Sarich
You know, it was literally devastating. It was days where I was like, Is this really happening? It just felt very surreal that I had built, with many great people alongside, had build this great company, this brand that people knew that was profitable. And then it went like in the blink of an eye from that to Oh, my gosh, are we going to go out of business? Like, am I going to lose everything? Like, am I going to lose this not only my life's work, but like, my life's finances. Like it was it was very, very real. And I'm not being dramatic in sharing this. It's just I'm being very honest.
Scott Robson
Just to go back to that moment. How did you cope? Personally, with going through those those tough times?
Susie Sarich
Yeah. Yikes. Ooh, Yeah, that's a really, that's not an easy question to answer. Yeah, I mean, Houston played a big role in it. It was such a difficult time because it was so isolated, right? You weren't really with family or friends. You were sitting in your house by yourself. I think I just, I did the old adage of one day at a time and like, let's just get through today. Because I don't know what tomorrow looks like. And I certainly don't know what next week or next month look like. I'm like, let's just stop making six month models or six year models. Let's just try to make money by Friday. If we can bring $500 in by Friday, like, this is our goal. Like it just was it just got to be like silly. It was like what is happening?
Scott Robson
That's a humbling experience?
Susie Sarich
Yeah, it is very humbling. Yeah.
Susie Sarich
So different from how you've operated, right? It's so different. You have this very clear, this is how we do it this is what the model is. This is what I know works. Right? So it's just completely switch and to have to really pared down and just look, you know, look to Friday. How did you how did you come out of it? How did what did you take away from COVID and that experience,
Susie Sarich
You know, how we came out of it was growing back slowly and making really good decisions along the way and being thoughtful about... we've never really relied on online ordering. Okay, everybody's ordering online now. Okay, so we, you know, we're going to need to make sure that, you know, people can order online. And, you know, we grew that part of the business, which has stayed right, so many of these things have stayed, which was originally 3%. And then you know, now is 30 plus percent is online ordering for us, right. And so, just kind of taking each step really carefully, not doing too many things at one time. Like we would introduce one thing back into the menu offering like every six weeks, and we just we just took it really slow and methodical. And realizing, I think somewhere in this journey, I realized that the old Susie cakes was not coming back, I had to accept that what we were is certainly not what we are during COVID. And most likely will not be what is when we come out of COVID. And that's played out to be the reality of the situation. And I had to learn how to operate in great uncertainty constantly. I mean, we all did, what was that was the world... learning how to operate in that gray space. And that is hard for somebody who likes to be in control and very buttoned up as to the paint color doesn't match the Pantone color exactly. Like let's start over right. You know, that was very difficult.
Scott Robson
As far as the future of Susie Cakes, now that it's changed now that you've integrated so many of these lessons into your model...What does the future of Susie cakes look like?
Susie Sarich
So the future SusieCakes and the biggest initiative that we are undergoing since opening Susie Cakes is nationwide shipping. And I never thought I would see the day where I would freeze a cake and put it in a box with dry ice and get it to cross the country and have somebody there, open it defrost it and eat it. Yeah. But you know, it's your call when you saw so many companies like figure out like, I just gotta figure out how to do DTC, right. People aren't coming out of their house, people aren't seeing their parents who live across the country like how do we bring this to areas where they don't have you know, Susie Cakes. So I spent an extraordinary amount of time on R&D, figuring out how to do this. And I'm thrilled to be announcing that we have launched nationwide shipping and you guys are getting the insider scoop. Yeah, you're getting the scoop on that.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
My duaghter's birthday is next week. Can I make that happen?
Susie Sarich
Okay, yeah, yeah, yes, you can totally make that happens, you can totally make that happen. And one thing I was clear on this shipping piece was that I wanted to make the shipping experience the most extraordinary gifting experience it can possibly be. And you can never recreate the feeling of being inside of Susie Cakes, but make somebody feel so good when that box come because it's so well branded, and so carefully packed, and it has a handwritten note. And there's a candle in there too, in case you want to throw it in. Oh, and then she put in matches, like, I just wanted it to be like the most special thing ever. And I'm so proud of it. And it really is Susie Cakes 2.0. You just got to see it to experience it. But it's special.
Scott Robson
It's the best of you, which is that it's so heartfelt and thoughtful and thought through and it's so warm, and it's so rooted in really celebrating and creating memories for people.
Scott Robson
It's exciting. I know it's fun unbox it.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
So you talked about not letting entrepreneurs listen to the naysayers, right? Always have somebody in your corner. I'm really curious what else you would share for a young woman, particularly, you know, what young woman entrepreneur who wants to start their own business? Who is putting together that plan? What is it that you absolutely want them to hear?
Susie Sarich
I want them to be prepared for rejection, right? So want them to be prepared for that and know that this may or may not be successful, and be willing, like you must be willing to be a risk taker. People who have a great idea, I'm always supportive of it. But I always do say if you have not spent a lot of time in this industry, are you now have this like great new pajama product or whatever, like, have you worked for any other clothing company? Like I feel like you should have a really in depth knowledge of industry in which you're about to embark on. And so sometimes I see that where somebody has like a really, what I think is a great idea, but I'm not sure that they have done enough actual work in that industry. I see people who want to come out of school and be an entrepreneur when they graduate college. And that is kind of hard for me to get behind, because my path seemed to lay out such a nice groundwork for me. I always say like, please try to get some experience before you, you know.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Yeah, well, and it sounds like you learned so much from all of your experiences. You were taking notes. It's clear.
Scott Robson
Well, Susie, thank you so much for coming on today. We are so thankful to you and especially for the scoop.
Susie Sarich
Yeah, yeah, I know.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Breaking news. I'm going to hop on right now. Yeah.
Scott Robson
So for everybody who's listening, please go online, go to SusieCakes.com, order yourself a celebration cake or anything else on there that you can. I'm so excited for everybody that they now get to experience this for themselves.
Susie Sarich
Thank you so much. It's been really fun talking to you.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
She is a dream. She's so, so vibrant, and like bold, and so warm too. I just love her.
Scott Robson
I mean, one of the things that I love about Susie is that she can talk about the nitty gritty business stuff, but the way that she lights up when she's talking about her grandmothers and the origin of where this business came from for her and how inspired she was to create it. She's such a dream of a person and I'm just so happy I was able to share her with everybody.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Yeah, absolutely. I mean her stories, a few times just like give me chills, you really feel such a sense of connection. And that is so clear. I mean, it makes sense that that's her mission, right? To create connection, because you get such a sense of it. Just by talking to her hearing her stories, and I can't wait to try her cake.
Scott Robson
You're noteven gonna believe how good her cake is. Holy crap. And now you ordered a cake.
Scott Robson
It's on its way.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
I did. It's on its way on Saturday.
Scott Robson
Which one did you order?
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Well, I ordered the chocolate one. So there were two options. When I looked there was a celebration cake which I absolutely would have loved to have but my daughter, it's her birthday and she loves chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.
Scott Robson
Birthday girl wins.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Birthday girl wins. I'll let you know. I'm super excited.
Scott Robson
What are your takeaways from meeting with Susie today? Because she just there's so many.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Yeah. So two things really struck me in the conversation... One, I was really impressed by the research, the data, the planning that she did. You know how she really armed herself with all of this information to start her business. That struck me because I don't operate that way. I mean, I like to have the data. I really like having all of this in place. But I really have a hard time seeing the full step by step picture. So to listen to her talk about knowing where she was going in five years, in 10 years and beyond was incredibly inspiring. It actually brings me to the second thing that was a big takeaway for me. I can't imagine her going through that funding process, particularly that first round of funding with all the banks who are telling her who are like a bunch of men saying no, no, no, no, no. If she had not had all that research, if she had not had done all of that, I just, I really think that it would it helped her so much to be able to see the project through. I was sick to my stomach listening to that response that baking as a hobby.
Scott Robson
It killed me. Yeah, me, here's the thing, I just want to say what's clear to me is that she was the smartest person in that room. And she was the only one I knew it. Clearly, because she's made this incredible business out of it. And none of those people are now part of it. So let's just say that.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
100%. And that's also what I want our listeners to hear, those business owners who are out there. I think it's important to remember that your good ideas are not necessarily going to be encouraged. They're not going to be picked up by other people and said yes, yes, yes, you should go and do this. There is a real vision that you need to maintain that Susie absolutely was able to just anchor herself in and keep moving forward. But it's something we have to remember. You know, I think that as business owners, we think, Oh, once I hit upon the idea, once I figure it all out, and have it solidified, then it'll catch its wind. And clearly you can have the best idea in the world. But that doesn't mean it's going to be encouraged by others.
Scott Robson
Absolutely. And what it brings me to is this idea of how are you going to feel about your business, even after you get the No's? And so the question then becomes what job are you giving your business? So for example, if if your business only is worth it, if you're if you're getting every single yes across the board, right, right? Then do you really believe in your business? But if this is something that you really believe in, even when you're getting the No's and you're not getting the funding... then you know what, you're resourcing that internally. And you're believing in your business regardless of somebody investing in it. So I think that's something important for our listeners also to think of, is if this is something that you really believe in, that's the most important thing. Because other people will believe in it, if you believe in it.
Kate Jaeger-Thomas
Yeah. And you know, I think that listening to Susie talk about the one moment when it really became unclear right during COVID when things really started to you know, the foundation started to shake. I think for all of us, it certainly did and it's when you get the hard moment that's what you have to touch down into. It's like her grandmothers, right? What she knows she's building and that's what I just I really connected to with her. She is awesome.
Scott Robson
Me too. She's really something special and I'm so glad that everybody got a chance to meet her and truly if you haven't had a Susie Cake, check it out. If you're in California or Texas go to one of their locations. I personally love love love their carrot cake. If you like carrot cake. It's sort of where it's at. It's like don't even try to make one at home. Just go there. (laughter)