Simply Cupcakes of Naples: Living Life, One Cupcake at a Time

Simply Cupcakes' creations

I love successstories, which are usually the result of following a passion even when the oddsare against you, and so when I discovered the successful SimplyCupcakes in Naples, Florida, I was curious as to who was behind it. The woman behindthis tasty business with four locations in Southwest Florida and soon to be afranchise, is Joanne Glasgow,supported by her husband Ken. Joanne gracefully accepted to be interviewed for Success Diaries, to share her storyand inspire other women entrepreneurs:
LCL- When and why did you decide to openSimply Cupcakes? JG- Soon after we moved to FloridaI realized that although the cupcake craze was sweeping the nation it had not yetcome to Southwest Florida.  Coming from a family of Italian cooks andbakers, I had a love of baking and I decided to test my cupcakes at the Third St. Farmer'sMarket in Naples in October 2006 where the response was immediate.

LCL- Were you afraid of making acareer change?JG- I really didn't make a careerchange in the traditional way. I had been a Pediatric Registered Nurse for over30 years but when we moved to Florida in 2003, I had already retired fromNursing. When I was a nurse in Rochester, NY I helped a friend of mine parttime in her dessert catering business. This satisfied my passion for baking atthat time and ultimately gave me the courage to make a business out of it. Atthe time I started Simply Cupcakes, I was 60, which is the age when most peoplethink about cutting back.

Joanne, loving her work

LCL- What were the biggest stumbling blocks?JG- My biggest stumbling block was my lack ofbusiness and retail experience. It's one thing to bake a cupcake but another tosell it. Since the cupcake industry was young, there were few resources to turnto for guidance, so my business never really had a plan. Of course, I startedmy business at one of the worst times in the economic history of our country.At a time when businesses were closing, I was starting. Loans for newbusinesses did not exist
LCL- Whatare the greatest rewards?JG- There is no greater reward thanto have an idea and see it become a reality. In the cupcake business I getrewarded every day with compliments from our customers. [My husband] Ken and Ihave also had the satisfaction of creating a Simply Cupcakes training programto help others start their own cupcake business.
LCL- Whohave been your best supporters?JG- My husband Ken has been with meevery step of the way behind the scenes although he loves to wait on the customersand schmooze with them. He has takenover the marketing of our business and has successfully created a brand withlittle or no paid advertising. I also have the support of my brother and sisterin law and our children who are in awe of the fact that "mom" is asuccessful businesswoman.

Pink delight

LCL- How do you promote yourself?JG- Although we had littleknowledge of social media, we taught ourselves to use Facebook and now haveover 12,000 fans on the SimplyCupcakes Facebook Page. We have been fortunate to have many articles writtenabout us because there is little good news these days and mine is a"feel good" story. Mainly, we have used word of mouth. Our businessplan was to get people to our store (which is in an out of the way location)and get a cupcake in their mouth. We have enough confidence in our product toknow what the reaction will be. If we sell a dozen cupcakes, they go into a dozenmouths and hopefully we will have a dozen new customers.
LCL- Doyou recall having any "aha" moments?JG- I remember at the beginning atthe Farmer‘sMarket, when we sold a KeyLime cupcake to a customer and as he walked away he took a bite and yelled"OH MY GOD ! " It was the first sign that we had something good. Theturning point for us was when we started the business without a store and justhad a website. We took orders for cupcakes online and delivered them tocustomers in Naples. By the time we opened the store, we had over 300 customersalready. We have been told that this was the reverse of traditional thinking.Most businesses open a store and then put up a website. We put up a website andthen opened our store.   
LCL- What would you say to other women whowould like to follow in your steps?JG- I would tell them what we tellevery person we train: "Unless you have a passion for baking, findsomething else to do.” Make sure that the passion you have today will still bethere a year from now when you have a large order to fill and your mixer breaksdown". I would also tell them to bake every cupcake as though yourreputation depends on it, because it does. We are scratch bakers, using fresheggs and butter. We don’t take shortcuts or use mixes. We bake only in smallbatches and our customers can tell the difference. 

Joanne and Ken, the team behind the dream

Some of Simply Cupcakes´ and the Glasgow’smany noteworthy accomplishments:
·     The business was started with borrowed money threeyears ago, and they paid it all back with interest in less than two years. Theynow operate a debt-free business.·     Joanne has trained 36 locations nationwide in 24months, to open their own Simply Cupcakes on a License Agreement fromCalifornia to Puerto Rico.  ·     Ships Key Lime and RedVelvet bundt cakes worldwide including to the troops in Afghanistan and Kuwait.·     Donates cupcakes to many worthwhile local causesincluding cupcakes for the homeless on almost a weekly basis.
If you enjoy this blog follow me on Facebook or Twitter. Read my articles on Mamiverse.Diario del Éxito (Success Diaries) will be published in book form in February 2012 by ediciones Obelisco.To read about my books: www.lorrainecladish.com