Episode 1: Babypreneur
eager steps & lessons learned
I started Cupcake Empire while I was still in university. Originally I just wanted a side gig to earn money to save up for a DSLR as I was getting into photography, so I tapped into my baking skills and decided to sell homemade cupcakes. Selling them online through social media was natural for all of its advantages. Mainly for suiting my busy college schedule.
Perfection got the best of me, so I set off creating a whole brand. I kept in mind the possibility of forwarding the business later on to other people so I made sure to present the brand independently of me. I did too well apparently that people believed Cupcake Empire was a well-established brick-and-mortar business, not a small online shop.
At the time, cupcakes and online shops were very uncommon. The public had little to no knowledge about them. While pioneering a business had its advantages, it also meant dealing with many hurdles that the existence of competition would’ve eliminated -like the lack of packaging materials and the lack of high-quality ingredients.
I conducted market research and analysis, branding, and visual identity all while not really knowing that these practices were actually scientific and are taught in textbooks. I wrote many many business models for this business throughout its short period of existence to combat the endless hurdles of the under-developed environment and to compensate for my lack of knowledge and experience. The result was extensive knowledge and hands-on experience in running a business in Sudan and dealing with difficult customers.
Cupcake Empire gave me great confidence in myself and opened many doors for me. One of them was an invitation to appear on a TV show on a local station. After the show aired, there was a sudden and very strong cupcake trend both in supply and demand. Cupcakes became a wedding staple and were strongly present at various events.
Although my business stopped, I still take pride in creating a trend that helped many people support themselves financially and provided a creative outlet to others.
You can still see the Facebook page here.
