Starting from scratch is never easy.
Sure. Courage, faith, and hard work are a huge part of working towards a goal. But, I’m gonna be honest about this barking shift. It takes money. Dollars. Nudges. Pesos.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a firm believer that everything has a way of working out. And, I believe that if you just start the answer always reveals itself. Including how to pay for what you need. But, money is still something that deters a lot of the pups I know from even starting their “crazy idea.”
In fact, it almost stopped me from starting Pupcake Sugar.
I’d finally gotten the courage to put my paws to the pavement and start my own pupcakery. The vision had been there for some time, but I was finally ready to make a move. So, I decided to build a plan to figure out what I needed to start.
The first thing I did was go shopping for equipment. I figured the best thing I could do was to at least price how much equipment costs. I almost fell over backwards when the sales pup said that one pupcake mixer costs $5,000.
“Are you barking kidding me?” I thought. “Where was I going to get that kind of money?” At the time, I was still working at BarkScent Media full time. I sold a few batches of pupcakes, but definitely not enough to start shelling out that kind of capital.
I was about to give up on the idea of a pupcakery altogether until I got a slight nudge from my best friend, Cynn. “Sugar,” she barked, “You owe it to yourself to at least try to figure out how you can make it work.” In the words of Issa Rae…
Stop finding ways you can’t do something. Then you’re not going to do it. Find the way that you can and then go for it.
So, that’s what I did. I changed my focus from impossible to “how can I make it work.” And, believe me. It wasn’t easy to make that mind shift. But, it made my dreams of opening my own pupcakery more attainable. And, as I worked (and continue to work) on achieving my goals, I’ve learned a few tricks to keep them possible.
START SMALL
One of the biggest mistakes I made when I started out was thinking I needed to buy everything all at once. However, when you’re first starting out that’s not always possible. So, focus on what you need, develop a timeline, and then purchase those big-ticket items in stages. It’ll help you develop your budget and create a plan for your money.
UTILIZE YOUR RESOURCES
Sometimes we don’t have to necessarily purchase something right away. Before I had my own pupcakery, I purchased baking time in a community commercial kitchen. This way I didn’t have to worry about finding a building right away and could learn how to use commercial equipment before I purchased. It also gave me a chance to save the money to put a down payment on Pupcake Sugar.
CHOOSE A SIDE HUSTLE
Try to find a way to capitalize on your budding business and make some money from other sources. I’m also a big fan of working smarter not harder. So, if you can make some extra money go for it. For instance, while I was getting things together for my pupcakery, I’d sell pupcake recipe books on my website for extra money. I also sold pupcakes at events. It allowed me to raise some extra capital and link it to my business.
KEEP INGREDIENTS SIMPLE
This is a shout out to all my pupcakepreneurs out there. When I opened Pupcake Sugar, I had 5 menu offerings. One, because I wanted to start small. And, two because I didn’t want to waste money on too many unnecessary ingredients. I expanded my menu offerings later.
GIVE YOURSELF GRACE
Be patient with yourself as you’re starting out. You may not have everything you need, but working with the resources you have will spark creativity. So, rather than comparing yourself to what everyone else has, be grateful for what you do have. And, use it to work for you.
When I was building Pupcake Sugar, I worked two jobs to fund my idea. I looked at them both as my side hustles to support my money goals. Yes, there were times where I was super tired and longed for a good nap. But, working both jobs and building a business kept me organized and practicing time management, which are important for any pupcakepreneur.
So, I’d love to hear from you.
How do you save money to fund your dreams?
Please share in the comment box below.
