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Has it really been 8 months?

Wow..  so it's been 8 months since my last post and i'm pretty shocked at how fast this year has flown by.  The Velvet Buttercream has really taken off like a weed in terms of sales!  I've made large advancements in showcasing the profitability of the bakery and proving that I know how to manage the business and not just make the delicious cakes ;) In january of this year I began making preparations to begin counting inventory so that I know how much I have vested into my company.  February was my first initial inventory, March would be the first month when I am able to see how much i'm actually spending per month.  Now that i'm 7 months into counting inventory I've noticed a stable food cost, which I will admit is very high, however.. I do still find myself buying select items from a grocery store since there would be no way in hell i'd finish a full case of lemons before they went bad.  I anticipate the number to continue dropping considerably once my
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What a year!

To say that 2016 was a bumpy ride might be an understatement.  We started off the year with a completed business plan and overambitious goals to launch the business by spring 2016.  A slap in the face by the big banks set me back quite a bit.  It made me realize that I needed to take a step back and gain the following of customers along with a stronger business plan to show that I am serious about moving forward. Fast forward to the end of the year "The Velvet Buttercream" saw significant sales increases up to the final three months of the year when sales quadrupled.  We posted sales gains for 9 out of 12 months, the 3 months we did not just so happened to be our slow summer season locally here in Phoenix.  We've been continually adding new items to the web store with the most recent items being our "Peanut Butter Cup" cake.  Currently we are working on a cake tentatively called the "Black Velvet Mocha", it's sure to be a death by chocolate so
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So 31 came and went..

In my last blog I was talking a lot about how far i've come in one year with " The Velvet Buttercream ", and to be honest it's been quite the journey over the last year.  I don't regret any single moment of what i've learned or the money i've spent in the last year.  The Velvet Buttercream seems to get all of my attention lately, even the interested people in my life have fallen a bit to the wayside in favor of the bakery being number one.  Maybe that means something? What I love most about my home is... the people inside. and... the bakery down the street. Anyhow, my 31st birthday went on as planned even with all the chaos going on in my life at that moment. Speaking of which..!  I forgot to tell you that I got a new job  :D  Holy crap I couldn't even wrap my head around it.  I went in to LaGrande Orange to drop off my resume on a monday and ended up chatting with the Executive Pastry Chef for about a half an hour or so.  I setup a stage (a t
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Yaaaaaasssssss! #website #roll

So the website is finally updated and all of the text that needs to be there, is finally there!  Hey, I even got the mobile version of the website up and running..  I'm on a roll lately  :D  (Check it out:   www.velvetbuttercream.com ) Over the summer months i'm going to be looking for a new place to live so that I can expand my product line for The Velvet Buttercream from just cakes, to adding artisan bread, cookies, muffins, gluten free. & vegan options.  I know that it's a huge undertaking but I just can't make it work.  So where will my living adventures take me now?  Purchase a house, condo, just rent a single bedroom apartment, or rent a two bedroom apartment and ask that the refrigerator be all mine.  I guess only time will tell. Next on The Velvet Buttercream's checklist is to update the business plan which is another huge  undertaking.  I'm trying to make the business plan a bit more cost friendly for investors.  I'd like to bring the op
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The 10th anniversary of my 21st Birthday is almost here!

Why hello there,  glad to see you all again!  I know that it's been quite some time since my last post and I apologize.  I always seem to end my last blog by saying that i'll write another one soon.. but i'm pretty horrible at keeping up with that.  I think i'll start setting an alarm to remind me to write about the week. Anyway, I've been really busy between trying to keep my day job happy and trying to keep myself motivated about  The Velvet Buttercream .  I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't burned out from creating cakes day in day out, plus trying to get the bakery off the ground..  It's exhausting to try and make all of this work, and honestly i'm becoming burned out from it all.  The one thing that still keeps me excited about The Velvet Buttercream is that many of you are excited about the project, it's you who keep me in the game and are always pushing me to move forward.  For that I thank you.  :) So here we are ending the first wee
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What's "Velvet Icing?"

Have you ever been so entrenched in ideas of flavors that your mind is always having your mouth water?  So if your not familiar with "The Velvet Buttercream" icing, it's a traditional icing with a nice smooth velvety taste and yet it's whipped to be as light as a feather so that it's not very harsh on your palette.  The fantastic part about this icing is that it can be paired with almost anything as the replacement for a "traditional" buttercream.  Velvet Buttercream As you could imagine the pairings with the Velvet Icing must be unique and help each flavor versus fight against one another.  Flavors like Chocolate cake, Blackberries, Raspberries, Chambord liqueur, and Velvet icing.  If your not familiar with those flavors, it's like heaven in your mouth!  The rich moist chocolate chambord cake filled with blackberries and raspberries finished with velvet buttercream.  It's like music to my ears, not too sweet & not too rich
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So.. I've been kinda busy!

It's been a minute since I last wrote to you guys, but boy let me tell you....  I've been busy! In the past month since my last post I've managed to check off almost 96% of my list of to-do's for the bakery.  Which includes: Setup the website www.velvetbuttercream.com Setup the email address ajcuriel@velvetbuttercream.com Speak to coffee vendors Speak to Phoenix New Times regarding advertising Speak to a Ford Fleet salesman & friend about a 2016 Transit Connect Finish the Profit & Loss Statement Create Concept statement Create Vision statement Create Mission Statement Finish Demographics Finish Competition Analysis Create Marketing Create Target Market statement Create the Cake menu Create the Drinks menu Edit the Initial purchase ledger for the 100th time Create the 5-year forecasted sales Create Labor forecast Edit the Mock schedule for the 20th time Create an Exit strategy Create a new Cake Order form Get signed up with the "
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