From the Kansas City Star - see @Ms_Nene on Twitter for more information.
Through word of mouth and Twitter, people began to tout (and tweet about) her sweets. Pictures floated around, and one day last autumn, thanks to a picture of a Godzilla cake she made for a birthday party, Renee (@Ms_Nene) staged a sort of Twitter takeover.
“Orders just started coming in,” she says. “It’s been surprising the way it’s all come together through social networking. It fell into my lap. People I would have never known in real life, I’ve met through Twitter and Facebook because of my cupcakes. It’s surreal.”
Now she’s baking 150 to 300 cupcakes a week. Her children, 2-year-old Keegan and 5-year-old Gwyn, sometimes help. And her husband, Kurt, is the official taste tester.
Last Saturday, she wanted a variety of taste testers. So she invited people she met online, fellow entrepreneurs and a few real life friends to taste and celebrate her new endeavor — Takes the Cake Bakery. For now, she runs the business out of her kitchen.
“My goal is to have a mobile cupcakery,” she says. Much like the popular food trucks in California, Renee wants to drive a cupcake truck. She’ll park all over the city and post her locations online. And, of course, she’ll make deliveries.
“I prefer to deliver, because I like the fact that I get to see how happy the people are,” she says.
“I kind of have an emotional attachment to my cupcakes. And I’m a Leo, so I like the praise,” she jokes.
She’s still figuring out the economics and pricing of cupcake delivery, but she thinks the time is right for her start-up.
“I think the recession has made cupcakes trendy,” she says. “People don’t quit eating cake. And cupcakes are a quick fix to a sweet tooth. You can buy one treat without buying the whole cake.”
Through word of mouth and Twitter, people began to tout (and tweet about) her sweets. Pictures floated around, and one day last autumn, thanks to a picture of a Godzilla cake she made for a birthday party, Renee (@Ms_Nene) staged a sort of Twitter takeover.
“Orders just started coming in,” she says. “It’s been surprising the way it’s all come together through social networking. It fell into my lap. People I would have never known in real life, I’ve met through Twitter and Facebook because of my cupcakes. It’s surreal.”
Now she’s baking 150 to 300 cupcakes a week. Her children, 2-year-old Keegan and 5-year-old Gwyn, sometimes help. And her husband, Kurt, is the official taste tester.
Last Saturday, she wanted a variety of taste testers. So she invited people she met online, fellow entrepreneurs and a few real life friends to taste and celebrate her new endeavor — Takes the Cake Bakery. For now, she runs the business out of her kitchen.
“My goal is to have a mobile cupcakery,” she says. Much like the popular food trucks in California, Renee wants to drive a cupcake truck. She’ll park all over the city and post her locations online. And, of course, she’ll make deliveries.
“I prefer to deliver, because I like the fact that I get to see how happy the people are,” she says.
“I kind of have an emotional attachment to my cupcakes. And I’m a Leo, so I like the praise,” she jokes.
She’s still figuring out the economics and pricing of cupcake delivery, but she thinks the time is right for her start-up.
“I think the recession has made cupcakes trendy,” she says. “People don’t quit eating cake. And cupcakes are a quick fix to a sweet tooth. You can buy one treat without buying the whole cake.”
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