Today we’d like to introduce you to Beverly Whaley.
Hi Beverly, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Growing up, my Oma (which means grandma, in German) made all the birthday cakes for the grandkids. My favorite past-time was sitting in the kitchen, watching her bake and decorate cakes and cookies. In high school, I started reading, watching, and studying how to decorate cakes with buttercream and fondant, and finally started practicing decorating my own cakes. I played around and made it a hobby, creating gum paste flowers, covering cakes in fondant, painting them with luster dust, and having fun creating these cool cakes.
The first fondant cake I ever made was for my Oma’s birthday. After a handful of people ordered cakes from me and told me I should start a business, I decided to try it out. My Oma took me to the local city clerk’s office to register a DBA, marking the beginning of Mark it with a B. My hobby became my side hustle and 13 years later, I live in a new city and have grown my business to a point where it is successful enough to keep doing on my own. Word of mouth turned into social media pages, a website, and now a booth at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market. I have baked a variety of desserts for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, basketball games, bridal shows, and even for people who just want to eat a cake while sitting on their front porch. Mark it with a B has grown from a hobby to a profitable business that continues to organically grow every year.
I have worked very hard to get to where I am today. Many late nights and early mornings are still the case at times, but I have never stopped loving what I do. Now, I have a full-time career in the finance industry and am still able to run Mark it with a B on nights and weekends.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The road has been less bumpy as the years have gone by, but it was not an easy start. To give a little context to my story, my parents did not support me emotionally or financially on this endeavor and my Oma was my biggest cheerleader. I used to work two or three jobs at a time and take cake orders just to make ends meet. I was alone, except for my best friend and roommate, Paige, who was my emotional support when starting Mark it with a B. I had to figure out the business side of it all to make sure I was eventually making some sort of profit.
I was also burned a few times by people who ordered from me. One time, someone ordered a fondant cake and the day after I delivered it, they asked for a refund because they did not like fondant. There was another time when someone ordered a cake after I quoted them the price and when I delivered the cake to them, they told me they thought it was worth only a fraction of what was agreed upon. I had to learn the hard way to have customers pay me ahead of time, set expectations, make sure everyone was on the same page, and learn how to stand up for myself as a business owner.
Another struggle was having confidence in my self-value. So many people back home would compare my products and say they could get a cake at Walmart for way cheaper. I used to feel bad about that and give them a discount. I finally started to realize my worth. I never freeze my products, everything is baked fresh to order, and I customize every order I receive. Now, if someone says they can get a cheaper cake from Walmart, I tell them they certainly can, and I leave it at that. Finally understanding my worth was a gamechanger.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At Mark it with a B, we specialize in custom cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, and pies. Every Saturday at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market, I sell cupcakes, cake pops, cookies, and mini savory and sweetbreads. I bake everything fresh to order and love working with clients to customize flavors, colors, and decorations.
One specialty I have is making gluten-free and/or vegan items. I originally started with making gluten-free lemon crinkle cookies, and they surprisingly became very popular at market by selling out most weekends. The next year, I brought those cookies back, along with vegan and gluten-free cupcakes, blondies, brownies, and snickerdoodle cookies. I have had many people tell me they are not restricted to vegan or gluten-free diets, but they absolutely love my products. Those are usually the first items to sell out each weekend.
I am most proud of how far I have come and how much this business has grown. The number of weddings has grown exponentially, my products have so many people coming back, and having someone come to my booth at market to say they specifically showed up just to find me still amazes me every time. Going from food stamps and a hobby to a business with so many orders that I must turn some down, still blows my mind to this day.
What sets me apart from others is my work ethic and customer service, along with the quality of my products. I work very hard to keep my clients happy and even take on last-minute orders if I know it is helping them out. I try to respond quickly to any emails or messages I receive and do anything I can to accommodate clients. I have also made it a requirement for my products to always be fresh and never frozen. Anything that is ordered from us is baked fresh to order and created specifically for the client.
What makes you happy?
Cooking and baking for others makes me happy. When people tell me how much they loved my product, it fills me with so much joy. Being raised by my Oma and Opa, our lives revolved around food. I would sit in the kitchen while they were cooking or baking and just watch them and some of our best conversations happened in their kitchen. If someone was sick, we would take them a casserole; when the neighbor mowed their lawn, we walked a fresh loaf of banana bread to them. Baking always created so much joy in my life and I wanted to continue spreading that joy to others. I really do put my heart and soul into everything I bake and if my products can put a smile on someone’s face, that is all I need to put a smile on mine.
Pricing:
- Regular Cupcakes – $4/each
- Vegan/GF Cupcakes – $5/each
- Cake Pops – $3/each
- Cakes – Starting at $25
Contact Info:
- Email: markitwab@gmail.com
- Website: www.markitwab.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markitwab/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markitwab
