Rising Stars: Meet Zachary and Emma Haigler

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zachary and Emma Haigler. 

Hi Zachary and Emma, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Our story begins in the fall of 2019 when Emma, our daughter, and Rebecca, also known as Mom, decided to participate in the Chandler Woods Charter Academy’s Fall Craft Show. As our son, Zach listened to the conversation he spoke up and said he did not want to be left out. The only problem with his desire to participate was that he had no idea what he was going to make, so the family brainstorming began. We all agreed that food would be the best idea, especially handheld food and that is when Emma suggested the idea of cake pops. “Cake pops,” I asked, what in the world were cake pops and then the research began. 

Before you know it, Zach had decided on the designs and flavors of the cake pops he wanted to make. Then the journey began of a father and son shopping at the grocery and hobby stores to find all the ingredients and items needed to make them. After an initial attempt at using store-bought frosting and cake mix, which just did not taste good, father and son spent time watching videos of how to make everything from scratch. This was it, baking from scratch was tasty, the designs looked cute, and ZacPops was officially born. We took everything we had created and were off to Chandler Woods to sell some cake pops. 

Zach was nervous to be in front of strangers and I was hoping he would sell a few to feel good about the work he did. That is when everything changed because he did not just sell a few, he sold out of almost all the designs by the end of the show. From there we entered both the Rockford and Northview craft shows trying to sell a few more and working at improving the flavors and designs. The work was rewarded by selling hundreds more at each show, along with getting some special orders including the ask for a birthday cake. 

Since then, Zach and I have continued to try and improve the recipes, create new flavors, and try our hands at making birthday and ice cream cakes. During the same time, both Emma and Rebecca joined us with their ability to design and decorate both cakes and cake pops. In a year of a worldwide pandemic that changed so many lives, we were able to find blessings working on orders for ZacPops. Through it all Rebecca and I have been able to teach Zach and Emma firsthand about tithing, savings, paying back costs, re-investing, and of course, spending some on themselves. Along with the financial lessons, we have been able to teach them about working as a team, showing grace and encouragement both in failure and success, and finding ways to bless others as God has blessed them. 

So here I am a year later trying to write a synopsis of our story that is being posted to our new website, which was created and designed by Emma. We will continue to improve the website to open it up for custom orders for cakes, cake pops, and some new desserts yet to come. In the meantime, we hope you try some of our cake pops and want to send a special thank you from Zach and Emma for supporting ZacPops! 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There is the usual challenges of learning new recipes, decorations, and different types of new products. This year also brought supply chain issues which was challenging to make sure we were ordering enough of all the products we use in time, especially for the holidays. It caused us to have to find alternative sources of our products and the use of different vendors, this was both stressful and valuable learning lessons. Even with this year’s challenges, the biggest challenge has been learning the balance between starting your own business while going to school and then trying to do sports and have a personal life. Even with our parents’ help in organizing and structuring the business, the actual decisions on when and what to do with jobs has taken a lot to get used to. It has made us think more thoughtful about the decisions we do make and the value of what we are getting out of them. We definitely have learned to appreciate and not take for granted the amount time you give both to the work and to our personal lives. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Zacpops makes cake pops, cakes, cupcakes, and other sweet treats, but we are definitely known for specializing in cake pops. 

It is a hard question to answer about what we are most proud of, as there are many different proud moments. The first proud moment is when we put in the hard work at the beginning when doing craft shows and how we were able to make both a good-looking product, but also one that everyone really liked. Another proud moment was when we had continued to make our products for over a year and then created and started our own website just over a year ago. But probably the most proudest moment have been the number of opportunities we have had to give back to people. Whether it was giving to front-line workers who had helped out with a boy at our school who was battling cancer. Or giving parents free birthday cakes during the shutdowns from covid when no one could have birthday parties. Or even when we were able to donate to different charity events, all of them showed us how a little kindness of some sweet treats can bring smiles to a lot of kids and people. The feeling it gives you to see how your business has brought happiness and joy to someone is definitely something we are proud of and hope we can continue to do more. 

Zacpops is unique because of the detail of work we create in all our cake pops and other treats. We do the research, find the right products, take time to make the best flavors, and truly invest in creating something special for each person who orders a custom order. While we do make generic cake pops for the holidays, the majority of the work we do is all specialized to the wants and needs of the customer. The combination of the cost, the look, and the taste are what make Zacpops unique. All of that comes from using each strengths of the family to make the best possible product for our customers. 

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Some advice for other people just starting out with their own small business is that you need to have the motivation, effort, and positive mindset to keep going even when you may hit a bump in the road. Having a passion for the work you are doing also will help out with the bumps in the road. Ask lots of questions and do your research, which has helped us not only find easier ways of doing things but saving money on different products to use. When you get stressed or something doesn’t work out, take a break. Your family, friends, and customers are what’s important, so keep those good and treat them right, because in the end it’s only cake. 

Something we wish we knew when we were starting out is that preparing ahead is very important to keep a healthy work-life balance and not stress yourself out with your business. Creating a plan and a calendar is also important to stay organized with your business. Having a plan and a calendar has allowed us to grow our business without really being more busy or more stressed. Maybe having a list of the things, we would need to learn it would have made it somewhat easier. With so many things to learn, having a list would have made it easier to break down into smaller amounts to learn. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: zacpops.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacpops/?hl=en