Q&A with a young entrepreneur whose business is no piece of cake

April 30 2010. TalentEgg Incubator.

Over the past few years, television programs featuring baking and cakes, such as Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss and Amazing Wedding Cakes, have become wildly popular. And for good reason: cake is a yummy (and perhaps one of my favourite) part of celebrations, and it takes a lot of skill to make the ornate creations that these professionals do.

Jen Stirk, a self-professed foodie and owner of Pastry DC, creates elaborate works of art out baked goods. She learned the necessary techniques to make yummy pieces of art through Georgian College’s culinary skills diploma and a confectionery arts certificate from the Bonnie Gordon School of Cake Decorating and Design, but they are no piece of cake.

Jen and I recently spoke about her education and how it relates to her business.

Q. What made you want to pursue a degree in culinary arts?

A. I’ve always loved the culinary world, but it wasn’t until a 12^th grade culinary class that the idea of pursuing post-secondary education in the subject was suggested by my teacher. He inspired me and believed in my abilities. He encouraged me and boosted my confidence. Thanks to him, I looked into the idea of furthering my education and decided to go forward with his suggestion. I applied to school, was accepted and found myself excelling in my schoolwork. Thanks to one of my teachers during my post secondary education, I decided to further expand my education in confectionery arts, which is now the basis of my new business.

Q. How did you get the idea to start your business?

A. I’ve always known I wanted to own my own business. At first I wasn’t sure what it would be, I definitely knew it was either fashion or food. Throughout my schooling I was introduced to many business classes. However, my education did start me thinking more seriously about beginning a business and the challenges it would present.

Q. What skills have you utilized from your degree and certificate to help promote, develop and improve Pastry DC?

A.I learned so many skills being in school. Everything from organization, communication, multi tasking, and of course the actual skills to produce a sell-able product. I learned the different theories and process involved in running a business. Through tutoring my peers I developed the skills to teach others, which has and will be quite an important asset to developing and potentially expanding by business. I utilize all of these skills on a daily basis to help promote, develop and improve Pastry DC.

Q. What do you want to see from your company in the next year? What about the next five years?

A. In the next year I would like to of course build a larger clientèle. I would like to develop and learn new recipes to be able to offer new products, specifically allergy accommodating products. I want to obtain a professional location to work directly out of. I have plans to be able to offer workshops on basic cake design and baking.

There are still so many more areas of culinary arts that I would like educate my self in within the next few years, i.e., writing my Red Seal, but as things stand now, in the next five years I would like to have an established storefront and catering service for Pastry DC. I want to be able to service a wider geographical area, potentially province wide. I want to be able to expand the workshops offered to also include workshops in subjects such as pastry making, fine French pastries, and advanced cake design.

Q. What words of advice do you have for other students and grads who want to start their own business?

A. If you’re going to start a business, you need to be passionate about it. Stay focused and positive. It can be hard work, but perseverance pays off. Ask questions, research and remember that everything takes time and patience.

Network, network, network. The people you know can really help you to go farther and help you develop your business. I couldn’t have accomplished what I have accomplished and wouldn’t be where I am right now if it wasn’t for all the support and help from people and businesses such as my family, my friend Sean Rowe from myVibe.ca, Lisa Clements from Ravens Ridge Photography, Emily and Tanya from Pear Home, Mr. Smith from Orangeville District Secondary School, and all my other friends who have helped me so much. Networking and keeping an open mind can take you so far when starting a business.

Most importantly, keep learning. You can never have enough education. It can really take you above and beyond your original expectations or desires.

Life is a circus: Q&A with a nouveau cirque performer

February 26 2010. TalentEgg Incubator.

While growing up, many of us threatened our parents with running away and joining the circus if we didn’t get our way.

For Tiffany Warden, a world religions and East Asian studies student at the University of Toronto, the circus doesn’t mean the big top with clowns, tigers and bike stunts. For her, the circus means contemporary circus(also known as le nouveau cirque), akin to Cirque de Soleil.

Tiffany trains and works out of Toronto School of Circus Arts, and tours with its production company Cirque Sublime.

I recently asked her some questions about what it is like juggling her studies and a career in the circus.

Q. Tell us about teaching at the Toronto School of Circus Arts.

A. I teach there two to three times a week, mostly doing what’s called “working the board” on the flying trapeze rig. I’m the one who fishes for the safety lines and hooks the next flyer up and gives the odd tip before they take off the board again.

I also work a lot of corporate groups, which is usually using circus arts to help build morale and team spirit within a business group, or to congratulate the team on a particular job well done.

Q. What is it like being a performer for Cirque Sublime? How often do you go on tour and what do you do?

A. Performing is the most fun aspect of being in the whole circus world, and I work as hard as I do at my various jobs in order to be able to continue to do it! Tours are generally one to three weeks long at a time (because while we’re away, classes at the school can’t run) and happen two or three times a year.

I perform a duo hoop act with my good friend Laura (two girls, one hoop) and I’m debuting an aerial rope act later this month as a solo piece.

Q. Why did you decide to complete your degree part-time while simultaneously working?

A.Not because it’s easy! Circus is like dance or something where you only have a small window of time in which your body can do the things demanded of it by the job. If I had waited to finish my degree, I would have missed some of the best learning years of my circus career. Once you hit late 20s-early 30s, it’s hard to gain things like flexibility; usually a person can only maintain what they have.

Q. Considering all of the things you do (Tiffany also designs costumes for cosplay and renaissance fairs, models, and works another part-time job)–for work or for fun–what would you eventually like to do career-wise?

A. Circus, for sure, is what I want to do, for as long as I can do it. When I start to break down (and everybody does eventually) I wouldn’t mind seeing if I could meld circus with some form of burlesque.

I would also love to combine cosplay and the anime convention scene with circus, creating a couple acts based around certain characters from certain animes, dressing up as them and performing to music from the show. I think fans would eat it up, and I could basically get to go to every convention for free and then some. I may actually try this at the upcoming Anime North here in Toronto.

Q. Anything else I left out you want to add?

A. Just that I was always the super awkward girl at the back of the dance class, so if I can make money doing this, there’s hope for everyone!

Using your education to your advantage: QandA with a young entrepreneur

February 8 2010. TalentEgg Incubator.

Most of the business majors I’ve known have gone from university into the corporate world, bypassing any ideas of working for themselves.

I wonder why they do not opt to start their own businesses, based on the fact that their education can benefit various facets of the business world.

Guelph University business marketing alumnus Hattie Dunstan is a diamond in the rough. She has applied her formal education to help her business, Got Hattitude, which sells one-of-a-kind jewelry, become more popular.

Q. Did your degree give you the idea to start up your business?
A. I had started my business a few years prior to starting University, but my degree has helped launch my business full time. It has allowed me to market, brand and given me so many more ideas to help organize and infrastructure my business to compete on a full time level.

Q. Have you used your degree to help promote and develop Got Hattitude?
A. I have used my degree to develop Hattitude so much. It is so much fun to see how I started off five years ago, to what I am doing now with marketing Hattitude to the world. It has allowed me to brand my products.

I think marketing is the key to any business. I’ve seen some companies with an okay product, but they have marketed and branded themselves like crazy and are one of the top sellers.

I’m lucky since Hattitude is such a unique and one-of-a-kind product, it’s easy to market it and brand it to make the jewellery popular as well.

Q. What do you want to see from your company in the next year? Five years?
A. I would like to one day open a retail clothing and jewellery store, where Hattitude can be sold with the perfect outfit to match the jewellery. I love fashion, and although I think it would be awesome to create my own clothes, for now I think opening up a retail clothing store with local designers and also having an outlet to sell my own jewellery would be amazing, and is my long term goal.

Q. What words of advice do you have for other students and young grads who want to start their own business?
A. Follow through. Don’t give up. It’s so hard at first, and some people quit when they are not making enough money or things are not working fast enough. Businesses take time and effort and energy, and more hard work then a regular 9-5 job.

Even after a work day is over, I am still working on my business, whether it’s researching fashion on the Internet in my spare time, or imagining new designs, owning and running your own business takes more time and energy then you possibly could think.

Someone once told me that it takes 5 years to finally break even, and 10 years to start making money in your business. I also think it takes 10 years to build a customer and loyalty branding base. So it starts off slow, but when it picks up, it’s so worth being your own boss.

It’s exhilarating knowing that you’ve created all this work. Every new idea and new output that you come up with and implement is so exciting. When it’s a success the feeling is like no other knowing that you are the one that created it!