How cake can help you build your design biz

Everybody knows that great branding, funnels and email marketing will help you grow and build your design biz.

But the secret overachiever in my biz-building mix? Cake.

MOTHER-LOVIN’ CAKE.

Don’t believe me? Keep reading. 

I recently had the opportunity to chat to one of my Design Biz Bootcamp students on Zoom.

It was a quick but potent 15-min chat to help her gain clarity on her design biz. 

But instead of diving into what kills and thrills her about her biz, she asked me:

“So, what is YOUR fave cake?”

I couldn’t help but smile ? This gorgeous lady wanted to spend her precious 15mins with me … chatting about my fave dessert. 

Random, right?

Except, well, it really wasn’t.

You see, *they* might have built their city on rock and roll … but I built my biz on cake. 

I genuinely love cake. I have always been a cake lover, and why wouldn’t I be? 

it is soft and delicious and comforting and so often super pretty. 

Plus, cake is there in during life’s ups & downs.

Celebrating a big win? Eat cake.
Sad about a difficult client? Eat cake.
Stressed about a deadline? Eat cake.

Being an unapologetic cake-lover is of my quirks. It’s part of my personality. 

And I try my hardest to be 100% authentic in my business. 

Not everything in business needs to be polite & professional. It is important to let your freak flag fly so that you attract like-minded (freak flag waving) people. 

So these days, when you ask to join my private Facebook group you have to answer a few vital questions before you get approved, and one of them is, “What is your fave cake?”

Why do I ask this question? 

Well, I can tell a lot about a person by what their fave cake is. 

By asking the cake question I get to figure out if people are on the same wavelength as me and, I know it sounds silly, but we make an emotional connection. Yes, over cake. 

But why do you need to connect with people who are gonna be your clients?

Because by laying it all on the line and showing the world. “This is ME”, you only attract the BEST clients; the clients who adore you, the clients who hang off every word you write (smirk) and, simultaneously, get rid of the ones who think you are strange.

I only want my raving fans on my team, not the people who think I’m just ok or meh, because I’m all the way or nothing baby.

So I’m totally brutal when it comes to the pre-approval cake question. 

My fave type of answer is:
I don’t discriminate, I love all kinds of cake! 
To which my response is: I LOVE YOU! COME IN ?

My least fave type of answer is:
I don’t like cake. 
To which my response is: YOU MONSTER! DENIED ? 

This is my non-negotiable. 

Yours might be a love of pastels and sparkles, or a penchant for retro/antique shopping. 

Whatever it is that makes you the quirky, adorable, amazing designer you are – OWN IT. 

By owning your originality, you will find bonding and connecting with your peeps so much easier. 

And what does your fave cake say about you as a designer?

Well, shockingly, there is no scientific evidence to back up my theories … but the below cake personality types are (near)sciency fun to unite us freak flag flying cakies. 

?Carrot cake – You are a sensible designer boss-lady. You care deeply about your work & your clients and are a bit of an over-thinker. You are kind and always have interesting conversation starters.

?Chocolate cake – You are a fun designer boss-lady. You are well-loved and very compassionate. You’re the life of the party and do what you want, when you want. Clients adore you. 

?Vanilla sponge – Not your typical vanilla designer! You are far from boring; you are a firecracker that flies under the radar. You’re impulsive and passionate. You are the leader of your creative girl gang. 

?Cheesecake – Oh hey drama designer boss-lady! When you tell a story, everyone listens. You are smooth and a little bit emotional but very well loved. A true leader! 

❤️Red velvet – You are a complex designer boss-lady. You are a lone wolf. You are loyal & trustworthy and a very dear friend once the barriers are broken down. You are quiet but delightfully quirky. 

So I know the suspense is killing you…What IS my fave cake?

To be honest, I love ALL cake but if I had to choose, I would nom a creamy baked cheesecake in a heartbeat.

What’s your fave cake, lady? 

According to the Designer Boss-Ladies poll we have a lot of chocolate lovers amongst us, closely followed by cheesecake fiends….