Why Not Start with a Food Truck? How a Baking Business Launched with a Purchase from Craigslist
Good day, friends! 👋🏾👋🏼👋In today’s newsletter, you’ll get an inside look at how Sandra Shorter, Ed.D. started and expanded her food truck business. In Part One, you got an overview of how she transitioned from a career in education to becoming a small business owner.
Now, in Part Two, you’ll find out the following:
🌴Costs associated with converting a truck into a food truck
🌴How Shorter figured out her purpose in life
🌴How she incorporates her purpose in a practical way into her business
🌴 Here's Sandra Shorter, the baker and business owner...
Working out of the food truck
STARTING WITH A FOOD TRUCK VS. A SHOP CAN SAVE YOU MONEY
Her name is Trixie. And she’s a food truck that turned Sandra Shorter, a teacher and instructional coach, into an entrepreneur who founded The Naked Cupcake.
“It became this truck that would just go around. And people would get excited. We had this radio that was pumping out music with lights. Make it a party.”
Shorter says she decided to go the food truck route for a couple of reasons.
“It was a lower investment. We could afford that.”
There was another good reason that served two purposes.
TEST YOUR CONCEPT AND BUILD A FOLLOWING
It's important that you test your concept by getting feedback
“We were testing the [cupcake] concept [to] see if people would like it and we would gain a following. So, one day, we could open the store and have people, you know, ready for us.”
She had some savings and also used a couple of zero-percent interest credit cards to get started.
THERE ARE WAYS TO SAVE IN THE PURCHASE OF YOUR FOOD TRUCK
Shorter says she was able to save money because she didn’t have equipment in the truck.
“A lot of these other food trucks have a lot of equipment. Stoves and stuff. We don’t have any baking equipment. We worked out of a commercial kitchen.”
As for where she got her food truck, she found it on Craig’s List for nearly $6500.
The ’86 Chevy P30 step van had graffiti on it. But Shorter was able to look past that.
The truck Sandra bought from Craig's List - with graffiti and all
THE TRUCK DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT; YOU CAN HAVE IT FITTED FOR YOUR PURPOSES
She spent $4,000 to have the truck wrapped. Nowadays, she says that runs around $7,000.
A generator cost her an extra $4,000.
She had the truck gutted, 3 FRP (fiberglass reinforced panel) walls installed to make sure it was up to food code and had diamond-plated flooring, shelving, a three-compartment sink and the electricity and circuit breaker installed. She says, when all was said and done, the buildout cost her a total of $15,000, which included $8,000 for the generator and the wrapping.
That’s actually affordable compared to what she’s seen online and heard others tell her some food trucks cost.
The truck - transformed
DIY MAY BE THE WAY TO GO
To Shorter, it made sense to go this route. She says she's wired for DIY (do-it-yourself) work. Plus, she thinks being Latina may have something to do with it.
Growing up, she remembers her dad’s approach to big purchases.
“My dad was always, like, no, we can do it ourselves. Or, we can do it for cheaper.”
Dad to the rescue to fix the food truck (pictured with Sandra and her husband)
Another plus is that she says these kinds of trucks are inexpensive to fix.
And even when challenges pop up, she welcomes them.
OWNING A BUSINESS WILL HAVE YOU SOLVING PROBLEMS – CONSTANTLY
“I think what I love is, it’s a problem to solve.”
She’ll ask herself questions like these:
“How do I make these cupcakes better?”
“How do I get into these events?”
“How do I sell more?”
“How do I create a team?”
She calls it a “constant[ly]-evolving problem to solve that you have 100% creative liberty on how you solve it. And it feels good when it works.”
She sums it up as “a constant high.”
Sandra with her cupcake creations
FIGURE OUT YOUR PURPOSE
Practically speaking, Shorter started The Naked Cupcake as a food truck because it was cheaper.
But, really, she discovered that her cupcake business aligned with who she is at her core.
“I recognized that the purpose in my life is to bring joy into this world. That’s my job.”
She says she discovered her purpose after attending The Rise Conference, which was started by Rachel Hollis, an author and motivational speaker.
Shorter says, when you’re trying to figure out your purpose, it’ll “transcend all that you do. It’s not about the career that you have.”
YOU DON’T NECESSARILY HAVE TO CHOOSE A FOOD TRUCK OR A SHOP
Because her food truck has done so well, Shorter made the jump to opening a store.
It does not mean she abandoned Trixie, the food truck. It’s still definitely a part of her business.
“Our truck is constantly booked” in Winter Garden.
At her cupcake shop in Lake Nona, she continues her mission of spreading joy.
“There’s a wall in my shop [that’s] kind of the motto of why we do what we do. And it says, ‘Eat cake! Because every day deserves to be celebrated.’”
Spreading joy at the cupcake shop
From doing cupcake parties with characters to a couples’ night at the shop, she has found ways to spread joy in different ways.
SPREADING JOY, FINDING JOY
Being a business owner has given her the platform to do it.
It started with sharing joy as a teacher.
Now, Sandra Shorter shares joy selling cupcakes as a business owner.
Her business has grown to the point where she has around 20 employees; four of them are full-time.
No, she never imagined this is what she’d be doing.
"The Baking Lady" - Sandra grows up to be a small business owner
But, in trying to fill others with joy, she has, in the process, filled her own soul with joy.
“I have loved, with every ounce of my body, everything about business. Love it!”
Joy personified
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE
Years ago, billionaire Richard Branson starred in a reality show. It didn't last long at all.
Like all the other reality shows, the contestants had to complete certain challenges to advance.
I remember one contestant was getting ready to do a challenge when Branson showed up.
He asked her if she was really going to go through with the challenge. I wish I could remember what the challenge actually was. But I can't.
What I do remember was what happened afterwards.
The contestant said she really was going to accept the challenge.
Then, moments before, Branson stopped her.
He told her she would've died had she gone through with the challenge.
I remember asking myself, would I have gone through with it?
I don't know. I kind of think, if you're on a reality show, you might feel extra pressure to do things you normally wouldn't.
In any case, his lesson to her was that you don't take risks, especially dangerous ones, just to take them.
Whenever possible, you take "calculated" risks (Of course, I've read that Branson has taken some pretty daring risks himself).
But I think there's a good lesson there about minimizing risk, if at all possible. Maybe I say that because I am, by nature, a risk-taker. I think most entrepreneurs are.
I bring all this up because I've mentioned before that it's really hard to succeed with a restaurant or food-related business. The numbers are stacked against you.
It's definitely a risk.
That's why I loved Sandra Shorter's plan to start her cupcake business with a food truck and see if her cupcakes gained traction (and a following) before jumping in and opening a cupcake shop.
She took a measured risk. She found a way to hedge her bets.
In her case, it worked out and her business grew.
But even she says she is not a fan of jumping into things, head-first, without some sort of plan.
A food truck business sounds like a good stepping stone to testing out the strength of your idea.
So, if you're determined to start a food-related business, maybe that's the way to go?
Look into it. Do your research. I hope it sparks some ideas for you.
If there's a way to turn it into a calculated risk vs. a going-for-broke kind of risk, then take it from there. Good luck, regardless of what you decide!
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🌴I send you a sincere thank you for spending a little bit of your day reading my newsletter. #theskyisNOTthelimit 😻
Sandra's daughters learning the art of baking