We had the good fortune of connecting with Gilda Burke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gilda, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Well, I actually didn’t have a specific thought process about starting a business. I had thought about being an entrepreneur now and then but I never had a definitive business idea until the day it just came to me. I always say it was divine intervention. I never had any desire to cook or bake and, as a matter of fact, I only ever baked boxed mixes on the rare occasion that I found myself in the kitchen. Ofcourse, now a days, I only bake from Scratch. Hence, Scratch Baking Company.

My “divine intervention” came when I was at home on a short leave from my job because my children had gotten sick at daycare.
In between caring for them and them napping, I had a thought just pop into my head, ‘I need to bake from scratch!’.
No idea where in the world that came from but I remember sitting on the couch with both kids napping on either side of me and thinking, I need to bake from scratch. So I got online and consulted Google. Then got up checked what we had in the house and made a list of ingredients. Next thing I knew, I was whipping up cupcakes.
And like many bakers, I took my cupcakes to my job. Everyone loved them and so began the office chirpings: “You should sell these.”, “Why don’t you open a side bakery business?” and so on.
So I did.

I started making cupcakes and almost immediately switched to custom cakes.
That’s when I really started taking this side business more seriously. It took a few years and a lot of practice to hone my skills and grow my home business. I was able to build a nice following on social media as well as acquire regular clients.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business has evolved quite a bit over the years. The short version is: I started out with cupcakes that morphed into custom cakes. I stayed with the custom cakes for several years. Then I bought a bakery where I learned all about how to bake in bulk and wholesale accounts. I expanded that bakery, opening a mall location, where I learned all about logistical nightmares. 😉

I was also able to compete on The Food Network a couple of times and our team actually won the second time around!!
Then a couple of years later, we moved our family further upstate to Warwick, NY, a gorgeous little town that looks like it’s right out of a Hallmark movie. So, I sold the business and took a 4 year hiatus from baking and Jolirose Baking Co. was shelved. (that was the name of my first bakery business). It went from Jolirose Cupcakes to Jolirose Cake Shop to Jolirose Bake Shop to Jolirose Baking Co. Yup, I ran through lots of names.
After my hiatus, I decided that I wanted to get back into it but I didn’t want to go the ready to eat products route.
So I created Scratch Baking Company, a scratch cake mix business. These are my cake and buttercream mixes that have been enjoyed by thousands of clients. All scratch made, no additives or preservatives. They come with easy to follow instructions and pre-measured ingredients. No fuss, no muss plus my clients get a delicious scratch made cake they made with their own two hands. They’re great as gifts or for yourself and they can be shipped all over the continental United States.

There were many learnings each step of the way. It was often challenging but also exciting. I always knew there was a way to get through any difficulty or challenge, I just had to think. The answers usually came to me and if they didn’t, I would reach out to the people around me. You’d be surprised at the solutions and ideas people can come up with. The most important thing I’ve learned is that you have to be willing to get out there and talk to people. You can’t be afraid of that.
I was able to increase the number of wholesale clients at the bakery and make some great connections, just by talking to people.
Here’s a more current story about talking to people.
The town I live in has a great Main Street. Beautiful shops and lots of foot traffic. So, I thought that I might be able to grow Scratch by selling cupcakes at a pop up inside one of the shops so the potential clients can taste the product. I emailed and spoke to a couple of shop owners and after a few rejections or simply unanswered emails, I ran across a shop that was closing. So I walked in and spoke to the store clerk. I just asked some questions about the closing and who was the landlord, etc… She said the owner of the shop might be interested in doing a pop up because she’s not giving up the location, she was moving her retail store a couple of doors down and using the original location for classes. Next thing I know, I’m negotiating pop up rates and dates and now I’m doing a month and a half long pop up for the holidays in that shop.
The moral of the story is, get out there and talk to people who can help you along your path. You will definitely get rejected, but it’s worth it if there’s a chance that you’ll eventually be accepted.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My Miami itinerary, in no particular order would be: A beach day on 2nd- I like 2nd street because its much quieter and there seems to be more families there.

Salty Donut in Wynwood, an absolute MUST
Vicky Bakery for a cafesito and pastelito de guayaba y queso
Coconut Grove
Wynwood Walls
There are probably a million other cool places to visit but those are my main ones when I visit my family there.

Warwick/NYC itinerary:
Bryant Park
NY Library
Hells Kitchen
Rockefeller Center
Central Park
1 World Trade
Warwick Main Street ofcourse 😉
Bellvale Farms Creamery for the best ice cream and mountain views
Apple/pumpkin picking if its a Fall visit
Kayaking at Greenwood Lake if its a Summer Visit
Hiking the Appalachian
Go to the Drive In

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The one person who deserves the loudest shoutout is my husband, Matt. He supported me when I decided that I wanted to go for it with this business. He helped me realize my true dream of staying home to raise my children while being productive and working toward building a great business. It was a tough few years and for those of you reading this, please know that building a business is tough and it involves everyone closest to you. The highs are really high, but the lows are out of this world. You just have to get up everyday and decide that you will make this work, and that’s what I did. Anyhow, we’re still married so that’s a good sign. 😉

The others are my kids. They are my “why”. I’ve always been driven, but I find that I have become relentlessly driven after having children. Something just changes inside when kids come into your life and I’m so grateful for them and for my husband.

Website: https://www.scratchbakingcompany.com

Instagram: instagram.com/scratchbakingcompany

Facebook: Facebook.com/scratchbakingcompany

Youtube: YouTube.com/scratchbakingcompany114

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