Student turns baking passion into a business
Taking her passion for food to a new level, freshman Lauren Prestia created a cupcake business “Creative Cupcakes,” which has received over 6 orders since it opened Sunday, May 2
May 17, 2021
For some students, getting a part-time job seems like the most logical way to make extra money for college or for fun activities. However this was not the case for freshman Lauren Prestia, who decided to take a different approach to making money and combined it with her favorite hobby—baking.
“I had been working at Culver’s for about nine months and then I quit that job and thought about what I wanted to do to make money over the summer,” Prestia said. “Sitting with one of my cousins, we were figuring out what I should do and I’ve always loved baking so I decided ‘why not start a business?’”
With owning and running a business comes a lot of responsibility and work, but Prestia is no stranger to putting in the effort.
“I started practicing weeks before it opened for orders, about three to four weeks. Multiple weekends, I spent just making a bunch of cupcakes and buttercream, practicing to perfect my recipe,” Prestia said. “I did a lot of research because my buttercream was the wrong consistency. I was good at baking before, but definitely not an expert.”
With support from people around her, Prestia was able to find success early in her business.
“My aunt has really helped me by making stickers, business cards and a logo to use on Instagram and menus. My mom has helped me from the start when she bought me all the ingredients for my first order to get me going,” Prestia said.
Although baking has long been a hobby of Prestia’s, she does recognize that there are downsides to making a product that is extremely time consuming.
Despite these negatives, Prestia finds the good and enjoys the endless possibilities cupcakes provide.
“[Baking] does take a lot of time. I have spent about six hours on the most recent order making about 100 cupcakes,” Prestia said. There’s also many different things you can do with it, so in a way making cupcakes is very versatile. I can add little designs, different colors, different piping tips and shapes and flavors. It is very fun to do and I like that you can accommodate everyone.”
Along with the creativity cupcakes allow for, Prestia sees the variety of events her creations are perfect for using.
“I have made some orders for Mother’s Day, several for graduation parties, and some just to take to neighbors to get the word out,” Prestia said.
With Prestia spending so much time in the kitchen perfecting her recipes, she has learned some secrets to make her cupcakes the best they can be.
“I love to add almond extract to my vanilla cake, which makes it really good. Also just having buttercream that is not too liquidy or too thick,” Prestia said.
Due to her constantly improving cupcakes and her love for supporting small businesses, Prestia urges others to skip the larger bakeries and buy from Creative Cupcakes.
“I have a bunch of seasonal flavors planned and I am a small business and I personally love to support local businesses so I feel others should do the same for me,” Prestia said.
Currently, Prestia is taking orders through the Google Form link in her instagram bio at creativecupcakes.kc, the QR code posted there, or by texting her number.
