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Lori Kliman & Heather White
Co-Owners, Cupcakes by Heather and Lori, Vancouver

A solid business strategy puts icing on entrepreneurial venture

When opportunity knocks, Lori Kliman and Heather White answer it with cupcakes.

Lori and Heather both have sales backgrounds. In fact, when they met, each was working at her first retail job. They were 15.

Heather moved to Calgary, where she continued to work in the fashion industry. Meanwhile, Lori went to UBC to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in animal biology. (She has yet to apply it.) Through their early twenties, the two moved into more sales jobs in various industries. Working in business eventually lead to the idea of starting their own company.

"We always fantasized about starting up our own company... we thought it was going to be in fashion. Who would have thought it was going to be cupcakes?" muses Lori. They were 28 and yearned to move beyond the dream. When the opportunity presented itself, they decided to go for it. "We just wanted to start something, and the cupcakes idea was there at the time."

The two quickly discovered how frustrating it is to start out in business with no money, no credit, and no experience. Women's Enterprise Centre was a phone call away with lots of insight. They had recommendations for all aspects of the business, including banking, legal advice, and cash flow management - the toughest challenge for Cupcakes.

"Women's Enterprise Centre has been a valuable resource for us." says Lori. "It is comforting to know there is always someone a phone call away that will listen, and provide valuable counsel at anytime."

Lori's recommendations for others who are considering starting up their own business: "If you are a naturally driven, passionate, devoted person you can do anything." She believes this combination is present in any successful person. "Also, I believe strongly in intuition. Everyone has it... listen to it."

Lori believes Heather's strongest attributes are her drive and determination, especially when dealing with sales. Her own strong point is her ability to market. "Our Cupcakes Bakery is a brand, and the significance of understanding that and getting out there is my job and my passion!"

Lori and Heather will be pulling together all the drive, determination and marketing they can muster. Their long-term plans are impressive. "Our model is 5-5-5," Lori explains, "5 stores in 5 years, doing $5M each." And that's just for the Vancouver market. Once the model is established, they plan to franchise out to potential Area Developers in Canada and the US.

Ambitious? Certainly. But Lori and Heather have proven themselves in a tough market, with increasing sales and the optimism of looming national and international exposure during the upcoming Olympics. They expect to have five Vancouver locations up and running before then. It's a golden marketing opportunity, and when opportunity knocks, these two women make the most of it.

 

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