Dana Brungardt shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Dana, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about your customers?
Our customers are full of heart! For the past 8 and a half months we have been dealing with construction in front of our business. The construction has taken away all parking directly in front of our bakery and has interrupted access to the sidewalks and the front of the shop, regularly. We have some amazingly kind customers who have stepped up their effort to get in our doors despite the chaos. We have customers who are reaching out to the community on our behalf to help drum up more business because the construction has caused a severe decrease in sales. We have customers praying for us and supporting us through this hardship and it has kept us going despite the challenges. We are incredibly grateful for our customers who have stuck with us for almost 15 years and those who have recently discovered us!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Dana Brungardt and I am the co-owner of “B” Sweet Cupcakes! My mom, Sue and I started the business in August of 2010. I was a new teacher at the time and struggling to find a full time, permanent teaching job in the area. I have always loved to bake and got the baking bug passed down from my great-grandma, grandpa and my mom. Cupcakes were gaining in popularity in fall of 2010, so we started creating our own cupcake recipes and adapting some of great-grandma’s recipes to work as cupcakes, along with our own version of a butter cream frosting and off we went. We started out very small and over the years have added more products to our selection, including some fun items like individual size cheesecakes, the size of cupcakes, muffins, brownies, decorated cookies, bars, scones and we even take special requests. From the very beginning, our goal was to offer a delicious product, made from scratch and baked with love to put smiles on people’s faces. Those smiles start when you walk through our front door and are welcomed in by bright pink and blue colors and whimsical decor that offers a fun and family-friendly atmosphere! We also wanted to give back to the community we were a part of and that I had grown up in. We have donated thousands of cupcakes to local non-profits including Loveland’s Community Kitchen and countless gift certificates for many silent auctions including the local schools. We also wanted to support people in the community by giving jobs to locals, including hiring and supporting internships for adults with special needs.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
I would say my mom has taught me the most about work. As a single mom, raising two kids, she had to work hard to support us. Seeing her achieve goals and better herself through that hard work to climb the ladder and be successful was inspiring. She also applied that hard work to helping me start the business, while she worked a full time job and then offered her time and talents after work to continue to build our business to what it is today. Now that she has retired from that job, she is still working to support our bakery and encourages me every day.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Within the first six months of opening our store front, I wanted to give up. Starting a business with no business experience was tough. Finding the best ways to advertise and connect with consumers was a huge challenge. Finding balance between running a business and working a part time job was a lot of work. We decided to give it a year and see where things went and we slowly continued to grow and reach more people and take orders and get more walk-in business and despite all the ups and downs, we have made it fourteen and half years in our store front and 15 years in business.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes, definitely! I do not disguise who I am.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
I think my customers would miss the connections I have built with them over the years. I try to take the time to get to know my regulars and have conversations about their lives, work, family and travel. It might be a tie though, with our frostings. Our frosting is unique to us and not something you will find anywhere else.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bsweetcupcakes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b.sweet.cupcakes
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BSweetCupcakes
Image Credits
cupcake photos – RFD Productions
