“I earn $1,100 selling Halloween-themed cake pops!”
“About eight years ago, my mom, a schoolteacher, picked up a book for me about how to make cake pops. It looked like fun, so I started making them and experimenting with different designs. At the end of the school year, I thought it would be a nice surprise to bring in a batch for her colleagues, and by the time I left, I had three orders for more! I started to post photos of my creations on my Facebook page (Sarah Nicole’s Sweet Treats), and when I couldn’t keep up with orders, I realized I had a full-fledged business.
“The first thing I did was purchase supplies at my local craft store, and I designated a room in my home to make the treats. I also reorganized my kitchen to include special shelving units, which my husband created. My mom lent me money to buy a larger oven so I could increase the amount I baked at one time.
“Halloween is a busy time for me—I make about $1,100 at this time of year. I love it because there are so many different aspects of the holiday I can turn into designs. It also allows me to be creative and care for my kids. For example, I make cake pops that look like pumpkins, mummies, ghosts and eyeballs, plus chocolate-covered pretzels that look like witches’ fingers and zombie-themed smash cakes. I’ve also created Halloween-themed wedding cakes and treats for kids’ parties and businesses. Some of my customers travel from hours away to pick up their orders! I charge between $1.50 and $4.24 per cake pop, depending on the complexity of the design.
“I use my Facebook page to market my business, but a lot of my orders are word-of-mouth referrals. I donate some of the money I make to organizations for autism and one for a rare genetic disorder that a child of one of my customer’s suffers from, but most of it goes back into the business and pays for Halloween costumes for my kids!”