bake - January 2019 - 8

management

Life

LESSONS
Gigi Butler has an inspirational story to tell. The founder of
Gigi's Cupcakes, the largest cupcake franchise in America, took
an untraditional route to get to where she is today.
Originally moving to Nashville in 1994 for a career in country
music, Butler soon found herself cleaning bathrooms to get by.
A transformative phone call with her brother led her to starting
a cupcake shop, and she has since grown that one shop into a
cupcake empire.
"My favorite story was about Gigi Butler, who literally went
from cleaning toilets to owning a cupcake company which
generates $35 million in annual sales," says Daymond John of
the television show "Shark Tank." "Her path wasn't linear and
nothing came easy. She was an Oklahoma girl who moved to
Nashville with $500 in her pocket at 17 years old to pursue her
country music dream."

a laughable vision for a business. So instead, she took out
$100,000 in cash advances on her personal credit cards in

Butler looks to share her journey to success in her latest

order to fund the shop. When she opened her ﬁrst cupcake

book. "The Secret Ingredient: Recipes for Success in Business

location in 2008, she had only $33 to her name.

and Life" was released on Dec. 4 through Howard Books. The
book highlights life lessons Butler has picked up along the way,

Those struggles seem like a lifetime ago for Butler. The busi-

pairing these life recipes with some of her food recipes.

ness blew up instantly, and within two years of the ﬁrst opening,
Gigi's Cupcakes had 35 stores. By 2012, that number grew to 60

"Life is a journey of ups and downs. Success is actually picking

locations and it hasn't showed any signs of slowing down.

yourself up after having a failure and being able to ﬁnd another
dream, another path," says Butler. "My secret ingredients, and

"People don't have time to bake, but they still want that taste

the sweet and savory recipes at the end of every chapter, make

of home. They want something that's comforting, something

this book delightfully delicious!"

that reminds them of their grandmother's house," says Butler.
"We've ﬁlled in that gap of having home-baked, delicious,

With Gigi's Cupcakes under her belt, Butler has been exploring

beautiful baked goods that people can enjoy and bring home

new business ventures such as the summer debut of her

to their families."

kitchen towels, potholders, gift bags, and other kitchen acces-

Butler takes her responsibilities as the head of a thriving

sories customized with her personality. Additionally, Butler

company and a woman in a leadership role seriously. She

has used her past experience with kitchen design to partner

credits her lifelong work-hard attitude as the reason she

with Serenade Cabinetry, an American-made cabinet company.

doesn't get overwhelmed with her myriad of tasks. "A guy from

Years ago, Butler recalls being turned down for a business

a Fortune 500 company once said, 'Do you want to be a baker

loan by several banks who believed that a cupcake shop was

or a franchise owner?' I said, 'Both!'"

08 < JAN 2019 | bakemag.com

GIGI'S CUPCAKES

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