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In Cedar Falls, Iowa a small business owner is living her dream. After opening Scratch Cupcakery only two years ago, owner Natalie Brown is preparing to launch a second retail outlet of her popular store.
Brown’s roots were planted in a decade of working in marketing and design. “But I just knew I was supposed to do something else. And I just loved baking and did a whole lot of catering stuff in college,” said Brown.
With that, she started out to turn her enthusiasm for baking and catering into a way to earn her living.
She started her small business from “scratch” and when it outgrew its small corner store location, relocated to a much bigger space. The larger space is bustling with customers daily and thriving. Brown jokes that the first and second location are lovingly referred to as Little Scratch and Big Scratch.
Now that the call for Big Scratch cupcakes have skyrocketed, they hustle to meet the demand. As a result Brown has recently announced her plans to open a second store in a nearby mall. She looks forward to being able to meet a market they don’t currently reach and to “get the product in some new hands,” said Brown.
The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber (GCVA&C) is pleased to see the small business not only grow, but thrive, in the community. The GCVA&C is a regional economic and community development corporation working to increase economic vitality and quality job creation in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area and surrounding economic region of Iowa.
Lisa Rivera Skubal of the GCVA&C oversees Commercial and Industrial Development for the GCVA&C.
She notes the success of Scratch Cupcakery coming during one of America’s most challenging economic times and says business owners like Brown may be exactly what pulls the economy out of the red.
“I think it is a testament to entrepreneurship in its best example,” said Skubal. “A lot of growth we’re going to see coming out of the recession will be within our entrepreneurial community, budding entrepreneurs,” said Skubal.
The GCVA&C is working to provide with greater education and exposure to start-up programs in the Cedar Valley to encourage those budding entrepreneurs.
Skubal say that although the resources to fully fund the project are not available, the GCVA&C can help stimulate entrepreneurial success and help leverage their money with conventional funding or small business loans.
Brown hesitates to call herself a success at this time. She says, “I think we can look at it and say we’re doing a good thing here. I don’t know, a year from now we’ll see what else is in the works!”
With cupcakes flying off the shelves, a staff already fifty employees strong, and talk of additional locations in the future, it’s safe to say Skubal is doing many things right with her small business growth and is well on her way to being a self-claimed success story.
This is a guest article submitted by Sarah Levy of MerchantExpress.com. Follow Sarah on twitter @sarah_levy81
This is indeed, a very inspiring success story. ‘Would love to pay her store a visit the next time I drop by Iowa.
Ed
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