Eric from Erics Cheesecakes

[Ericito]

I posted this in an earlier feed, but there was alot of pre-stuff.

I will just give a portion of my story....
A few decades ago, l was a young pastry cook/lead baker at Host Marriott Corp in NYC. I was really gifted and talented. I reinvented a NY Style cheesecake and made it my own. They wanted my recipe and made me an pretty good offer and HQ in DC. Along with giving up my cheesecake. Being young and unadvised, l declined the offer, eventually leaving the industry. Fast forwarding to the present....Marriott now owns or partially owns Cheesecake Factory. Basically they got their cheesecake. Just not mines.
Did l make a mistake, or was it a smart move? Maybe or Maybe not. Well l still have a great cheesecake, but where am l as far a that cheesecake? That is the question l always ask myself decades later. You be the judge.

This is where l stand now.
Thank you for listening.
Below are customer comments from my website.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

ut where am l as far a that cheesecake? That is the question l always ask myself decades later. You be the judge.

Spending energy thinking about bygones is a waste. Move on.

Your past experience sounds like the makings of a great story. Leverage it as such, move forward, and create your own story.

 

[Ericito]

Spending energy thinking about bygones is a waste. Move on.

Your past experience sounds like the makings of a great story. Leverage it as such, move forward, and create your own story.

Oh yes l had no other choice but to move forward. But the past always likes to bite you every now and then. Cheesecake Factory is huge. But had they owned me, we would not be in this forum. But yes l have moved on. I always feel l made the right decision.
Cant keep looking back, or you will never focus on what in front of you.
Thanks

 

[Ericito]

Here in Toronto, a lot of small catering companies make relationships with other restaurant owners in order to use their kitchens in off hours. Could you do the same in your area?

My 5 second google search showed me a few NC websites that list rentable commercial kitchens. The closest looked to be in Greensboro or Durham, but I'm also not super familiar with your area so I could be wrong.

Worth a try bud

Humm....My search never gave me that information. Can you post the links you found?
Thanks

 

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[Ericito]

Humm....My search never gave me that information. Can you post the links you found?
Thanks

I actually found them. Closet being 22 miles.
Thank you. I have no idea what l was searching for before.

 

[Iammelissamoore]

Oh yes l had no other choice but to move forward. But the past always likes to bite you every now and then. Cheesecake Factory is huge. But had they owned me, we would not be in this forum. But yes l have moved on. I always feel l made the right decision.
Cant keep looking back, or you will never focus on what in front of you.
Thanks

What we have to do with past situations, is instead of recognise that we simply "failed" - we have to recognise the actual lesson hidden in-between, it is preparation for what is to come, if you recognise that you want to take this to the next level.

Quite often, it is easy to look at a company - e.g. Cheesecake Factory - and see where they are now, compared to where we are; but, what we fail to see is that some time, long ago, the owner(s) of Cheesecake Factory would have been exactly in your shoes or even worst. They could have simply given up, or just continue perfecting their craft to get to where they are now.

You got to look at the bigger picture, where do you want to go? You already recognise the value you bring to customers, and you have stated that whatever your customers request you ensure you fulfil their wishes - EXCELLENT - now, it is up to you to recognise where do you go from here?

Do you keep seeing obstacles in every solution you are being offered? OR, do you recognise that where you are isn't where you'd like to be, BUT, you are ready to take on what is necessary to overcome and get to where you want to be? Surely, it is no easy walk in the park, every one of us in this space are facing the challenges from day to day, but, we cannot allow it to overcome us; if it has to be overcome, we have to find solutions to do just that.

Looking at your concept, you literally have a set business ahead of you - YES, there are a lot of obstacles to overcome - which means that you have conquered the Commandment of Entry. Entrepreneurs are Problem-Solvers, all the Obstacles set in the solutions presented to you are simply Solutions disguised as Challenges and you have to decipher if they remain Challenges OR if they will become your step-by-step to Solutions...

 

[Azure]

Commercial kitchen rentals in North carolina - Cook It Here

 

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[Ericito]

What we have to do with past situations, is instead of recognise that we simply "failed" - we have to recognise the actual lesson hidden in-between, it is preparation for what is to come, if you recognise that you want to take this to the next level.

Quite often, it is easy to look at a company - e.g. Cheesecake Factory - and see where they are now, compared to where we are; but, what we fail to see is that some time, long ago, the owner(s) of Cheesecake Factory would have been exactly in your shoes or even worst. They could have simply given up, or just continue perfecting their craft to get to where they are now.

You got to look at the bigger picture, where do you want to go? You already recognise the value you bring to customers, and you have stated that whatever your customers request you ensure you fulfil their wishes - EXCELLENT - now, it is up to you to recognise where do you go from here?

Do you keep seeing obstacles in every solution you are being offered? OR, do you recognise that where you are isn't where you'd like to be, BUT, you are ready to take on what is necessary to overcome and get to where you want to be? Surely, it is no easy walk in the park, every one of us in this space are facing the challenges from day to day, but, we cannot allow it to overcome us; if it has to be overcome, we have to find solutions to do just that.

Looking at your concept, you literally have a set business ahead of you - YES, there are a lot of obstacles to overcome - which means that you have conquered the Commandment of Entry. Entrepreneurs are Problem-Solvers, all the Obstacles set in the solutions presented to you are simply Solutions disguised as Challenges and you have to decipher if they remain Challenges OR if they will become your step-by-step to Solutions...

Yes you are exactly correct. There are ways around the hurdles...no punt intended. What l need to do is find the correct niche and then open it, and keep expanding it until l can fins another thread to fit in.
I have honestly been contemplating giving up, becasue of the obstacles, but my lil friend basically kicked me in the butt. I did it to him a while back, and now its coming back around.
Thanks for all this encouragement, support and motivation. Free cheesecake for everyone...haha. But im serious. I never forget when l came from.
Now we work on plans....b,c,d,f and g.

 

[Iammelissamoore]

Yes you are exactly correct. There are ways around the hurdles...no punt intended. What l need to do is find the correct niche and then open it, and keep expanding it until l can fins another thread to fit in.
I have honestly been contemplating giving up, becasue of the obstacles, but my lil friend basically kicked me in the butt. I did it to him a while back, and now its coming back around.
Thanks for all this encouragement, support and motivation. Free cheesecake for everyone...haha. But im serious. I never forget when l came from.
Now we work on plans....b,c,d,f and g.

Ha ha ha ha - yup, that butt-kick really put things into perspective, which is also why I keep stressin' that you get MJ's audio books too - it's also two nice butt-kicks with proven advice/insight of his success to back it up.

Oh and yes, I live in the Caribbean, but I am surely looking forward to that free cheesecake offer for everyone! Lol.

 

[Ericito]

Commercial kitchen rentals in North carolina - Cook It Here

Commercial Kitchens for Rent in Durham
I found these, but the rental by hour fees are high. I need to do more research.
Thanks again

 

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[Azure]

Digital around. You can definitely find something.

Guilford County’s first “Shared Use Kitchen” is Open

Might be worth looking at?

 

[Ericito]

Digital around. You can definitely find something.

Guilford County’s first “Shared Use Kitchen” is Open

Might be worth looking at?

Yes it is. Thank you.

 

[biophase]

If l dont not have a day job, because l bake after work from 6-10 PM. I can get 6-12 8" or 16-7" and 24-6" about cakes baked.
If this was my day job 4x those numbers. That is because l have another oven that is in the regular kitchen. I would use this during the holidays when my orders would got postal.

Selling per day....0-1 maybe. Not selling many this quarter.

I can get about 50 in my freezer. Using stack able shelves make thinner spaces for 4-6 per shelf, depending on size.

As far as shipping....Not in effect or foreseeable in the near future due to storage, dry ice and shipping costs.
I tried to work it out, but l dont have the space for storage of the pre-made special boxes that are whole. The l need a cooler for the dry ice. Then the shipping costs. I tried a next day, 2 day and 3 day shipping trials. All were good. 3 days are solid frozen but ice is gone. But these are the special boxes costing me $9 a box.
So l have tried to make it work but being small its costly and takes alot of space.

Ok, so production is not an issue, you have plenty of capacity.

You can store some in your freezer.

It looks like your issue is space to store the cardboard boxes? I assume that they have styofoam insulation which is why they are prebuilt?

You don't need dry ice, you can use ice packs. I've gotten stuff 2 day air and the ice packs were still frozen.

So what if the special boxes are $9. Add it to your price.

This is how I would do it.

Find one size of special box that holds the most product for the buck. Doesn't mean the biggest box, but one that holds say 2 8" cakes. Find out your total cost to ship that box to only states adjacent to you, because ground shipping would be 1-2 days anyway. Add in the cost of your cake. Add your profit. Throw it up on your website. See if people buy it.

Only ship on Mondays.

Someone who loves your cake will pay for it.

I've paid $80 to have 4 small pizzas shipped overnight from Chicago to Arizona.

 

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[Ericito]

Ok, so production is not an issue, you have plenty of capacity.

You can store some in your freezer.

It looks like your issue is space to store the cardboard boxes? I assume that they have styofoam insulation which is why they are prebuilt?

You don't need dry ice, you can use ice packs. I've gotten stuff 2 day air and the ice packs were still frozen.

So what if the special boxes are $9. Add it to your price.

This is how I would do it.

Find one size of special box that holds the most product for the buck. Doesn't mean the biggest box, but one that holds say 2 8" cakes. Find out your total cost to ship that box to only states adjacent to you, because ground shipping would be 1-2 days anyway. Add in the cost of your cake. Add your profit. Throw it up on your website. See if people buy it.

Only ship on Mondays.

Someone who loves your cake will pay for it.

I've paid $80 to have 4 small pizzas shipped overnight from Chicago to Arizona.

Thanks again. My freezer situation is not bad, but again the UDSA is the problem. I actually dont know who can bake without dairy. Unless its just basic bread with no enriching products. But pastries, and cakes and other baked goods need dairy. They will not define baked good. As you see the freezer is out, unless commercial.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

the UDSA is the problem

You can't be an entrepreneur without the necessity to solve problems. We are in the business of solving problems.

You can't become a swimmer until you jump in the water.

 

[garyjsmith]

I hope that, when you figure this out, you mail cheesecakes to the guys/gals who helped solve the issue

 

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[Ericito]

You can't be an entrepreneur without the necessity to solve problems. We are in the business of solving problems.

You can't become a swimmer until you jump in the water.

I totally understand. I totally appreciate all and every thing. Sometimes necessity it the problem. I just picked the worse state in the US to move to. Trust me it has history and still making it.
Im actually looking to probably go in a totally other direction, with something the USDA cant mess with. Well they can, but it wont hold.
I have and tried an idea that l have not seen anywhere else, and have been told that l need to put it out there. I just need to do more research and tweak it some too. It also could eventually involve the cheesecakes in a back door kind of way.
I will keep you posted. I will not let them keep me down with their stupid rules. I promise you will hear about this and me soon.
Thanks again for everything.

 

[Ericito]

I hope that, when you figure this out, you mail cheesecakes to the guys/gals who helped solve the issue

I never forget where l come from. Str8 outta Brooklyn....LOL. I wont.

 

[Iammelissamoore]

I think you are allowing fear to get the better of you.

From the beginning of your post to the last response, there have been so many suggestions that you've pretty much gained a blue-print to be a mind-blowing success; the only thing in your way now is yourself.

Don't get me wrong, fear is as real as the energy we feed it, and you are feeding it a lot to the point that you are literally getting Golden solutions to take you way ahead in your biz and you are regressing.

For every solution you have been given, you have actually found a way to belittle yourself around it, or you have found a challenge to keep you from pushing forward and you are defying your capabilities, as if you don't believe you deserve to build an established cheesecake company/brand.

You cannot and SHOULD NOT belittle your capabilities of excellence man, we've all been guilty of it, and the journey of entrepreneurship helps in overcoming it, so you're not alone.

Maybe you are afraid that you tried so hard in the past and you failed and you're afraid of failing again - the question though is, are you preparing yourself to make that same mistake? Given the tonnes of advice here, I very much doubt it. You got to Know that you've got this, but most importantly, you've got to know that your journey requires you to spread the joy of excellence amidst your customers, you shouldn't keep all of that to yourself man. You've got something great on your hands, and, you have all this virtual support to push you in a great direction, but you are allowing fear to gain an upper hand.

Imagine all the people in NC who are eating horrible cheesecake right now from some other company; now imagine how expensive some of those horrible cheesecakes are, and imagine how they are being robbed of that genuine cheesecake experience, are you seriously going to let them continue eating those horrible, expensive cheesecakes because the USDA have a lot of red tape all over their process? Do you think the horrible tasting cheesecake companies are allowing USDA or any other authority to prevent them from progressing? Nah man, you can't let people suffer, horrible cheesecake is just foul and you need to save these people - seriously, you need to get your cakes to these people - fast!

 

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[Ericito]

I think you are allowing fear to get the better of you.

From the beginning of your post to the last response, there have been so many suggestions that you've pretty much gained a blue-print to be a mind-blowing success; the only thing in your way now is yourself.

Don't get me wrong, fear is as real as the energy we feed it, and you are feeding it a lot to the point that you are literally getting Golden solutions to take you way ahead in your biz and you are regressing.

For every solution you have been given, you have actually found a way to belittle yourself around it, or you have found a challenge to keep you from pushing forward and you are defying your capabilities, as if you don't believe you deserve to build an established cheesecake company/brand.

You cannot and SHOULD NOT belittle your capabilities of excellence man, we've all been guilty of it, and the journey of entrepreneurship helps in overcoming it, so you're not alone.

Maybe you are afraid that you tried so hard in the past and you failed and you're afraid of failing again - the question though is, are you preparing yourself to make that same mistake? Given the tonnes of advice here, I very much doubt it. You got to Know that you've got this, but most importantly, you've got to know that your journey requires you to spread the joy of excellence amidst your customers, you shouldn't keep all of that to yourself man. You've got something great on your hands, and, you have all this virtual support to push you in a great direction, but you are allowing fear to gain an upper hand.

Imagine all the people in NC who are eating horrible cheesecake right now from some other company; now imagine how expensive some of those horrible cheesecakes are, and imagine how they are being robbed of that genuine cheesecake experience, are you seriously going to let them continue eating those horrible, expensive cheesecakes because the USDA have a lot of red tape all over their process? Do you think the horrible tasting cheesecake companies are allowing USDA or any other authority to prevent them from progressing? Nah man, you can't let people suffer, horrible cheesecake is just foul and you need to save these people - seriously, you need to get your cakes to these people - fast!

You are absolutely 110% correct. Basically l have been relying on the industries/restaurants to come through, but they are also blocked by the USDA....However, l have been all along and mostly dealing with the public with no problems, and all the loves. Even though its been very slow, it has still been profitable and keeping the business paying for itself. So l will keep on doing what l do, because as you said, there are others out there that say screw the USDA, and keep doing their thing. So l will too, but based on all the support and great suggestions, l have an underlying plan to make this blow up.
Yes l have been my biggest enemy all along, not believing in myself....but not no more.
As l said, l have a plan. I will keep you all posted how it goes.
Thank you all again. I really needed the chastising.

 

[jon.a]

Don't Just Build a Business... Build A Life!

Did you actually click on that link or did you just think that I posted a cheesy reply?

 

[Ericito]

Did you actually click on that link or did you just think that I posted a cheesy reply?

Yes sir

 

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[biophase]

Thanks again. My freezer situation is not bad, but again the UDSA is the problem. I actually dont know who can bake without dairy. Unless its just basic bread with no enriching products. But pastries, and cakes and other baked goods need dairy. They will not define baked good. As you see the freezer is out, unless commercial.

View attachment 15655

Dude, nowhere before this post did you mention that you need USDA approval to ship your cheesecakes.

If you can't sell online or sell to people because the commercial kitchen requirement, why did you even make this post?

You're basically saying I can make a cheesecake at home but I can't sell it to anybody, how do I grow my business?

 

[Argue]

Dude, nowhere before this post did you mention that you need USDA approval to ship your cheesecakes.

If you can't sell online or sell to people because the commercial kitchen requirement, why did you even make this post?

You're basically saying I can make a cheesecake at home but I can't sell it to anybody, how do I grow my business?

I know this one lady who makes Dominican styled cakes in her kitchen, and her daughter promotes for her through Instagram. They're making a killing, have their logo on their Mercedes Benz SUV, and just hustling.

I'd personally make a brand for my cheesecakes through Instagram and hustle that way. A lot of people use Instagram to leverage their personal business.

Another person I know sells custom alcohol called "nutcrackers" and promotes through instagram too. He makes good money too.

I know these are illegal and there can be huge downsides to these forms of hustle but Lady Luck favors those who try. All of this is in NYC too, a heavy regulated/governed state. Are these forms of hustle morally incorrect? Maybe, I don't know. We all gotta start somewhere. The clock is ticking too.

Just my .2 cents

 

[Ika]

I have no idea what USDA is (because I'm not living in the US).

But to me it seems like this regulation is the only big obstacle in your way.

Not that long ago, in my own country and business, I faced a similar regulation:
It basicly forbid the way I structured my business in combination with the way I wanted to grow the business.
Specifically, beeing tax exempt and wanting to work with international freelancers is not the best idea in Germany.

Anyways, that little regulation seems like it will stop your business from growing or existing.

Before you kill the business or do something illegal, ask yourself these two questions:
1) Is someone out there that legally found a way to do what you wanted to do, despite the regulation?
If not:
2) How have others, that are in your situation, worked with the regulation.

Because if there is only one person in your shoes (homemade food + bootstrapping entrepeneur) that made it, you know there is a way.

All that is left is finding that way.
And that is the core of beeing the entrepeneur.

Gesendet von meinem XT1032 mit Tapatalk

 

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[EarlOfChina]

Hey Eric,

Loving this thread - thanks for starting it. Sounds like you have some great cheesecake making skills.

I really want to echo what MJ has been saying to you. You need to stop making excuses and find solutions. No one is going to hand you anything - if you feel that this is the business that is going to take you to where you want to be, you have got to find solutions to your roadblocks. Complaining is draining.

The other thing I wanted to put out there - have you thought of taking your passion for cheesecakes and finding other ways to monetise it? I think you need to start writing 10 ideas every day of possible ways you can use your expertise to build a product or service that people fall in love with.

Some "off the top of my head" ideas:

• Cheesecake YouTube Channel / Media Company
  
  - Showing how to bake every kind of weird and wonderful cheesecake
  - Taste testing cheesecakes of every kind from around the world - like this:
  
  View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wEwwmE8OLk
  
  - Talking about the origin of cheesecakes
  
  With this you can make money from ads, but also build a huge audience of cheesecake lovers to sell all kinds of products to; recipe books, online courses, kitchen tools, etc.
  
  
• Cheesecake Masterclasses
  
  Not super fastlane, but could definitely go that way with franchising, online courses, etc. Think classes that couples can take as a date, people can be gifted, etc. Huge market for these "experiences". You could just hire a location to do these events.
  
  
• Cheesecake Cookbooks on Amazon
  
  I know that there are people on this forum who have made cash publishing (MJ?). This could be an interesting approach.
  
  Another idea for a book - around the world in 80 cheesecakes - basically a book that is pure cheesecake porn.

That's it for now, I have to run to a meeting.

Here's my challenge to you - today, sit down and write 10 ideas for cheesecake businesses that don't involve you actually selling cheesecakes. See what you come up with.

✌

 

[G-Man]

How did I miss this thread? So, @Ericito I also work in a food company that's struggling to go national, and we had a friend that sold his company to Coke come spend some time with us yesterday. One of the things he brought up was the fact that we, like most entrepreneurs caught up in the daily grind, were focusing on what couldn't be done. Here's the exercise he put us through:

• Forget about the resources you have and what you think you need. Resources are unlimited.
• Map out where your product has the potential to be in three years, which we did channel by channel, right down to the number of units we could sell in each channel.
• channel by channel, map your way back to what execution is required
• what resources do you need to start executing today?

The world is too big and full of opportunity to be stopped by the price of a commercial kitchen. I understand the discouragement. I spent Friday going around the coolest packaging plant I've ever seen knowing full well we don't have the money to launch our convenience store line. Don't be stopped.

School fundraising is a cherry opportunity. We just started doing it a few months ago. The biggest challenge is the number of gatekeepers involved. I would try to get directly in contact with school booster club moms and their equivalents at the various ISDs. They love working with local companies, and have often had frustrating experiences with the people that broker the programs. They plan months in advance, so you will have time to plan production. The beauty is that they expect ridiculous lead times. You could wait until their order is in, then rent a commercial kitchen just to bake and ship that order.

Look for channels where you can sell more than 1 cheesecake (catering companies?), and that have their sales planned well in advance. You can rent commercial space and have your own batch processing operation.

Other thought - is it possible to move to another city? Unlike products sold online, food products often need a large local market to get started for all of the logistical reasons you're clearly aware of and concerned about. Move to Austin. You'll have San Antonio, DFW, and Houston all couple hours' drive away.

 

[Joe Cassandra]

Thank you all again. I really needed the chastising.

You're baking one of creation's most delicious foods...we're not chastising...we just want more cheesecake in the world.

On a serious note...I always cock my head when someone says "the government is stopping me from pursuing my goals." Especially when you live in America not North Korea...where I'm betting thousands of bakers around the world would die trying to live in.

You keep saying "DPA" and now "USDA" regulations...it might help with idea generation if you tells us EXACTLY what regulations you violate...
----------

1.] How many restaurant owners do you know and talk with regularly? They probably know about these regulations more than you (no offense)

2. ]Have you reached out cold to investors...asked for their advice in generating capital? I betcha enough trips down to the Entrepreneurship center in NC peddling mouth-watering cheesecakes, some old guy who always seems to be there will speak up and say "I know someone."

3. ]I don't think you took seriously my suggestion to find a high-end restaurant to bake at and then after a while, try to partner with the owner on a new set-up you split 50/50. This is a better idea than to quit and go after the next shiny object you're starting from scratch.

It sounds like you have a killer product but you're about to give up...as someone who only gets cheesecake for his birthday cake every year...please don't

 

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[Ericito]

Dude, nowhere before this post did you mention that you need USDA approval to ship your cheesecakes.

If you can't sell online or sell to people because the commercial kitchen requirement, why did you even make this post?

You're basically saying I can make a cheesecake at home but I can't sell it to anybody, how do I grow my business?

Yes l did. The DPA is the USDA. Department of Agriculture. Some reason in NC the DEP/USDA is over anything that does not require animals or meat, fish...etc type kitchens. Even though dairy is a by product. So its up to the Agricultural Department to make the rules and regulation regarding home bakeries and kitchens. Its confusing to me, but that how its done in North Carolina. I just have to find a work around, or just do it quote/unquote illegally. Sorry if l didnt spell it out correctly and confused you. But yes, thats it.

 

[Ericito]

I know this one lady who makes Dominican styled cakes in her kitchen, and her daughter promotes for her through Instagram. They're making a killing, have their logo on their Mercedes Benz SUV, and just hustling.

I'd personally make a brand for my cheesecakes through Instagram and hustle that way. A lot of people use Instagram to leverage their personal business.

Another person I know sells custom alcohol called "nutcrackers" and promotes through instagram too. He makes good money too.

I know these are illegal and there can be huge downsides to these forms of hustle but Lady Luck favors those who try. All of this is in NYC too, a heavy regulated/governed state. Are these forms of hustle morally incorrect? Maybe, I don't know. We all gotta start somewhere. The clock is ticking too.

Just my .2 cents

In NYC there would not be an issue. I guess l would be in the probably morally correct situation. Who knows. But l have a huge customer base there. Great tips too.