Meet Kristin Littlefield of Maine Girl Cupcakes in Marlborough

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Littlefield.

Kristin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My passion for baking began after I had my first daughter. I found I loved creating one-of-a-kind cakes to match the theme of her birthday parties every year. By the time my second daughter was born, I was getting requests to make the birthday cakes for my friend’s children’s parties as well. My cakes & cupcakes were getting fancier and people starting encouraging me to open a business. I am completely self-taught as far as decorating goes and I never planned on having my own baking business. But after spending 10 years as a stay-at-home Mom, I decided that it was time to turn my hobby into a real business, and Kristin’s Cakes & Cupcakes was established.

As my business grew, I discovered a passion for creating new cupcake flavors. Any dessert or cocktail or candy combination can be turned into a fun cupcake! Since I bake to order, I require a minimum order of one dozen per flavor, but I found that people wanted a variety to offer at their parties. In response to my customer’s needs, I created the weekly Mixed Dozen. Every Sunday I choose 3 or 4 flavors to make that week, and people order by Wednesday for Friday pick-up. Creating the weekly mix changed my business. Customers were thrilled to be able to order 3 of each flavor or 6 of one flavor. As my cupcake business grew, I found that I didn’t have time to make the fancy cakes I had been making, as cake decorating is extremely time-consuming. I decided to take the word “cake” out of my business name. In January 2017, I changed the name of my business to Maine Girl Cupcakes. I do enjoy cake decorating and perhaps will offer cakes again in the future, but for now I offer cupcakes and pull-apart cupcake cakes.

Has it been a smooth road?
My biggest challenge was figuring out how to charge for my time. I originally gave my cakes & cupcakes to my friends for their parties, so I wasn’t sure what to charge people when I started my business. My custom cakes started at @$40 and I had increased the price to @$125 before I stopped offering cakes. Some people still tell me I don’t charge enough for my custom cupcakes, but I want my cupcakes to be affordable for everyone.

My other struggle is managing my time as a baker while taking care of the needs of my family. Some weeks, I feel like I don’t have enough time to balance everything. During holiday weeks I usually make over 20 dozen cupcakes and sometimes have to say no to orders. I hate turning down an order, but I am only one girl with one mixer and one oven! I can only do so much.

As any home baker knows, it is difficult to work out of a residential kitchen when kids are home. My solution was to build a new kitchen in my basement for my business. It is almost done and I cannot wait to move my baking from my family kitchen to the new kitchen!

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am the Maine girl of Maine Girl Cupcakes. I create all the flavors, and do all the baking and decorating. I work with customers to create custom cupcakes for their parties and celebrations, including birthdays, baby and wedding showers, baptisms, graduations, and office parties.

I specialize in fun cupcake flavors that are baked fresh daily. I have created about 100 flavors over the past few years, and currently list about 60 flavors on the menu. I also offer seasonal flavors and special cupcakes for every holiday. Customers love the variety I offer, and that my cupcakes are beautifully decorated and become the highlight of their parties.

I think what sets me apart is the personal service and my attention to detail. I work hard to make sure every cupcake looks amazing and tastes great! People tell me all the time that they are surprised at how delicious my cupcakes are, and that they taste as good as they look. My business runs entirely on my loyal customers and their referrals.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I love Boston and the surrounding area. I think the people here are genuine and honest, and people are thrilled to support local businesses. People are proud to be from Boston and they stick by the entrepreneurs from their communities and help ensure their success.

Pricing:

• Regular Cupcakes: $25 per dozen
• Spiked or Filled Cupcakes: $30 per dozen
• Weekly Mixes: $15 per half dozen; $30 per dozen
• Pull-apart Cupcake Cakes: starting at $50

Contact Info:

• Address: 246 Farm Rd
  Marlborough, MA 01752
• Phone: 2077491782
• Email: MaineGirlCupcakes@yahoo.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mainegirlcupcakes

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