Chamille Weddington is an educator, marketing strategist, and social entrepreneur. When Chamille isn’t teaching leadership, marketing, and entrepreneurship in the Business and Entrepreneurship department, she’s working hard on establishing her family’s cheesecake business, Schweet Cakes, in the city of Chicago. We had the opportunity to learn more from Chamille about Schweet Cakes and what it’s like to start a small business.

What’s the story behind Schweet Cakes?

Our small cheesecake company is inspired by a baked good that was created by our grandmother. Being the foodies that we are, we re-engineered the recipe to fashion a cheesecake that is not your typical fodder. In short, we wanted to sell a pastry that did not exist in the marketplace, and one that gives back to the community. To our pleasant surprise, it has piqued the palate of many tasters. Customers across several demographic segments who have sampled our product at private events and festivals overwhelmingly say that it’s the best cheesecake they have ever had.

You call yourself a “social entrepreneur”. What does that mean to you?

Being a social entrepreneur suggests that a proprietor does not do business solely for his/her own gain. There is a funneling or sharing of currency that is derived from the business in the effort to contribute to the support of the broader community. As social entrepreneurs, we know and understand the energy that currency has, and so we are striving to re-channel the flow of income into initiatives that are meaningful – namely causes that improve the human condition. Education acquisition is our interest, thus, we’ve established a scholarship that will help pay for the cost of books and course fees for students who attend the City Colleges of Chicago. The City Colleges are important to the education ecosystem as they provide quality and affordable entry into higher education. Our tagline is “Food That Does Good”, so we encourage you to learn more about our scholarship which makes good on that proposition:  http://www.schweetfoods.com/scholarships.html

You are opening two locations in the Austin and Wicker Park neighborhoods this October. Why did you choose these neighborhoods?

Austin is the community that I grew up in, and in what better place to begin contributing to the economic landscape?! Aside from an in-depth discussion of accumulated market research, I know as a long-term resident and marketing strategist, that there is an obvious need and opportunity to build commerce in that space. The Austin community is the city’s largest community (by population and land size) and is ripe for new businesses that will attract and re-circulate dollars that will benefit its residents. This means that there is great potential for substantial job creation and economic development in a broad sense – made possible by entrepreneurs like us. We view Wicker Park as an opportunity to attract a more diverse audience in a centralized location. Both Austin and Wicker Park will allow us to gain traction in a grassroot and affordable manner.

What was the hardest part about starting your own business?

Time management, product refinement and crafting a sustainable business model were challenges, however, remaining connected to our mission and not being intimidated by larger and more established entities was key! In order to be competitively different, a great degree of focus on a brand’s positioning in the marketplace is vital. Trying to be what you are not can potentially steer you towards becoming something that you cannot, in terms of scope and resources.

Starting a small business is a full time job for most entrepreneurs, how are you able to juggle your work at Columbia and with Schweet Cakes?

All roads lead to the business model. Given our available (and limited) resources in the areas of time, talent and capital, we made it a point to set goals that could be acquired short-term.  The pursuit of lofty and unattainable goals typically spell trouble. Our 2017 goals were to simply 1) determine the perception of the product’s quality and 2) measure the degree of desire for it. We met these goals and were able to do so because we set reasonable and measurable objectives that didn’t tax our resources. Of course, being passionate, patient and well organized, and having a feasible plan and an execution timeline helps! To add, know that the condition of your leadership and ability to manage people and processes are also integral to starting a new business.

Website at www.schweetfoods.com and follow Schweet Cakes on Instagram and Facebook via @schweetcheesecake