Flavors of Love

Before Cupcake Wars and “gourmet” cupcakeries popped up on every corner – there was Tiffini Soforenko and Yummy Cupcakes.

“I love challenges,” Soforenko tells PINK. “If I see something and there’s an opportunity, I feel like it’s my job to pursue it.”

So, when the former Universal Studios director of operations turned stay at home mom noticed a bakery in New York making $30,000 a week from just two flavors of cupcakes, she decided to make it happen on the West Coast.

Soforenko remembers bringing the idea to her husband (and now business partner).

“He said, ‘Honey, you don’t bake.’ So, I worked on recipes and borrowed from my grandmother.”

Yummy Cupcakes launched with 30 flavors.

Today, her repertoire includes over 400 flavors; plus, five stores domestically and two international franchise locations in Istanbul and Qatar. Of those, red velvet is the reigning favorite.

As for Soforenko? “I’m a buttercream person.” Soforenko says she likes to keep it simple when it comes to her taste in cupcakes – and style of running her business.

“It’s easy to get side tracked, derailed and frustrated,” admits Soforenko.

“When we decided where we wanted to be, my mother put a paper clip on the other end of the table to represent the ultimate goal,” says Soforenko. “So we stay focused in the midst of all the noise.”

With three children, no nannies or housekeepers and an international business, Soforenko thinks of the paper clip often.

“I don’t have any tattoos,” she says laughs, “but I always joke about getting a paper clip on my wrist.”

Bonus PINK Link: Thinking of going into business with your spouse? These are a few things to consider.

Are you a stay-at-home mom turned entrepreneur?

By L. Nicole Williams

Nicole is the Editor at Little PINK Book. Follow her on Twitter @iamnicwill.

“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.” Roseanne Barr