In Pictures: Hamilton bakery wins Small Business Challenge contest
Founders plan to spend $100,000 in prize money on expansion
Josie Rudderham and Nicole Miller are this year’s big winners of the Small Business Challenge contest, sponsored by The Globe and Mail and Telus Corp. They own Cake & Loaf Bakery Ltd., a million-dollar business in Hamilton that bakes goods from scratch using local ingredients. The grand prize in the contest is $100,000 cash.Glenn Lowson/The Globe and Mail
The pair have big plans: They want to expand their main location to include eat-in and meeting spaces for baking classes and community events. They also want to build a customer relationship management program that can help them maintain the personal touch that’s become a key part of their brand.Glenn Lowson/The Globe and Mail
Ms. Rudderham and Ms. Miller beat out out more than 3,300 entries to win the Challenge contest. Now in its sixth year, the contest awards the winning business a grand prize of $100,000, giving Cake & Loaf a big chunk of the capital they need to move their plans forward. The founders also will receive $10,000 to donate to their favourite charity. “It was a bit of a shock to find out that we had won – we were like, ‘Are you sure it’s really us?’” recalls Ms. Rudderham, who, together with Ms. Miller, has built Cake & Loaf into a thriving business.Glenn Lowson/The Globe and Mail
After the initial round of judging, Cake & Loaf was shortlisted with four other semi-finalists: online babysitting platform DateNight, composting bin manufacturer Autom River Inc., high-end playhouse maker Charmed Playhouses Inc., and Caesar cocktail mix producer Brutus Beverages Inc.Janice Pinto/The Globe and Mail
Suzanne Trusdale, a Challenge judge and vice-president of small business solutions at Telus, says she and the six other judges were won over by Cake & Loaf’s compelling story – of two passionate entrepreneurs committed to the craft and philosophy of from-scratch baking, and to building a business that bucks the industry trend by paying employees a living wage. “All of the semi-finalists were amazing, but Cake & Loaf just knocked it out of the park on so many fronts,” says Ms. Trusdale.Janice Pinto/The Globe and Mail
Customer Karen Mino sheds tears at the Grinch-themed birthday cake for her son created by cake decorator Quinn Pallister at Cake & Loaf.Glenn Lowson/The Globe and Mail
Since it first fired up its ovens, Cake & Loaf has become a popular destination for Hamilton residents and out-of-towners. But customers who want to linger have to make do with a few seats along the storefront sidewalk. And space inside the business, above, can be tight.Janice Pinto/The Globe and Mail
Janice Pinto/The Globe and Mail
Armed with their $100,000 cash prize, Ms. Rudderham and Ms. Miller plan to raise funds from their community to help cover the cost of building a space where customers can sit down and eat, and where Hamilton residents can gather for special events.Janice Pinto/The Globe and Mail
Ms. Miller says the Challenge contest means so much more than winning a chunk of cash. “Just entering the contest gives a small business like us an opportunity to think bigger, dream bigger and put their best face forward,” she says. “It was also really interesting to meet the other semi-finalists, see what they were doing in their business and how they were thinking bigger.”Janice Pinto/The Globe and Mail
Janice Pinto/The Globe and Mail
Ms. Rudderham, right, chats with cake manager Helen Corbett. The founders plan to celebrate their win with a community festival and an end-of-year party for their employees.Glenn Lowson/The Globe and Mail
Ms. Rudderham and Ms. Miller say they expect the bakery to be extremely busy between now and Christmas, but they hope to start working on the store expansion early next year.Glenn Lowson/The Globe and Mail
Ms. Miller says entering the Challenge contest felt like a long shot, but she’s glad she and her partner took the chance.Glenn Lowson/The Globe and Mail
“I learned that, as a business owner, you have to just put yourself out there for anything and everything because you never know where things can lead,” Ms. Miller says.Glenn Lowson/The Globe and Mail