{"id":2296,"date":"2013-05-09T15:46:13","date_gmt":"2013-05-09T19:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timandrewsblog-asicentral.com\/timblog\/?p=2296"},"modified":"2013-05-09T15:47:51","modified_gmt":"2013-05-09T19:47:51","slug":"you-can-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timandrewsblog-asicentral.com\/timblog\/2013\/05\/09\/you-can-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too\/","title":{"rendered":"You Can Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too"},"content":{"rendered":"

I lived in Hoboken, N.J., back in the early \u201980s and must have passed Carlo\u2019s Bakery a thousand times when headed across the river to my Dow Jones internship in Manhattan. I was finally on my way to achieving the dreams I had as a kid, back home in Indiana \u2013 but I still had a long way to go.<\/p>\n

Back then, a 6-year-old Buddy Valastro Jr. was hanging around that same bakery, absorbing his very first lessons in running a successful family business. We might even have crossed paths on Washington Street, where the original bakery is still based. \u00a0Earlier today \u2013 the final day of the ASI New York Show \u2013 Buddy shared some of those lessons during a fascinating keynote.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Under Buddy\u2019s guidance, the small family business has blossomed into a household name. \u201cThe Cake Boss,\u201d the TLC reality show that helped send Buddy into the stratosphere, is now broadcast in 180 countries \u2013 and seen by more than a billion people \u2013 all while remaining true to his family heritage.<\/p>\n

Coming up, more bakeries, more products and an even bigger brand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a dream come true,\u201d he told a standing room only crowd of entrepreneurs who are just like him. \u201cI own a family business. I can relate. I\u2019m like you guys. I\u2019m on TV, but at the end of the day I\u2019ve got to make my payroll every week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buddy started working at the bakery at 11 and, at 17, when his father died of cancer, he was thrust into sudden responsibility for 40 employees, with his entire family looking to him to keep the business afloat.<\/p>\n

College set aside, his business school became an old-fashioned Italian bakery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided to go outside the box and make cakes that didn\u2019t look like anything else,\u201d said the self-described \u201csugar artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

He got his first big break when an editor at \u201cModern Bride\u201d magazine saw his cakes in the window. For the next three years, Buddy’s cakes appeared in every issue of the magazine. Within 10 years, they\u2019d appeared in over 200 other publications.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But like many small business owners, he had his share of disappointments, like being passed over by the Food Network, which turned out to be a lucky break, since TLC soon gave him a shot. \u201cI told my agent, \u2018I\u2019m Buddy Valastro, I don\u2019t fail.\u2019 I\u2019m a quick learner and I don\u2019t have all my eggs in one basket.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building relationships and building his brand was the key, he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of celebrity chefs, but no celebrity bakers. I want to stay America\u2019s baker. My show is seen in the Middle East, in Africa, Australia. What\u2019s the connection? At its essence, my show is about family and the whole world can agree about family.\u201d<\/p>\n

He dished up a lot of advice (along with delicious cake served later at the booth of keynote sponsor Showdown Displays):<\/p>\n