Meet Stephanie Dobos of The Butter Stick Bakery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Dobos.

Stephanie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I come from a very artistic family. My grandmother was an amazing painter, my mother could draw really well and my sister studied art at The Art Institute of Chicago and is also a great artist. I graduated high school in Brenham 2005. I was selected Most Creative of my senior class, I pretty much knew I wanted to have some sort of career in design. I attended some local junior colleges dabbling a little bit in pretty much any sort of design.

Anything from graphic design to fashion design. I just kind of got overwhelmed one day with not knowing exactly which direction I wanted to go in and all of a sudden during an episode of Cake Wars I was watching, a commercial for Texas Culinary Academy Le Cordon Bleu came on. I thought ya know what, I’ll bet that would be pretty fun so, I pretty much after that I was enrolled in their Austin campus and graduated in August of 2008 as a certified Pastry Chef. Right after graduation, I decided to open my company as a specialty cake business.

I was originally known as Sugar ‘N Spice Patisserie, which again, originated in Austin. I was there for about 5 years before moving to Houston which was when I changed the name to The Butter Stick Bakery due to the fact that very few people could pronounce Patisserie, which made finding me somewhat difficult. Since the brand change and moving cities, my company has continued to grow steadily each year, which I could not be more thankful for.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Just like anything in life, things do not always come easy, and this venture has definitely held true to that. There are days where sometimes you just have to wonder if the juice is worth the squeeze and if all the headaches, stress, and countless late nights is something you really want to put ALL of your efforts into. There are days when things just do not go right. The weather can have a huge effect on cake and cookie decorating and we all know how indecisive Texas weather can be. The stress that comes along with delivering a wedding cake is just nerve-racking.

You just have to love those country weddings down miles of bumpy dirt roads, full of twists and turns- just hoping that your car does rattle that multi-tiered cake too much. It is definitely a struggle some days. I have a had a cake just straight up blow out of my hands while trying to hand it to a client from a strong gust of wind. Sometimes its just things that you simply can not help, but you deal with it and move on. One of my biggest struggles is telling a client no. I very rarely ever turn down an order and sometimes that puts myself in a bind as far as my personal life.

However, in the end, it is worth it to have another happy customer. I am a one-woman show, so when I have a full schedule some days that results in 2 hours of sleep and running from Tomball to Kingwood to Brenham to Austin.. all over the country!

Sometimes I wonder how am I going to get it done and why do I do this when I could be out with my friends right now like a normal 31-year-old. The only answer though is that you just get it done, you figure out a way and you do it. A satisfied customer and one that will use you over and over again from their baby shower to that babies wedding cake, and the looks on their face when they have cakes and cookies that make their event special. THAT is what makes the struggles worth it.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Butter Stick Bakery story. Tell us more about the business.
I started this company when I was 21 and I am now in my 10th year. I started off mainly doing just custom cakes and weddings. Since then I have moved into a wider array of specialties. Custom decorated cookies are now one the main things I do as well as the cakes. I do custom gourmet cupcakes, cake pops, pretty much anything that my client envisions for their event, I make happen.

I was recognized in Texas Monthly magazine in 2012 for Most Creative Cakes and Best Tasting Cake. I was also featured in the Austin American Statesmen for my work with a wonderful non profit in Austin, Bake A Wish. This company provides free cakes for kids that are in orphanages that otherwise may not ever receive a cake. I will never forget making cake for a 16 year old and later receiving a thank you note because that child had never had a birthday cake before. Absolutely heartbreaking.

I am currently working on starting something similar in the Houston area for children in need. No child should ever go without something as simple as a birthday cake. Something that sets myself apart from others would been of our more common compliments, that our cake stays moist and does not dry out. Taste is a very important part of your product, not just presentation! A lot of cake and cookie designers also use projectors to trace their designs on, I freehand most everything I do.

One of the most important parts of this business is being able to set yourself apart from others. So many people are now in this industry that it is a constant competition to get your clients business. People post on facebook etc. that they are looking for a cake and there is almost always at least 50-75 replies on there of different referrals for different business’. What makes them choose you? You HAVE to have some sort of niche and client base that will make that new customer want to choose you. Since I have the ability to sort of be a one-stop show for different events because of the wide variety of products I offer and packages that are available.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I wouldn’t really call luck being on my side most of the time, haha. If I were a super lucky person I would be a millionaire by now! It takes hard work and dedication to be able to succeed and you have to put 100% of your heart and soul into it. Late nights, missed events, sleep loss, early arthritis, backaches, stress, you name it… it’s going to happen. If you are not dedicated enough to make those sacrifices, you will never make it. I have been fortunate enough to have some good things come my way and I will forever be blessed with those.

I am lucky enough to have two very supportive parents that have always helped me, no matter what, no questions asked (unless I am interfering with my dads fishing schedule, haha!). I would never be where I am today without the help of my mom and dad and my very supportive boyfriend. Having the love and support of your family is definitely something that makes me pretty lucky.

Pricing:

• $30/dozen decorated cookies
• Wedding cakes start at $4/serving

Contact Info:

• Phone: 979-277-5688
• Email: thebutterstickbakery@gmail.com
• Instagram: @thebutterstickbakerytx
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thebutterstickbakery

Image Credit:
Brett Burleson Photography

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