BLACK BUSINESS OWNER RECEIVES BRAND HELP FROM MARKETING EXPERT

Michelle Wainwright started her business, Cute as a Cupcake, in 2015. PHOTO PROVIDED BY MICHELLE WAINWRIGHT.
Michelle Wainwright started her business, Cute as a Cupcake, in 2015. PHOTO PROVIDED BY MICHELLE WAINWRIGHT.

BLACK BUSINESS OWNER RECEIVES BRAND HELP FROM
MARKETING EXPERT

BY TIA CAROL JONES
Michelle Wainwright started Cute as a Cupcake in 2015 when she lost her job in the pharmaceutical industry. She took her severance and used it to start the business. She sold her cupcake jars at vendor fairs and Farmer’s Markets. Then she had a kiosk in the mall in Merrillville, and now, she has a brick-and-mortar
location in Merrillville.

As the business started to grow, Wainwright realized it could go beyond her. She participated in the Breedlove Entrepreneurship
Center’s program.

“For me, I love the baking, I love the creativity. I love that because what I do is coming from my heart, it’s with love. As a business owner, I wanted to be able to see the brand continue to flourish and go beyond me or just our brick-and-mortar location, it
was important to have appropriate branding,” Wainwright said.

Stanley Hainsworth is a marketing and branding expert, nicknamed “Mr. Starbucks. The CCO of Tether was introduced to YWCA Metropolitan Chicago and the Breedlove Entrepreneurship Center by a friend. He was intrigued when he heard about the statistics about Black Women Entrepreneurs, funding opportunities and revenue disparities. One of Tether’s favorite things to do is work with entrepreneurs because of their passion and their sacrifice.

“The Breedlove Entrepreneurship Center’s mission is to accelerate the growth of businesses owned and operated by Black women. What I do is the branding part of it -- the sound, look and feel of your brand – so that you can create the emotional connection
between a consumer and brand,” Hainsworth said.

Hainsworth started working with Wainwright on Cute as a Cupcake because of her energy and her passion for what she does. Wainwright had all the things in place, as far as operations
and business acumen, but she needed help on being succinct about who she was, how her business was different than competitors and the look and feel of her brand.

Wainwright said being selected by Breedlove to work with Hainsworth was like a dream come true. There were sometimes where it felt overwhelming and she was emotional during the process of working with Hainsworth and his team
 funding for her business. She now wants to show other Black entrepreneurs that they can be in places where their business can grow.

Wainwright is trying to expand her brand. In addition to the brick-and-mortar, there also is a cupcake truck. She said the entire process and the end product of working with Hainsworth has been
amazing.

Wainwright received help with an elevator pitch to describe her business, as well as her promise to the consumer about
the product. The tagline: “A life with cupcakes is a life with love,” is indicative of her promise to spread love.

“Why does Michelle open the door everyday, to lift people up through cupcakes and community. The community part is
a big part of it, and will continue to be, but there is no community help if you’re not successful as a business through the
product, the cupcake, so it’s those two things together,” Hainsworth said. Wainwright just created a vending machine for the cutie cupcakes in a jar. Cute as a Cupcake is looking
to make a mark in Chicago.

On Saturday, Oct. 22nd , Hainsworth led an in-person workshop that focused on brand strengthening and storytelling. During a Shark Tank-style competition, a winner received a full consulting
session from Hainsworth and Tether.

For more information about Cute as a Cupcake, visit cuteasacupcake3.com. For more information about Tether,
visit tether.com. For more information about the Breedlove Entrepreneurship Center, visit https://tinyurl. com/4p8nyb7x.

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