The Challenges Of A Family Bakery: Money, Limits, And Love

What’s The Biggest Challenge Of Running A Small Bakery?

The smell of warm cinnamon rolls says comfort, but the story behind them is grit. We sit down with Kisha Scroggins of Honey Bunch Bake Shop in Southwest Fort Worth to unpack the real cost of running a tiny, family-run bakery while working full-time as a nurse. From the funding gap that blocks micro-businesses from traditional loans to the quiet math of personal credit, Kisha lays out how capital shapes every recipe, every late night, and every decision to keep the doors open.

You’ll hear what a 16-hour shift on your feet does to a baker’s body, and why the shop chose flavor-first bakes over elaborate custom cakes. We talk through the hard boundary of saying no to three-day fondant projects when the price point stays intentionally affordable. Kisha shares the simple systems that keep a three-person team moving—inventory checklists, next-day prep, and lots of labeling—plus the reality of missing a note and scrambling to catch up. With no seasonal bench to call, family becomes the workforce: her son anchors daytime production and her daughter contributes with labeling and inventory, building skills and confidence along the way.

If you care about small businesses, local bakeries, and the human side of entrepreneurship, this conversation delivers practical insight and heart. Subscribe for more behind-the-ovens stories, share with a friend who loves from-scratch sweets, and leave a review to help neighbors discover Honey Bunch Bake Shop.

To learn more about Honey Bunch Bake Shop visit:
https://www.HoneyBunchBakeShop.com
Honey Bunch Bake Shop
6257 Granbury Rd 
Fort Worth, TX 76133
817-751-8814 

Transcript

Welcome To Sweet Talk

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Welcome to Sweet Talk, the Honey Bunch Bake Shop Podcast, broadcasting straight from Southwest Fort Worth's favorite family-run bakery. Each episode we'll peek behind the ovens with owner and operator Keisha Scrogins and her crew, the folks baking up birthday cakes, holiday treats, and everyday sweets for the neighborhood. So settle in. Imagine the smell of warm cinnamon rolls. And get ready for some sweet talk from Honey Bunch Bake Shop.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Running a bakery looks sweet from the outside, but behind the scenes, the pressure can get real. Welcome everyone. Frederick here, co-host and producer in the studio with Keisha Scroggins, owner and operator of the Honey Bunch Bake Shop. Keisha, how's your day shaping up today?

SPEAKER_02 0:52

I'm good. How are you?

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Good, good, thanks. So today we're digging into the topic. What is the biggest challenge of running a small bakery? Give us a bit of insight into that, Keisha.

SPEAKER_02 1:05

Um, the biggest thing for me right now is um just money, is capital. Um, I think a lot of people um just assume you can just get a small business. Some businesses are so small, like mine, they don't qualify for like a small business loan. Um, I don't generate enough revenue, and then there are um alternate funding options. I don't qualify for any of those either. Um, so for me, it was taking out um a couple of personal loans, several personal credit cards. So I have a lot of personal debt. And so what that has meant for me is that I had to go back to work full-time as a nurse. So I work full-time as a nurse, and I also still work full-time at the bakery. So I work seven days a week. I work 10-hour shifts as a nurse, and then I get off and go bake at night. Um, and then my kids are my adult children are there during the day. Um, it can be pretty tiring, it can be difficult sometimes, but money is the is the hardest piece uh to secure. Um, I think um people just don't realize how difficult it is um and then to to to keep it going. So I, you know, these days we um go from uh income tax refund to income tax refund um and just try to fill in. I've had to borrow money from my mom a couple of times. Um so it can be difficult, it can be stressful.

The Physical Toll Of Baking

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Gotcha, gotcha. And you mentioned, you know, capital being the hardest thing to get. But if when it comes to workload itself, um, what part of the day-to-day workload do you think tends to create the most pressure?

SPEAKER_02 2:45

Um, just for myself, I do most of the baking. Um, my son does help with some things, but I do most of it myself. So just the physical uh piece of it. Um I also have some health issues that I deal with. And so um, like Wednesday, I was on my feet uh 16 hours, and so it does a number on you. So I'm still recovering from that. Um, so I ended up, you know, taking the day off, you know, using PTO as a nurse so I could go and bake and get an order done. Um, and so 16 hours on your feet, it can do a lot, you know, to your back. And then if you already have some health concerns, I can make it um hard to get up the next day, but it's okay. I love it. Um, so I choose to do it. So I'm not complaining, you know, it's it's no, you know, no one's making me do it. I do it. It can just be a little bit difficult sometimes.

Choosing Taste Over Cake Art

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Yeah, sounds like that's a lot to juggle. So, how do you balance, say, like creativity with the operational demand demands of the business?

SPEAKER_02 3:47

Um, honestly, I think um I don't feel like I am a creative in the artistic sense. I may be creative with like flavors, but I honestly am not as good as like decorating cakes as some other people are. I just don't have that kind of time. Um, and I know, you know, a lot of times people are looking for that. They want you to spend three days cutting out fondant shapes for a cake. I just can't, I can't do that. And um, just a couple of months ago, I stopped doing um like sheet cakes and birthday cake round cakes just because I just don't have time. I feel like I'm not as good at as it as I should be, and I just don't have the time to, you know, devote to learning more of the artistry. Um, it'll taste good, but it's not gonna, you know, look like a dinosaur. It's just gonna look like a cake, unfortunately. Um, so I just had to let that go. And sometimes, you know, and it's hard for me. Yeah, I you know, felt guilty, but at the same time, I've got to learn how to let some things go. Sometimes it's just not what I'm the best at. Um, and that's okay. There are plenty of people who have the time and can do the artistry, and that's great. And then also the other piece of that is just, you know, I'm charging$25 for a cake. There's no way I can spend three days cutting out shapes for the age, you know what I mean? Like it that's that's for someone who can charge or who does charge$300,$400 for a cake. That's just not what I do. So there's space for everybody, I feel like, you know, and that's their specialty. That's great. I'm just more on the more um more affordable, convenient side. And so that's where I've decided to just kind of uh let that be my area.

Inventory On A Shoestring

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Yeah, sounds like you found your niche, which is amazing. Um so if I may, uh what challenges come with managing inventory when everything is made fresh?

SPEAKER_02 5:39

So um I think the hardest piece is just um the like not missing anything. So, like we keep a whole inventory chart about, you know, what we made and what we didn't, and we need to make this the next day, and just and there are only three of us there, and it's only my son and I who really manage that. But even then, sometimes you're like, oh my gosh, I forgot to write down XYZ, and then he doesn't know that I didn't write it down, you know, or he forgets to write something down. So just trying to keep all the pieces in the air when there's so much uh to do. So it's one thing if there's a business with a you know a leadership structure and things can more things can get delegated and there are lots of hands. Um, we don't have that. So, you know, I'm the payroll, I'm you know, the timekeeper and the trainer and the bake and the floor mopper and the dishwasher. So sometimes you just don't realize that you missed something. You just you just don't remember everything all the time.

Family Staffing And Long Nights

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Gotcha, gotcha. And you did mention that you have three people on staff um at all times, I suppose. So, how how do you navigate staffing needs, you know, during busy seasons versus slower ones?

SPEAKER_02 7:01

So uh three, though, so I'm one of those people. So I'm there whenever I get off work, and then my son is uh there during the day, and then my special needs daughter is there. So my son and I handle most things, but my daughter is very good. She can help, you know, put things in inventory. Sometimes she struggles, but she's pretty good at it. Um, she labels things, stuff like that. So um the way that we I mean, I don't have extra people. Um, sometimes my mom does, like she has a food handler license and she'll come help sometimes if I'm just um in too much pain or too sick to do it by myself. But most of the time it's just um prepping things the day before so I can bake them the next day. And then um sometimes I'm still there till midnight and then I get up at 4:30 in the morning to be a nurse at 6. Sometimes it's just that way I just don't have enough. Um I just don't have another way to juggle it. So sometimes that's just how it ends up being. I've stayed up more than 24 hours um at one point to get something done. Like I got off work and had to stay until the next morning to try to get something done. And sometimes it's just that way when there are only, you know, there's one main baker, and then my son um, you know, pitches in and does some of the smaller things. So um, yeah, that's it.

Managing Customer Expectations

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Gotcha, gotcha. Yeah, thanks for explaining that. And on a different note, uh, what role does customer expectation play in shaping your daily decisions?

SPEAKER_02 8:34

I think sometimes it's a bit difficult, especially for a business as small as mine. Um, sometimes people are very disappointed. I don't know if people understand how long things take. And baking is a slow process. It's not like getting some burgers together in a few minutes and having that ready for someone. It's a very long process. And so I've had people not understand that I couldn't have a cake ready in an hour. And so the person was like, Well, well, I'll pay extra. No, it's not that. Like, I physically can't, like, I have to mix it and then bake it, and then it's gotta cool, and then I still have to decorate it. And plus, I already have some other things I'm working on, so it's just not physically possible, you know, to do that. So, um, you know, other places they have, you know, um, and especially if it's a franchise, they have cake batter already ready and they just have to throw it in, or sometimes cakes are already uh prepped and frozen. They just have to take it out and decorate it. So I don't have those kinds of things set up um because I'm just so small. Um, so I think people just expect me to be able to have number one, they expect everything that I make to be ready every single day. And I can't physically do it because it would take me three days just to make every single different flavor of things that I make. So I just make what I can that day. And if we don't have something that day, we just don't have it. I couldn't get to it. Um, and then I try, you know, to make it the next day, or sometimes I might not have something for a week just because I just didn't have time that week to do it. Um, so it's just part of the being just a really small crew.

Finding Motivation And Purpose

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Gotcha, gotcha. So you've talked about the different, you know, expectations on your team. You know, you have three people on your team, yourself included. Customers want this and that, you know, maybe faster than physically possible and everything. So, final question for you is how do you stay motivated when the workload feels overwhelming?

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Um, it's hard. Um, so I know that um it's just a bakery for my family. It's a place for my daughter to learn some skills and to be a productive member of society. And um honestly, it's a lot of prayer because sometimes I cry a lot and I am like, why am I doing this? I just need to, you know, try to get out of my lease. Why do I keep doing this to myself? But um, you know, I wake up the next day and I'm like, no, I'm you know, I'm just gonna keep trying until I know that that's the end. So um sometimes um the motivation is hard, but um, there's enough there, there's enough love there to to keep trying.

Closing And How To Visit

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Excellent. Well, thank you so much for sharing that, Keisha. And you know, always appreciate your honesty and insight here. Everyone at home, thanks for tuning in, and we will see you all next time.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

You've been listening to Sweet Talk from Honey Bunch Bake Shop. Sweet on the outside, heart in the oven. Treat yourself and stop by at 6257 Granberry Road in the Hewland Square Shopping Center, or visit Honeybunch Bakeshop.com. Until next time, stay sweet, Fort Worth.