Sales rise at cake company

When Whangarei mum Sandra Boston was pregnant with her second child in 2006, she decided to set up an internet business selling cake decorations and accessories to give her a bit of an income.
But five years later her business, Kiwi Cakes, has exploded, making it a full-time job with extra staff to help meet demand.
Sandra says people have nothing to fear from the internet and retailers should use it as much as possible to increase sales.
When she started, Sandra just expected it to be a relatively small scale operation selling decorations and equipment to cake enthusiasts.
But it's recorded growth every month since and she's gone from filling 20 to 30 orders a week, to up to 100 a day - and it just keeps growing. She also provides virtually anything needed for a party.
"When I was pregnant with my second child I thought I wouldn't go back to work full-time so thought I'd start a little thing to make some money while I was at home. It just grew from there and has taken off all by itself," she said.
"I didn't really expect it to [grow so big]. I was doing a bit of selling on Trade Me so I had an idea that people wanted cake decorating products and there were not a lot of real specialist shops left selling these things and it quickly grew."
From humble beginnings the business has grown to include two off-site storage spaces and "most of Mum's home as well", with about 5 per cent of her business coming from overseas, including many ex-pat Kiwis wanting to hold kiwiana themed parties.
"The kiwi-shaped cookie and chocolate cutters are popular for ex-pats and we've had an Aussie marrying a Kiwi wanting kangaroo and kiwi shapes for their wedding party. I also send things to New Zealand embassies around the world."
Sandra said she enjoyed not having to work the standard 9-5 hours, but she still has to put in 60-70 hours a week. It had given her the freedom to be able to do her work around other things. She has even won awards for her business acumen.
"When Mum (Betty Boston) started an online business selling antiques in 1997 many people didn't know what email was, but now almost everybody uses [the internet]."
But just getting your business on the net wasn't enough.
"You still have to know your products well to sell online. That helps build trust with your clients that you can help them if they have any problems."
Sandra also runs the online blog for her business and is often amazed at how "hardcore" some of her clients can be over the latest products.
She said if business owners did not use forums like Facebook in their personal lives they should at least use them to promote their business. "It's free and a great way to advertise."