We focus our energy on making cake taste as good as it possibly can.
Warren was two years into a successful law career and just shy of his 30th birthday when it hit him. “I said, ‘Hey, if you don’t actually do something about this dream and this idea you have, you’re not going to do it before you have some mid-life crisis. Why don’t you just skip all the middle stuff and get right to it?’”
From Torts to Tarts
Just like that, Warren said goodbye to his job of stuffy courtrooms, cantankerous judges and long hours as a federal litigator and hello to sweet smelling kitchens, happy customers and (still) long hours as the owner of his bakery, CakeLove.
Of course, Warren doesn’t just bake cakes to make himself happy. He makes his living catering to his customers. “A lot of people don’t like cake because it’s too sweet. A lot of people don’t like cake because it’s too dry. Or a lot of people just don’t like how much icing’s on there. So we focus our energy on making cake taste as good as it possibly can.”
Baking An Empire
Warren’s philosophy on baking seems to be paying off with:
- Seven CakeLove locations in and around Washington, D.C.
- CakeLove, the cookbook
- Sugar Rush, his show on the Food Network
- LoveCafe, a successful café which serves sandwiches and salads
Warren sums it all up sweetly, “Right now, I couldn’t be happier with the choice I made to leave law.”
Rapid Growth Challenge
While Warren wouldn’t trade any of his success, there are problems that come from growing a cake empire so quickly. While the first CakeLove opened its doors nearly nine years ago, four of the seven stores were opened in the last two years.
“So it’s a lot of growth on the back end,” says Warren. “Managing seven retail stores is a challenge.” To help he has turned to Dell desktops, laptops, servers and support services. “We’ve got computers and technology and machines and info going everywhere, in every direction, in an organized way. But it’s all over the place.”
Solution: Rapid Deployment
For Warren it’s all about communication – internally with his bakeries and more importantly, with his customers and community as a whole. Maybe one of the biggest challenges Warren faced was when he put CakeLove online. This included organizing sales to coordinating deliveries to computing different tax rates (MD, VA, D.C.) and relaying all this information to and from his staff at different locations.
“When we began to explore it, we learned we had to do it on a dedicated server.” Warren knew there were a lot of steps to fill in. “Using a Dell dedicated server is really what helped make it all happen. We needed to make sure we had the bandwidth so the site never crashed.”
Continual Uptime Challenge
Warren is a fan of simplicity and consistency. From the all-natural ingredients in his baking to the design of his stores, Warren knows what he and his customers want. The same goes for his technology. “Everything that has to do with information technology has to work. I need it to function properly. I need it to be reliable.” Warren knows he can’t afford even a minute of downtime because that means lost sales.
Solution: Continual Support
“We use Dell products because my IT guys recommend them to me. They love working with the Dell staff. They have no problems with them. Whenever something goes wrong, it’s very easy to solve the problem. With Dell helping, Warren has time to do what he does best. “I need to make sure my IT services are smooth and operating efficiently. And that way I can go about my business and that’s making cakes and spreading the gospel of CakeLove.”
A Green Planet Challenge
While Warren is making big strides he’s still concerned with the carbon footprint CakeLove leaves. From consolidating and unplugging unneeded refrigerators to reducing, reusing and recycling just about everything he owns, CakeLove, as Warren puts it, is “committed to trying to save our planet.”
Solution: A Green Technology Partner
With Dell servers, Warren knows he’s running as energy efficient as possible. And he found by consolidating deliveries amongst his seven stores he could maintain a smaller inventory. In addition, by converting to online billing he could cut down on paper use. “Without the servers that make our online store work, we wouldn’t know where to go.”
Find Your Passion
Warren insists to find your passion in life you have to follow your heart. “I started baking because I love food. But I didn’t have any idea I could bake. But I just began and got closer to something that felt good. And I just continued on that path.”