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Kate Tynan is an award winning Cake Business Coach and has worked with over 10,000 cake designers in the last three years.  She is the founder of 'The Cake Business Club' - a monthly business membership for cake businesses around the globe. 

Kate is also a certified positive psychology coach and weaves that into her 1:1 coaching so her guidance builds upon her clients' strengths, values and personality type.  

She has over a decade of experience running her own multi award winning wedding cake business 'Little Button Bakery', but closed that business in October 2023 to focus solely on 'The Cake Business Club'.

Kate has built a name for herself in the cake industry with her no-nonsense, straight-talking style - always with an injection of fun.  Her clients say she is their biggest cheerleader and will always tell them what they need to know to grow - even if a bit of tough love is needed. 

Kate values inclusivity, honesty, fun and respect and always goes above and beyond for the cake designers who work with her.

Find more about Kate and The Cake Business Club here: https://www.thecakebusinessclub.co.uk

Follow Kate on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/thecakebusinessclub/

If you have found this episode useful, please follow of subscribe on the platform that you listen on, and leave a review!

Connect with Annie:

For structured support, training and accountability:
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https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-profitable-baker-academy-membership/

And if you’re looking for a different income stream… let Annie help you publish a book:

https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-profitable-baker-book-programme/

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Scrolling past a brand or a bake that stops you in your tracks is one thing — knowing what to actually do with that admiration is another. In this episode, Annie unpacks why so many bakers slide from inspiration into imitation, and gives you a simple framework for borrowing the principle behind a brand you love without copying the look.

In this episode:

• Why copying happens (hint: it's fear, not laziness) — and why it backfires
• The one question to ask instead of "how do I make mine look like that?"
• Real examples: packaging, captions, and photography broken down into the principle vs. the surface
• A 3-question framework you can use the next time something stops your scroll
• A first look at July's Academy Day brand walk in Brighton

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Profitable Baker Academy Membership: https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-profitable-baker-academy-membership/
• Academy Day — Brighton Brand Walk, 10th July: ••https://anniebennett.co.uk/register/brighton-away-day-non-members/

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Jenny is a multi award winning business woman with over 25 years experience in the cake industry. 

Originally trained as a pastry chef, Jenny worked in some of the UKs top establishments, honing her skills before establishing her cake business which went from kitchen table to 6 figures within 3 years. 

Jenny created cakes for Royalty (making HRH Charles and Camilla’s first wedding anniversary cake) appeared on TV (Britain’s Best Bakery, The Alan Titchmarsh show, amongst others) and featured across the national press. 

Jenny sold the cake business after selling over £2 million worth of cakes and trained as a coach and hypnotherapist. 

Jenny is an expert in not only creating beautiful cakes but growing a cake business, gaining press and the mindset needed to create a successful cake business. 

Jenny coaches with passion, making it fun, whilst being results driven. Jenny prides herself in being cake business owners biggest cheerleader in business, working with them on their mindset to help them achieve their goals and dreams.

When not working, Jenny can be found in the forest or at the beach, swimming in the sea (when it’s warm enough!) 

Get in touch with Jenny on Insta:

https://www.instagram.com/sweet_as_success/

Connect with Annie:

For structured support, training and accountability:
Join The Profitable Baker Academy Membership

https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-profitable-baker-academy-membership/

For regular delves into baking business matters, including taking part in podcast episodes:

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For her website with all this and more:

anniebennett.co.uk

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Most home bakers don't have a pricing problem. They have a delivery problem.

In this episode, I'm talking about the moment — that specific, uncomfortable moment when someone asks how much your cakes cost and you feel that familiar tightening in your chest. Why it happens, what it's costing you, and what to actually do about it.

This episode builds on Episode 27 (if you haven't listened yet, go back — today's episode picks up where that one left off), so if you've been following the June sales confidence series, this is the practical next step.

In this episode:

• Why softening, pre-apologising and over-explaining your prices actually undermines them — before anyone has even responded
• The real reason saying a price out loud feels so exposing (and why it's not weakness)
• Three practical things to try in your next price conversation
• Why the pause after you say your price is more powerful than anything you say next
• What to do when someone says "that's more than I expected" — and why dropping your price isn't the answer
• A simple exercise to do today that will make price conversations feel less strange

Ready to keep working on this? Inside the Profitable Baker Academy this month, we're going deep on sales confidence — from showing up online to handling real enquiries. 

For structured support, training and accountability:
Join The Profitable Baker Academy Membership

https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-profitable-baker-academy-membership/

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If selling feels uncomfortable, this episode is for you — and the good news is, it's not a personality problem. It's a skills gap. And skills can be learned.

Annie breaks down what selling actually looks like in a small, values-led baking business — and it's nothing like the pushy, high-pressure version that's been putting you off.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why most bakers who struggle with selling aren't bad at it — they just haven't been shown how
• What selling actually is when it's done well (hint: it's helping someone make a decision)
• The three specific skills that make up selling in a baking business context
• Why following up after an enquiry isn't pushy — and what to say when you do it
• One practical thing to do before the end of this week

Want to take part in The Sales Confidence Challenge? 

Sign up here: https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-hbba-sales-challenge-2026/

For structured support, training and accountability:
Join The Profitable Baker Academy Membership

https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-profitable-baker-academy-membership/

For regular delves into baking business matters, including taking part in podcast episodes:

https://anniebennett.co.uk/#subscribe

For free tips, insight and real-world business talk:
Follow me on social media

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/annie-bennett-pba/

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If talking about your work, following up on enquiries, or asking for the sale makes you want to quietly look the other way, this episode is for you.

This week I'm getting into something that doesn't get talked about enough in the home baking world: the discomfort around selling. Not pricing, not finding customers… the actual act of putting yourself and your work forward with confidence.

I talk about the three beliefs that keep brilliant bakers stuck, why the version of selling most of us are afraid of isn't the version we actually need to do, and what the reframe is that changes everything.

There's also one practical task, something you can do today, in about ten minutes, that will start to shift how you talk about your business.

And at the end, I share details of the Sales Confidence Challenge, a free five-day challenge I'm running from Monday 1st June. One email a day, one short video from me, one task. Link below if you'd like to join.

Sign up for the Sales Confidence Challenge: https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-hbba-sales-challenge-2026/

Connect with Annie:

For structured support, training and accountability:
Join The Home Baking Business Academy Membership

https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-home-baking-business-academy/

For regular delves into baking business matters, including taking part in podcast episodes:

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Those four words. You know the ones.

You've done the work, built your pricing properly, sent the quote — and then it comes back: "that's too expensive." And suddenly all the confidence you had disappears.

In this episode, I'm talking about what's actually happening in that moment, what it means (and what it doesn't), and what to do next that isn't immediately reaching for a discount.

We cover:

• Why "that's too expensive" is almost always budget information — not a verdict on your work
• The two questions that fire at once when a client pushes back, and why the emotional one tends to drive the response
• A real enquiry I had for a wedding cake — and what happened when I handled it properly
• Three practical responses you can use when the pushback comes
• Why guilt-discounting costs you more than just the money
• The mindset shift that changes how these conversations feel

If you've ever said yes to a price you knew was too low just to make the discomfort stop — this one's for you.

Connect with Annie:

For structured support, training and accountability:
Join The Home Baking Business Academy Membership

https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-home-baking-business-academy/

For regular delves into baking business matters, including taking part in podcast episodes:

https://anniebennett.co.uk/#subscribe

For free tips, insight and real-world business talk:
Follow me on social media

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Most home bakers price to survive. In this episode, Annie makes the case for pricing to build — and explains why that shift changes everything.

If you've ever set a price by working out what your ingredients cost and adding "a bit on," this episode is for you. Because covering costs is the floor, not the goal. And if you've been pricing from the floor, it explains why you're busy but not building.

In this episode Annie covers:

• Why "what do I need to cover?" is the wrong starting question — and what to ask instead
• The hidden costs that almost never make it into a home baker's pricing (but absolutely should)
• The three layers of pricing: direct costs, overheads, and the profit margin that actually builds a business
• Why low prices don't just affect your margin — they affect perception, and perception affects everything
• The real reason raising your prices often loses the wrong customers and attracts the right ones
• How to use pricing as a filter, not just a formula

Plus: a practical exercise to find the gap between what you're charging and what you should be charging — and what to do about it.

If your prices haven't been looked at in a while, this is the episode to listen to with a notebook nearby.

For structured support, training and accountability:
Join The Home Baking Business Academy Membership

https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-home-baking-business-academy/

For regular delves into baking business matters, including taking part in podcast episodes:

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Follow me on social media

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Are you working hard, making beautiful products, and still not earning what you should be? In this episode, Annie gets honest about the very common — and very costly — ways home bakers get their pricing wrong. Not slightly off. Wrong in a way that keeps skilled, dedicated bakers stuck.

This isn't just a maths problem, and Annie doesn't treat it like one. Pricing is a mindset problem too, and until you address both, the numbers alone won't fix it.

In this episode:

• Why pricing from ingredients alone is always going to leave you short — and what you're missing when you do
• The problem with setting your prices by looking at what other bakers charge
• What "pricing from anxiety" actually looks like, and why it's an emotional decision dressed up as a business one
• How to work out the full cost of an order — including all the time you're not counting
• The hourly rate exercise that changes how bakers see their own value
• Why undercharging isn't generosity — and what it's actually costing you
• A simple three-question framework for approaching your pricing with clarity

If you've been avoiding the calculation because the answer feels uncomfortable — this episode is for you.

For structured support, training and accountability:
Join The Home Baking Business Academy Membership

https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-home-baking-business-academy/

For regular delves into baking business matters, including taking part in podcast episodes:

https://anniebennett.co.uk/#subscribe

For free tips, insight and real-world business talk:
Follow me on social media

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We're wrapping up finance month with the topic that sits underneath all of it — the two words that make even the most confident bakers go quiet: Self Assessment.

In this episode, Annie unpicks exactly where the fear comes from and, one by one, dismantles it. Because the dread around Self Assessment is real — but it's rarely about the form itself.

In this episode:

• Why "Self Assessment" sounds scarier than it actually is
• The real reason so many bakers dread the number at the end — and how to fix it
• What HMRC is genuinely looking for (it's not perfection)
• Why avoiding your figures costs you more than looking at them
• What actually happens when you file — step by step, in plain language
• Payments on account — and why they catch first-timers by surprise (see also: Episode 21)

Key takeaway: Self Assessment is a form. An annual form. If you know your numbers, it's an afternoon — maybe not a fun one, but an afternoon.

Links & resources:

• Join the Home Baking Business Academy Membership: https://anniebennett.co.uk/the-home-baking-business-academy/
• Episode 20: Is Your Record-Keeping HMRC-Ready?
• Episode 21: The Tax Bill That's Actually Two Bills

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or tax advice. Please consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your circumstances.

For regular delves into baking business matters, including taking part in podcast episodes:

https://anniebennett.co.uk/#subscribe

For free tips, insight and real-world business talk:
Follow me on social media

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/annie-bennett-hbba/

For her website with all this and more:

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