Web Exclusive: More 100 Years in the Baking

Couldn't get enough of our interview with the "Cake Boss", Buddy Valastro? Here's more from our interview:

Lindsay Tigar: As the bakery has grown, how have you been able to let go, and allow your employees to run your business? How did you build that trust?

BV: I was a control freak, obsessive-compulsive –everything had to be a certain way. I would eat, dream, and breathe this place, and then I realized –I just can’t do it. I realized I need help. I started to get assistance to help me do things, and once they helped me do my schedule, I saw how easy it was, and I said, “You know what, let me put people in the right places.” You gotta’ let people be able to fall. You gotta’ make mistakes to learn. I let them make mistakes, as long as they’re not burning down the bakery. If they do make a mistake, I make good on it. But you have to let them grow into the position, and inevitably, when I need to, I step in and drop the hammer.

LT: How do you get customers to make up their minds?

BV: Customers are tricky. Dealing with customers is an art in itself, and it’s the art of reading people. Who’s the indecisive bride, who is the pain in the butt bride, who is the easiest-going bride in the world, you know some brides don’t even care. It’s a matter of reading those key things and trying to show them what they like. It’s a lot of key words: “I want a simple cake”, “I want a grand cake”, “I want this, I want that.” Once you see what direction they are going in, you can help steer them.

The trick is being honest. You know, I’m always being honest –whether the customer likes it or not. A bride says I want a cake with purple flowers that’s lime green with black touches. I tell them, “I’ll do it, but I’m telling you right now, this is not the right thing to do.” Usually, they listen. I feel that honesty, that bond, makes long lasting impressions so that they come back for their kid’s birthday or when it’s another party. So, you’re looking to set in a long-term customer.

LT: How do you get your employees to do what you want them to do?

BV: You know, it’s just the norm. It’s known. Nobody questions if I say something, they just do it. It’s been years in the making. I don’t go around whippin’ people. This ain’t the wild west, and I’m guns-blazing. It’s just that they trust and know that I know better. When I say something, it usually just happens.

LT: What’s a typical day for you compared to what a typical day was like for your father?

BV: My dad worked very hard for a long time. Me and him do the same thing every morning. We come in, we have our coffee, and we walk around the bakery. We see what’s going on, who’s doing what, where we are. After that, he would go and start baking. During the week, he would do cookies, pastries, and on the weekends, he would do cake decorating. That’s what my days used to be like.

Now, I go have my coffee around the bakery, then have my Cheerios at my desk. And then I start my day. I start my day with either an interview, and then we go to filming. In between filming all day, I probably have about ten phone calls about business, five calls about my wife doing our new house, a call from my agent, a call from the creative or meetings for another show. My day is jam-packed every day to the minute. 

LT: What’s the best piece of advice your father gave you?

BV: Lead by example. When I started, he wanted me to learn how to clean the toilet bowls because he wanted me to know what’s like to be the guy who cleans the toilet bowls. Talkin’ is one thing, but to say, “Yeah, I’ve done it” is another thing. I’ve cleaned toilet bowls, I’ve washed pans, I’ve cleaned cases, I’ve baked, I’ve decorated, I’ve been around the business to do the whole thing.

 When people who haven’t done that other job try to pick on another job, I’m the one to say, “Listen, dude, you don’t wanna’ be the one doing his job, trust me.” You have to always be able to step back, and analyze, and put yourself in the situation.