Red Velvet Revolution: The Rise of the Cupcake Entrepreneur

Got a sweet tooth? You’re in luck. These days, cupcakes are playing a starring role at pastry shops across the country – from teen-owned business City Cupcakes, to Zoe's Place, a nonprofit organization that provides services and support to teen mothers or mothers to be. Oh, and don’t forget the excitement of The Food Network’s "Cupcake Wars", delicious and dripping with drama. These sweet treats have become more than just a passing fad.Read More

by Rachel Kipp

For Lauren Ball, cupcakes bring to mind childhood memories of trips to the bakery and birthday parties topped off with frosted treats big enough to pack a punch for any sweet tooth — but small enough that she didn’t have to share with anyone else.

But the 17-year-old from Escondido, Calif., also knows that cupcakes represent a lot of hard work. A year ago, Ball and friend Sawyer Epp, also 17, started their own business baking and selling cupcakes for special orders and at local farmers markets. Thousands of chocolate, vanilla and red velvet cakes later, Ball advises any aspiring baker to “take the amount of work you think it’s going to be and double that — or triple that.”

When they started out, it took the teens about seven hours to make 100 cupcakes. With experience and the discovery of some time-saving tricks (such as measuring out the ingredients at home before heading to their rented baking space) they could churn out 300 or 400 cakes in about four hours. Ball and Epp had to get all the permits and licenses required of food vendors in their area. They tested different brands of cocoa and vanilla to determine which brands made the cupcakes taste best. “That’s what it really takes to be successful,” says Ball. “Anything worth doing is going to be hard.”

Colors, Competition and a Cause

These days, cupcakes are playing a starring role at pastry shops across the country, and Ball and Epp’s City Cupcakes is just one of the businesses feeding the craze. Cupcakeries run the gamut from stores offering treats in classic flavors, like chocolate and vanilla, to those peddling more exotic tastes, including margarita and sweet potato (both of which have been on the menu at SAS Cupcakes, which has locations in Delaware and North Carolina.) Bakers are selling their cupcakes via blogs, Facebook and Twitter, and from traveling food trucks.

Some entrepreneurs are combining cupcakes with a cause. At City Girl Cupcake in Providence, R.I., any profits that don’t go back into the business are donated to local and national charities. Extra cupcakes — all of which are organic, nut-free and baked with locally sourced ingredients — are donated to the local Ronald McDonald House. Founders Catherine Corrente, 16, and Isabella Veader, 15, go to a school where community service is emphasized “and we both wanted to bring that into what we did when we sold,” Corrente says. “We’re both extremely fortunate, so we wanted to give back.”

In Teaneck, N.J., all of the profits from the cookies and cupcakes sold at Zoe’s Cupcake Cafe go to Zoe’s Place, a nonprofit organization that provides services and support to teen mothers or mothers to be. Clients of Zoe’s Place also work at the cafe, operating the cash registers and helping a professional pastry chef with the baking. “I think the colors are what attract everybody — all the different frosting colors and sprinkles and decorations,” says Christian Mims, 17, who works at Zoe’s. “Then you taste one and you want to keep going back.”

Cupcakes are even at the center of their own show on the Food Network. To win Cupcake Wars, bakers battle a ticking time clock to earn top scores from a panel of judges for taste, style and presentation. “I’d rather have dessert than dinner,” says Jasmine Frank, who competed for a chance to cater a vintage fashion event on an episode that aired last summer. The 19-year-old Woodland Hills, Calif., resident bakes cakes, cupcakes, cookies and cheesecakes to order through her online business, Jazzy Cakes. “When I started looking at culinary schools, people thought I was crazy. I had a 4.0 my whole high school career and people asked, ‘Why aren’t you getting a full ride to a university?’ but somehow I had a vision … that this was what I was meant to do.”

Made With Love — and Business Savvy

Many foodies trace the cupcake trend to a 2000 episode of Sex and the City where Carrie and Co. made a pilgrimage to Magnolia Bakery in New York City. Since then, however, the sweet treats have become more than just a passing fad, says Rick Bittner, executive director of the Retail Bakers of America in McLean, Va. When Bittner owned a bakery 15 years ago, he sold many full-sized cakes but very few cupcakes. Since then, however, consumers’ interest has shifted toward smaller, more inexpensive treats that can be eaten on the go. “[Cupcakes] are a trend, but there are trends that become staples,” he says.

With so many cupcake businesses popping up in both large cities and small towns, aspiring entrepreneurs need to carefully research potential markets, rely on mentors for both business and baking tips, and get creative when it comes to marketing and advertising, Bittner suggests. “The people who are successful create something more than just a product in a display case. Going to their stores becomes an experience.”

Related Links

Conversation Starters

We hear this so often: “Anything worth doing is going to be hard.” What does that expression really mean? What does it say about ambition and work ethic?

In thinking about this article through an Economics lens, consider the following questions: (1) What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store? (2) How does scarcity affect customers? (3) How does it affect the store owner?

82 comments on “Red Velvet Revolution: The Rise of the Cupcake Entrepreneur

      • (1) What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
        -Ingredients for cake making
        -Amount of cake makers
        -Money for starting the new business
        -The total amount of cupcakes the store can make in a day
        (2) How does scarcity affect customers?
        – Some customers couldn’t get products they want in the store, if the amount of cupcakes the store made in one day is limited.
        -Because of the scarcity, the price of cupcakes can be higher.
        (3) How does it affect the store owner?
        -Their store can be more profitable. They can raise the price of their products because of the scarcity.
        -Their jobs will be easier. The amount of products in one day is limited, means the owner does not need to produce many products in a day.

  1. (1) What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    – Seasonal flavor
    – Different season may have different menu
    – Supplies
    – The amount of workers making cupcakes
    – The amount of food to make enough cupcake
    – Money
    – Having enough money to buy enough supplies or hire enough workers
    – Best before date
    – Cupcake can only stay about two to three days which most customers would like fresh food

    (2) How does scarcity affect customers?
    – Customers may get cakes that are made days before where it is unhealthy
    – Customers can chose to buy cupcakes in other shops as there are a lot of substitutions
    – Customers would not be able to buy cupcake if it is sold out as they are limited in the amount of cupcakes that can be made within a day

    (3) How does it affect the store owner?
    – Store owners would have to think of new types of cupcake every season
    – Need enough capital to start the business and working capital to operates the business
    – May have low reputation as they are an entrepreneur that just started making cupcakes
    – Need to be able to keep fresh food and grow reputation

  2. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -seasonal flavor
    -supplies
    -workers
    How does scarcity affect customers?
    -customers might get old cupcake
    -might get weirdly shaped cupcakes
    How does it affect the store owner?
    -less customers
    -less money

  3. What are Scarce Resources Involved in Running A Cupcake Store?
    – Ingredients bought from stores
    – Packaging
    – Decorations
    – Investment money
    – Workers
    – Advertising cost
    – Best before date

    How Does Scarcity Affect Customers?
    -The shop might run out of stock for the cupcake customers want
    – The cupcakes may be made from low quality ingredients if the investment money isn’t much
    – Customers might get a spoiled cupcake (out of date)
    – The cupcakes may not be as aesthetically pleasing if the decorations are bland

    How Does Scarcity Affect the Store Owner?
    – If the cupcakes aren’t aesthetically pleasing then the customer might not advertise it for the store which means the store will be less popular
    – If the cupcakes don’t taste good then they won’t make as much money
    – If the cupcakes are out of date and the customers report it then they could get sued

  4. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    – seasonal flavor
    – supplies
    – amount of workers
    – best before date
    – advertising cost

    How does scarcity affect customers?
    – Customers get a spoiled/out of date cupcake
    – customers wouldn’t be able to buy a cupcake if the store is limited in the amount of cupcakes that can be made

    How does it affect the store owner?
    – Need capital to start and maintain the business
    – If the cupcakes don’t taste good, the store will be unpopular amongst customers

    • (1) What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
      -Number of employees involved.
      -Funding to get the cupcake business started.
      -Ingredients to produce the cupcakes.
      (2) How does scarcity affect customers?
      -Cupcakes they can buy at one event.
      -Time they have to wait to receive their order.
      How many customers may be attended to at one time.
      (3) How does it affect the store owner?
      -Money the store owner has to put into different categories and needs such as supplies, employees, and advertisement.

  5. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    – Foods and Flavors avalible
    – Money/ Budget
    – Time Crunch
    – Shortage of employees
    – How long a cupcake can sit on a shelf before going bad
    – Amount of packaging and decorations left

    How does scarcity affect customers?
    – Customers may choose to support other shops
    – Customers may not be able to purchase a cupcake of their choice if it is limited and sold out for the day
    – Cupcakes may not taste the best if the quality of the ingredients are poor

    How does it affect the store owner?
    – May not be able to produce enough income to keep the shop open
    – Scarcity of resources can cause price inflation of other products, which can be too expensive
    – The shop may not be able to have enough fresh products
    – The business may not be able to expand and grow their name

  6. what are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    1,food
    2,flavor
    3employees
    4,packaging
    5decorations
    how does scarcity affect customers?
    1,the price of the object will be hihger ,then the cost of buying will be hihg
    2,the unlimited want of customer may not be satisfied in one day
    how doesit affectthe store owner?
    1,there would be not enough profit the owner can get to growth or survival
    2,the price will be higher than others

  7. what are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    1) packaging

    How does it affect the store owner?
    They would have a harder time making as much profit
    2) employees
    3) food
    4) flavor

    how does scarcity affect customers?
    The original price of the item will be more expensive so it will make it more expensive for the customers when they are buying it.

    • Sorry the order got mixed up, down below is it corrected

      what are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
      1) packaging
      2) employees
      3) food
      4) flavor

      How does it affect the store owner?
      They would have a harder time making as much profit

      how does scarcity affect customers?
      The original price of the item will be more expensive so it will make it more expensive for the customers when they are buying it.

  8. What are the scares resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    1) employees
    2) food
    3) decorations

    How does it affect the store owner?
    the owner may have a hard time gaining profit which could cause the store to shut down

    How does scarcity affect customers?
    The price of the items will be more expensive may have a hard time affording it.

    • Scarce Resources:
      -food
      -packaging
      -employees
      -decorations
      Effect on store owner:
      -making profit would be more difficult
      Effect on customers:
      -the price of food would be more expensive and therefore harder to afford

  9. Scarce Resources:
    -food
    -packaging
    -employees
    -decorations
    Effect on store owner:
    -making profit would be more difficult
    Effect on customers:
    -the price of food would be more expensive and therefore harder to afford

  10. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    Food/flavors
    Employees
    packaging
    How does scarcity affect customers?
    Since the items become more scarce this causes a rise in price making it harder for customers to afford.
    How does it affect the store owner?
    The store owner will either have to keep prices low a minimize profit margins or lose customers while raising prices.

  11. The scarce resources involved in running a cupcake shop are:
    Flavors
    employees
    decorations
    How do Scarcity affects customers?
    the food would be more expensive leading to a declining number of clients
    How does scarcity impacts the store owner?
    making money would become harder

  12. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    – Ingredients
    -Packaging
    -Employees
    -Embelishments

    How does scarcity affect customers?
    – Customers may get old and stale cupcakes
    – Customers receive lower quality cupcake
    – Customers receive less aesthetic cupcakes

    How does it affect the store owner?
    – Customers may be dissatisfied with the quality of cupcakes, affecting business
    – The owner may have to compromise on ingredients

  13. 1) The scarce resources are employees, food, decorations, and packaging material.
    2) Customers will only be able to by a certain quantity of cupcakes, and their flavor options will be limited. The cupcakes they purchase may also be unhealthy.
    3) The producer will only be able to produce a limited amount of cupcakes in a limited variety of flavors due to their lack of reputation and scarcity of materials.

  14. Scare resources
    – employees
    -time
    -budget

    Affect – it is more difficult to make customers fresh and cheap cupcakes

    Store owner affect –
    Profiting is more difficult

  15. 1. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -workers
    -time
    -money
    -supply (seasonal flavors)
    2. How does scarcity affect customers?
    -multiple options
    -lower quality cupcake over a prettier one
    3. How does it affect the store owner?
    -keep up with seasonal flavors
    – limited on amount they can produce

  16. 1. What are the scarce resources involved involved in running a cupcake store?
    – Time
    – workers
    – ingredients
    – supply
    2. How does scarcity affect customers?
    – The cupcake could be more expensive for the customer.
    – quality/ quantity.
    3. How does this affect the store owner ?
    – limited amount of cupcakes they can produce.
    – scarcity can cause price inflation.

  17. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    1. Labour – number of employees employed + hours they can work
    2. Land – location of shop – price of land
    3. Capital – money to pay for; ingredients, staff, utilities and rent
    4. Technology – with machinery time spent making cupcakes is decreased

    How does scarcity affect customers?
    1. If a good becomes scare this means a shift inwards of supply S1 to S2 (decreased supply) -> lower supply (S2) + constant demand (D1) = raise in price (P1 to P2) -> increase of price decreases consumer surplus -> in turn decreasing consumer welfare.

    How does it affect the store owner?
    1. with changes from S1 to S2 and consumer surplus and consumer welfare decreasing the producer welfare and producer surplus will increase leading to greater inequality.

  18. The scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store are:
    1. Labour – number of employees employed + hours they can work
    2. Land – location of shop – price of land
    3. Capital – money to pay for; ingredients, staff, utilities and rent
    4. Technology – with machinery time spent making cupcakes is decreased

    What is scarcity’s affect on customers?
    1. If a good becomes scare this means a shift inwards of supply S1 to S2 (decreased supply) -> lower supply (S2) + constant demand (D1) = raise in price (P1 to P2) -> increase of price decreases consumer surplus -> in turn decreasing consumer welfare.

    How does Scarcity affect the store owner?
    1. with changes from S1 to S2 and consumer surplus and consumer welfare decreasing the producer welfare and producer surplus will increase leading to greater inequality.
    2. Furthermore, scarcity will increase the cost of production for each unit -> increased costs on the producer

  19. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    • Time
    • Supply, ingredients
    • Workers
    • Place to prepare
    • Capital money
    • Design ideas
    How does scarcity affect customers?
    • Price could be higher
    • Quality of cupcake could be lower
    How does it affect the store owner?
    • Owner ended up producing less cupcake
    • Earning/making less money

  20. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    • Time
    • Supply, ingredients
    • Workers
    • Place to prepare
    • Capital money
    • Design ideas
    How does scarcity affect customers?
    • Price could be higher
    • Quality of cupcake could be lower
    How does it affect the store owner?
    • Owner ended up producing less cupcake
    • Earning/making less money

  21. Cupcake ingredients, a space to sell the cupcakes, employees, flavor, packaging, decorations, the price of ingredients.
    The size of the product and the price of the product
    The price, profit, and the want of the product. The growth of the cupcake store

  22. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    – ingredients
    – Time/commitment and hard work
    – resources
    – supplies
    – employees
    – kitchen to bake/ work
    How does scarcity affect customers?
    quality of the cupcake is over charged
    price could be to high
    How this affects the store owner:
    – Losing money
    not selling as much cupcakes

  23. What are the Scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    – Supplies
    – Time to bake
    – Ingredients
    – Location
    – Price of product
    – Design and advertisement of Cupcake
    How does this Scarcity affect customers?
    – Price is higher than it should be given the quality of the cupcake
    – Difficulty in making cupcakes cheap but also fresh and appealing

  24. (1) What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -supplies
    -time
    -employees
    -equipment

    (2) How does scarcity affect customers?
    The quality of the products could go down to produce more, and less cupcakes would be produced at higher quality.

    (3) How does it affect the store owner?
    They would make less money if they produced less cupcakes at higher quality, and would have less returning customers if they produced more cupcakes at less quality. A difficult choice would have to be made.

  25. (1) What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    Time for making cakes
    Money for hiring workers,buying raw material and eqipment
    lack of an area of bakery
    (2) How does scarcity affect customers?
    They cannot buy enough cakes when cakes are sold out
    They do not like low-quality cakes
    They cannot buy and eat cakes at any locations
    (3) How does it affect the store owner?
    They cannot make so many cakes to sell to customers
    They may not have sufficient raw material to produce cakes
    They will produce law-quality products if they don’t have enough time

  26. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    – employees
    – supplies
    – time
    – money

    How does scarcity affect customers?
    – cupcakes can be either cheap or expensive
    – they can be spoiled due to a long storage time

    How does it affect the store owner?
    – people cannot afford enough money for expensive ones

  27. 1.) Scarce resources are ingredients, baking instruments, time, workers
    2.) It affects customers because sometimes the product might not always be the best tasting due to the lack of ingredients. Also there is not unlimited cupcakes.
    3.)The store owner can only make so many cupcakes. They have to find the right balance between how much flavor and ingredients used.

  28. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -The seasonal flavors
    -There is no label with the “best before” date
    -Employees
    How does scarcity affect customers?
    -They can buy expired cupcakes.
    -The cupcakes can be more expensive.
    How does it affect the store owner?
    -The owner would make less money.
    – The owner will sell less cupcakes.

  29. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -The seasonal flavors
    -There is no label with the “best before” date
    -Employees
    How does scarcity affect customers?
    -They can buy expired cupcakes.
    -The cupcakes can be more expensive.
    How does it affect the store owner?
    -The owner would make less money.
    – The owner will sell less cupcakes.

  30. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -Time
    – Amount of ingredients
    – Amount of employees
    – Amount of money they have
    How does it affect customers ?
    – The cupcakes could be more expensive
    – There could be less cupcakes to buy
    – The cupcakes could be less flavorful or decorated
    – Less flavors to pick from
    How does it affect the store owner?
    – The store owner could make more or less money
    – The store owner will have to decide which flavors to use in their cupcakes
    – The quality of the cupcakes will go down if the store owner decides to use less money, which could drive away customers

  31. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    – amount of ingredients
    – employees they have
    -money to invest in decoration and materials
    -seasonal ingredients and their prices
    How does it affect customers?
    – the price of cupcakes
    – their favorite flavors may not be available depending on the season
    How does it affect the store owner?
    – depending on customers feedback and buy’s the owner makes more or less money
    – the owner needs to choose which flavors to do depending on prices and if they sell

  32. 1)
    – Lack of employees to keep up with the demand
    – Scarcity of materials and goods, such as ingredients
    – Limited funds for advertising and running the business
    2)
    – The prices of the cupcakes may fluctuate.
    – The business may be frequently closed or hard to reach due to an employee shortage.
    3)
    – The owner may make less money.
    – The owner’s employees may be dissatisfied with their jobs and quit.
    – The owner may not have all the necessary resources.

  33. (1) What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    – Seasonal flavors
    – Baking supplies
    – Number of employees
    – Time
    (2) How does scarcity affect customers?
    – It affects the price of the cupcakes and the amount of variety within the flavors, which can lead to a loss of customers
    (3) How does it affect the store owner?
    – The store owner could make less money and would need to budget certain resources (including flavors and employees)

  34. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -The seasonal flavors
    -There is no label with the “best before” date
    – Number of employees
    How does scarcity affect customers?
    -They might buy expired cupcakes.
    -The cupcakes may be more expensive.
    How does it affect the store owner?
    – Lack of resources
    – The owner would make less money.

  35. The scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store are:
    Time – only so many hours in the day to bake, and store/truck hours are limited
    Labour – number of employees employed & hours they can work.
    Land – location of shop – rent/price of land.
    Capital – money to pay for ingredients, supplies, wages, utilities and rent.
    Technology – with machinery time spent making cupcakes is decreased as is time spent processing orders, reordering supplies, accepting payments, paying bills and wages
    How does it affect the store owner?
    Profit levels are limited by finite resources. If the store owner sells out too quickly, they are losing money. But if they expand too much and have unsold goods, they are losing money on goods and wages paid to employees
    The only ways to expand this is to:
    expand locations,
    expand number of employees,
    expand capacity

  36. The scarce resources are
    – the ingredients
    – the time to make the cupcakes
    – the money to operate the business
    This can affect the customer because
    – the price of cupcakes with vary
    – time of delivery may vary
    – limited supply of cupcakes
    – limited supply of flavors
    This will affect the store owner because
    – they may lose business because they run out of ingredients
    – business loss because of time management issue

  37. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    – Ingredients
    – Time needed to make cupcakes
    – Number of employees
    How does scarcity affect customers?
    -Limited cupcakes.
    -Limited flavors
    How does it affect the store owner?
    – Loss of Money

  38. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -Ingredients
    -Baking time
    How does scarcity affect customers
    -Limited supply of cupcakes
    How does it affect store owner?
    -Lossed business due to limited stock
    -little to no profit

  39. 1) The scarce resources required in this production process are land, labour, and capital.

    Land: Finite resources such as ingredients required to bake the cupcakes along with the inability to replenish their ingredient stores due to budgetary influences restricts them from producing at full capacity.

    Labour: Insufficient employees due to various factors such as increasing cost of production, inability to compete with rival producers wages, etc, would potentially hinder production

    Capital: The inability to invest in capital due to it being a small scale production firm would result in labour-intensive production which is more prone to errors and is more expensive in the long run increasing cost of production resulting in the opportunity cost of being able to produce more cupcakes at lower prices.

    2) Customers would actually benefit in this case, due to predatory pricing and with firms having to reduce prices they will be forced to produce efficiently increasing quality and quantity of cupcakes produced. This lowers prices for customers and introduces a larger consumer choice base. Customers would spend a smaller proportion of their disposable income.

    3) As store owners are forced to reduce prices and produce more efficiently, there can be a significant increase in cost of production impacting revenue and profit severely. Store owners are also at risk of going out of business completely due to competing rival firms monopolistic forces.

  40. The scarce resources:
    Flavors
    employees
    Ingredients
    Affect customers?
    A decline in clientele would result from the food becoming more expensive
    How does scarcity impacts the store owner?
    making money would become harder

  41. Scarce
    Flavors
    employees
    Ingredients

    Cupcakes have more value and they are hard to come by

    Less money and products

  42. 1. Scarce Resources:
    – Time
    -Money
    -Developing different flavors for the month
    -Enough workers or ingredients to make the cupcakes

    2. Affecting Customers?
    – Could receive old cupcakes
    -Sold out in the flavors that they want, due to the limited quantities
    -More expensive as it is more time consuming to make for the employees (especially with decoration and such)

    3. Scarcity Impacts The Store Owner?
    -Limiting the amount of money that the owner can make
    -Forced to use lower quality ingredients, putting their company’s reputation at risk
    -Higher priced goods could possibly help with the chance of staying in business, but there is still a major risk in losing the business overall

  43. Scarce Resources:
    – Time
    -Money
    -Developing different flavors for the month
    -Enough workers or ingredients to make the cupcakes

    Affecting Customers?
    – Could receive old cupcakes
    -Sold out in the flavors that they want, due to the limited quantities
    -More expensive as it is more time consuming to make for the employees (especially with decoration and such)

    Scarcity Impacts The Store Owner?
    -Limiting the amount of money that the owner can make
    -Forced to use lower quality ingredients, putting their company’s reputation at risk
    -Higher priced goods could possibly help with the chance of staying in business, but there is still a major risk in losing the business overall

  44. What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    – Seasonal flavors the shop makes
    – Different seasons have different menus
    – Baking supplies
    – The amount of employees making cupcakes
    – Money for supplies and workers
    – Best before date

    (2) How does scarcity affect customers?
    – Customers may get cakes that are made days before where it is unhealthy
    – Customers can chose to buy cupcakes in other shops as there are a lot of substitutions
    – Customers would not be able to buy cupcake if it is sold out as they are limited in the amount of cupcakes that can be made within a day

    How does it affect the store owner?
    – Store owners have to think of many new cupcakes during each season.
    – Need enough money to start the business and to operates the business.
    – Having a small reputation just starting out
    – The ability to grow their name and buy fresh ingredients

  45. 1) Scarcity
    -certain flavors will not always be in season
    -might run out of popular flavors
    -ingredients
    -hard to find labor
    2) Scarcities effect on costumers
    -there are other options available
    -unhealthy so certain people may avoid
    -certain cupcakes may be sold out
    -certain cupcakes may not be in season
    3)
    -a lot of innovation is required
    -might be looked down on for quitting law
    -hard to succeed as a food truck compared to stores
    -ingredients and labor are expensive

  46. (1) What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -Ingredients for cake making
    -Amount of cake makers
    -Money for starting the new business
    -The total amount of cupcakes the store can make in a day
    (2) How does scarcity affect customers?
    – Some customers couldn’t get products they want in the store, if the amount of cupcakes the store made in one day is limited.
    -Because of the scarcity, the price of cupcakes can be higher.
    (3) How does it affect the store owner?
    -Their store can be more profitable. They can raise the price of their products because of the scarcity.
    -Their jobs will be easier. The amount of products in one day is limited, means the owner does not need to produce many products in a day.

  47. Scarce resources involved in running a cupcake shop may include:

    1. Raw materials: such as flour, sugar, cream, fruit, etc., may become limited due to seasonal changes or supply problems.

    2. Human Resources: Employees with baking skills may not be easy to recruit or may require higher pay to attract and retain them.

    3. Time: Baking and making cupcakes takes time and can result in limited production and delivery during busy periods.

    Scarcity can have the following effects on customers:

    1. Product supply constraints: Due to limited resources, the store may not be able to meet all customer needs, resulting in some products may often be out of stock.

    2. Price fluctuations: the scarcity of raw materials may lead to higher costs, and stores may be forced to adjust prices, which may affect customers’ willingness to buy.

    3. Delivery time: Manpower and time constraints can lead to increased delivery times, especially during busy periods, which can affect customer satisfaction.

    Scarcity can have the following effects on shop owners:

    1. Increased production costs: Scarce resources may lead to higher prices when the store buys raw materials, increasing production costs.

    2. Capacity constraints: Manpower and time constraints may make the store unable to meet all customer needs, which may limit the expansion of the business.

    3. Forecasting difficulties: Forecasting product demand and resource demand can become more challenging due to supply instability.

  48. 1. What are the scare resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    Ingrediants
    land
    employees
    time
    Hard to know when the cupcake will go bad

    2. How does scarcity affect customers?
    Limited amount of cupcakes may not allow all the customers to purchase the type of cupcake they wanted. However on the other hand, if the popular cupcakes are sold out, then the unpopular cupcakes will not be sold and eventually go bad leading to a financial deficit.

    3. How does it affect the store owner?
    If there are limited amount of cupcakes being made each day, the store owner will be able to work less. Moreover, scarcity may rise the price of the cupcake which will bring financial benifit to the owner. However, limited amount of cupcakes sold may also become a negative factor. Unless the price of the cupcakes rise continuously, there will be a limiting profit the owner could get each day unless the owner rises the cupcakes price. Moreover, it will be difficult to compete with other large cupcke cupcakes which produces milliions of cupcakes per day.

  49. Scarce resources involved in running a cupcake shop may include:

    1. Raw materials: such as flour, sugar, cream, fruit, etc., may become limited due to seasonal changes or supply problems.

    2. Human Resources: Employees with baking skills may not be easy to recruit or may require higher pay to attract and retain them.

    3. Time: Baking and making cupcakes takes time and can result in limited production and delivery during busy periods.

    Scarcity can have the following effects on customers:

    1. Product supply constraints: Due to limited resources, the store may not be able to meet all customer needs, resulting in some products may often be out of stock.

    2. Price fluctuations: the scarcity of raw materials may lead to higher costs, and stores may be forced to adjust prices, which may affect customers’ willingness to buy.

    3. Delivery time: Manpower and time constraints can lead to increased delivery times, especially during busy periods, which can affect customer satisfaction.

    Scarcity can have the following effects on shop owners:

    1. Increased production costs: Scarce resources may lead to higher prices when the store buys raw materials, increasing production costs.

    2. Capacity constraints: Manpower and time constraints may make the store unable to meet all customer needs, which may limit the expansion of the business.

    3. Forecasting difficulties: Forecasting product demand and resource demand can become more challenging due to supply instability.

    When running a cupcake shop, the owner needs to properly handle these scarce resources, for example, by optimizing the production process, ensuring the efficient use of raw materials, and rationally arranging human resources to maximize customer demand and maintain the sustainable development of the business.

  50. What Scarce Resources Are Involved in Running a Cupcake Shop?
    -raw material
    -human Resources
    -time
    How does scarcity affect customers?
    -If the number of cupcakes in a day is limited, many people will not be able to buy the cupcakes they want to eat.
    How does it affect store owners?
    – Scarcity of resources Increases the cost of purchasing raw materials and thus increases production costs.

  51. 1、What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    Special taste to attract customer
    Marketing
    Adding value for the cup cake.
    limited material
    2、How does scarcity affect customers?
    From a psychological perspective, people always choose products that are in short supply
    3、How does it affect the store owner?
    They will deliberately manufacture the scarcity of the cake;
    And, They will change different varieties every day

  52. 1) What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -ingredients
    -employees
    -money

    2) How does scarcity affect the customers?
    -some customers won’t be able to buy the goods they want from that store before they run out

    3) How does it affect the store owner?
    -if certain goods are scare, then raising the product will lead to a higher profit

  53. (1) The scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store include ingredients like flour, sugar, butter, and other baking supplies. Additionally, time and skilled labor for baking and decorating are also limited resources.

    (2) Scarcity affects customers by limiting the availability of cupcakes. If the store has a high demand or limited production capacity, customers might face shortages, leading to increased competition for the available cupcakes.

    (3) For the store owner, scarcity impacts the decision-making process. They need to allocate scarce resources efficiently, balancing factors like ingredient costs, labor, and production capacity to meet customer demand while maintaining profitability.

  54. (1) The main issue of scarcity in running a cupcake store lies in the following limited resources: ingredients, time and efficiency of labor. The shortage of supplies like flour, sugar, butter etc. , would cut back the supply of cupcakes, thereby causing price fluctuations in cupcakes as well as the ingredients used in making cupcakes. The same way, if there was a shortage of time or skilled workers, the supply of cupcakes would decrease.

    (2) Customers are affected by scarcity as they will be required to pay more than what they used to. If there is a low quantity of cupcakes being supplied, the price will go up. The customer might not be able to buy the sufficient amount of cupcakes he desires due to the shortage of cupcakes.

    (3) The store owner will face an increase in production cost due to the scarcity of ingredients, workers etc. However, they will also profit more on sales depending on the number or cupcakes sold, monetary resources available etc.

  55. What are the scare resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    Ingrediants
    land
    employees
    time
    Hard to know when the cupcake will go bad

    2. How does scarcity affect customers?
    Limited amount of cupcakes may not allow all the customers to purchase the type of cupcake they wanted. However on the other hand, if the popular cupcakes are sold out, then the unpopular cupcakes will not be sold and eventually go bad leading to a financial deficit.

    3. How does it affect the store owner?
    If there are limited amount of cupcakes being made each day, the store owner will be able to work less. Moreover, scarcity may rise the price of the cupcake which will bring financial benifit to the owner. However, limited amount of cupcakes sold may also become a negative factor. Unless the price of the cupcakes rise continuously, there will be a limiting profit the owner could get each day unless the owner rises the cupcakes price. Moreover, it will be difficult to compete with other large cupcke cupcakes which produces milliions of cupcakes per day.

  56. 1. What are the scarce recourses involved in running a cupcake store?
    When being owning a business you have to account for so many different situations that the average person, not in the same field, would not even consider. For example you can run out of specific ingredient that you get locally sourced. Some ingredients can be scarce and owners need to be able to account for the absence of these specific recourses. In their bakery there is a scarce amount of room, which leads to a scarce amount of storage and oven/cooking space. Lastly, there is a scarce amount of chefs and bakers who are good at what they do and can achieve your standards as a small business owner. Be as that may, these are all situations in which people, items, and space are scarce.
    2. How does scarcity affect the costomers?
    Sometimes, when people get wind of something being unattainable, it is in their human nature to want it more than before. It gives them a sense of accomplishment for attainting the good that is “special” or “rare”. So this can cause an issue of no supply and a high demand in consumers.
    3. How does it affect store owners?
    The owner of the store will have to consider and undergo these issues if they do present themselves. Being that their space is limited, their ovens, chefs, and storage space are also limited to a fixed amount. Being that they cannot always expand, they have to adjust prices and the format and system in which they run their business to make sure it is keeping up with a perfect supply for the demand they must meet. In uncontrollable situations and factors, owners must find a way to calculate and counter a perfect response to keep their business running smoothly. They must always expect the unexpected and always try to adapt to their environments and grow.
    “anything worth doing is going to be hard”
    This means that if you have a goal, something that you know will bring you success, it will not come easy. The reason in which something will make you sucessfull is becuase you took the time, the vision, the creativity, and the struggle to create something that not everyone has the endurance or strength to do. Items are worth what people put into it. This shows how ambition and work ethic play a roll in success. You will only be part of the one percent if you are willing to step above the 99% and work harder than everyone else. To be the best you have to work the hardest.

  57. 1) What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -ingredients for the cupcakes
    -people making the cupcakes (employees)
    -time given to bake the cupcakes
    -amount of cupcakes
    -amount of each flavor and number of flavors

    2) How does scarcity affect the customers?
    -customers may not be able to buy the cupcake flavor they want
    -if they want a bulk order there wouldn’t be enough
    -they could be forced to pay higher prices due to scarcity/limited numbers

    3) How does it affect the store owner?
    -the store owner could face smaller numbers or profits due to frustrated customers
    -on the flip side, the owners have the ability to raise prices for the demand

  58. 1) What are the scarce resources involved in running a cupcake store?
    -ingredients for the cupcakes
    -people making the cupcakes
    -time given to bake the cupcakes
    -amount of cupcakes
    -amount of each flavor and number of flavors

    2) How does scarcity affect the customers?
    -customers may not be able to buy the cupcake flavor they want
    -if they want a bulk order there wouldn’t be enough
    -they could be forced to pay higher prices due to scarcity/limited numbers

    3) How does it affect the store owner?
    -the store owner could face smaller numbers or profits due to frustrated customers
    -on the flip side, the owners have the ability to raise prices for the demand

  59. 1)
    -ingredients for the cupcakes
    -people making the cupcakes
    -time given to bake the cupcakes
    -amount of cupcakes
    -amount of each flavor and number of flavors

    2)
    -customers may not be able to buy the cupcake flavor they want
    -if they want a bulk order there wouldn’t be enough
    -they could be forced to pay higher prices due to scarcity/limited numbers

    3)
    -the store owner could face smaller numbers or profits due to frustrated customers
    -on the flip side, the owners have the ability to raise prices for the demand

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