Sometimes a business begins with a carefully developed plan. Other times, it starts with a KitchenAid mixer and a challenge.
For Daisy Davis-Marcelo, founder of Daisy Baked It, it was the latter.
After wanting a KitchenAid mixer for years, Daisy finally decided to purchase one. Her husband gave her a simple challenge: if she bought it, she had to use it. Daisy took him up on it, making a cake for her youngest son’s six-month birthday.
The first attempt wasn’t perfect, but it sparked something bigger: a desire to learn.
Daisy began teaching herself cake decorating through courses, social media, videos, and plenty of practice. Eventually, people began asking her to create cakes for them. What started as curiosity grew into Daisy Baked It, a Baltimore-based custom cake and experiential dessert company.
Turning a Passion Into a Business
Years later, the business would take on even greater significance for Daisy. After leaving her traditional career, she made the decision to fully commit to the company she had been building.
That decision helped propel Daisy Baked It into a six-figure brand and, most recently, a brick-and-mortar business with the opening of The Cake Studio by Daisy Baked It in Downtown Baltimore.
The Cake Studio gives the brand’s signature Cake + Sip Experiences a home. Designed for adults, children, families, friends, private celebrations, and corporate groups, the experiences combine cake decorating with music, food, drinks, creativity, and connection.
Daisy’s background may help explain why teaching comes so naturally to the experience. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in teaching and spent years working as an educator.
While she may have traded the science classroom for a cake studio, education remains an important part of what she does. Cake + Sip is designed to make cake decorating approachable and enjoyable, including for guests who have never picked up a piping bag.
Creating an Impact Beyond Cake
For Daisy, business growth isn’t measured only by the number of cakes sold.
As Daisy Baked It has expanded, the company has created paid opportunities for bakers, event professionals, administrative support, food service partners, local creatives, and other small businesses.
The Cake Studio has also created another gathering place in Baltimore where people can celebrate milestones, learn something new, and connect with one another.
It’s part of Daisy’s larger philosophy of building alongside other entrepreneurs and circulating opportunities throughout the community.
Capital for the Next Chapter
Moving from a growing business into a physical location represented a major step—and a significant investment.
Buildout expenses, equipment, furnishings, staffing, and other costs associated with establishing a brick-and-mortar operation required additional capital. FSC First provided financing that gave Daisy Baked It additional working capital during this critical transition.
For Daisy, the support represented more than financing. It helped the business move from envisioning its next chapter to building the infrastructure necessary to support continued growth.
Access to capital can be a critical part of helping small businesses make that transition, particularly when entrepreneurs are ready to expand, hire, invest in infrastructure, or establish a permanent location.
The Vision Is Getting Bigger
Opening The Cake Studio was a major milestone, but Daisy sees it as a beginning.
The company is now focused on expanding its Cake + Sip experiences, increasing private and corporate event offerings, developing strategic brand partnerships, and continuing to strengthen its team and operations.
And there’s another dream already taking shape.
A vacant storefront connected to The Cake Studio sits directly next door, and Daisy envisions eventually transforming it into a full-scale Daisy Baked It bakery—creating one space dedicated to experiences and another dedicated to the bakery.
Long-term, Daisy hopes to build a brand that can grow beyond her personally while maintaining the creativity, warmth, and community that have defined Daisy Baked It from the beginning.
The Cake Studio gave Daisy Baked It’s vision a home. Now, the next chapter is about seeing just how far that vision can grow.
To learn more about Daisy Baked It, follow @daisybakedit on Instagram.
Ready to explore what access to capital could mean for your business? Visit FSC First to learn more about our financing resources and business support.
