Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiny Baker Tiny Baker.
Hi Tiny Baker, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We are Tiny Baker – a family owned and operated business located in Union City, Tennessee. We opened in February of 2018. We have always been a close family and have done many things together – everything from traveling and vacation to cooking and get-togethers. So, when the opportunity for us to open our bakery, it was a dream come true. In the past, we had frequently talked about opening a family restaurant, but God had a different plan. Opening doors, it was originally Tom and Cindy McWilliams (Dad and Mom) and their daughter Ana Reeves. Very quickly we added another daughter – Jane Minnick. Dad, by profession was a C.P.A., Mom was a nurse who has baked her whole life, Ana went to culinary school and is our incredibly talented cake decorator, and Jane has a business degree and is the business manager but helps in all other departments. Unfortunately, Dad passed away in 2019 which was a devastating loss both personally and to the business. We had to learn to grow through the pain and loss. Shortly after, Jane’s youngest son Christian, who was 16 at the time, began helping out at the bakery. He started with little jobs, and over the years learned more and more and his responsibilities grew. Mom took him under her wing, and he now does virtually all the baking.
Our story first began back in 1994 when our family was called to be missionaries and were sent to Guatemala. We lived there for 6 years. During that time, we were blessed with the opportunity to adopt Ana when she was just a day old. Over the next decade, we also lived in and worked in several other countries in Eur-Asia including Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Germany before finally moving back to the United States. During our travels abroad we got the opportunity to see much and learn about many other cultures and delicious foods. It has always been evident the skills and abilities God gave each of us and how we have been able to work together so well utilizing all of our gifts and talents.
Ana graduated with honors from the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical Institute with a degree in Baking and Pastry Arts also having won awards in various cake decorating competitions. Jane graduated with honors from the University of Phoenix with a degree in Business Administration. Mom keeps us going doing so very much from all of the savory foods, homemade cinnamon rolls, and the homemade bread – among many, many other things. Christian graduated high school in 2023 and makes all of our icings and makes/bakes all of our cakes and cookies. We keep both Mom and Christian on their toes and so very busy! God has always provided for us and opened the door for us to start our family business that we always dreamed of – and Tiny Baker was born. When we lost Dad to cancer, we were eternally grateful for all of his help getting us started and that he had the opportunity to see us grow and thrive the way we did. We know he would be so proud of how far we have come.
We have now been in business for 8 wonderful years and have worked very hard to get where we are. We survived the Covid era and back in 2021 we were able to purchase our building. In 2022, after doing virtually all the renovations and upgrades ourselves, we moved – 411 South 3rd Street here in Union City, Tennessee. There is so much history for our community and love in our building. We are so blessed and all of our hard work has paid off. We are very blessed to do what we love and with whom we love for the community we love. As Dad used to so say so often, “God is good all the time – and ALL the time – God is good.”
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We think, especially with small businesses, there are always obstacles and challenges to overcome. Really, for the most part, other than the many hours unseen that have been worked, we have truly been blessed. We have overcome many trials and expenses of opening – the first-year business struggles, we have had to deal with not only the loss of one of the cornerstones of our family but an incredibly interictal part of our business – losing Dad, we have survived through Covid-19 and all the issues surrounding it, and all of the costs and struggles with the renovations, in insane inflations costs of goods – especially the mind blowing cost that eggs and butter got to be there for a while – coupled with the challenges of the effect the economy has had on everyone. It has become essential, not only for us but for all small businesses to find creative ways to keep cashflow going. Keeps us on our toes and creative juices going!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We love what we do. Truly, every week – while we do the same things – is a completely different adventure. Very rarely are any two orders the same. We can do virtually anything – fondant work, tiered cakes, carved cakes, virtually anything free cake (sugar free, dairy free, gluten free, soy free, etc.) We do orders for all sorts of special occasions – weddings, birthdays, graduations, baby showers, and even just because I am thinking about your orders. It is so much fun working with our customers and making their ideas become reality and best of all seeing their reaction! Makes everything so much fun and worth it! Some of the most amazing cakes we have done have literally had sound and moving components. The realism of some of the orders have been amazing. While most of our crew is creative, Ana is the only one who was truly blessed with the artistic gift. She can just look at a picture and BAM, there it is sculpted, right in front of us! Her artist ability and skill to so amazingly be able to work with fondant and make carved and realistic cakes has absolutely set her and our bakery apart from any other bakery for miles and miles around. While we do have a couple fantastic bakeries nearby that do similar items, we all have our own specialties and niches. As the saying goes, if you enjoy what you do – you will never work a day in your life. While that isn’t entirely true (as anyone who owns and runs their own small business will tell you), it makes “working” so much more FUN and enjoyable.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
We actually don’t believe in luck, we believe in good decisions and hard work. Things will happen in life, that is just way the cookie crumble ;). There will be things in life – both professional and personal – that we can’t control and things we can. There are consequences to every decision in life, both good and bad. Faith in God, working hard, and a good attitude are three of the most important things that one can have and do to succeed in both life and business. When down, wipe it off, get back up, and try again. Sometimes unexpected opportunities arise and are absolutely a blessing to a business – be grateful and paying it forward.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tinybakeruc.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/tinybakeruc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tinybakeruc
