Hidden Gems: Meet Mignon Francois of The Cupcake Collection

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mignon Francois.

Hi Mignon, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Since 2008, I have enjoyed creating award-winning cupcakes together with my family. After years of drowning in debt and brokenness, I decided to do something different. Using the last $5 I had for dinner one week, I bought ingredients for what would eventually become a family legacy with over five million cupcakes sold.

I heard a financial guru on the radio telling people they could get out of debt by having a bake sale or a garage sale. So, I decided to have a bake sale every single day. What started as a mom-and-pop shop by a family that just wanted to make ends meet has become a top destination in Nashville and New Orleans.

Today I am inspired by legacy building. The bible says a good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children and I wanted to make sure our roots were proud of our accomplishments. So, in 2015 I partnered with my sisters to do just that in our hometown. The Cupcake Collection New Orleans is the first iteration of our franchise model, designed to open the door of entrepreneurship for other families who dream of legacy building.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I promised God that if He made me successful, I would tell anybody about what they could do if they believe. Prior to opening The Cupcake Collection, I had no money, no experience, no knowledge of the business and I didn’t know how to bake, not even out of a box. Now we are ranked in the top 10 cupcake shops in the country, our brand has garnered national attention from Business Insider, Food Network, Cooking Channel, and more. We have also collaborated with some of your favorite brands like Google, Facebook, and Pinterest, just to name a few– all of this from a woman who couldn’t bake, not even out of a box!

I believe that everything you had to do is taking you from where you are to where you want to be. For example, I went to Xavier University on a scholarship to be a doctor. I ended up flunking out of the program because I couldn’t apply science to the human body. Seventeen years later when I was standing in my kitchen learning how to bake, it hit me. This is chemistry 101! This is balancing equations! This is why I need baking powder instead of baking soda! It’s all about adjusting your perspective.

People tend to think you have to have it all together before you start. I opened this business with a dorm-sized refrigerator and a kitchen aid mixer because that’s what would passcode with the health inspector. Now the only thing we can do with a kitchen aid mixer is making a mousse. Our production process is such a large scale now that I can sit on the inside of a mixer at The Cupcake Collection. When I started, I just wanted to help make ends meet. Today we are sowing back into our community by creating jobs, sponsoring scholarships for students and mentoring budding entrepreneurs.

As you know, we’re big fans of The Cupcake Collection. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
A trip into the home of The Cupcake Collection is an invitation into the lives of the Francois family. We do our best to welcome all of our customers like guests. After all, our bakery is housed right inside the space where I raised my children. At The Cupcake Collection, we believe good cake is connected to great memories, and when you experience our cupcakes, I want it to take you back to a nostalgic time or place when they experienced something that was made with love.

I believe that whenever we use our hands to do work, we are in co-creation with God. So when I create in the kitchen, it comes from a place filled with joy. Flavors like a wedding cake, red velvet, king cake and our #1 seller, sweet potato, speak back to my family history and New Orleans heritage. Our ingredient lists at The Cupcake Collection aren’t long or filled with words most people can’t pronounce. I’d never dream of offering my personal guests something less than I’d offer to family and that’s the reason we approach our product the way we do.

Today, our mission at The Cupcake Collection is to be a lighthouse in the community serving as an example of what good business looks like, doing what’s right because it is right. As an entrepreneur and community leader, I am adamant about using my platform to promote financial freedom through ownership. I stand as a representation as my ancestors’ wildest dreams. My grandmother was one of the most amazing bakers; however, her life was spent taking care of other people’s families. I do this to pay homage to her legacy. People will know her because they know me.

When it comes to entrepreneurship for us historically, there is not a long lineage of “my great-great-grandfather did it this way.” My generation is the first generation of African Americans who have full access to opportunity. My children’s generation is the first to have access to wealth transference outside of life insurance policies. For the first time as a collective, they will have access to inheriting land, property, and businesses.

That’s why legacy building is so important to me. As a grandmother, it is important for my name to mean something for my grandchildren. I want them to be able to say my grandmother was Mignon Francois and this is what she did to bring others joy and make the world a better place.

At The Cupcake Collection, we aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel, we are just trying to do classic things well, extending a daily invitation to find out what’s #SoYamGood about our sweet contribution to the local communities where we exist and the small business economy.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I believe that luck is something God doesn’t know anything about. Since there is nothing God doesn’t know anything about, I don’t believe in luck. I believe in the concept of moving in obedience and listening to your spirit. Your spirit directs you to places you should be and directions you should take because it’s all-knowing. It’s like a muscle, the more you use it and exercise it, the stronger it becomes.

Pricing:

• Cupcakes start at $2.50
• Vegan and Gluten-Free Options Available
• Cakes start at $65

Contact Info:

• Email: info@thecupcakecollection.com
• Website: www.thecupcakecollection.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/thecupcakecollection, https://www.instagram.com/mignon.francois/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/cupcakecollection
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/cupcaketweets
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCupcakeCollection/videos
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-cupcake-collection-nashville

Image Credits
Mignon Headshot and Cake Decorating Photo: Kept Frozen Birthday Cake Photo: Nick Bumgardner Other photos (cupcakes, storefront and family collage): Courtesy of The Cupcake Collection