Warren Brown
He Had His Cakes but He Wanted His Office Space Too
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Many dessert aficionados know Warren Brown from his two Cakelove bakeries and his Love Cafe coffeehouse, businesses he launched from scratch starting in 2002 after abandoning his career as a government lawyer.
To get going, Brown took big risks, relying on little more than the credit cards in his wallet and a determination to use butter -- not oils or shortening -- in his cakes. His business is doing well enough that he plans to expand from his storefronts on U Street NW and in downtown Silver Spring into Baltimore and Shirlington.
But like any entrepreneur, the 36-year-old Brown, who also hosts the Food Network's "Sugar Rush" show, has had his share of stumbles. Brown says his biggest mistake was paying $18,000 over six months to rent office space. Neither the bakery nor his apartment at the time could accommodate business meetings very well.
That office space proved to be too big a bite out of his growing company's revenue. He finally had to break the lease when it became clear he was overspending. "I moved too fast and paid too much," he recalls.
While the buildings he occupies are still too cramped for anything but preparing and serving food, he makes do, noting that cramped quarters keep meetings with his 50-some employees short and to the point. He still wishes he had an office, but wishes even more that he had that $18,000.
He says his other big mistake was to call the coffeehouse, opened in August 2003 across the street from the original bakery on U Street NW, Love Cafe rather than CakeloveCafe, which he thinks would have made the connection between the two more obvious.
"People don't always get that the two are related," he says. That, he thinks, has cost him customers in the cafe. He's considering changing the name but isn't rushing to do it.
Nor is he stewing over wasted rent money. "I've learned I just have to be as patient as possible, even when I get tired," he says. "There's no sense rushing and getting it wrong."
-- K.D.
