What It's About
This bodybuilder proves you can have your cake and eat it too.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Problem-solving is a great way to stumble upon a side hustle idea. We love that Christine saw an important gap that was relevant to her own life and discovered this side hustle.
Fun Fact
By inserting a packet of sprinkles with each cake mix, Lil Buff customers are able to get creative and personalize their cakes—which leads to tons of social sharing.
Notes from Chris
Episode 1095
Christine Moore had just given birth to her third child in just over three years. She was tired and, in her words, felt “frumpy and lumpy.” She wanted to take back control of her body and get ready for a bikini shoot, so she took up an aggressive routine: bodybuilding with a strict, low-sugar diet. It wasn’t a small move, but Christine was disciplined and determined. Month after month, her body gained strength and endurance—but her mind started to wear down. Depriving her sweet tooth was good for her toning figure, but not for her mental health. She’d inevitably crave sweets to the point where she’d chow down on a couple of donuts, feel bad about it, and then work out extra-hard to make up the difference. It wasn’t a sustainable pattern. If she was going to be able to keep up her new lifestyle, she had to find a way to satisfy her desires without overindulging. Christine ordered some whey protein powder and a few other healthy ingredients—flax seeds, cashew milk, apple sauce, and stevia—and started thinking up ways to make something sweet and nutritious. Out of one-part curiosity and one-part desperation, she blended up the ingredients, threw them in the microwave for a couple of minutes, and then took out the bowl. Lo and behold, to her surprise, she had made a cake—with 26g of protein, 2g of sugar, and 16g of carbs. A healthy, delicious cake. In fact, since she was only using whole, healthy ingredients, her cake had nearly the same nutritional facts as her daily chicken, rice, and asparagus meal. She couldn’t believe it. She could, literally, have her cake and eat it too—every single day. Christine experimented with more recipes and posted pictures of her creations on social media, to much enthusiasm from friends and followers. She hadn’t really thought of her cakes as a business opportunity—she enjoyed her day job as an anesthetist—but the thought of making money on the side was captivating. (Making and baking…) And so Christine began baking cakes for friends and hand-delivering them for $5 each. One day she had a ton of orders, stayed up till midnight, and realized that selling complete cakes wasn’t something she could scale. She needed a different approach: sell the mix, and not the full cake. And, within a few weeks, Lil Buff Bakery came to life and did its first push-ups. In October of 2016, Lil Buff soared past $10,000 in sales. It was also the month she launched her first product variation: a pumpkin-spice flavored mix. Naturally, the organic social shares just kept piling on. The following January, Lil Buff generated over $30,000, and sales continued to rise from the oven. In fact, the numbers have doubled year after year for the past three. For the most part, her marketing has mainly been about stoking the fire of her most loyal fans with recipe content, fifteen new and seasonal flavors, and supplementary products, like microwavable containers. But for Christine, it’s not enough—because there were still thousands and thousands of healthy eaters out there who can’t enjoy Lil Buff cakes. That’s why she just released a set of vegan mixes—and there are more specialized diet options coming soon. It hasn’t been a cake walk, but like a good gluten-free protein-dense treat, she has risen to the occasion.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Lil Buff Bakery: Check out Christine's strong line up of bakery goods at her website.
SEE ALSO:
- Electrical Engineer Sells $800 Swarovski Crystal Bikinis: The next time you need a Swarovski-covered crystal bikini for a fitness competition (or just a walk to Starbucks), this engineer has got you covered. Strike a pose!
- Protein Shake Lover Chomps Crickets For Six-Figure Income: We can’t stop chirping over this bodybuilder who uses an insect as the secret sauce in his protein powder side hustle.
- Internet Trolls Eat Their Words in This Comedic Cake Hustle: After seeing a mean comment on Dolly Parton’s Facebook page, a woman bakes up a hilarious and ironic side hustle.
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Resources
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