Rachel's taking the cupcake business class to Chicago! The Cupcake Business Class will cover branding, business development and using social media to grow your business. The class will last 3 hours and will include Q&A.

Join Cupcakes Take the Cake blogger Rachel Kramer Bussel, along with cupcake bakery owners Michelle Garcia (The Bleeding Heart Bakery) and Sheela Namakkal (Cake Eater Bakery, Minneapolis), to learn about the ins and outs of business and running a successful bakery. You will learn how each baker got started, financial and legal issues to consider, standing out from the competition, and social media and promotion techniques. This workshop is suitable for those at any stage of opening a cupcake catering business or cupcake bakery.

Michelle & Vinny Garcia proudly own Bleeding Heart LLC (local sustainable punk rock pastry) which includes two Bleeding Heart Bakeries, and Lucha Dulce (in development). Michelle hails from the French Pastry School (graduated class of 99) and has spent years traveling, baking, and learning. She was named ACF regional pastry chef of the year in 2006 and has been named chef in focus by the North American Pastry Art and Design. Most recently, Michelle won an excellence award in customer service. The pair have appeared in numerous Food Network Challenges, including "Horror Cakes" and "Extreme Mystery Client Wedding and are the co-authors of Who You Callin' Cupcake: 75 In-Your-Face Recipes that Reinvent the Cupcake (Ulysses Press).

Sheela Namakkal of Cake Eatery Bakery has been sharpening her skills in the food industry around Saint Paul and Minneapolis since age thirteen, but also made time to establish her Smart Business(wo)man credentials with years working in the financial sector. It was while pursuing her MBA that she cooked up the idea for Miel y Leche Catering, the successful baking business that has been selling cupcakes and other confections at various locations all over town since 2007. Beginning as a single recurring Saturday cupcake sale, in a matter of months Sheela’s business grew into a full-time cupcake production epicenter, distributing treats in partnership with a variety of Twin Cities businesses while simultaneously catering weddings and other special events on a weekly basis. Equal parts savory food lover and rock and roll singer, Sheela and her unique flavor combinations, quality ingredients, and creative craftsmanship. After two years of searching for a location, Sheela partnered up with fellow rock and roll girl and local cook Emily Moore Harris to create Cake Eater Bakery.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is the founder and co-editor of popular cupcake blog Cupcakes Take the Cake, and has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show and been quoted in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and numerous other publications talking about the popularity of cupcakes.