Chick Boss Cake founder Rebecca Hamilton joins Donna on this episode of Before IT Happened to share the story of how she went from being a homeless high school dropout at 16 years old to opening a bakery in Ontario, Canada and achieving $1 million in sales. Satisfy your sweet tooth now by listening to this episode and hearing Rebecca talk about everything from how baking cakes at a women’s shelter was a turning point in her life to how she comes up with some of her wackier confections like cotton candy lemonade and potato chip buttercream cakes. Yum! Before any world-changing innovation, there was a moment, an event, a realization that sparked the idea before it happened. This is a podcast about that moment — about that idea. Before IT Happened takes you on a journey with the innovators who imagined — and are still imagining — our future. Join host Donna Loughlin as her guests tell their stories of how they brought their visions to life. JUMP STRAIGHT INTO: (01:39) - Rebecca’s challenging teenage years - “I survived at 16 years old being on my own and having to worry about things like groceries or bus tickets while my friends were worried about going to school dances and normal teenage things.” (12:43) - Finally finding shelter: How Rebecca’s passion for baking started - “When I got that job, I didn't realize it at the time, but that job offered a lot of healing.” (17:35) - Becoming the Chick Boss - “That’s how I came up with the name too, Chick Boss Cake, because Buddy from Cake Boss is a huge inspiration.” (21:02) - On opening her first storefront - “We opened our first store location with real rent to pay and real bills. And it was really scary, but we took the leap of faith, and looking back now I’m so glad that we did.” (23:38) - Creativity tastes delicious: How Rebecca comes up with her unique flavors - “The really over-the-top stuff might work in LA or New York, but in my small town where people like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, I had to scale it back a little bit.” (26:14) - Hitting one million in sales during the pandemic - “It's all a mindset game. I wanted the opportunity to share my story with other people and hopefully inspire them to take that leap and do what they actually want to do with their life.” (32:14) - The process of writing The Million Dollar Bakery and explaining the bakery’s visual components - “I got a lot of really great feedback on this one and the sense that it was written as if we were having a coffee together.” (37:20) - Sharing more wisdom through her podcast ‘Scrap the Sweet Talk’ - “We talk a lot about pretty much everything that we do in our daily lives to set us up for success and to feel great every day in order to be able to run a business.” EPISODE RESOURCES: Follow Rebecca Hamilton on https://www.instagram.com/rebeccaatchickbosscake/?hl=en (Instagram) Follow Chick Boss Cake on https://www.instagram.com/chickbosscake/?hl=en (Instagram) and https://www.facebook.com/chickbosscake (Facebook) Visit a https://www.chickbosscake.com/ (Chick Boss Cake location) in Ontario and https://rebeccahamiltonco.com/pages/classes (take a cake decoration class) at CBC! Listen to Rebecca Hamilton’s podcast https://rebeccahamiltonco.com/pages/the-podcast (Scrap The Sweet Talk) Read Rebecca’s book: https://rebeccahamiltonco.com/pages/the-book (The Million Dollar Bakery) Read Narcity’s: https://www.narcity.com/unique-food-in-ontario-that-you-absolutely-have-to-try-at-least-once-in-your-life (7 Must-Try Food Items In Ontario That Will Satisfy All Of Your Wildest Cravings) Thank you for listening! Follow https://www.beforeithappened.com/ (Before IT Happened) on https://www.instagram.com/beforeithappenedshow/ (Instagram) and https://twitter.com/TheBIHShow (Twitter), and don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share the show wherever you listen to podcasts! Before IT Happened is produced by Donna Loughlin and https://www.studiopodsf.com/