Yahoo Finance Cake Boss urges business owners to 'pivot and diversify' during the COVID-19 pandemic
Buddy Valastro, Food Network baker and star of TLC’s “Cake Boss,” said he hopes “business owners out there pivoted and diversified” as the coronavirus pandemic surges again with confirmed cases in the U.S. surpassing 250,000.
The well-known Hoboken celebrity said back in April he too had to quickly pivot his business. Instead of just “sitting back,” he took inspiration from those quarantined with him — most notably his wife.
“My wife don’t go out anymore, she gets everything delivered to the house... we’re on Goldbelly and CarlosBakery.com,” Valastro told Yahoo Finance Live, adding that he quickly realized online is “where the future is.”
Thanks to this pivot, his online sales have went up “50 times, maybe even 300 times” and advises other entrepreneurs to go digital, despite any previous apprehensions to take the plunge.
“I’m looking at business strategies that I might not have been so excited about say a year ago...all this stuff is coming out of one location, it’s my factory, it’s easier to maintain than say 25 different people making it at one time, it’s actually easier.”
Valastro admits he’s “lucky.” He is the star of “Cake Boss,” owns bakeries, real estate, restaurants like Buddy V’s Ristorante in Las Vegas and has his own production company, Cakehouse Media, which films his television show.
However, even the boss himself says he took a major hit from the coronavirus pandemic, sharing that the business is “probably doing about 40% of what we would normally be doing.”
At the end of the day, for this baker, entrepreneur and media mogul — pivoting was worth the risk, “You gotta pivot man, this is the time where you make your bones and I’m actually doing more.”
Brooke DiPalma is a producer for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma.
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