Bondbons is my teeny tiny cake pop business I own and operate on the side.

Check it out on social media:

Our Facebook Page //  Our Instagram Page // Our Twitter Page

To order, email sweetbondbons@gmail.com or send us a message on Facebook.

Bondbons’ Story

I am not a creative person and I don’t think I even knew how to bake a cake before I was married, so the fact that I am now the owner of a cake pop business is quite hilarious to me.  I had never even heard of a cake pop until 2010 when I met my friend’s wife at my 10-year high school reunion. Her name is, oddly enough, also Courtney and she is the owner of CoCo’s Sweet Boutique in Cleveland, TN.

I tried making some myself for a Christmas party a couple months later and received quite a few compliments.  Since then I would make them occasionally.

In November of 2013 I sold Oreo balls for a vendor event at my school.  The mother of one of my students purchased some from me that day.  On December 13th, 2013, this same mom called me at school.  I assumed there was an issue with her daughter.

Nope.

Her words: “Oh my goodness, I am having a huge Christmas party tomorrow and completely forgot to plan for desserts!  Could you make me some of those Oreo balls I bought from you!?!?!  Like 150 of them?  Oh and bring cards; I’ll pass them out to everyone.”

Me: “Sure!  {heart pounding}  But I don’t even have business cards—I’m not even a business . . .”

Her: “Oh, well, just put your info on some slips of paper. It’ll be fine.”

So that is what I did . . . and it looked incredibly trashy and unprofessional.

I made up a “card” on Microsoft Word, printed, and cut with a pair of scissors.  How embarrassing.

Speaking of embarrassing, here is what her order looked like:

Luckily, I have since learned better decorating & photography skills.  Yikes.

Getting this order was motivation to actually start a business . . . and make real business cards.   I was looking for a way to make extra money to help us pay off our student loan debt anyway and this seemed like the perfect solution.  I contacted the other Courtney out of respect to let her know that I was basically going to rip off her idea, but that it was all good because I lived 800 miles away. No competition, right?  She was very sweet about it {no pun intended} and kindly gave me many tips from how to set up my business model, to decorating.

In the prep stage, my dad thought of the name of the business, a graphic design student from KU designed my logo, I set up a business bank account and a tax ID, the real business cards were made—I was ready to go.

On January 14th, 2014, one month before Valentine’s Day, I created a Facebook business page and announced to the “world” that I was starting this little gig. I expected nothing, but my friends and family were so generous and gave me lots of business in that first month.

I told my husband that I doubted I would get any more orders after the Valentine’s Day rush.

But I did, PTL.

The orders kept flooding in—I still can’t believe it.  I expanded from just carrying five flavors to eight, plus an additional flavor-of-the-month.  I also expanded from just cake balls to cake pops, cherry bombs, chocolate covered strawberries, pretzels, marshmallows, rice crispy treats, and potato chips.  My awesome customers have pushed me and because of them, I’ve created some pretty awesome products to add to my portfolio that I would have never thought of on my own.

All they did was ask and I tried.

Since the birth of the business, Bondbons has now catered birthday parties, baby showers, graduation parties, and weddings.  I also started teaching cake pop classes. Even the best selling author of Thirteen Reasons Why ordered bondbons as a thank you to his publishers at Penguin after his 50 States Against Bullying Tour.  I am so humbled and grateful for every single order.

GIVING BACK

Bondbons has helped my family chip away at our debt, but after that first month of business I knew I wanted to use the proceeds to give back in some way.  I prayed about what to do, and that same week I received an email in March of 2014.  It was one of my former students from my very first year of teaching.  I had not spoken to her in over a decade {I was shocked she even remembered me, tbh}.  This particular student had recently made a commitment to go serve in the 10/40 window for at least three years and was looking for financial monthly support.

I had my answer.

I told her that I would love to support her and that I would use proceeds from Bondbons to do it.  Every month a check is faithfully sent for her to do amazing work in that area of the world.

Bondbons has also allowed me to financially support our local rescue mission, World Vision, and Washburn University’s Can Emporia event.

Every time you order from Bondbons, you aren’t just enjoying one of our delicious cake pops.  You are helping a family achieve financial freedom, and you are helping with a greater mission, both locally and globally.

I kindly thank you for your support and business.