What do a cozy murder mystery and a real-life cookie shop have in common? More than you'd think. This week I'm sitting down with Ellie Alexander, author of the beloved Bakeshop Mystery Series — 25 books deep and still going strong — to talk about what it really looks like to build a creative career around the world you love. Whether you're a baker, a reader, or a creative entrepreneur, this conversation will hit home.

In This Episode:

• How Ellie went from a second-grade mystery writer to a published author with 25+ books
• The cozy mystery genre and why the baking details matter just as much as the murder plot
• Why Ellie spends real time in real kitchens — shadowing professional bakers, baristas, and pastry chefs — to get the details right
• The reader rule: readers will forgive the most outlandish murder plot, but get the bake wrong and you'll hear about it
• How baking and writing share the same superpower: presence
• The moment Dani told her husband "I think I'm a baker now" — and what it means to own your creative identity
• Why comparison is the thief of joy, and how to step into who you already are
• Grief, growth, and the character of Jules Capshaw — and why coming home to run the family bake shop is more personal than it looks
• What keeps a 25-book series fresh (hint: secondary characters finally getting their moment)

Guest Bio:
Ellie Alexander is the author of the long-running Bakeshop Mystery Series published by Macmillan, which follows pastry chef Jules Capshaw as she returns home to run her family's artisan bake shop, Torte, in Ashland, Oregon. With more than 22 books in the series (and counting), every title includes original recipes tested by Ellie herself — because in her world, the baking is just as important as the mystery.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Bakeshop Mystery Series by Ellie Alexander — start with Meet Your Baker
• Ellie's website: https://elliealexander.co/
• Ellie on Instagram: @ellie_alexander
• Dani's Kitchen Shop: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Follow along on Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

Hobbies don't show up on your P&L — but they might be some of the most important infrastructure in a well-built life. In this episode, Dani gets personal about working from home more this summer, why her dahlia garden has gotten "a little big," and what happened when she almost talked herself out of planting this year.

In This Episode:

• Why hobbies aren't a luxury — they're load-bearing when you're building a business around your life
• What the research actually says about hobbies, gardening, and your mental health
• How Dani stumbled into dahlias seven years ago — before she even knew it was a trend
• The honest math: 398 tubers planted, 150 given away, zero organizational system — on purpose
• Why Dani applies systems to everything in her business but refuses to apply them to her garden
• The internal argument she had about water shortages in the Pacific Northwest, and the conversation with her husband Herbie that settled it
• What she hopes her daughter Winnie takes away from growing up in the dahlia rows
• A shoutout to Jen at The Flowering Farmhouse and the Dahlia Design Summit this September

Resources Mentioned:

• The Flowering Farmhouse (digging, dividing, and dahlia resources): https://thefloweringfarmhouse.com
• Dahlia Design Summit — September 13–18, 2026 (tickets open July 6th)
• Dani's Kitchen Shop: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Follow along on Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

Connect with Dani:

• Website: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

Ever sat down to do something and scrapped it... two or three times before finally just going for it? Same. In this episode, Dani gets real about ditching the polished, scripted version of things and embracing "good enough to ship" as a genuine business skill.

In This Episode:

• Why perfectionism often disguises itself as "high standards" when it's really fear of being seen before you're ready
• The truth behind Dani's "imperfect" moments — typos, rustic pop-up displays, recipe cards revised after posting — and why none of it actually hurt her
• Why your first version of anything (your first table, price list, or post) is a draft, not a debut
• How "done" gives you real feedback while "perfect" gives you nothing but anxiety
• The "perfection budget" trick: set a timer, and when it goes off, it ships
• How this all connects to the Foundation stage of A Bakery of Your Own — and why no one is supposed to have it all figured out before they start

Resources Mentioned:

• Dani's Kitchen Shop: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Follow along on Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

Connect with Dani:

• Website: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

Every summer, Dani Annala runs the childcare numbers — two kids, ten weeks, up to $15,000 — and every summer those numbers remind her exactly why she built her bakery the way she did. In this episode, she walks through her full summer operating system: the Friday retail model, the production schedule she sets in April, how her kitchen manager Mercedes makes it all possible, and why a lemonade stand changed everything.

In This Episode:

• Why Dani runs her childcare math every June — and what it tells her about her business
• Summer is never about profit — it's about breaking even and being with her kids
• Closing for July 4th week and giving her team a paid week off
• The Friday sale model: one day open, themed cookies, fresh baked goods, and lemonade
• How 200–400 cookies get decorated in one kid-free Tuesday
• The April theming system that removes all summer decision fatigue
• What Mercedes owns — and what that kind of trust makes possible
• The lemonade stand: how Aatto and Winnie run a real business on Fridays
• Attention blocks + independent play blocks: the home work rhythm that actually works
• Two camp weeks that reset everyone — and why timing matters

Resources Mentioned:

• The Business of Baking: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/business-of-baking
• Dani's Kitchen Shop: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Follow along on Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

Connect with Dani:

• Website: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

If you've ever taken a quiz, found your result, and immediately wondered why am I still here — this episode is for you. Dani opens up the full A Bakery of Your Own framework, walks through all five stages of a bakery business, and delivers the honest, direct encouragement that Dreamers and Foundation Stage bakers need to hear right now. This is the episode she wishes someone had made for her.

In This Episode:

• The A Bakery of Your Own Stage Quiz — what it is, why Dani built it, and what the results from hundreds of takers revealed
• A clear breakdown of all five stages: Dream, Foundation, Recipe, Proof, and Rhythm — and exactly what each one asks of you
• Why the Dream Stage is not stagnation — it's preparation that doesn't look like preparation yet
• Dani's real Dream Stage story: four years of keeping the vision in a drawer while building her family and her skills at the same time
• The three traps that keep bakers stuck in the Dream Stage — and how to recognize which one is yours
• How Dani entered the Foundation Stage on January 1, 2019 with a product and a decision — and the one critical mistake she made immediately
• Why she raised her prices 260% over six years, and what it cost her to get there the slow way
• A direct message to Dream Stage bakers: you are building the person who will run the business
• A direct message to Foundation Stage bakers: price your work correctly now — not someday, now
• What's waiting on the other side of these stages — a teaser into the Recipe Stage and what scaling actually looks like

Resources Mentioned:

• A Bakery of Your Own Stage Quiz: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/a-bakery-of-your-own
• Stage 2 Foundation Pricing Guide (free download): https://daniskitchenshop.myflodesk.com/foundation-pricing-guide
• Price It Right Course: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/price-it-right
• The Mel Robbins Podcast
• Dani's Kitchen Shop: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Follow along on Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

Connect with Dani:

• Website: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

If you've ever tried to copy someone else's business model and wondered why it felt so hard, this episode is for you. Dani gets real about what systems actually are — and more importantly, what they're not — and why finding the system that fits your life is the only thing that matters.

In This Episode:

• Why "build systems to scale" advice is missing a critical piece
• How Dani's background as a youth educator shapes the way she thinks about business systems
• The recipe analogy: why systems are something you tweak until they're yours
• Why baking 80 hours of retail a year — and loving it — is a completely valid business model
• The pre-selling model Dani built to eliminate uncertainty and make baking easier to fulfill
• Her summer hybrid system: pre-selling and baking whatever she feels like — both in the same week
• The one question to ask yourself that can completely reshape how you build your business
• How Dani engineered around the part of custom orders she dreads most — without giving them up

Resources Mentioned:

• Dani's Kitchen Shop: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Follow along on Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

Connect with Dani:

• Website: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

She Built It Anyway: Ursula Hacha of Lush Cakes on Financial Freedom, Resilience, and the Real Cost of Building a Business

Content note: This episode contains candid discussion of domestic violence and assault. If you or someone you know needs support, please reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or thehotline.org.

Ursula Hacha didn't start Lush Cakes because entrepreneurship was her dream. She started it because she needed a way out — and a way forward. Seven years in, Ursula is still baking, still building, and still one of the most talented cake artists in the Pacific Northwest. This conversation is for every baker who started their business out of necessity and is figuring out what it looks like to keep going anyway.

In This Episode:

• Why Ursula started Lush Cakes — and how building financial independence became a literal lifeline for her and her kids
• Growing from zero local connections to having her work featured by Wilton, Satin Ice, and major cake brands worldwide
• The pricing mistakes almost every baker makes — and the cheat sheet system Ursula developed to stop working for free
• What it really costs to make a cake (hint: it's not just the fondant) — overhead, time, cleanup, and the wear on your equipment
• Building contracts and policies the hard way — real stories about wedding cake transport, damage, refunds, and clients who didn't read the fine print
• Why "the customer is always right" isn't always right — and how Ursula now uses a client interview process to protect her work and her time
• The business structure anxiety that holds so many bakers back from going "official" — and what it took to get past it
• Ursula's advice for bakers just getting started: ask questions, find community, and don't try to figure it all out alone

About Ursula: Ursula Hacha is the founder of Lush Cakes, based in Portland, Oregon. She specializes in lavish custom cakes, with a particular focus on weddings, and brings a fine artist's eye to every design she creates. Her work has been featured by Wilton, Satin Ice, and other major brands in the cake world. She works from home, raises four kids, and builds her business on grit, artistry, and a stubborn belief that it's possible. Find her on Instagram.

Resources Mentioned:

• Lush Cakes by Ursula Hacha — find her on Instagram
• Price It Right class (mentioned by Dani) — Dani's Kitchen Shop: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/price-it-right
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 | thehotline.org
• Dani's Kitchen Shop: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Follow along on Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

Connect with Dani:

• Website: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Instagram: @daniskitchenshop

What does it look like to move to a brand-new state, discover revised cottage food laws, and build a thriving custom cake and baking business in under two years — mostly on your own? Alexia Drifmeyer did exactly that, and her story is equal parts inspiring and deeply practical. If you've ever wondered whether you could really do this, this episode is your answer.

In This Episode:

• How Alexia moved from Northern Kentucky to Rapid City, South Dakota at 18 and turned a love of baking with her grandma into a real business
• Why South Dakota's cottage food laws gave her a head start — and what you should know about your own state's laws before you begin
• The turning point when getting let go from her job became the push she needed to go all-in on baking
• Why she repriced every single product before going full time — and the mindset shift that made it possible
• The free birthday cake that made her cry in her car and eventually launched her entire custom cake business
• How she navigated tourist season in the Black Hills, and why she started optimizing for shelf stability and portability
• Her honest conversation about imposter syndrome — comparing herself to bakers with 20 years of experience when she had one
• What teaching over 70 cake decorating classes in a year taught her about community, connection, and sharing your skill
• Her five-year plan: streamlining systems, growing her online presence, and eventually opening a storefront in Rapid City

Guest Bio: Alexia Drifmeyer is the owner of Bakes to Tango, a custom baking business based in Rapid City, South Dakota. She started her business in 2023 after moving to the Black Hills, and has grown from a cottage baker selling cookies on Facebook Marketplace to a full-time baker specializing in custom cakes, wedding cakes, and in-person cake decorating workshops. She operates a permanent booth at a local flea market and is expanding into farmers markets and pop-ups across the surrounding Black Hills communities.

Resources Mentioned:

• SDSU Extension Cottage Food Law (search "SDSU extension cottage food law" for South Dakota info)
• Bakes Two to Tango — find Alexia on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/p/Bakes-Two-to-Tango-100094457563488/ and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/baketwototango/
• A Bakery of Your Own Framework (Dani's five-stage roadmap for bakery entrepreneurs): https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Dani's Kitchen Shop: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Follow along on Instagram: @daniskitchenshop
• The Business of Baking: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/business-of-baking

Connect with Dani:

• Website: https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/
• Instagram: @daniskitchenshop