My aha moment came when I was in corporate America, working in advertising and selling ads for a national magazine.

I was having a bad day—just really tired and in the grind. I wanted to do something for myself, that brought joy to people’s lives, that I could manage. I was taking these sweet treats to my clients throughout San Francisco, and I finally realized, ‘Hey, I can do this and package it up for people.’

I enrolled in pastry school and decided to deliver those treats myself. I launched a small catering business out of my home, which then led to a small catering business out of a commercial kitchen. That led to a Kara’s Cupcakes standalone store here in San Francisco.

The aha moment is probably right when you take that leap from thinking about it to actually doing it. It’s kind of that in-between when you’re right there in the throes of it, and you just feel it. It just happens. Your gut tells you this is the right thing. ‘I don’t know where it’s taking me, I don’t know what’s going on, but this feels right.’ And you just go with it.

Now we have four stores. It’s crazy.