U·ni·corn - /ˈyo͞onəˌkôrn/ A start-up company valued at more than a billion dollars, typically in the software or technology sector.

We live in a world brimming with adoration for ‘unicorns’, that we often forget that the majority of businesses in the United States are classified as ‘Small Businesses’. In fact, 30.2 million businesses (or 99.9% of all businesses) in the United States are classified as small businesses with 500 or fewer employees (source: SBA Office of Advocacy). Small businesses also employ 47.5% of the country’s workforce; so while most are focused on the ‘success stories’ of unicorns, we miss some spectacular stories that originating from growing, thriving startups.

eF & Be Bakehouse is one such story, which began as a hesitant commitment to a commercial lease, from baking just one day per week to making a ‘leap’ to baking two days per week. Sometimes a ‘hurdle’ in a business is the question of ‘how do we balance building a start-up business with our family lives?’ and not always the storied questions of ‘how do we raise the next million?’

We had the pleasure of discovering this startup story through a conversation with eF & Be Co-Founders Fumie and Bowie, who have carefully and slowly nurtured the growth of their business with a commitment to maintaining a work-life balance in their respective households.

Fumie had discovered her passion for baking as a child when she visited bakeries with her mom and was enchanted by the atmosphere (and of course the buttery aroma). She describes a bakery as somewhere she could have ‘stayed forever.’ Prior to moving to Canada, she was studying to become an Engineer in Japan; after studying English for a year in Canada, she decided to move to Canada permanently in 2005.

Bowie had moved from Hong Kong to Canada 10 years ago, where she had worked in a kitchenware manufacturing company. She worked for a small restaurant in Burnaby two and a half years ago, and it was there that she learned how to run a business in the food industry.

The two met through their husbands, who run a business together, and as fate would have it, the two connected and became fast friends, and subsequently decided to start eF & Be Bakehouse together. In this conversation, we chat about the decisions the duo had to make in the initial stages of the business, and what lies ahead as the business is experiencing growing demand.

F = Fumie
B = Bowie
A = Fumie + Bowie

P: How did you two meet? How long have you known each other? What were the factors that made you decide to start eF & Be Bakehouse together?

F: Bowie and I have known each other for about 10 years. We met through our husbands who own a business together. Last year, Bowie and I had a chance to really connect on a different level. No longer as wives of our husbands or mothers of our kids, but as friends. Close friends whose relationship has grown strong over the years. Together, we realized that we are strong and can work really well as a team.

B: To me, Fumie is a perfectionist. As long as I’ve known her, I have never seen her serve anything that’s not 100%. I had said to Fumie so many times, “You need to do something with your baking because it’s so good and people need to know about it.” With the right timing and conditions, we finally started eF & Be.

P: What is your working schedule? Do you try to maintain a healthy work-life balance? If so, how?

F: I work pretty much all the time. But I bake every Wednesday night, and then all night Thursday and Friday. Usually, on Saturdays, we do a pop-up event in the afternoon. So that pretty much results in working for about 24 hours straight. Work-life balance is really important but also difficult. With our husbands running their own business full time, we share a great responsibility to our children and running the household as well. That’s why we only bake a few times a week. The business is growing and changing, and as it grows we may get even busier and work even more hours each week. We make it a priority to make sure we have fun and love what we do.

B: I bake with Fumie all night on Thursday and Friday, and we do pop-ups together on Saturdays. When I am not working in the kitchen with Fumie, I spend a lot of time building our brand, providing customer service and doing paperwork. I think the best way to maintain a work/life balance is to have set working hours. But it’s easier said than done when you just started a business.

P: What were some of the biggest challenges that you encountered in the initial stage of starting the business? What measures did you implement to overcome them? Did they work?

F: I wanted to start this bakery for a long time. The biggest hurdle for me, honestly, was picking a name! This bakery is like another child to me and the name had to fit exactly what I envisioned for it. It felt like the biggest decision of my life and one that I just couldn’t risk messing up. Once we had a name, the equally difficult task of designing a logo came next. I know it seems silly and small… but a logo is that first visual impression of our bakery. And just like the name, it had to be a perfect fit. I know that Bowie was getting frustrated with my indecisive moments, especially as we were both so excited to get started. But with a lot of patience and support from all of our friends and family, we made it, and we’re both really happy with it.

B: I wasn’t THAT frustrated [haha] I wanted her to pick a name that she really likes. I am happy to say that my patience has paid off because she came up with the perfect name. The resulting name not only eF & Be looks good, but it is also very meaningful to us. The first challenge for me was to build our website and make sure it worked well for our customers in a short period of time. After committing to a kitchen space we only had a week left before we had to start paying rent. At that point, our website was only halfway done, so it was a rush to finish it. I made it on time and it’s been working since (thank goodness!). Although I am still always thinking about how to improve it, to make it even better and easier for our customers.

P: How is the business run day-to-day? Why did you adopt an online business model instead of a physical store? Do you plan on changing the format of the business down the road or do you prefer to keep it this way?

F: We take orders online through our website. You pick the day for delivery (which is usually Friday or Saturday morning), and then we deliver your order right to your door. Another option is for our customers to pick it up from our bakery at YVR Prep, or sometimes even meet us at a pop-up to pick it up. Before eF & Be, I used to take orders from friends and family. It was a similar business model, and it worked really well. People were able to get exactly what they wanted, and I made it just for them and that was really special; knowing this, we expanded that concept into an actual business.

We rented space in a commercial kitchen, and that means we don’t need an actual storefront. That’s a huge relief on our start-up financial stress, and it also lets us keep our products as affordable as possible. We do hope to have an actual store someday, but I don’t think we’ll ever stop doing online orders. It’s pretty innovative for a business, and I think it will become more and more popular over time.

Our pop-ups are also really unique. I don’t know anyone else that follows this model the way we do. We bring our baked goods right into a coffee shop or brewery or event and sell directly to our customers. It’s our chance to get to know the people who love our food, while also sharing opportunities with other like-minded business owners in our communities.

(Bowie) I would like to add that since all our baked goods are mainly made to order, there is barely any food waste.

P: Can you briefly tell us about the process of securing pop-up opportunities? From a business perspective, how does utilizing pop-ups work in your favor?

A: These opportunities come up in a few ways. Sometimes the cafe owners reach out to us on social media and invite us to come in. We also search out for businesses that we like and want to share with, and ask to operate a pop-up in their store. This approach also gives us an opportunity to collaborate on new products by sharing ingredients, and to cross-promote through contests. Mostly though, we are doing it to have fun!

P: Can you briefly tell us about some of your most popular menu items? Do you try to roll out menu items on a regular basis?

A: Most popular on our menu is, of course, the Melon Pan. Curry Pan and Mochieese is also really popular. In fact, when we were deciding on where to bake we knew that we needed to have access to a deep fryer because of just how popular we expected our Curry Pan to be. It’s tough to come up with new ideas regularly. I don’t want to create something new just because. I like to create and introduce something truly unique with a Japanese twist and bring a moment of happiness, nostalgia, and deliciousness all in one when customers enjoy it.

P: What has been the toughest decision you’ve had to make? How did it turn out?

A: About three months in, we were getting really busy and had been discussing going from baking just one day a week to two days. It took us almost a month to decide to move forward with the extra day, not because it was ‘just another additional day’. It meant an entire rearrangement of our lives, kids’ schedules, and family lives. It would be a big impact on the all-important work/life balance that we worked hard to maintain in order to keep loving what we are doing.

P: Other than your hard work, who else do you have to thank for the business’s current success?

A: We certainly appreciate each other! Also, the patience we have for each other. There is a lot of learning when you start a business, and a lot of hurdles you never expect to jump. We also appreciate our husbands’ guidance and support, and the wonderful, open-minded business owners who have invited us for pop-ups, promoted us, encouraged us, and had fun with us. Of course, we are also deeply appreciative of our customers. We appreciate how very thoughtful and gracious they have been and helped us to grow eF & Be into something so very special.

P: What is your long-term vision for eF & Be Bakehouse?

A: We would like to open a storefront one day, but for now, we are happy to be taking orders online, and baking items especially for each and every customer.

Photos courtesy of eF & Be Bakehouse