The Challenge

Gigi’s Cupcakes was a growing Arizona-based franchise operator with multiple storefronts and a loyal local following. But when sales started to ramp up, thanks to big catering orders and the wedding season, so did the problems.

Sales was doing its job bringing in opportunities, but the operations team couldn’t keep up. In one weekend, a 600 cupcake catering order pushed the team past the breaking point, with one manager quitting mid-crisis. The team pulled back-to-back shifts just to deliver on time.

The company faced a classic small business dilemma:

• They needed to grow but couldn’t afford the full-time leadership required to build systems.

• Seasonal demand meant hiring was risky and adding new staff during peak times could backfire during slow periods.

• Balancing hours between old and new employees caused stress, culture issues, and fear of hour cuts.

• Opportunities and new segments of business were seen as high risk, requiring significant investment to explore. 

Say yes to growth and risking burnout or Say no and cap revenue?

The ETC Solution

The team at ETC stepped in with a flexible, strategic staffing model:

• Cashiers to keep the front running smoothly.

• Baking Assistants and Clean up Staff to ease the workload.

• Fractional Operations Leadership to create scalable systems.

• Fractional Management to ensure daily support without the full-time payroll hit.

• Food Truck Event Staff to say YES to expanding their business and try new ideas.

All ETC staff were trained before walking in the door, meaning they could hit the ground running.

By partnering with ETC, Gigi’s Cupcakes didn’t just survive their growing pains, they were able to do it with a smile on both the owners face and their loyal employees. They tested their capacity with ETC support, fine-tuned their systems, and only hired permanently when the new rhythm was proven.

Small businesses often say no to opportunity in order to protect their teams. But with the right support, you can say yes without sacrificing culture, profitability, or sanity.

ETC helps you test what growth could look like before you bet the business on it.