Christina Moffatt

SINCE FOUNDING CREME CUPCAKE + DESSERT FIVE YEARS AGO, CHRISTINA MOFFATT TRANSITIONED FROM A CORPORATE CAREER TO STARTING A JOURNEY AS A MOTHER, PIONEERING AN AWARD WINNING DESSERT BAR.

Expert on

  • Business
  • Business Growth
  • Women in Business
  • Customer Service
  • Small Business
  • Management

Fee Range

$1,000–$3,000

Travels from

IA, US

Biography

A baker since she could hold a measuring spoon, Christina combined her culinary skills with her management and marketing experience to create Creme Cupcake + Dessert, which expanded from a home-operated bakery to a commercial kitchen in less than a year.

From a dozen cupcakes for a single order to 2,100 desserts for the Vice President of China, or 4000 for the Dam to Dam race, more and more people around the world are turning to Creme Cupcake and Dessert to find a way to satisfy their sweet tooth…and find their own joy.

A graduate of DMACC, Iowa State University and University of Toledo CBA Program, Christina not only owns and operates Crème Cupcake + Dessert and serves as the Director of Small Business Resources for the Greater Des Moines Partnership. She also devotes her time and talents to many local boards. Christina has won several awards for her business including DSM Top List for Best Bakery, Cityview’s Best Dessert, Sweet Equality Best Dessert, Runner up for the Iowa Mixology Competition and runner up on The Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. Christina has also been featured in Pastry & Baking North America in the Regional Showcase and Baker in Focus. Christina is also a Business Record’s 40 Under Forty, 2012 Deb Dalziel Woman Entrepreneur Achievement Award Winner by the Iowa Small Business Development Center for the State of Iowa, 2013 Woman of the Year by the Metro Women’s Network, 2015 Women Business Owner of the Year by National Association of Women Business Owners Iowa Chapter, 2016 Finalist for Iowa Women Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership Award by Technology Association of Iowa, 2017 Outstanding Alumni of the Year by DMACC, 2018 Ivy Women in Business Inspiration Award by Iowa State University, 2018 Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute Distinguished Leaders Community Vision Inspiration Award and 2019 40 Women to Watch by the Iowa Restaurant Association.

Speaker Videos

THE SWEET LIFE

As Christina celebrated her premier on the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars with a gathering of friends and family, she was also facing one of the most challenging moments of her life. Only five years before, she had hired her mother as her first employee and only seven months into her business, scored a 1000-cupcake event that transformed her business and allowed her to expand into her unique dream, a dessert bar and lounge. She consistently accumulated awards and accolades and was asked to film an episode of Cupcake Wars.

TAKEAWAYS
In the middle of this abundance, she was stopped in her tracks by two major life altering changes. As her heart was torn between family and business, Cupcake Wars called, asking her to film an episode. Christina continued to thrive, focusing on the core of her dreams and building her family. She encourages the audience with her story:

  • How to turn difficult moment into transformational experiences. 
  • How to balance the needs of her family with her thriving business.
  • The situations you need to say no.

BUILDING A SWEET TEAM

Five years ago, Christina abandoned a thriving corporate career to dedicate herself to baking. In spite of her self-described driven and perfectionist personality, Christina focused on expanding her team to match her dreams. With the help of her mother and several friends, Christina transitioned from an exhausted one-man show in a home operation to a commercial kitchen and her first employees. Today the award winning Crème Cupcake + Dessert Bar is run by a strong team of 14, leaving her space to give back through helping other businesses navigate tough situations and growth.

TAKEAWAYS

Christina shares key strategies to business growth:

  • The four pitfalls of doing it all yourself.
  • Creating customers for life with her product and training checklist.
  • Cultivating opportunities that lead to growth.
  • How to get over the “one-employee-hump.”
  • Strategies to release the process without losing control.

THE RIGHT RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

When Christina founded Crème Cupcake + Dessert in 2010, she was a marketing and management businesswoman without a culinary degree.  She took a special recipe, some unique flavor combinations and the enthusiastic support of her friends and family and transformed it into a thriving business creating the most popular cupcakes and desserts in Des Moines, with a staff of 14 she continues to thrive, grow and give back to her community.

Christina shares stories and strategies-how to transform a skill and product into a marketable idea and break out of the pack. The must-do small business start up checklist.

TAKEAWAYS

  • The top four short cuts every business should avoid.
  • How to charge more for what you do by standing up for what you do.
  • Transitioning from subject matter expert to business owner.
  • How to give your product a personality. Strategies to look beyond your produce and incorporate your personality.
  • How to create a long-term strategy that builds on the success of a simple idea.