T’s Sweet Treats flourishing

EAGLE BUTTE SD – When Tori Chasing Hawk (Cheyenne River Lakota) of Eagle Butte donated to her daughter’s basketball team bake sale in 2021, she had no idea that by 2024 she would be racing to keep up with the exploding demand for her baked goods. That is exactly what happened.

Chasing Hawk now markets her signature baked goods to the public from a refrigerated vending machine at her space at the 4 Bands Community Fund (4BCF) Business Incubator on Main Street in Eagle Butte. Her business space, named T’s Sweet Treats, is open weekdays from 9 am to 9 pm and on weekends from 11 am to 9 pm. She now employees 7 part-time helpers to keep the inventory fresh and stocked.

She also has collaborative partnerships with other creative bakers in Cherry Creek, Pierre, Rapid City, Eagle Butte, and other locations. She buys their products, such as cupcakes, mini-pies, cheesecakes, gourmet caramel apples, and tres leches cakes and sells them in her vending machine alongside her own cake pops, Strawberry Crunch Cake, and other delights.

All of this is in addition to her full-time position as a loan officer at 4BCF and her responsibilities as a wife and mother of 5 children at home aged 3 – 17. This woman is no slacker!

Her donation to the 2021 basketball fundraiser was a big hit and she started getting custom orders. She sold to friends and family members, advertising only through social media.

Her creations created so much buzz that she soon heard from the CRST Tribal Office that she needed to secure a business license. She did acquire her business license and Employer ID Number (EIN).

She set up a Facebook Business Page and was overwhelmed with orders. She now has 1400 followers.

In March, 2024, she took the 5-week CREATE (Cheyenne River Entrepreneurial Assistance Training and Education) class at 4BCF, a comprehensive business development class that guides aspiring entrepreneurs step-by-step through the process of starting a business. She says she learned a lot, including how to create a business plan.

One month later she secured a loan from 4BCF to purchase her vending machine, which was delivered to her in September, 2024. To keep it stocked, she and her 7 helpers spend the hours from 5 pm to 8 pm every evening baking. Every morning from 8 am – 9 am she reloads the vending machine for the day’s business.

She said that her most popular item is her two-layer Strawberry Crunch Cake, which often sells out by noon each day. She made the cake for her daughter’s 14th. birthday and her brother said it was so good that she should sell it along with her popular cakepops, fully baked cake crumbled and rolled into pops and dipped in chocolate to decorate.

Regular cakepops are dipped in one color and drizzled with sprinkles. Custom orders for cakepops can be tailor made with special colors or themes. Right now, holiday themed cake pops are in great demand.

Another popular item is chocolate strawberries. Daysha Marrow, one of T’s Sweet Treats’ loyal customers, says, “Her chocolate covered strawberries are always beautifully decorated … once you get a bite you realize they taste just as beautiful as they look! Then her Strawberry Crunch Cake is to die for. To me it’s exactly like the ice cream but in cake form which is even better!”

These and other items can be ordered at tssweettreats.com, then picked up at the 4BCF incubator. Walk-in customers (those who have not pre-ordered) are always welcome to choose from the available inventory. Because of the nature of the product, no shipping is available. Payment can be made with debit or credit cards only. Accepting cash to be held in the vending machine could encourage vandalism.

Chasing Hawk says that she and her family are very thankful for the support they have received from the community for T’s Sweet Treats. Having a profitable business not only helps the Chasing Hawk nuclear family with its living expenses, it also allows them to sometimes help extended family members on occasion. They are also happy they can employ others in their business as well as give back to the community in various ways. She still likes to donate to community fundraising projects whenever feasible, saying, “If I can help anybody, I do.”

Chasing Hawk says a priority goal is to pay back the loan for the vending machine ahead of schedule. The next step in expanding the business could be setting up a commercial kitchen cooperative where multiple cooks can share expenses and production space collaboratively.

Chasing Hawk would offer these words of encouragement and advice to anyone who is considering starting a business, “Take the CREATE course at 4BCF. … Save money for your expenses. … Reach out and learn from everyone. …Dream big. …Dream it, live it, achieve it! …Don’t believe (anything negative) others have said (about you). Don’t let it limit you. It doesn’t matter what’s in your past or where you have come from. That doesn’t determine your future.”

The CREATE class will be offered at 4BCF during the first quarter of 2025. For more information, contact Elaine Neigel at 605-964-3689.

(Contact Grace Terry at graceterrywilliams@gmail.com)

The post T’s Sweet Treats flourishing first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

Visit Original Source