Anna Carrier is the Owner of The Cupcakerie located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The Cupcakerie is the first and ONLY exclusively cupcake bakery in Morgantown. The Cupcakerie provides its customers with the best gourmet cupcakes made with the finest ingredients. As they say – it’s not just a cupcake – it’s a Cupcakerie cupcake!
Anna Carrier is one of the founders of The Cupcakerie. Anna grew up in Morgantown and graduated from University High School. She went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree from West Virginia University in Exercise Physiology and graduated a few years later with an MBA and a JD. While at WVU, she was on the Student Government Association Board of Governors, a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority and very active as a volunteer in the Morgantown community. She is married to Dan Carrier, who is a Dentist at the Monongalia County Health Department, and they have two children (Daniel and Lena).
Carrier talked with Jim Matuga, host of The Positively West Virginia Podcast, about her business, how she started it and how exciting it is to see how her business is getting many opportunities.
How did you get started in this line of work?
“At the time, Janet’s, a co-owner, daughters lived in New York and Washington D.C., and every time she went to visit them, they would go to cupcake stores. It just seemed to be one of those things that were happening in big cities or growing cities, and Morgantown is that. We felt that Morgantown just needed something gourmet in the desert line, we have some great food restaurants but nothing much in the desert area. We thought cupcakes would be the perfect fit for that and we say they are perfect for every occasion. We have eighty flavors, so we surely can please everyone with one of our flavors,” said Carrier.
What is the thing you’re most excited about for your organization – right now?
“We have been involved a little bit lately with WVU football and WVU women’s basketball with their recruits. I feel like after many years of proving that our product is good, maybe we are starting to reach the university a little bit and branch out. We are establishing ourselves and earning our reputation, so it is nice to have that validation. I see some new markets opening up for us in that area and as someone who works for the university, that is exciting for me,” said Carrier.
How do you attract new customers?
“When we first started, we said yes to everything, we thought every opportunity was great for business and we still do. We have had the luxury of saying a couple of no’s but it is still all about seeing different opportunities within our business and maybe at first beer and cupcakes might be a strange match but if you can see outside of the box, you can think of a way to make it happen,” said Carrier.
What is your philosophy on leadership?
“I think when you are a leader, you don’t necessarily need to stand out as a person. But what you do stands out, so hopefully, I am not recognized as the Cupcakerie is and hopefully, my clients at The Launch Lab are way more recognized than I ever will be. I think you need to stand behind them and work with them, which is kind of how you support them,” said Carrier.
Carrier was a guest on The Positively West Virginia Podcast. Listen to her full podcast here.
PWV QUICK BITS | THE CUPCAKERIE | SERVING GOURMET CUPCAKES
- RECOMMENDED BOOK: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber.
- RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: Google Calendar
- PIECE OF ADVICE: “Stay in West Virginia because this new West Virginia is showing some amazing opportunities,” advised Carrier.