A New York investment company announced today a $66 million dollar merger deal with Crumbs Bake Shop, the country’s largest cupcake chain. The deal gives the owners, husband and wife team Jason and Mia Bauer, the funds to aggressively expand their 34 stores to 200 by 2014.

As much as I love all things business, I love and admire the passion and purpose behind a success story even more. To me, this story is not so much about the business deal but about what happens when people follow their dreams.

Here are a few reasons this story is a positive one:

1. Seeing a risk pay off. Jason and Mia Bauer had a passion to drop their careers in law and business to open up a single New York cupcakery in 2003. Did they know their cupcake business would expand nationally? Perhaps. Maybe they had a greater vision for mass cupcake domination from the start. However, with any new venture or project, risk is high and failure rates are even greater. The sheer act of going after a dream, in spite of the risks, is usually the biggest risk of all. It can come with great sacrifice (particularly if you have a family you are responsible for) and ongoing anxiety. Taking risks is not easy because you are entering into unknown situations which is kind of a scary thing to do. We like to know what's ahead of us and the more certainty there is, the better, right? Taking risks can come with a revolving door of lack of support, misunderstandings, poor resources, need for extra endurance, and self-doubt. Taking joy in knowing that these pitfalls are a natural part of the process is key. Every success story has a backstory filled with obstacles. People just don't talk about the difficulties as much as they talk about the successes. Much like a long, lonely hike up a steep mountain, following a passion and taking risks is the rigorous journey. Success is what you see when you finally get to the top of the mountain and enjoy the view. 

2. Following your passion. Passionate people are contagious. I'm pretty sure if I met Jason and Mia, I would categorize them as passionate people. You can see it in their company tagline "Made by hand. Baked with Love." (what a great tagline!). People who genuinely know what they are passionate about and what gives them deep purpose in life are rare and they are beautiful to be around when you do find them. Real passion is genuine - it flows from the heart, mind and soul. "Find and follow your passions, life is too short" is the single biggest advice I offer when I am asked by young adults still figuring out life. It's a big struggle to deal with. How do you pursue your dreams while overcoming your own fears, disappointing those you love, and dealing with the fear of failure if things don't pan out? Many are stuck in what they think they should do rather than go for what they are called to do. Every person was made for a purpose. Pursuing one's passion sometimes come at a cost because it's a complicated journey of hope, discovery and overcoming struggles. It's never easy to let go of something tangible and consistent in exchange for a dream. If it were that easy, more people would do it. Fear of risk, change, all that stuff...not a comfortable place to be in but it's a natural part of life and inevitable for all. The key is to embrace it and use it to your advantage. It's important to know how to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. Life is so short and each day is a blank canvas with you as the painter. Your decisions and choices determine what your life story will ultimately look like.

3. Hard Work Needed. Most investors in 2003 probably would've laughed out loud if Jason and Mia told them they wanted to make cupcakes and would one day sell their bakery for multi-millions. My friends and I still have to convince our own husbands that $4 for a gourmet cupcake is not a rip off. Jason and Mia had to work hard to develop and show a strong business case - not only in their product concept but in monetary gain. They not only had to share their vision, they had to show their vision. Convincing others that something non-existing should exist is hard to do because most people are not visionary. Many people need to see it to believe it. It takes hard work to show your passion and risk to others. It takes visible results to fill a need. Only when the need is filled, do people understand and lives change. 

4. Creativity is priceless. We don't need more creative people. What we need is for the creative people to execute on their ideas. I believe different levels of creativity and innovation brews in many people but the world will never get to experience those ideas come to fruition. Needs are plenty, but creative solutions are few. The world is waiting for the birth of creative solutions to solve every day problems - spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, social. Without ideas constantly growing from concept to actual results, opportunities die. People won't grow. Needs won't be met. Things covered won't be discovered. It's obligatory and imperative for creative minds to execute and share their ideas...at least attempt to because even in the attempt, people start to see and get inspired. So how does this relate to a bunch of cupcakes? Not every idea or concept needs to be explosively huge, bring world peace and be front page news.  In fact, ideas that affect a small group of folks sometimes are the best ones and the most creative. One life changed is still one life changed. Viewing small changes collectively, the overall impact is huge. For many, the simple pleasure of eating a really great cupcake decorated in an artistically pretty way, gives a moment of much needed pleasure and escape from a busy life. A brief few minutes to not worry about your day, enjoy something sweetly blissful and just be happy. Happiness is a good thing for people to have. It may seem small, but it's not.

What are you passionate about? What are your dreams? Are you pursuing them now and if not, why not? What stops you? 

Cheers to those thinking outside the Duncan Hines box!

Visit the Crumbs site to order some cupcakes.

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