Passion, Hustle & Barbie Cakes with Brittni Popp of Betchin Cakes

We are in for such a treat today.

Brittni Popp from Betchin Cakes is here to give us all the juice on going from being a Private Investigator to baking Barbie Cakes. In this post she gets into building a business, growing organically on Instagram, baking for Paris Hilton, & shares what’s next for this unique, FUN baker.

If you haven’t heard or seen Betchin Cakes all over Instagram, where have you been?? Brittni has made a couple cakes for me, including one to celebrate 50 million downloads of The Skinny Confidential HIM & HER podcast. Spectacular is an understatement.

Brittni is a go-getter, she works her ass off & I really admire her for building this very unique, one of a kind business. Obviously I had to have her on the blog to share her journey, business tips, & what it’s like to work with Paris Hilton. Duh.

With that, let’s welcome Brittni Popp to the blog.

Passion, Hustle & Barbie Cakes with Brittni Popp of Betchin Cakes

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♡ Introduce yourself to The Skinny Confidential audience.

Brittni Popp: Hi! My name is Brittni Popp & I’m the owner, creator & Betchin genius behind Betchin Cakes. I’m born & raised in Redondo Beach, California. As a little girl, I was always obsessed with Barbie. In fact, I was a toy tester at Mattel at a young age & Barbie was always a huge part of my life. From the time I could walk, I had a Barbie in my hand. My mom told me as a child that at every birthday party I had, I would always add a Barbie doll to my cake, it was happening organically from the start.

For eight years, I worked as a private investigator in downtown Los Angeles & gave up my career to work on my real passions in life ( CAKE + BARBIES ). I started Betchin Cakes as a fun way to celebrate my best friend’s birthdays, DUI expunged, divorce parties & it became a ritual & a given that when a birthday was around the corner, I was making the cake. I decided that since my friends loved my work so much & it made them so happy, why not share my work with the world. And Betchin Cakes was created overnight.

♡ Can you share with everyone the story of how you brought me a Betchin Cake?

BP: I’ve been following Lauryn & The Skinny Confidential since DAY ONE. TSC OG FAN GIRL. Lauryn has always been a huge influence in my life & someone I looked up to. She was the most relatable & real woman & actually talked in my language. You feel like you’re listening to your best friend. There was a video post I remember watching & referring to, to starting a business & building your dreams & making those dreams come true. She said, you have to get off your ass & have that passion to make it fucking happen. Don’t be scared & do it. So I did.

Once I started Betchin Cakes, I reached out to Lauryn & thanked her for giving me that confidence to believe in myself & my business. My Betchin Cakes are LEB inspired already & with her aesthetics, I knew I had to get a Betchin Cakes in her hand right away & thank her for giving me the courage to believe in myself & my brand.

At the time, Lauryn & Michael were celebrating a HUGE milestone with 50 million downloads on The Skinny Confidential HIM & HER podcast, & I made a Betchin Cake to celebrate that important milestone for them. I walked into The Skinny Confidential’s pink dream office & knew, I fucking did it. I remember leaving that day, crying in my car knowing that if you have faith in yourself, it’s possible. And I still am mind blown every day for the life I live.

♡ What is the process when it comes to making your cakes?

BP: Every Betchin Cake is made custom & different & there’s never been the same Betchin Cake made twice. My cakes are custom to the individual & it’s truly a moment made for that person to feel like they are actually ON their very own Betchin Cake. That’s why I have such strong relationships with so many brands, clients & influencers.

I’m doing the personal phone calls & research on every single person I make a cake for. I want to make sure that each Betchin Cake is perfect for the individual, even if that means stalking their Instagram account ( sorry not sorry ), I know that this makes my business special & unique. I make Betchin Cakes to celebrate ANY moment, event or life-changing experience. My cakes are a good laugh, bright fun & always different. Who wants a BASIC cake when you can have a Betchin one?

♡ Tell us what you were doing when you decided to promote your side hustle.

BP: Many don’t know my whole story which is very interesting due to it not being the “normal” full time job for a 20 year old girl.

I was working in downtown Los Angeles as a private investigator in the fashion industry. I specialized in counterfeiting & infringement for every name brand you could think of. And I traveled a lot for eight years all over the county & wanted a real change. I moved out on my own & was always hustling & always had my hands in a million different things to live the way I wanted, comfortably.

I started making cakes as a fun side hustle to make people happy for their special moments or events. If you’re born & raised in Los Angeles, you already know it’s expensive to live here so making cakes for extra cash & making people happy at the same time was a win-win for me. My friends said I had something really special & that I had to share it with the world. I love making people happy & I love making people laugh.

♡ You’ve done an impressive job of building a business, even recently working with Paris Hilton! Is she as amazing as we all think?

BP: Being a HUGE Simple Life fan, I have been obsessed with Paris Hilton since forever. The fact I was even approached to make Paris multiple Betchin Cakes is just an absolute dream. Paris is literally the absolute sweetest human being I have EVER met. She’s absolutely everything you’d think or imagine BUT more BETCHIN.

I have never seen a celebrity give so much love & attention to their fans or anyone for that matter, that comes across her. She seriously says hi to EVERYONE who approaches her. She has a heart of gold & is always so encouraging & supportive of me & Betchin Cakes. It’s not every day that you make a birthday cake for Paris Hilton & then she says “stay & party.” She’s given me so much confidence & support, I’m so lucky she’s in my life.

♡ How have you managed to grow on Instagram? Can you share your tips & tricks with the audience?

BP: Instagram is ALWAYS an ongoing battle for me. I feel like it’s a constant learning experience. Since I do use the social platform solely for my business, I do rely on it for everything. I feel like I’m growing very organically & authentically.

I started with only 90 followers & in two years have grown to 13.1k. ( & NO, I would never buy followers – it’s SO TACKY! ) I’m always trying to create new content & trying to stay active with my audience. I always said that I wouldn’t let anyone change who I am because I love myself. I think if you put that same energy into your brand & stay authentic then the following & growth of the brand happens organically. It’s magic.

♡ What advice would you give to a young woman who has a great idea & wants to quit her 9-5 job?

BP: My advice is this: I’m currently still working a full time job & running Betchin Cakes by myself. I’m a woman who likes to juggle many things, stress is my friend & makes me work harder. Until you’re ready to give 24/7 into your brand, don’t quit your job. For me, my other job helps me grow Betchin Cakes into the brajd I want it to become. You just have to do it, you have to take the chance. If you don’t, you will never know.

♡ What does a day in the life look like for you?

BP: Every day is different for me. I wake up in the morning & do my daily skincare routine with my fiancé Michael. I have made him addicted to THE SKINNY CONFIDENTIALHOT MESS ICE ROLLER ( duh ) & have created a monster. When I’m fresh faced & glowing I feel like I can conquer the day accordingly. I always make my iced coffee with Ingrid’s inulin that Lauryn got me hooked on. And it’s a must for me to get through the busy day.

I then attack my daily journaling, goals & calendar for the week. I make my daily calls, emails & Zoom meetings & usually do all admin work in the morning to get it out of the way. Although, admin work is a constant part of my day, ALL day, regardless. I always enjoy taking my dog on a walk & catching up on my podcasts. Some favorites are: The Skinny Confidential HIM & HER podcast, The Bitch Bible & some Call Her Daddy. I need a good laugh in the morning & those NEVER disappoint.

I then attack all social media accounts right away. Posting, responding & creating content. I always stay relevant & always am trying to evolve. I then make whatever cakes I have for the day & source items constantly from all over the world. Every day is a different day which makes it the best.

♡ How do you plan on growing your business?

BP: I have SO many exciting plans for 2022. I’m currently working with a lot of amazing people & will have some exciting news to share here soon in the future. I’m currently working on re-branding & content especially. And I’m also working on releasing a podcast later this year. My big project is putting together a cake tour so that I can travel globally & make my Betchin Cakes all over the world. I have lots of exciting things happening this year, stay tuned!!!