THE JOURNAL RECORDTuesday, Aug. 6, 2013 Journalrecord.com $1.00 • Vol. 118, No. 153 • Two Sections

FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESSES

Family’s cupcake business a tribute to SaraBY HEIDE BRANDESTHE JOURNAL RECORD

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sara Brinson ofOklahoma City was only 18 when shedied suddenly of an undetected car-diac dysrhythmia, and her familymourned the loss of a life taken toosoon.

The Brinson family also started abusiness in her honor, one that contin-ues to create sweet, mouthwateringconcoctions that the young lady lovedto make.

Every holiday or family gathering,Sara Brinson made cupcakes. Sheloved to bake and create, and one day,Sara planned to open her own cupcakeshop. Instead, Sara’s family kept hermemory and dream alive and openedSara Sara Cupcakes on NW NinthStreet in 2008 in her honor.

A family-owned and -operatedbusiness, Sara Sara Cupcakes now hasthree stores in Oklahoma City, and thesucculent cupcakes keep selling. Withnames like Destin Key Lime Pie,Cherries Jubilee, Sir Elton John andApricot Ricotta, the flavors are richand the family is proud.

“Sara Sara Cupcakes is a tribute toSara, but it has become something thatif we didn’t have, we’d miss it,” saidSara’s mother, Dana Brinson. “It’s away to help us remember Sara, but it’salso a way to help people who come in.It’s a way for us to help other familieswho lose a child too soon.”

Sara Sara Cupcakes makes a profit,but it also works to educate othersabout heart disease. The business ded-icates both profits and energy to bene-fit OU Medicine’s Heart RhythmInstitute.

Still, running a family-owned busi-ness for a cause offers challenges andjoys other businesses may not have.The Brinson family still grieves theirloss, but they have come together aswell. Sara’s aunt, Toni Hoffman, whoalso managed the Iguana Café inNichols Hills, initially began research-ing the idea of a cupcake bakery, visit-ing New York City, Chicago, Dallas andother locations to research how bak-eries succeed.

Brinson’s cousin, Eric Smith, was achef in Chicago, but now is the chefthat dreams up the sweet recipes forSara Sara. Everyone – aunts, unclesand cousins – are now involved insome way with growing the cupcakebusiness.

“We found that a lot of peoplethought that if we only sold cupcakes,we couldn’t make it,” Dana Brinsonsaid. “But it really caught on. Our fam-ily needed to have a focus after Saradied. It’s much more than just a busi-ness.”

Smith, the chef and partner in thebusiness and executive chef at West,said the business’s success on NinthStreet was the catalyst to open twomore stores, one in Edmond and

another at Penn Square Mall.“The Ninth Street location is still

our busiest, but they are all doinggreat,” he said. “Being a family-runbusiness and having so much familyinvolved means we are more commit-ted as a group. There are a lot of peo-ple you can call on for help.”

Working with so much family canhave downsides too.

“Whenever we all get together, youfind that most of what you end up talk-

ing about is the business,” Smith said.“When arguments happen, it’s bothharder and easier to work through. Wehave various ways of working thingsout, but we do work things out.”

Because Sara Sara Cupcakes is sonew, the family doesn’t have a plan onhow to pass the company on when theoriginal founders retire. Right now,the family is focused on keeping allthree stores viable while producingthe best cupcakes possible.

“We don’t want to grow beyondOklahoma City right now. We’ve metour goal of what we wanted to accom-plish,” Smith said. “This business ishard to mass duplicate because all theingredients we use are organic andfresh. A lot of mass-produced cup-cakes are made with pre-made prod-ucts and oil, and ours are each an indi-vidual cake. It takes a lot of attention,and we are afraid to lose that quality ifwe expand too much.”

Eric Smith, chef and partner of family-owned Sara Sara Cupcakes in Oklahoma City. PHOTO BY BRENT FUCHS

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Our family needed to have a focusafter Sara died. It’s much more thanjust a business.

– Dana Brinson, Sara’s mother

FAMILY-OWNED

Values can collidein family business

BY DAVID PAGETHE JOURNAL RECORD

OKLAHOMA CITY – A collision ofvalues between the family and thebusiness can make family businessesa difficult endeavor.

“I recently spoke to a group of ac-countants about family business dy-namics and almost to a person, theywondered why anyone would go into

business with theirfamily,” said AlanCampbell, directorof Family BusinessResources.

But even withthe difficulties ofbalancing the fam-ily and the busi-ness, some familybusiness surveysconducted in thepast five years indi-

cate that 75 percent to 90 percent ofall businesses are categorized asclosely held businesses, he said.

“It boils down to a collision of val-ues between the family and the busi-ness with each role having particularvalues that drive its success,” saidCampbell, who has a master’s degreein community counseling and a doc-torate in counseling psychology fromOklahoma State University.

Family is driven by emotion anddecisions are primarily made out ofemotion.

“One would be hard-pressed toconsider spending all their resourceson the health of one person as a ra-tional decision,” he said. “But if mostof us had a sick child we would spendwhatever we have and borrow moreto get our child the best care avail-able.”

The fear of the loss and the guilt ofnot doing everything possible willdrive the decision, he said.

“The value is love and nurtu-rance,” Campbell said.

On the other hand, business isdriven primarily by profit.

“Businesses have a product thatmeets needs in the marketplace,” hesaid. “Strategic and marketing plansare developed to create and deliverthe product to market as efficiently aspossible. If a product does not bring inprofit, the product is dumped or soldoff. This is a rational process. Thevalue is profitability.”

Problems often arise when the twoworlds, the family and the business,collide.

“The values of love and profitabil-ity collide,” he said. “This collision ofvalues can create dilemmas for familybusiness owners and participants.”

One example of value collision iswhen a family business employs mul-

tiple children, he said.Do you pay them the same, an

emotionally driven decision, or do youpay them according to their position,a profit-driven decision?

If an adult child is not performingwell and should be let go it is a profit-driven decision, he said.

But how will it affect their rela-tionship and the relationship with thegrandchildren, which is emotion?

“These double-bind situations arethe result of values colliding witheach other,” he said.

Through Family Business Re-sources, Campbell works with profes-sional advisers to family businessesincluding attorneys, financial advisersand certified public accountants. Hestarted working with family busi-nesses in 1995 through a friendshipwith a MassMutual agent in Stillwa-ter.

Campbell said he often uses familyforums to help family businessesmanage value collisions and other is-sues.

Family forums are held away fromthe business setting. There is usuallya third-party facilitator.

“This is a meeting outside thebusiness where family members havea place to discuss such issues as em-ployee compensation and entry ex-pectations for family employees,” hesaid. “The forum is an ideal place andtime to communicate on all kinds ofissues that impact family members,both in and out of the business.”

Alan Campbell

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The values oflove andprofitabilitycollide. Thiscollision ofvalues cancreatedilemmasfor familybusinessowners andparticipants.

– Alan Campbell,director of Family Business Re-

sources