Today we’d like to introduce you to Martina Springer.
Hi Martina, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t exactly planned.
After working in corporate America—and experiencing a couple of jobs that ultimately didn’t work out—I decided it was time to create something of my own.
I started by opening a small gift shop, but I wanted to give my community more. I began baking mini cupcakes, which eventually became what I now call my signature “cake bites.”
One little idea turned into a growing menu, local partnerships, events, fundraisers, wholesale opportunities, and a small-batch bakery business I’m incredibly proud of.
And here we are.
What started as a way to create something different for my community has grown into something so much bigger—and I’m nowhere near finished yet.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Has it been smooth? Absolutely not.
Like any small business owner, I’ve faced my share of challenges—learning how to run a business, navigating unexpected setbacks, growing without unlimited resources, and figuring out how to keep moving forward when the next step requires more capital than I currently have.
One of my biggest challenges right now is that I have big plans for growth, but limited capital to make those plans happen.
I know what I want to build, and I know there is an opportunity to take this business to the next level. I’m currently exploring grants, small-business funding, and other resources that could help bridge that gap and allow me to invest back into the business.
For me, funding isn’t about simply making things bigger. It’s about creating the infrastructure to grow responsibly—expanding what I offer, reaching more customers, creating opportunities within my community, and continuing to build a business that can sustain itself long-term.
There have definitely been bumps along the way, but I’ve learned that entrepreneurship isn’t about having everything figured out.
It’s about figuring it out as you go—and refusing to stop moving forward.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What sets me apart? Honestly, I think it’s the fact that I’ve never been afraid to start over.
I didn’t come from a bakery background. I came from corporate America, from jobs that didn’t work out, and from learning what I didn’t want my life to look like.
I took a chance and opened a gift shop because I wanted to create something for my community. Then I realized I wanted to offer more. So I started baking mini cupcakes—what eventually became my signature cake bites.
And I just kept going.
I’ve built this business through trial and error, late nights, early mornings, setbacks, unexpected challenges, and a whole lot of faith. I’ve had a storefront. I’ve worked out of my home. I’ve changed direction. I’ve grown. I’ve had moments where I wondered, “What am I even doing?”
But I never stopped believing there was something bigger here.
What makes me different is that I’m deeply invested in the people behind the purchase. I want my customers to know there is a real person behind this business who cares about what she creates, how it looks, how it tastes, and—most importantly—how people feel when they receive it.
I’m a mom. I’m a wife. I’m a business owner. I’m a planner who has learned to embrace the unexpected. I’m a problem solver, a creator, and sometimes the person figuring things out at 5 AM because someone in the community needs something I didn’t plan to bake that day.
I don’t have unlimited resources. I don’t have a huge team. I don’t have everything figured out.
What I do have is determination, creativity, a genuine love for what I’m building, and the willingness to keep learning and keep showing up.
That’s what sets me apart.
I’m not just trying to build a bakery.
I’m building something that represents resilience, community, family, creativity, and the belief that sometimes the path you never planned for ends up being the one that was meant for you.
And I’m just getting started.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something many people would never know about me unless I told them: I became a living kidney donor to a complete stranger so my father-in-law could receive a kidney through a paired donation.
I didn’t do it for recognition, and I certainly didn’t do it expecting anyone to know.
It was simply something I felt I could do to help someone I loved.
I think that says a lot about who I am—when something matters to me, I’m willing to show up, take a leap, and give more of myself than people may ever realize.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.boxedupexpressions.com
- Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/boxedupexpressions
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/boxedupexpressions
