Debbie Weiner and
Peggy Williams
In honor of National Girlfriend’s Day (August 1st) we asked these friends to share their favorite things about one another.
Peg on Deb:
“Deb brings a lot of energy into the store. If things are feeling too much like library hour in the bakery, she’ll put some music on and start dancing all over. She’s so much fun to have around and definitely one of the most caring people I’ve ever met. Deb also really knows how to think out of the box. I tend to get into a rut and she’ll be the first to help me shake up my world!”
Deb on Peg:
“Peg is very smart and an excellent listener. She knows me so well and she knows when I’m having a moment. Sometimes she knows the moment is coming before I even get there and she’ll understand it and step in without words. So when I go scream outside or cry in the bathroom I always know she’ll come be there for me.”
Looking to go into business with a friend? Peg and Deb offer their sweet advice.
- You really have to have a good communication line between the two of you. You have to work through squabbles, because there will be squabbles and you’ll have to be able to be open, have a sense of humor, and just bring it all to the table when it comes to finding a compromise.
- You might try to setup guidelines, but those are going to go right out the window on the first day, because things are never the way you think they’re going to be. There’s the grand idea of how you think it’s going to be, and then there’s the reality of the situation from day-to-day and you’ve got to be flexible and ready to roll with things.
- Ultimately we can’t tell you how to do it and we can’t give you the magic formula. The best advice we can say is to be smart and take the journey on your own—it’s much more rewarding than having someone tell you what to do.
The Sweet Life
August 2010
It sounds like a sweet fairytale – two best friends who’ve known each other for years decide to open up a bakery together on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Together, they spend their days selling cupcakes, cakes, and cookies and making each other laugh when business gets crazy. But this isn’t fiction–it’s real life for Debbie Weiner and Peggy Williams, the co-founders of sugar Sweet sunshine.
The actresses-turned-business owners met fourteen years ago while performing in a production of The Music Man, and have been best friends ever since. Both had spent time working in bakeries between auditions, but neither was enjoying their self-proclaimed ‘gypsy theater chick’ lifestyle. “We were tired of the nine-to-five audition grind and juggling temp jobs. We realized we both knew a lot about bakeries, but we didn’t actually know how to bake. Where we worked, no one had been professionally trained, so we thought if they could do it, of course we could too!”
The women jumped right in with that happy-go-lucky attitude and for over a year, they devoted their Sundays to experimenting with recipes. “It really was a, ‘what’s the worst that could happen’ situation. If we couldn’t bake, we just wouldn’t open the store.” But after testing their creations on friends, it was clear that wouldn’t be a problem. And from then on things started to fall into place, including the name. While walking to see the location that would eventually become their shop, the friends came across the words ‘sugar sweet sunshine’ etched in cement on the sidewalk.
Although neither had entrepreneurial experience, Peg and Deb fearlessly navigated the process, making it up as they went along. To save money they brought in utensils and furniture from their own apartments to furnish the shop, they negotiated deals with their vendors, and they even played general contractor. “We had to whip our builders into shape to get things done in two months. We used to say, ‘I don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing, but I know you’re supposed to be doing something! I know there’s a wire involved here!” the ladies recall with a laugh.
Now, sugar Sweet sunshine is a popular full-scale bakery with a shabby-chic atmosphere, which Peg and Deb rely solely on word-of-mouth to advertise. On Halloween, they draw attention by handing out free mini cupcakes in front of their store, a tradition that started before they even officially opened. Both women realize it took a lot of hard work (and taste testing a lot of cupcakes!) to get where they are today. “People go into this business thinking it’s such a cute idea and it’s going to be easy. The reality is, it’s a cute idea that is a beast forever. I couldn’t even keep a plant alive when we first opened!” explains Deb.
But they succeeded with the support of each other. “When you open a business, you go through experiences that are good, bad, ugly, funny, sad, disgusting. It’s like having a child. We love that we have each other here to share those ups and downs, the good and the bad.” You’d think after working long hours together they’d need a break, but their friendship goes way beyond the walls of the bakery. They hang out after work, hit the gym together, and have even traveled on fun trips to Costa Rica and Mexico. As they say, “there was Peg and Deb as friends before there was Peg and Deb sugar Sweet sunshine,” and that is a fairytale friendship we can all believe in!