Since 2007, Lark Cake Shop has been satisfying sweet tooths across Los Angeles with their delicious cakes and cupcakes. Owner John Hensley took over the business in 2011, bringing his business acumen to the world of buttercream and fondant.

With custom wedding cakes, birthday celebrations, and everyday treats making up their business, the Lark team needed a better way to handle their growing email communications than their previous Outlook setup.

The challenge: Juggling custom orders across multiple locations

Before adopting Missive, the Lark Cake Shop team was struggling with a common small business challenge: managing communications across multiple locations using traditional email.

"When people would check in and say 'Hey, can we come get an eight-inch chocolate mousse cake?' and they don't tell you where they want to go, we needed a quick way to coordinate between stores."

This coordination was especially critical for their custom cake business, which makes up about 65% of their revenue despite representing fewer total orders than their standard "off-the-rack" offerings.

Finding the right ingredients for better communication

During COVID, when in-person operations shifted dramatically, the Lark team decided it was time for a change. They needed a system that could:

• Allow staff to communicate internally about orders
• Organize different types of inquiries efficiently
• Provide quick responses to customers
• Keep track of long-term orders like weddings

After exploring options, they selected Missive as their shared inbox solution.

How Missive helps the business run more smoothly

• ‍Internal notes keep everyone on the same page. With part-time staff and team members working different shifts, the ability to have internal conversations within email threads helps ensure nothing falls through the cracks.‍
• Auto-responders save time on common inquiries. For wedding inquiries and custom cake requests, Lark uses Missive's auto-responders with attachments to provide immediate information to customers.‍
• Everything organized in one place. Nearly all customer interactions flow through Missive, from simple questions about store hours to complex custom cake designs that require back-and-forth communication.

The system helps keep track of orders that may be booked far in advance: "I've got weddings booked out till 2026. I don't remember what I talked to Janie about on her wedding cake in 2025, so I gotta go to the email and find it."

The results: A more organized bakery operation

While John admits he was initially resistant to change ("At the beginning I was like, 'you gotta get rid of this, I hate it'"), he's come to appreciate how Missive helps organize the business communications.

The system has become particularly valuable for:

• Managing custom cake inquiries from initial request to payment
• Keeping track of wedding cake orders months or years in advance
• Coordinating between team members
• Providing quick responses to common questions

Sweet advice for other small businesses

When asked who would benefit most from Missive, John doesn't hesitate: "I would definitely say small businesses. That would be my bread and butter."

For businesses juggling customer communications, especially those with custom orders or services that require back-and-forth coordination, Missive provides the right recipe for success.