Meet Wakako Takagi | Founder of Baum-kuchen

We had the good fortune of connecting with Wakako Takagi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Wakako, what do you attribute your success to?
“People over Profit” is an overarching business mantra I have worked with for the last 14 years. Though it sounds simple, the concept is multifaceted and requires me to frequently check in with how we are doing.

When our business was in its infant stage, and it was just me doing everything, I focused on connecting with our customers in the most genuine human way. I started sending a personal “thank you” email to every customer, handwriting a note on the invoice, and wrapping each order as if it were a gift to my best friend. It was my way of slowing down to take intentional time with each customer to build a meaningful connection, even though our actual transaction was all virtual. This has become our everyday practice even after Baum-kuchen started growing and I was no longer the only one who was doing everything.

Our first team member joined the company in 2015. At that point, my purpose in Baum-kuchen expanded to creating a space for our slowly growing team to feel safe and inspired, in addition to fulfilling our customers’ orders in the most beautiful way. Our business was expanding, and I knew I could no longer take care of every order just with my own two hands. The only way for me to ensure that each order sent from our studio had the same human quality, was to stay in tune with our team members’ hearts so that together, we could reach the wider world. As business owners, Frido, my husband and a partner-in-crime, and I place a lot of emphasis on lifting our team members’ spirits, including coordinating fun team retreats, listening to their opinions and ideas in many areas of our business, and simply treating them as a part of our family. I love every one of our team members inside and outside our work, and I am so grateful to journey on the BK adventure alongside them.

Even though our investment in people, including our team members and community, is outside the standard business practice that other companies might follow, and there might not be any quantifiable way to validate the return on the investment, it deeply affects how we feel about our business, and I hope it also authentically resonates with the world.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think of Baum-kuchen not as a static entity but an ever-evolving being. I don’t “manage” Baum-kuchen even though many of my current tasks lean towards administration. Instead, I see Baum-kuchen as a beautiful fire that needs gentle tending. I am constantly checking in to see if the fire needs more air, an extra kindle, protection from other forces, or a drizzle of water to ease the intensity of heat.

When I started Baum-kuchen from scratch in 2010, I focused on just starting instead of having everything prepared perfectly. For example, our first iteration of the Baum-kuchen website was not as defined as it is now, nor was the selection of items we were carrying. Instead of waiting for all the stars to align, I just opened our online shop with what I had and started sharing them through sheer love for those artifacts. I had no quota which I needed to achieve at the time. Excitement inspires excitement. Eventually, word of mouth slowly spread, and we grew our business to where we are today. It was the same when we moved into our first brick-and-mortar location in 2013. Instead of signing a long-term commercial lease, I found a month-to-month rent off the beaten path to keep our overhead low. I told myself that if I can’t make ends meet, I can always return to our garage where we originally started. I gave myself three months to test the water over the holiday season. I am happy to report that we still have a physical location in Altadena dedicated to online order fulfillment and brick-and-mortar experience.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Arlington Garden in Pasadena // I watched this garden grow and evolve over many years. It’s a small garden that is open to the public. Different sections of the garden have their unique look and feel, depending on the type of plants. Every time I visit (even in the middle of the summer), it feels like a little oasis in the city.

Topanga Canyon // We used to live in Topanga Canyon, amid the Santa Monica Mountains. I think it’s the most gorgeous little canyon town right outside of Los Angeles (though I might be biased). I recommend stopping by Canyon Living Cafe to grab brunch, checking out cute shops at Pine Circle, hiking at Trippet Ranch, and then grabbing dinner at Endless Color. The fresh canyon scent will bring so much vitality to you! (And you are only 10 minutes away from Topanga Beach to wrap up the day!)

Malibu Surfrider Beach // By far, the best spot to relax at the beach and watch amazing surfers. Or even better, take surf lessons from the local surf shops.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Frido Beisert // for going on a crazy adventure with me. Frido is my husband and a partner-in-crime in our business. He was the first person who took a risk to believe in my vision for Baum-kuchen and what I wanted to bring to the world. I appreciate his outside-of-the-box creative thinking, which is distilled in his book Creative Strategies and the executive workshops he offers for corporate clients and business schools. As a creative director at Baum-kuchen, he inspires the look and feel of many aspects of the brand.

My two kids // for helping me see and experience the world beyond what I ever thought possible. Being their mother constantly brings fresh challenges as well as insights into how to live both at home and at BK. I have learned a lot about humanity through parenting and continue to feel so.

My parents // My mother is a writer, and my father is an entrepreneur who constantly creates new business ideas and unconventional ways of doing things. I love how they continue to express their creativity through what they do and how they live, even though it took them a long time to get where they are today. I can see how each of their careers and passions influenced Baum-kuchen and me in a unique way.

Simon Sinek // for inspiring entrepreneurs. His mantra to “start with why” is our constant checkpoint when making small and big business decisions.

Website: https://www.baum-kuchen.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/