Hey everybody, welcome back to The Covenant Eyes Podcast. We are at NRB 2025 and again meeting some amazing people here. Rob oh it. Is good time, but. I gotta start. I gotta say, I was promised cupcakes. Oh no. To do this interview. I don't see any cupcakes. I know, I'm very sorry. Next time I will have baked goods in here for you tonight. Traveling with them. And then, you know, it's been a little difficult. Yeah. Okay. We'll let that slide. Yeah. Let me let me introduce you. Our guest today is a Gigi Butler. Yes. And, she is the founder of Gigi’s Cupcakes. Okay, well, welcome to the The Covenant Eyes Podcast. Could you start just tell us a little bit about yourself in how you got into this world of cupcakes? And. Well, it's an interesting path. It's amazing how God leads us in different things. And we think that we're going to do one thing and this is it. God. And then God's like, well, yes, but you're going to use those gifts and then you're going to bring him into a different path. So I was I wanted to be a country music singer songwriter. And at seven, I decided I was going to move to Nashville as soon as I could. And my parents were a little shocked. I was an entrepreneur at heart, so I started a cleaning business at the age of 15, and then started a band at 16, and then toured the country and with the band, and then I moved to Nashville when I was right out of high school. And. Toured all across the country and all parts of the world, and sang it every honky tonk you could ever imagine. If you've been to Nashville. Yeah, I was down there in the in the pits. And then it came to a point to where I was cleaning Taylor Swift's toilet, and she was 15. Oh, wow. And she was practicing on her bed and practicing a song she'd written. And I looked at her. I'm like, did you write that song? She's like, it's going to be on my first album. I'm like, I'm done with music. You have all the money in the world and you're a savant and I'm cleaning your toilet at almost 30. I'm done. So I expanded my cleaning business and then two years later, my brother stood in line at a cupcake shop and he's like, you should open a cupcake shop in Nashville. And he was in New York City. And that's when cupcakes weren't popular and all. 2008. Yeah. And so I thought, why not? You know, I've already failed at one thing. I might as well just. I love to bake, but I've never been a cupcake baker. I just so I put all the family recipes together and I went to four banks and they laughed in my face. And so I ended up taking a $100,000 cash advances on my credit cards, and I went for it. Wow. And with with $33. After I built the first store out in Nashville, Tennessee, I had $33 left in my name, opened my doors, and in five years, that one store, one dream, that's all I wanted. And one store turned into 125 stores in 24 states. Wow. That's amazing. $33. It has been an interesting journey. That is crazy, I bet. Wow. So yeah, I mean, to start off with a dream and a passion to be in the music industry and then pivot into cupcakes. Wow. So talk to us a little bit about, you know, cupcakes. You know, how does food bring people together? Because, I mean, I think it's something we can all share in and enjoy together. And some of our best memories are over. Cupcakes at. A table. Yeah, exactly. And my next book, it's about love, food and devotion, and it's all about Jesus was the king of hospitality. He brought people together, then he fed them. Then they were more open up to know about his word. So that was my whole concept of my. My new book is about love, food and devotion. And then I just wanted people to know that hospitality and food and home and so many people don't cook anymore, have that right. They're business people and they're out and they're doing their thing. So bringing back the concept of being a homemaker and home and being a CEO and being a business person, but you can also have that thing that our grandparents had and have that home baked feeling. So that's what the that's where the cupcakes came from. And because food takes people back. And I remember one time and I knew I had something special when a guy about 30 something came into my first store and I had just opened and he smelled. And he's like, this reminds me of my grandma's house. And I thought. Yeah. I got something that's amazing. And so I knew, if something takes you back, which food and smell does. Yes, I had something special. Love that. Yeah. And you know, the thing that we love at covenant is, is really strengthening families, you know, and we know that pornography obviously is impacting families like crazy. But one of the things that when we're doing parent presentations we always talk about is the importance of sitting down for family meals. And I think, I think this is right in your alley, but completely. Yeah, I mean, there's so much value in just putting the technology aside and sitting down and sharing a meal and the memories and the smells and the experiences and the laughter and even sometimes the arguments. I mean, all of those things are part of the experience, right? Yeah. The family unit and I'm Italian, half Italian. And so we were raised

00, wherever you're at, you come to the table and I think now all of the traveling sports and I'm going to say this, people are probably going to be upset, but all they're running here, they're running, they're running here, they're ready. No one sits down and shares a meal together anymore. And they're grabbing something on the go and they're doing something. Where is the family unit? It's it's broken because of our busyness and because, oh, I got to get my kid to the fourth traveling baseball team. Really? Is he going to be a pro ballplayer? Is she really going to be like, what's important, them playing ball, which I'm not saying that sports aren't important to her. I'm not saying that it's the. The it's the. Balance. And where is your family unit at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m.? They're not there. Someone's on their computer, someone's playing a Game Boy, someone's doing their someone's running to the track or the field and we've lost that family unit and bringing people home again and food and making it popular again. And that's what the new book is about, like hospitality, bringing people together, feeding their basic need and then talking about Jesus. Yeah. That's amazing. Well, you I mean, do you talk a lot about balance? With a busy business that you have, how do you manage or balance that faith in the business and family life and all of those things? That is a great question. I didn't I balances my key to where I have to be, and I'm a single mom, I have a 13 year old and I've always wanted to be a stay at home mom. But being the sole provider, I've had to be creative. So for the first five years of her life, she was our home, was maybe in a bus or on a plane or in a hotel room or in the back of a kitchen. But we were home. So the balance for me is I've got to keep her balanced. I need to keep good food in front of her. I need to keep her off her phone as much as I can. And I mean, and she I'm the most horrible mom in the world because I only limit to her to an hour a day. How do you know it? Oh. You're horrible. No other moms do that. Well, I'm a planner. I'm a counter culture mom. So, yeah, you're right, I don't. So it's the balance is just keeping her and keeping my my peace. And I write a lot. I write, I'll write down my goals. I think that's very important. I balance my food and exercise and I try not to get overloaded. I'm sure you all are very high energy. And you've got go, go, go, but you have to take a breath and feed yourself, feed your body, feed your soul with God's Word. Get rest. And it's all about. Let me just write down my goals for the day. What do I need to accomplish? Let me check it off. Oh yeah, I've got a workout. I've got to go workout or yep, I didn't drink my glasses of water. So if I see it on paper, that's usually gives me more of a balance. Yeah, I think that's so good. And I think for all of us, finding that balance is really key. I mean, and everybody's balance will look a little different. But you have to find that because it's so important. Well how do people get connected. You've got a book. Let's see here the secret ingredient. Yes, yes. And then you've got a new book coming out as well. How did they get connected with you and your your books? Well, GigiButler.com is the best way to get ahold of me or all. My Instagram is OfficialGigiButler and Facebook and all of that. And the new book is about love, food, and devotion. I haven't picked I haven't picked a perfect name for it yet, but there's been so much interest that we are going to do a TV show about it. Oh, that's amazing. And have that space. Have you a hot mess of Rachael Ray and, you know, Paula Deen and Martha Stewart and Kelly Clarkson, but in a faith space? No, actually, I'm really excited about it. Yes. And the book's gotten so much excitement that it's going to be a TV show in the next class. That's amazing. Yeah, I'm looking. At one last question for you. Do you still sing? I do, I sing in my church and I sing for my daughter. And now I used to sing all the time for my daughter. But of course, I, you know, mom, you're embarrassing me. But I still sing at my church. I do, I help with the worship leading at church, and and I don't sing at bars anymore. That's really not my thing. Yeah, but it was a great experience. That's awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you very much. You know, authoring these great books and really just teaching people about the balance and the love and joy of food and how we can use that to really strengthen our families. So thank you. Thank you for joining you. All right. To all of our listeners out there, thanks for tuning in to this episode of The Covenant Eyes Podcast. We'll see you next time. God bless. Take care.