TOPEKA TREAT COMPANY | A Boutique Dog Bakery
By INDIA YARBOROUGH | Photos by JOHN BURNS
Jaime Davis’ journey to entrepreneurship began about two years ago, when she and her family decided to welcome a three-legged furry friend into their home.
They had adopted a boxer rescue from a shelter in Kansas City. The dog, Roscoe, was missing a leg, but his “sweet and silly” personality was fully intact.
“He instantly just meshed with our family,” Davis said. “It was like he was meant to be there. We just love him so much.”
Each time a celebratory occasion rolled around, including Roscoe’s “gotcha day” — the day Davis and her family brought him home — they would look for special dog treats and goodies to give.
“We wanted to celebrate him as a member of our family,” Davis said. “And I could not find any place in Topeka where I could get a little cupcake for him, or even a cookie. It was really difficult to find anything. Friends of mine are dog lovers, too, and they have complained about the same thing.”
That’s when inspiration struck. What if Davis started her own pet-friendly bakery?
“We could make treats for all the dogs in Topeka,” she said.
Fast forward a couple years, and you’ll find Davis making that dream a reality through her new business Topeka Treat Company, a boutique dog bakery creating fresh-baked, wholesome pet treats for the Topeka area. They even bake custom cakes and cookies upon request. Davis is currently in the process of securing a storefront.
She is one of 10 business owners who graduated from the inaugural cohort of Topeka’s new Emerge Community Business Academy. After 12 tough weeks of business planning and learning, the graduates attended an evening ceremony at The Foundry Event Center, and they’re now stepping out to put their nine businesses to the test.
Davis first heard about Emerge when she was attending a different class one evening at Omni that was being facilitated by the Washburn Small Business Development Center.
“Michael popped in and mentioned this new cohort that they were starting, and it really kind of spoke to me because they were going to really get in depth and give you all the tools you needed to be successful,” Davis said. “Not having done anything like this before on my own, I decided I needed as much support as I could get.”
The timeline and expectations were daunting at first, but Davis took them in stride, learning the importance of business components she hadn’t even considered.
“You think about what it’s going to cost as far as your supplies or inventory or your lease for a storefront,” Davis said. “But you don’t think about some of the other things like you need to have a good attorney on your side, you need to have a good accountant.”
Much of the class, she noted, focused on finances. Davis now has a much better picture of the reality of owning a business, and as she gained knowledge along the way, she became more confident in what she had to offer. In fact, that growing confidence led Davis to participate in the 2023 Equity & Opportunity Pitch Competition put on by GO Topeka.
She took home fourth place in that contest, one she wouldn’t have even entered without Emerge. It was another win in her eyes.
“That was really amazing to me,” Davis said. “Everyone else — the first, second and third place winners — already had established businesses. So, for me to place anywhere, not having really begun yet, that really spoke to me.”
At graduation, Davis learned that she had won a competition among her classmates for best executive summary, a one-page overview of her entire business plan. Davis is confident she wouldn’t be at this point in her journey without Emerge — and she’s not alone in that sentiment.
“It was the best thing I could have ever done,” she said.
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