Name: Erin McKenna
Age: 34
Location: New York, NY
Why we care: When most people get allergies, they sniffle and run for the Zyrtec. When Erin McKenna discovered her wheat and dairy allergies, she started an empire. Now McKenna's bakery, BabyCakes, is nirvana for the vegan and the allergic alike. Her dairy- and wheat-free cakes and cookies — delicious by even an omnivore's standards — have earned raves from Natalie Portman (aka Hollywood's most famous vegan) and other stars, perhaps one reason McKenna recently opened a BabyCakes outpost in Los Angeles.

I understand you come from a very large family. You're the tenth of 12 children?

Growing up the tenth of 12 meant a ton of hand-me-downs, sharing a room with three other siblings and huge grocery shopping trips. We were pretty poor, but I never knew it.

When did you realize you didn't have a lot?

Not until I was allowed to spend the night at my friends' houses. We didn't have the extras like junk food and video games, Mr. Microphones, or the latest toys. We didn't have our own rooms or our own clothes. At my house, everything was shared. I started to piece it together when I was a tween: "It's not that my friend Maggie is rich because she has her own closet, it's that we are sort of poor!" But I really didn't mind. I thought my friends were spoiled brats!

Did the entire family go on those huge grocery trips?

Grocery shopping trips were always really cool. It was the one time I'd get one-on-one time with my mom. We'd go at 5 a.m. on Saturdays, and I'd cruise down the aisles with her. She'd give me the coupons so I could help, and we'd end up with three full shopping carts to get us through the week.

What did your folks do for a living?

My parents opened one of the first insurance agencies in Chula Vista right across the street from the DMV in 1960. I saw them juggle cash flow and watched them make ends meet by balancing spending when we needed to.

Did they teach you anything about money that helped you get BabyCakes started?

One thing that I learned was to never fear money. No matter what we needed, they always found a way to make things work financially. Now I make fearless choices when it comes to growing my business because I know that even though the accounts might go down, it always builds back up. You just have to be conservative with spending for a period of time.

Are any of your siblings particularly good (or bad) with money?

All my siblings are fierce business people. None of us are afraid of being poor because it was all we ever knew. You can only build up from there. My brother Frank is a good example: he founded Base Point Analytics a few years ago, and now he has the most exclusive list of clients in the country. It's pretty outstanding.

Around 2003, you were diagnosed with a handful of allergies. Did you have to spend more to change your diet?

Eating for a special diet is so expensive. The companies making the flour and other products are so small, they don't have the buying power that other huge companies have.

When you were starting BabyCakes, a $120,000 loan that you needed to open your business fell through. Your mom dipped into her savings to help you. How else did you get the money you needed to open?

Good old-fashioned meetings with people I knew who had money and were fans of my baking and idea. I sat down with them, showed them my business plan and just talked in great detail about my vision for the business.

You work with ingredients that can be expensive, and people are often willing to pay more for specialty food, but you sell cupcakes for $3.25, compared to, say, $2.75 at a regular bakery. That's not that much more.

I kept prices low because I knew that there would be sticker shock when people came in, and I really want to make things as affordable as possible. It also helps keep us competitive.

Before BabyCakes, what did you imagine you'd be doing as a career?

I thought I'd be in costuming and styling. It was something I really had a knack for. Once I was in it, I realized that I missed waiting tables and that I really liked the hospitality industry.

Who misses waiting tables? The hospitality industry is notoriously exhausting and thankless.

I didn't mind working every day with horrendous hours because I absolutely loved being at the bakery. Now that I have a lot of support it's not so bad — I'm able to take two days off and actually go on vacation! In my free time I just walk aimlessly around New York and pop into shops and buy an occasional pair of shoes or blouse.

Do you put most of your money into savings, or back into your business?

I pour any extra money back into the business, but I have learned that I need to take my earnings in order to have a life for myself. I don't have a budget for shopping or dinning out, but I make a point to keep both to a minimum so I can continue to grow the bakery.

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