Gigi’s Cupcakes founder Gina Butler is a true rags to riches story. The entrepreneur, who went from working several jobs — including cleaning a then-teenage Taylor Swift’s home — to launching a multi-million dollar business, once had big dreams of a career in music. She recalls the moment that she realized she wanted more out of her life than waiting tables and mopping floors, and also that her dreams of success in music might not every come to fruition.

“I was singing and writing music, working at Red Lobster and cleaning houses to make ends meet,” Gina recalled to Nashville Scene. “I built up my cleaning company by working for a lot of stars, like Taylor Swift’s family, Lee Ann Womack and Lee Roy Parnell. I remember I was cleaning Taylor’s house one day when I was almost 30 and she was 15.

“She was on the bed practicing her guitar, and she played ‘Teardrops on My Guitar,'” she recounted. “I asked her if she wrote it, and she told me yes. I cried the whole ride home and wondered how I was going to make it in music if someone so young could write a song like that. I decided to quit, and I felt like a loser.”

Gigi may have given up on her musical dreams, but she knew she didn’t want to live paycheck to paycheck any more either, expanding her cleaning business instead.

“I figured if I’m going to have a cleaning business, it’s gonna be the best cleaning business,” Gigi recounted. “I hired five girls to work for me and learned how to manage. I discovered that if you can do the small things very well with integrity, great things will come to you.”

It was Gigi’s brother who suggested she launch a cupcake shop, even though she had never made a cupcake in her life. Still, she was intrigued by the idea, and moved full-speed ahead, in spite of her fears.

“Four banks laughed in my face, so I took out $100,000 in cash advances and had $33 left in my account when I opened my first store.” Gigi shared, adding that  business quickly took off.

“I was killing it,” she said. “We were selling 1,000 to 1,750 cupcakes a day. Even in the middle of the recession when money was scarce, people would come in and treat themselves. I appealed to everyone, and I saw it was replicable.”

Unfortunately, the company that bought Gigi’s Cupcakes, KeyCorp, didn’t have the success — or the integrity — that she had, ultimately filing for bankruptcy.

“It was the hardest four years of my life,” Gina admitted. “I thought I was selling to people who could grow my company like I couldn’t anymore. In 2018 they refused to pay me the rest of the consulting fee they owed me, and then they went into bankruptcy. I saw so much backlash on social media saying I was letting the people down. I was chastised, ridiculed, followed by cameramen. I was the face of the company because I am the creator.”

Still, she remains undeterred, and focused on business, especially her new launch, Pies by Gigi, which just opened in Brentwood, Tennessee, located just outside of Nashville.

“Pies are my true love,” Gina acknowledged. “I always said if I could have just one pie shop where I could offer people comfort and minister to them, I’d be happy. I was listening to the news and everybody was making masks. I can’t sew, but I can cook!”

Pies by Gigi not only offers more than two dozen kinds of pies and bars, including Lemon Chess Pie, Peanut Butter Candy Bar Pie and a Sopapilla Cheesecake Bar, but it also offers savory items, like Chicken Pot Pie, Cheesy Chicken & Bacon Casserole, and more.

“Now that I’ve grieved and suffered, I can appreciate all the things that we’ve done right.,” Gigi said. “I travel the country speaking about fighting fear. If I don’t take my own advice right now, then who am I? Then I’m a fraud. If I say go out there and step on faith and be brave, and God will get your back, and now I don’t do it, then who am I?”

Pies by Gigi is located at 330 Franklin Road, Suite 906D in Brentwood. Find more information at PiesbyGigi.com.