Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenda.
Brenda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I quit my job as a cook in 2023 to stay home with my new born. My husband had just started a new job and was working long, unpredictable hours. A couple of months went by and I started to feel less and less like myself. The routine and being alone most of the time was getting to me. Thankfully I was able to recognize that and I decided to start doing more things for myself, even if it meant sacrificing a little sleep time here and there. I started doing all the things I loved again. I started cooking and baking again. Ever since I was a young girl, I always loved making good flavorful food and cakes, just like my mother, who has been a baker her whole life. I started researching how to alter and make my own recipes. Soon, I started practicing and altering my mother’s recipes. I wanted to make and try so many flavors and recipes. I loved it. One day as I was scrolling TikTok, I came across a video of a small cake business owner from Hawaii. She was setting up her tent at a farmers market, and in that moment I felt inspired to start my own business as well.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m a bit of an introvert so I struggle each and every day to talk about and promote my business, in person and on social media. When I started my social media business page, I struggled to promote it and I had no followers, likes, or comments for the first couple months. I was discouraged and would beat myself up about it until I remembered the same video of the small cake business owner from Hawaii. She stated that no matter how little engagement you have, you should always keep posting because you never know who might stumble across your page and that could be a major turning point for you. Therefore, I pushed myself to cold call my neighbors and other small office businesses. As a result of this I gained my first couple customers that weren’t a friend or family. I still struggle with consistent posting on my social media page but I try very hard to be kind to myself, as I am a mother and homemaker as well. I tell myself it’s all a learning process and I will reach my goals in due course.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a cottage baker. I specialize in custom cakes and Mexican treats. I am known for my homemade natural flavored treats and cakes. For example, instead of using store bought emulsions and extracts I prefer to use dried fruit powders or make my own extracts and jams.
I am proud of myself for starting a business with little to no knowledge of how to run a business. I didn’t know wether it would do good or not but to this day I am still working tirelessly to reach my goal of having and growing a successful business.
In addition, I am proud to say that by starting my journey, I influenced my sisters to pursue their passions and start their own businesses as well.
What sets me apart from others would be my creativity and my ability to fuse many ideas together to create a cohesive cake design for my customers. I also work with people of different budgets. I give different options and similar design ideas to find some common ground without completely changing what a customer wants while staying within their budget.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I believe in making my own luck. I’m a firm believer in putting good out into the world and eventually it’ll come back around to you. However I do feel very fortunate to have been able to have the resources and support to start my own business.
Pricing:
- Cake prices vary according to size and design
- $30 – dozen treats
- Cake bar – $350 for 30 guests/ 2 hr service. Includes topping bar and bento cake with party theme
Contact Info:
