Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Mendoza.
Hi Ana, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Baking has always been a passion of mine. When I was eight, my mom bought an easy bake oven for me at a garage sale and I just loved creating small cakes. From then on, throughout middle school and high school, making cakes for my mom’s friends was my “side hustle”. I didn’t get to attend culinary school, because I decided to attend a four-year university instead and received my Bachelor’s degree in Marketing.
Although I received my bachelor’s in marketing I can’t say that it was a passion of mine. I worked in the service industry for years, but once I had my daughter in 2018 I became a stay-at-home mom. While motherhood is one of the most rewarding things in life, it does get a bit lonely. Postpartum can be really hard, staying home with a newborn all day and pretty much having the same routine every single day can get depressing. Not to mention the finance aspect of it, before my daughter I was totally financially independent, and becoming a stay-at-home mom meant I now had to depend on my partner.
I just felt like I was slowly losing myself, but I still had that passion for baking. I slowly started my journey to perfect my French macarons, thanks to Instagram, YouTube, and google. I had a goal, to create a dessert table for my daughter’s first birthday. While it was challenging, I got it done and everyone couldn’t believe everything was made by me. Slowly friends and family started to place some orders. In March of 2020, I finally decided on a name and a logo and launched “Sweet Dough” on Instagram.
Even though the pandemic hit right as I started the business, I was still receiving orders and was able to grow my Instagram following. Slowly but surely I was able to stay afloat and will say that 2021 has been very busy for me.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been an easy road, the biggest struggle I would have to say is to be able to find balance in my life. Now, I pretty much have a full-time business to run while still being a stay-at-home mom.
I have a 3-year-old toddler who requires a lot of attention and still has a household to maintain, while still being able to make time for my partner, friends, and of course, for myself. Mom’s guilt is definitely real, although I have gotten better at making more time for myself.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sweet Dough Creations by Ana. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Sweet Dough Creations by Ana are high-quality custom-made desserts. Everything is made fresh to order just for you. The products that I specialize in are French macarons and custom cakes, they are definitely the crowd’s favorites.
The thing that sets me apart from other bakers is the fact that my desserts aren’t “just pretty” but they are actually very delicious. When I did my research for all of my recipes, I knew that I didn’t want to create desserts that are overly sweet.
It took a lot of trial and error, but I definitely created the best recipes for my customers.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
The person who definitely deserves all of the credit in the world would definitely have to be my mom. Being raised by not only an immigrant single mom was not easy for her, but it definitely was a motivation to strive to be the best that I can be. She instilled in my brothers and I to work hard for what we want in life and no dream is ever too small.
Besides my mom, I would definitely have to thank my partner for always believing in me and my business. I know it’s not easy for him to see me baking all the time and I know it can annoy him at times because I put off “our time” in order to finish some orders but he knows that there’s a great future ahead for him “Sweet Dough”.
Lastly, my friends. I have very few of them, but like I always say “quality over quantity”. My friends are always supporting my business, not just by purchasing my products but by promoting and referring me. One of my best friends Lissette is always promoting me. Everywhere we go she shows everyone my Instagram and encourages them to give me a follow!
Contact Info:
- Email: sweetdough.htx@gmail.com
- Instagram: @sweet_dough.htx
- Facebook: @SweetDoughHtx
