Today we’d like to introduce you to Melvin Nelson.
Melvin, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was raised in a Bakery from an early age. My grandmother is from Mississippi, and she loved baking and cooking, I was always in her kitchen watching her. When she opened up her own bakery in Port Arthur, Texas. I had to learn to allot. It was technically my first job since I was in the 5th grade. It wasn’t until I got older and moved to Pearland. After college, I took it seriously for myself. I would always bake for my friends, and they always pushed me to sell the things that I made them try. I was never really interested in selling the things I baked. But my friends started posting on social media, and it took a life of its own.
Has it been a smooth road?
The first year I learned a lot. I started promoting for the Thanksgiving season 2018. And it has been nonstop ever since. The biggest issue was getting the supplies I needed. I had to shift my thinking from being an everyday baker to running and actual business. I also had to add a delivery team to the process. I feel, when most entrepreneurs first start out, we try to do it all by ourselves and not trust the village around us. You would be surprised the people you least think would have your back will be your guardian angel. Learn to trust to grow.
Tell us more about the business.
The foundation of Lil Melvin’s Bakehouse is to create baked goods that give you that grandma feels that you can’t find in stores. Before I launched, I had so much self-doubt about who would buy a pound cake. It is not fancy doesn’t have any elaborate designs; it is just a cake that comes in many different flavors with a light glaze on the top. But I soon realized that it is what’s missing in the market. When I bake, I put all of my love and passion for my products. When baking from scratch, you have to have all of your focus and concentration on what you’re doing. It is relaxing, and you disconnect from the world. I used all fresh products and start with just pure butter and sugar and build from there. At the moment, my top seller is my Tea Cakes. I have even started shipping them by mail all over the USA. My grandmother always told me, how you feel is how the cake feels. If you are in a bad mood, the cake is going to come out bad. If you’re tired, the cake is going to come out flat. So when approaching baking, I make sure I am at peace and ready for the task.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Baking in general has seen a mini boom with many creatives doing allot of things. I hope that more people get in the true art form of scratch baking—the possibilities or limitless on what you can do in this world. And everybody can get into it and be creative before this old art form of baking from scratch is no-more.
Pricing:
- Tea Cakes are $15 per dozen Shipping cost start at $10
- Pound Cakes start at $30 and up depending on flavor
Contact Info:
- Phone: 409-527-0928
- Email: mljn86@yahoo.com
- Instagram: Lilbakehouse
- Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/janetsman86
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