Today we’d like to introduce you to Veronica Gonzalez.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Back in 2011, my daughter, who was 12 at that time, wanted to take a cake decorating class. But since she was a minor, I accompanied her to the class. I learned a few basic things such as how to frost a cake and shape fondant flowers.
Afterwards, I proceeded to make cakes for fun for my family. This soon took off once family and friends started asking if I could make cakes for them. So my daughter and I began our baking and decorating journey. I’ll admit, in the beginning, it was challenging. We would slave over one cake for hours, but with time, our skills improved. 7 years later, that same cake that took hours to complete and all our energy, can now be done in just one hour easily.
Looking back, it’s amazing I was able to take my hobby and turn it into a career.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For the most part, it has been smooth but in the beginning, I would take on more orders than I could handle. That led to sleepless nights and neglecting my family on the weekends.
More often than not, cakes would consume my kitchen and it prohibited my family from utilizing the space. Usually, cake orders come in steadily but while I was getting my name out there, the orders were not as plentiful as they are now.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My cake baking and decorating business consists of my daughters, 19 and 14, and I. My younger daughter loves to measure ingredients and help me bake while my older daughter does sculpting and fondant decorating as well as selling cake and cupcake toppers on Etsy. I specialize in custom fondant cakes and cupcakes.
I am most proud of what I’ve been able to build simply by word-of-mouth and recommendations from loyal customers. I believe what sets my business apart from others is my personal connection to my customers. Some of my customers have been with me from the very beginning.
I’ve been able to follow them through the years, making cakes for gender reveals and baby showers and every year after that. It gives me such a warm feeling to know that I get to play a part in their special celebrations and milestones.
What were you like growing up?
When I was younger, I was a detail-oriented perfectionist. I liked to spend my time reading and listening to music.
Back then I was not very interested in cooking nor baking whatsoever. I did not consider myself to be very artistic or crafty, so it’s very ironic that this is now what I do daily.
I was also a very studious person, I got my bachelors in business which has now aided me in creating my own business.
Contact Info:
- Website: thecakeshoppe21.com
- Phone: 8324456457
- Email: thecakeshoppe21@hotmail.com
- Instagram: @thecakeshoppe
- Facebook: facebook.com/thecakeshoppe21
- Other: etsy.com/shop/TheCakeShoppe21
Image Credit:
Vanessa and Alessandra Gonzalez
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