Baking A Brand, Sift by Sift: A Soloprenuer Journey Towards Success

In the sizzling summer of 2016, driven by a passion for baking and the need to navigate soaring costs in the Bay Area, I birthed a baking business that's all about savoring the essence of homemade goodness. Not merely content with crafting cakes, I've meticulously woven a brand identity that's earned accolades, including two prestigious bronze awards for branding and logo design in the 2019 Indigo Design Awards, courtesy of my exceptional graphic designer.

My Journey

Baking has always been in my blood. I learned to bake from my two grandmothers and my father. Both my dad and his mom have had side baking ventures before I was even thought of and the taste of success was passed onto me.

Additionally, because my family comes from crop-sharing backgrounds, we’re accustomed to making a way out of no way and cakes out of mud in order to thrive, share love and community. And it’s that spirit that drove me to launch my own baking business. Without a financial cushion for personal expenses, let alone a food business, I was able to able to grow and sell my goods through relationships with food incubator programs, and local community groups.

My presence at pop-up shops has become labor of love and cornerstone of community pride. I’ve served the people at San Jose State University’s homecoming, UC Berkeley welcome initiatives, and have collaborated with other creatives to infuse my baked creations with the pulse of Bay Area culture. A crowning moment was my debut at Oakland's black restaurant week, celebrating my East Oakland roots with flavor, heart and soul.

My Essence

I stand tall (in spirit because I’m only 5’2) as a growing small-batch, black-owned gluten-free baking enterprise. Each confection I create is a celebration of the culture, history, heritage and the heartwarming joy of homemade goodness. My commitment extends beyond baking; it's about curating experiences, fostering connections, and weaving moments of happiness through every delicious offerings.

Where I’m Baking Now:

In my kitchen and for family friends on both coasts.

In 2022, I took a sabbatical from the “business” side due to the rising cost of inflation. I’m currently recovering from that by I’m focuszing on healing and developing operations that allow me to scale the way I want to. But keep hope alive that I’ll be serving something sweet directly to your door step, one day in the future.

Lessons in Content Marketing from Beyonce

August has ushered in a new month of blessings and opportunities, as well a reminder that we’re on our fifth month of shelter-in-place/quarantine/lockdown or whatever you want to call it with no end in sight. Thankfully, Queen Bey came to save 2020 with a new film tilted “Black Is King,” a visual album for the Lion King soundtrack that she released in 2019.

The visual album is an hour and twenty five minutes of art, music, fashion and amazement that I’m still finding all of the words to express how in awe I am. What pops out to me the most, is the fact that this movie was released an entire year after the Lion King film and audio version debuted. Meaning Beyonce took her time to craft a body of work to accompany this album, long after we’ve been playing it on our speakers. This level of creativity has put a pep in my content marketing step.

The content marketing institute describes content marketing as “a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” Given that Beyonce is famous for selling out tours and merchandise in minutes, Mrs. Carter could teach us a few things that about content marketing if you’re paying attention.

1. Set Trends, Don’t Follow Them

   There’s plenty of data and opinions that contradict each other when it comes to marketing. Keeping up with trends and what competitors are doing serves a purpose, but never be afraid to tap into your own insight to do what feels right for you. The audience who genuinely love your product or service will follow.

   I’m old enough to remember anticipating for album to be released on a Tuesday because the artist had been promoting it for months and that was the standard in the music industry. But in 2013, Beyonce literally stopped the world when she released her self-titled album at midnight on a Friday. According to Teen Vogue, “the album, its rollout, and the accompanying visuals raised the bar for what we consumers expect, and showed that taking risks when you know your fan base can pay off in a huge way…Beyoncé was also a prelude to the artist we know now: an artist who understands the importance and impact someone of her status can have when she uses her platform to shift culture.”

   Almost seven years have passed and nothing about music releases has been the same.

2. Great Content Takes Time
   Just because you can pump out an article or social media content in a few hours doesn’t mean that you should. Why rush to produce something and miss out on the opportunity to refine the content to speak to your audience and truly inspire them to do the thing you want them to do?
   

   Beyonce reportedly rehearsed for months, sometimes over 11 hours a day, for her 2018 Coachella performance. A two-hour show full of songs she’s performed a million times, yet she still goes the extra mile to make something good great.
   

3. Collaboration Unleashes Creativity

   Since last Friday, with every scroll on social media I see a dancer, hairstylist, fashion designer or another creative that had the opportunity to work with Bey to bring this masterpiece to life. This makes me reminisce on agency internship days, working on a team with graphic designers, videographers and other creative thinkers to execute a campaign.
   

   I’ve had moments in my career while I’ve had to be the Jill of all trades due to being short on time or resources, but my greatest work is the result of planning and working across teams. And if Beyonce recognizes the value in collaborating with others to bring a vision to life, more of us should lean into this process.

4. Repurpose

   Good content managers know that great content is content that can be repurposed and have just as much impact. That blog post you wrote 7 months ago, that video you made in 2017 that only 23 people watched? Remix it or simply share it again to remind your audience of your value. The Coachella performance that Bey rehearsed for 8 months for was remade into a Netflix documentary AND a live album.

   I’ll be taking these gems into my work week to slay each day.