Daily Inspiration: Meet Chelsea Guevara

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Guevara.

Hi Chelsea, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
If I took you back to just 5 years ago, you wouldn’t recognize the person you see today. I was coming through the tail end of years of legal trouble, alcohol & drug abuse, court, and just dealing with a lot of self inflicted life consequences. I was struggling to hold a job with my record, young daughter, and inability to drive. In the midst of one of the toughest times of my life, I found my soul’s calling, the art of cookie decorating!

I visited my aunt for thanksgiving, and she was making them for our family, and asked if I could help finish them because she thought I would get the hang of it fast enough to help! Her guidance and reaction to my natural talent really propelled my interest from that point on. I came home with such a drive to learn and practice.. So thats exactly what I did. I just wanted to be better. I spent the first year perfecting the cookie recipe, icing consistency and just practicing designs here and there. When I was proud of something I did, I posted on Facebook just to share with friends and family. It wasn’t long before I was taking orders, and selling my cookies for the first time. At last, I had found a way to help support my family despite my background.

The second year in January 2020, right before the pandemic began, I opened my Etsy shop and LLC for my cookie business. This is when things got REAL. I started regularly baking and selling cookies both locally and online.

Only 3 short months later the pandemic propelled my Mini DIY Cookie Decorating Kits sales and I became a top Etsy seller overnight and I had more work than I could handle with my own two hands. I didn’t know what to do with myself or how to manage anything I was handed! BUT I just did it! I dug through my first official year as a business owner with all the scars to show for it. I learned lots of lessons this year and grew enormously as a woman and entrepreneur. I learned pros and cons about myself and my business habits and set high goals for myself the following year which I claimed to be MY YEAR.

The 3rd year 2021. Is the year that I would be set free, 6 years of being out of addiction, and a BUSINESS OWNER. All my legal trouble would be coming to a close, my charges expunged off my record! I would finally be free from the web of the legal system, and all my hard work would finally pay off. I made the changes I needed to, to live a healthy and positive lifestyle. I was determined on a daily basis to push myself to learn, and work as hard as I could everyday. To be the best I could be for my family and my. business and grow it in every way possible. I worked my ass off, all day and all night.

From that, my business has continued to be propelled in an upward motion.

I am now in business with multiple corporations that I supply cookie kits in bulk for on a regular basis. I do custom orders for people’s special events all over the country, and Mini-Me Confections reach is now international. My cookies and kits have touched people’s hearts and put smiles on their faces all over the world. And for that, I am so thankful, and sometimes still sit in disbelief. I couldn’t have imagined I could grow and be where I am today, but here I am. I can’t wait to see where my business goes go from here.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I wouldn’t even know what a smooth road looks like! Opening my own business had more obstacles than I could’ve imagined. I think that was the problem, it all happened so fast I did not have time to prepare for really anything. Everything just fell in my lap and I dealt with every obstacle or learning opportunity as it came to me. Sometimes the outcome was positive and sometimes it was negative, but in the end, I learned and figured out a way to make it better for the next time. I am self taught and everything that I have learned was either from personal research, asking questions, reading business books and forums, going to other business owners for advice. But, if I could do it again I would definitely choose to gain at least some basic business knowledge before starting!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Mini-Me Confections is known for providing the most delicious royal icing sugar cookies and custom DIY cookie kits. I can create works of art of almost anything you could imagine, your most nostalgic tv show, favorite pop star, childhood character, your favorite sports team, or a company logo, 3D cookies, and even a gender reveal cookie that pops open with edible confetti and glitter sprinkles to share with all your friends and family! The possibilities are truly endless with my craft and its what I love most about it. turning a sugar cookie, into a piece of art is an incredible ability.

My cookie decorating kits are my top seller, I mostly provide mini cookie kits, which are a rarity. Individual favors for all your friends and family at your next event, birthday party activity, just a small cute reminder to those you love to smile, and they have really become popular in the corporate world and used as a team building activity.

My kits are 100% customizable, you get to pick from hundreds of shapes I have available as well as all your icing colors, and I custom mix all my sprinkles so that it is perfectly matched to your colors and theme. You also receive an instruction card and cookie care card. Did I mention, everything is made from scratch and freshly baked for each customer, the softest and most delicious sugar cookies right to your front door!

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Networking for me, has been mostly utilizing social media and marketing from there… as well as reaching out locally to other small business owners to help grow my reach and network. Organically growing my business was important to me. I really wanted to feel like I had done all of the hard work myself, every step of the way. But I have encountered a lot of individuals who have shared their knowledge with me along the way and I will forever be grateful to them. I would go to craft fairs and shows that were held locally to help expand my base here, go to local businesses and just bring free cookies to hand out and spread the word. Asking other business owners to share my post, refer me to any customers they have who may be interested.

A lot of the time I would offer some free to try so they could be an honest referral to my brand. And over time I created some of the strongest relationships I have with other business owners and other like-minded women who helped me grow and supported my business up to this point. I hope to be more of a mentor to other young women trying to find themselves out of life’s tough situations or just to other new entrepreneurs that need help growing and learning some avoidable mistakes early on! I hope to spread my knowledge!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/minimeconfectionsCg
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/minimeconfections
• Others: www.etsy.com/shop/minimeconfectionsCG