Today we’d like to introduce you to Suerence Marcelle.
Hi Suerence, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started baking as a hobby back in 2018. I’m from Trinidad and Tobago so I started with Caribbean delicacies like black cake, cassava pone and currant rolls. I first started out by giving them away to Caribbean family and friends to have them try and to make sure I had the flavors right. They ended up falling in love with it and soon enough I started selling them as well as candy apples and chocolate treats. Baking wasn’t supposed to turn into a business, it was just something to get my mind off of a breakup, but God definitely had other plans for me. I met my Chef, Justin Robinson, later that year at a private dinner we had for my brother’s graduation dinner. My sister-in-law showed him some of my baked items and a month later I got a call from him to do desserts for a 50-person seated dinner. I was nervous and never did anything of that magnitude, but with the help of a couple of friends, I got through it. Fast forward a year later I started making birthday and wedding cakes as well as French and Italian pastries. We’re now on Doordash and Ubereats.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have the help of what I call my village if I have a handful of orders that I can’t do on my own, but the struggle has been marketing and advertising especially as a small business. You don’t have that extra money to throw into advertising your company the way you want to because most of your profits go back into restocking supplies and getting appliances that I need for my business. Word of mouth is what keeps my business going and of course social media.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have a balanced work life. Like most people who start a company, I have a full-time job and I work in my business full-time as well. I’m a GIS Technician by day and a pastry chef at night and on the weekends. It doesn’t tire me, but I know it won’t be like this forever. I actually enjoy it. I have immigrant parents so I’ve seen my dad hold down 3 part-time jobs while my mother was starting her in-home daycare. My dad ended up retiring as a manager from a county position and my mother is a full-time daycare owner and manager. That’s where I get my hustle from. I’m most proud of where and who I come from. I don’t think I would have the endurance to work in my business as much as I do if I hadn’t had the examples from my parents, that if you really want something and you see your life a certain way, that you work hard for it and enjoy the process. I would say that’s what sets me apart from most. I don’t complain. Some people forget that what you go through during the process is what is molding you into who you need to be to get to that end result you’ve been dreaming of. I’m enjoying my life right now and the process.
Any big plans?
I have big things planned for the expansion of my business. As of right now, I’m in the process of building my own commercial kitchen. Atlanta has a shortage of commercial kitchens for pop-up restaurants and the waiting list is like 6 months to a year for most, not to mention the cost of renting out a space. I’m blessed to be building my own for personal use. With a commercial kitchen, I can take on not just more orders, but also larger orders. Last year I booked a job to plate 300 desserts and my current kitchen just isn’t large enough, but I got the job done. I’m looking forward to serving more people and bringing a taste of home (Trinidad and Tobago) a bit closer to home. My specialty is desserts and I get a joy out of serving it to people and seeing their reactions.
Pricing:
- Gourmet Cupcakes $3.00-$3.50
- Gourmet Cookies $3.00-$3.50
- Birthday cakes $75.00+
- Wedding Cakes $300+
- French and Italian Desserts $3.00+
Contact Info:
- Website: www.littlelightbakery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thislittlelightbakery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thislittlelightbakery
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thislittlelightbakery
Image Credits
https://www.instagram.com/orpheeokito/
