Inspiring Conversations with Shanice Bryan of Sweets by Shanice

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanice Bryan.

Hi Shanice, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hello! First, I just wanted to say thank you for this opportunity. I really appreciate being recognized. It truly is an honor to me and for my small business.

If you would’ve asked me 10 years ago where I saw myself in 10 years, I would’ve never imagined being a baker. Despite the fact that I come from a small town in Alabama where food is basically the epicenter of family gatherings. My grandmother was an amazing cook and baker. She introduced me to baking at a young age and taught me how to make my first cake. I used to always help her make desserts during the holidays whether it was banana pudding, pecan pie or pound cake. She taught me the basics of baking but it wasn’t until she passed away that I realized I had never really baked anything without her being by my side.

However, I had all of her recipes written down in a notepad and one day I decided to make her Classic Buttermilk Pound Cake. We would always have pound cake for every holiday. This was right around Thanksgiving and it was the first cake I made on my own and it turned out perfect!

Once I felt like I had the basics down, I started experimenting with her recipes and making them my own. I would post different cakes that I made on Facebook and people would ask me to make cakes for them. That’s when I decided to create Sweets by Shanice.

I grew from making classic dessert cakes to teaching myself how to decorate and make custom cakes, cupcakes and treats for birthday parties, corporate events and now weddings. It hasn’t been an easy journey but I’m happy with the growth of my small business. I’ve had the pleasure of making cakes and treats for corporate companies such as Chick-fil-A, Target, CNN and others all over Metro Atlanta and we’ve just recently won the WeddingWire Couple’s Choice Award for 2022.

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 wish I could say this was an easy journey but I had my share of obstacles. Most of my obstacles were internal. Before I started Sweets by Shanice, I was a MBA graduate working in corporate marketing. I went to school to get the job that I had and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to give that up. I battled constantly with myself because I didn’t want it to seem like all of my time at school was a waste. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I realized I was much happier making cakes than I was sitting in an office everyday. Once I finally came to terms with the fact that this was what I truly wanted to do, I decided to focus on my business full time and I haven’t looked back!

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Sweets by Shanice, LLC.?
Sweets by Shanice is a Licensed and Insured Cottage Food Bakery established by the Georgia Department of Agriculture. We’re most known for our custom buttercream cake designs and our most popular cake flavor is our Southern Red Velvet. We make custom cakes for birthday, baby showers, corporate events, weddings and more!

Within the past two years our wedding clientele has quadrupled. This shifted our focus to creating a seamless process for our wedding clients in 2022. We’ve switched to offering cake tasting boxes that our clients can enjoy from the comfort of their own homes due to the pandemic. This way our clients feel safe and they can relax with a glass of champagne and enjoy the moment without feeling pressured to answer questions and make decisions during such a special part of the wedding planning process.

Even though we focus more towards custom items these days, we still want our customers to know that we offer those classic dessert cakes and pies during the Holidays that we all love so much!

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
My mentors have always been family members. I have so many family members that I look up to and I can go to them for advice about business or just life goals in general. I don’t think a mentor has to be someone that’s in the same industry that you’re in but just someone that you look up to and you know and trust that they’re not going to lead you in the wrong direction.

Networking is a huge part of starting and maintaining a business. I would suggest any business owner to research networking events in your area and try to reach out to people in your industry to connect with. For instance, I’m a baker/cake decorator that has recently grown a large wedding clientele so my goal would be to reach out to wedding planners, wedding venues and even wedding photographers so that we can connect and build a working relationship that’s beneficial for both parties.

Pricing:

• Cupcakes start at $36/dz
• Custom cakes start at $100

Contact Info:

• Email: order@sweetsbyshanice.com
• Website: www.sweetsbyshanice.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sweetsbyshanicellc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/SweetsByShaniceLLC
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/sweetsbyshanice
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCtgyb5unZVYrPoa9QwM7AJg