Today we’d like to introduce you to Daneisha Simon.
Daneisha, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started my bakery back in 2015 when I was going through a financial rough patch. During 2014, I worked at least five different jobs and couldn’t stay consistent with ANYTHING. Towards the end of the year, I had someone ask me something I had never thought of before- “If we put all the jobs you worked this year on your resume, what would this say about you?” I immediately answered with “I can’t work for anyone else.” It seemed like no matter what job I got, no matter how much I liked it, once I found something about it I didn’t like my attitude would shift and I would detach from the position, which then started the job hunt all over again for something else I was interested in. I’ve had a knack for baking since I was about ten but hadn’t really considered turning my hobby into a money maker until this point.
So I talked to my husband and my aunt (which are my go-to people whenever I need to brainstorm) and asked them what they thought about it. Of course, they told me to follow my dreams and that’s exactly what I did. Pastry Addict wasn’t even my original business name, which a lot of people don’t know. I started out as Dani’s Sweets, which I decided on from using the nickname my mom gave me as a kid. My mom died when I was 13 and I always love to include some part of her in everything I do, but after only a month I grew out of the name. I had to call my aunt again to brainstorm on a new name and she is actually the one that gave me Pastry Addict. She initially followed it up with “sugar, spice, and everything nice” but between me not caring for that line too much and assuming there HAD to be some sort of copyright infringement with Powerpuff Girls (lol) I left that part out. So now here’s January 2015, new business, new business name, and a ton of practice orders!
When I first started out, I made a lot of stuff just for picture purposes because with food it’s easy to tell someone what you can do but it speaks volumes when you’re able to show them what you can do. Majority of my initial experience comes from YouTube University, and once I got comfortable in my craft, I began to take online classes every now and again with a few of my peers. I’ve had great orders, I’ve had terrible ones, but through it all, I’ve learned to appreciate the person I am now and the person I’m growing to be. There have been more than a few times where I’ve wanted to throw in the towel and call it quits the minute I have an order that I’m not completely satisfied with, mainly because I thrive to give all my clients that WOW factor that an awesome custom dessert brings to events. The bad orders have made me appreciate the good orders though, and have shown me what I need to work on and learn to perfect. Four years, two kids and a ton of followers later I’m only beginning to be the best me I can be for myself and my business!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My path to success hasn’t been smooth at all and I don’t believe anyone that’s been truly successful has a smooth path. One of my biggest struggles when starting out was time management and lack of experience. Of course, I know and fully understand this now, but one thing you should NEVER do is practice on someone’s orders, and this is one thing I did pretty often when I first started out. I was so hungry to get better at what I did and show the world that I could be this amazing cake decorator, but I wasn’t ready for the influx of orders I received. I simply didn’t have the experience I needed to complete some of the orders I received early on. Pair this with mismanaging my time, not fully understanding how long things really took to complete, and it made for a recipe of disaster. I had to give quite a few refunds early on because of this and I am nowhere near proud to say so, but I will say that my worst times have definitely helped me become the bomb ass baker I am today. It really smacked me in the face and helped me to understand what I needed to focus on and perfect in order to grow and keep consistent business.
Pastry Addict – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Pastry Addict creates custom desserts for any event, no matter how large or small. We’ll turn your pastry dreams into a reality! We specialize in creating custom cakes that will provide that WOW factor your event always needs. I am most proud of the various cake designs we’ve designed for our clients throughout the years. We’re different from other bakeries because I go above and beyond to make sure my clients are well taken care of. I’ve provided free desserts for a mom in need that simply wants to put a smile on her kid’s face, I’ve driven an hour out my way to deliver to a client that couldn’t make it to me, and lots of other acts I believe sets us apart from other bakeries. For some of my clients, there are at least 20 bakeries between me and them but the simple fact that they will drive completely out of their way to indulge in one of my desserts speaks volumes to the customer service and experience I provide all of my clients.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
In my opinion, success is something that’s attained when you are happy with yourself. Everyone doesn’t thrive to be a millionaire, everyone isn’t satisfied with just money; people have different areas of happiness. I don’t think you can truly be successful if you’re not happy with yourself. Even if the world sees you as a success story if you don’t believe it then what everyone else thinks is out the window. I’m not a millionaire, I don’t even make six figures a year, but I would definitely consider myself successful simply because I was able to prove to myself that I can achieve the goals I’ve set forth in front of me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pastryaddict.com
- Phone: 404-500-9760
- Email: dsimon@pastryaddict.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/pastryaddictco
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pastryaddictco
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/pastryaddictco
- Other: www.pinterest.com/pastryaddictco
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