Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherridan Drakeford.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Sherridan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Every year, a few days before the Thanksgiving holiday, I always make my annual sweet potato pies and post my finished product pictures on my social media account. Well, this time, November 2018 was a bit different. I posted a picture of my baked sweet potato pies and received a lot of “likes” and comments about how good they looked and how they could taste the pies through their devices and computer screens.
Then out of nowhere, a friend asked me on the thread if I was selling my pies. I mentioned the comment to my dear sister-friend Karen, whom I was with at the time and she said, “Heck yeah! Yes, you are selling pies!” From there, things began to evolve. I began to test different recipes and tweak things along the way. If my taste testers raved about my sample desserts, then I knew it was worth keeping. I decided to play around with various cakes, pies, and other sweet treats all of 2019. I did not have any intent to go hard with baking because I was still working a full-time job at a law firm in Atlanta. I was up in the air about the direction I really wanted to go in.
My life changed on January 17, 2020, I was terminated from my job and I said to myself “Oh goodness, what is next? What am I going to do now?” I am a single parent and the sole provider of my household. So, you already know what I was dealing with! It was at that point when I decided to revamp my Etsy marketplace platform and open it for business. I decided to focus on my most popular dessert of 2019, the Zesty Lemon Pound Cake and Lemon Pound Cake Bites. I later added a few additional pound cake flavors and some other desserts as well.
Since opening my Etsy store on March 7th, we have generated over 150+ sold items. I am super excited about how this business has grown! I cannot wait to see what the future brings!
Has it been a smooth road?
Great question! There are a lot of things that I am still learning. Cooking and/or baking for strangers is on another level. I am always thinking about how I can improve on something and make things better. I am a self-taught baker, so sometimes I am hard on myself when things do not turn out right. But my baking flops help develop me to become the best that I can be.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Sweet Red’s Bakery – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Sweet Red’s Bakery, LLC is a home-based bakery business that is officially located in Covington, Georgia.
We offer a variety of baked goods and sweet treats ranging from freshly home-made baked cookies, cake jars, pound-cakes, decorative cakes, pies, cupcakes, and chocolate-dipped strawberries/cookies/pretzels. Our most popular desserts are our yummy Sweet Potato pies, our signature Sweet Red’s Strawberry Shortcake Cake Jars and our delicious Lemon Pound-cakes.
I am most proud of my daughter Kayla for pushing me to take Sweet Red’s Bakery to another level. I never imagined myself going this far with it. I owe everything to God for giving me the vision, the strength, and my children for cheering me on.
I am a strong believer in delivering great quality customer service no matter what industry you are in. You must remember that without a client base, you will not have a business. So Sweet Red’s Bakery stands firm on great customer service and making delicious sweet treats for all to enjoy. Our sweet treats will always make you remember that good old southern hospitality.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Atlanta is a great place for networking and starting a business. There are so many opportunities out there to make things happen! You must apply yourself, get out there and do it! I really cannot say anything bad about the city…other than Atlanta needs to get real NY style pizza! LOL!
Contact Info:
- Phone: 404-482-1936
- Email: sweetredsbakery@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sweetredsbakery
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/sweetredsbakery
- Other: www.etsy.com/shop/sweetredsbakery
Image Credit:
John Nalls Studios
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