Rising Stars: Meet Ronda Billings

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ronda Billings.

Hi Ronda, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started Rday Creations back in 2012 as a side job. At that time, I had lived in Georgia for almost two years and was working for the Atlanta Apartment Association, a job that I loved. I decided to start a business because I studied Business Management at The Ohio University and my entrepreneurial spirit wanted to put the skills I had to work. I had no capital to start a business, so I thought about what I could do with low startup cost. I thought about making cakes. I knew I could afford flour, sugar and butter. A few pans and I was set! I never went to school for baking. I am 100% self-taught, with a huge shout-out to Google & YouTube. I’ve always been crafty and loved art so I had the skill of decoration and creativity on my side. But everything else I had to figure out. I put the word out to some friends and the rest is history!

After seven years of working full-time during the day and then baking & decorating all throughout the night, I finally knew it was time to step out on faith and leave my full-time job. I have now been running Rday Creations full-time for the past 2.5 years, with no regrets!

October 2022 will mark ten years of being in business! And I am pretty proud of that. Being a business owner is extremely hard. Especially when you wear ALL of the hats! Last year I was finally able to hire an assistant which has been very helpful. Each year for me has been better than the last – we are growing! And by God’s grace, we excelled through the pandemic – people still wanted to celebrate with cake!

I started out making several different treats but have now streamlined my product mix to custom cakes, cupcakes, and custom print cookies. Our cakes are very popular due to the level of detail, execution and taste! This is where my OCD helps! My cakes have to look PERFECT! A clean cake exactly how the customer wants it! And my cookies are sooo good! All my friends have labeled them “crack cookies”.

I currently work out of my home in Woodstock which is licensed, insured and certified by Cherokee County. I literally gutted our downstairs guest bedroom and turned it into a full bakery! I’m very thankful to have the space but eventually will move to a brink and mortar location as I have almost outgrown the space.

A few things that have attributed to my success is first the mighty God I serve! I am very spirit-filled and believe without His grace Rday Creations would not exist. I’ve’ been given SO MUCH GRACE! And my business is BLESSED! Secondly Rday Creations has $0 debt. I decided that I wanted to run a debt-free company without the stress of business loans. They are almost impossible to get anyhow being a minority woman, even with an almost perfect credit score. Thirdly I got myself an advisor! Since it’s just me, it’s great to have someone to run ideas through, and someone who can look at my business from a different angle and perspective. Lastly, I’m not sure where you can find better customer service! My customers are EVERYTHING! I am so thankful for each and everyone of them and would go over the moon, around the sun, and behind Pluto for their satisfaction!

Rday Creations is still getting her feet wet, there is so much more to come. And I am excited for this experience! I am most thankful to my remarkably amazing husband – I know for sure without his support, I would not be where I am today.

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?
There have been too many challenges to count! With any business, you will encounter trial and error. Learning curves. Many sleepless nights. Sacrificing quality time with family & friends, And self-doubt. To any entrepreneur that says starting a business isn’t scary – be scared of them. Believing you can overcome all the obstacles & challenges is key.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I can make anything into a cake! That’s the fun, custom, and creative part of what I do. And what sets me apart from other decorators. You can’t walk into any bakery and ask for a 3D cake in the shape of a Lamborghini, with rims, tinted windows and wheels that actually roll. Or a cake shaped like a hamburger with all the toppings. Or a hotwheels cake with an edible track on top. Our customers get to decide how simplistic or extravagant they want their cake creation to be. I make show stopper cakes… that’s a cool business name too! I am told my cakes are what people continue to talk about years after the party is over.

There are so many different types of cakes and hundreds of techniques! So I am always learning and stay ready for the next challenge a customer would like me to create. Believe it or not, I still get nervous before decorating majority of my cakes – I don’t know why! I hold myself to such a high standard and not sure half the time how I am going to execute a design until I am actively working on the cake. And it ALWAYS turns out better then I expected.

Thankfully I have gotten faster at decorating. It is extremely time-consuming, and most have no idea what really goes into cake decorating. I have recently started a Tiktok channel with full videos of me creating a cake from start to finish. An 8 hr process done in 3 minutes! Now, people come to me and say they didn’t know that there were that many steps in making a cake! And can understand why custom cakes are priced the way they are. It has helped my customers see what all goes into their cake. And it’s pretty cool to watch too.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk taking is necessary in business and inevitable. The amount of risk you choose is variable. I took a risk in my business by simply starting it. Investing time, effort, and sacrifice into something that may yield absolutely nothing – risk. The largest risk I have taken so far was leaving my full-time job in 2019 to operate Rday Creations as a full-time business. My income dropped significantly and many living changes had to be made for my family before and after the big jump! But again, I can’t reiterate enough how without my faith in God, I’m not so sure how I would have landed from the jump. I was nervous but very confident of my understanding of business management and level of decorating skills.

Another huge risk in my eyes in business is being able to secure the resources and capitol needed to continue to run your business once you’ve started. Also the capability to make the best decisions for your business.

Contact Info:

• Email: rbillings@rdaycreations.com
• Website: www.rdaycreations.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rdaycreations/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Rday-Creations-340999629338265/?ref=bookmarks
• Youtube: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RdayCreationsCo?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
• Other: https://linktr.ee/rdaycreations

Image Credits
Spearman Studios