Erica and I first met through social media – I had photographed the wedding of a friend of hers, and she started following my blog around then.  Well what do you know, but we also happen to go to the same church!  A couple years ago Erica came up to me on a Sunday morning and said “Hi you don’t know me and this might be creepy but I follow your blog!” NOT CREEPY!  We hugged and are obviously friends forever now, duh.  Haha!  I just love the small world that we live in!  So since we were officially friends in real life now, we also became Facebook friends….and I started to see all these uh-mazing photos of gorgeous, creative sugar cookies popping up in my feed.  Not just like the standard Christmas cookie cutter designs, I’m talking the most elaborate, beautiful cookies I had ever seen in my life!  It turns out my new friend is a super talented baker!  As soon as I saw her artwork, I just knew I had to feature her as a Small Business Spotlight!  Erica has taken her hobby and turned it into an amazing business, and it is so exciting to see her business launch into something fabulous!  That little bitty side hobby has grown into a business just exploding with talent, and love, and service to others.  Every time I see a photo of one of Erica Bakes’ custom cookie tray orders, I seriously say “How did she DO that?!”  The girl can make anything!  For our Small Business Spotlight, she made “Carlyn and Ben” cookies – cameras and lumberjack designs!  Agh!!!  So stinking cute!  Super excited to share a little interview with Erica and some behind the scenes of her doing her thang!  Get your custom orders ready, Erica Bakes can make it happen y’all!!

Small Business Spotlight | Erica Bakes | Columbiana OH

Tell us the story behind Erica Bakes!  Did this start out as a hobby that you decided to turn into a business?  Tell me how you began! 

I feel like I have always been an artistic person, and I’ve also always LOVED baking.  While working a corporate job about 4 years ago, I started experimenting with different recipes for cupcakes but kept my basic buttercream, and just added yummy ingredients to make the buttercream flavors match my new cupcake recipes.  I was bringing my cupcakes to work, giving them to family and friends, and basically handing them out to anyone who would take them, just to get my name out there!  A little over a year later, after building up a pretty good side business, I decided that I needed, and really wanted to be a stay at home mom! I felt like I had missed out on my 4 kids’ lives, and because I worked 10 hours a day, my poor husband (who is so amazing because he works, also!) was left to pick up where I was slacking. So, in June of 2014, after leaving the corporate world,  I was free to take on as many baking clients as I wanted!  I started with only cupcakes, but quickly felt like I was missing out on using my artistic skills.  I came up with a sugar cookie recipe and realized that I absolutely LOVE decorating cookies.  I have tried to work on cakes, but that is just not a skill I possess.  So, for now I stick to my cupcakes and decorated sugar cookies! 

 

Are you self taught?  How did you learn this amazing art?!

I am self taught!  I watched hundreds of Youtube videos on how to get the perfect “swirl” of icing on top of cupcakes, and probably another 100 Youtube videos on how to get the perfect consistency of royal icing for my cookies.  

Are you limited strictly to cookies, or do you do cakes and other items too?

Cookies and cupcakes are my specialty.  During the holidays I love making cookie trays, and for weddings I love creating entire cookie tables for a bride and groom!

 

How can people place an order with you?  Do you do consultations?  Tell us the process!

I try to make the process as easy as possible. If you have a big event, such as a wedding, bridal shower, baby shower, etc, I don’t want you to worry about the desserts! If you have an idea of what you would like, shoot me a phone call, a text, or a Facebook message with the date, time and items that you would like, and I’ll take care of the rest!  If you aren’t sure, we can get together and you can sample some goodies to help make the decision.  And I don’t just do big orders – I can do orders as small as 2 dozen! 

 

How do you balance being a busy mom and being a boss lady?!

When I made the decision to be a stay at home mom, I also decided that I wanted to spend my days, my ENTIRE days, with my kids and my husband.  So, that means that I start baking after my kids go to bed, and I stay up until the wee hours of the morning (if I have to!) to get finished with my goodies. I have gone many many days on only 3 hours of sleep, but it’s so worth it.  I get to love on my family during the day and love what I do at night! 

Do you take custom orders?

Almost all of my orders are custom orders.  If you can dream it, I can make it…. or a version of it!

 

Any funny baking stories or experiences you’re willing to share?

A funny story about baking – One of my dear friends was having an ‘Adoption Party’ for her precious child that she had adopted, and I told her that I’d make the cupcake cake. It was adorable, in the shape of a pastel pink and yellow fish. A little banner that I handmade stated “It’s oFISHal”. Walking out the door, I tripped and dropped the entire thing. Crying, I trying to smoosh it back together, but it ended up looking like a mushroom. Everyone ate it anyway. Lol. 

 

 

How have you seen God at work in your business venture?

I was really struggling in my faith walk when I had a job outside of the home. I had a very stressful, demanding job and during that time instead of turning to my Heavenly Papa- as I like to call Him, I turned inward. I started having anxiety attacks, I was stressed, I was not a very nice wife or mama because I was just tired of living how I was living. I literally felt my Father lift a burden off of my shoulders when I left my job. And these past (almost) 3 years, I have grown more than I can imagine. I can hear the Holy Spirit “nudging” me in little ways. Whether it’s pushing me to go out of my comfort zone and befriend someone who I wouldn’t normally be friends with,  or donating my goodies to a charity. It’s all new to me because I had never actually listened to God before! I asked a lot of questions, and then I would answer them all on my own by doing what I wanted to do! How did I get 35 years into life like that?!? I truly hope and pray that anyone who I encounter through this little business of mine can see the love of God shine through me.