Meet Ericka Miles | Baker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ericka Miles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ericka, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I am tenacious. I just will NOT give up, no matter what life throws at me, I will fight to the end. My son was sick and between ICU stays, the cost of medicine, and my mental health plummeting something had to give. I decided to get back to what I always loved to do cook good meals and bake! The desire to take care of myself so I could be there for my children and the want to provide with out having to ever depend on a soul has kept me motivated. My son deserved the best care and I made it a point to get up off my behind and bake cakes to give it to him.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I wanted to be a chef but my mother encouraged me to pursue other avenues alongside being a chef. I thought about going to the Army and took the Asvab the recruiter came back and gave me a list of jobs and one of them was an accountant, I had never heard of it. I decided not to go to the Army and majored in accounting. Being an accountant has been the best asset I have in running my business, the one horror story we all know about in business is MONEY! Having an accounting background helped me set myself up for success starting, funding, and getting my inventory levels together for my business. That was the EASY part, but the hard part was people! I am such an introvert and most people think I am an extrovert so putting myself out there and having to talk to people was rough. It has taken me a lot of time and practice to continue to just put myself out there as a business owner and the biggest help has been therapy. Therapy has saved my life, it has taught me how to thrive in this world and not just survive big thanks to Shamile Morgan for encouraging me to get into therapy. The one thing I want the world to know about me and my brand is it started off as a mission for me to make money to ultimately help my son and it turned into a mission of me helping myself, I turned my pain into a paycheck. My business has taught me how to make things right, how to say I messed up, what can I do to fix it, it has grown me so much as an individual but most importantly it is saving my son!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am going to drop some gems but we would definitely have to have in house brunch with two of my favorite people It’s Love with Tiff and 50Fare, their food will not disappoint and that’s on Jesus, The 12 Disciples and, The Children of Israel! Next Poetry, I love me some poetry and WeGoLiveTV always host the best poetry events, I am talking we go from singing Melodies from Heaven to Swag Surfin, it is an experience the energy in the building is so raw you will not be disappointed. We must go to Top Golf and Bowling, you know some friendly competition and good laughs ain’t ever hurt nobody! Mico’s Hot Chicken is a MUST, a nice night out at Juliet Restaurant, if it’s crawfish season we are going to District 249, and then get cute and head to Lost & Found! I love me a good margarita from Las Mananitas chef’s kiss!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Whew, there is not a person but PEOPLE! I have the best cheerleaders on this side of heaven, my core group of girls who just will not let me fail, who encourage me to be the best me everyday. My best cousin friends, like do you have a best cousin friend because let me tell you they are unmatched. My Facebook family, ain’t nothing like your set of Facebook supporters who just cheer you on and gas you up you do not even know who added who but now you can’t live without them. My mother, baby let me tell you, that lady has driven from Houston to Beaumont down to Galveston just to deliver cakes for me. My mother has provided me with so much tough love and constructive criticism to help me prefect my craft. My husband, my husband, late in the midnight hour he has been there, I never have to ask him to show up, when he sees I need him he just steps in and gets whatever needs to be done done!

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