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

Hi Rebecca, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I became pregnant with twins just 9 months after my daughter was born. At the time, I was a band director at a local school district. We starting looking at day care costs for 3 infants and realized that it was going to be most of my paychecks after insurance and taxes were taken out. I had always wanted to stay at home with my babies if we could make it work financially, so that was the decision we made.

I started baking for friends and family as a hobby and honestly as something I could call my own in the middle of motherhood. It was my escape from the postpartum depression and it was also a source of creativity for me. From there, I realized it was a great way to help supplement extra income. I decided on a name, started social media platforms, registered my DBA and the journey began!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Before I started doing this, I never understood why cakes (especially wedding cakes) would cost so much. After all, it’s just flour, butter, sugar, and eggs…right? Oh how little did I know!

Every hand made item whether it’s a cake, cookie, or cupcake is such an artistic expression but with food. Fondant cakes can be massively detailed and cool, but I don’t care for fondant so I knew that I wanted to specialize in buttercream. I wanted people to look at a cake and say “Little E’s Sweets made that one.” It honestly took me a while to find what I felt like was my signature style and it was well worth the wait and work. I do not have any type of culinary background or training. It has been years of research, reading up on techniques, watching videos, finding really amazing people and picking their brain, and then trusting my instinct when it comes to creativity.

That is why custom cakes can be seen as expensive. You’re not only paying for my time, but the time I have spent trying to perfect my craft. I have always struggled with being confident in myself but that is one thing my business has me helped with. Being confident in what I offer has been personal growth because I now know that my talent is worth the time and money that you’re paying me for.

This doesn’t mean that I’m perfect and that mistakes haven’t been made. I have thrown away entire cakes in the trash before and started over. I’ve cried over orders that I couldn’t seem to get just right. I would always back up, take a deep breath, and focus on what I could control.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love the Riverfront in Port Neches which is just a few miles down the road from me. It is currently being developed so The Wheelhouse Restaurant is the only place to eat on the water. They just started a market that is on a Saturday that allows local vendors to sell their products. Beaumont is a neighboring city with a lot of locally owned restaurants like JW Wilson’s, Crown Pizza, and Tia Junita’s just to name a few. Food is my love language in case you haven’t figured that one out. After dinner, we can go have some fun at a new Main Event that opened in Beaumont, as well as check out the old Jefferson Theatre downtown for an old movie.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to give a huge shoutout to my husband. He has always been super supportive of me and my business even when it has taken away time from us as a family and as a couple. When I first started this, I had no idea the amount of time it would take to build and establish a client based and I also worked myself to the core. He had to pick up the slack for me with household chores, kids, and more in those early years. I would not have made it without his support and encouragement. When things got rough and I’d want to throw in the towel, he has always encouraged me to continue.

Website: Www.LittleEsSweets.com

Instagram: @littleessweets

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/littleessweets

Image Credits
all iPhone photos

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