We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Takiyah Dupas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Takiyah , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

When someone sees or hears my business name, they might think it wasn’t hard to come up with. But for me, I searched on Google and used business name generators, and I didn’t like any of the names they gave me. After a few days of research, I thought about it and told myself that when someone tastes my dishes or desserts, I want them to fall in love with my creations. However, I didn’t want it to be just plain “love”; I wanted something different. So, I did more research and started looking up how to say “love” in different languages. That’s when I came across “Amour,” which means “love” in French. I wrote it down on paper, put it on different logo designs, and before I knew it, I had come up with my business name: Amour My Creations, LLC.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am the oldest of three kids and the only girl. It is very interesting! I love being able to impart my knowledge and experiences to my brothers over my 24 years of life. It’s a blessing to still be here at 24 because I was a NICU baby (preemie) and was diagnosed with hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain) at 1 1/2 months old. The doctors told my mom that I would not live to see the age of 14 and that I would have several developmental delays, but by the grace of God, I am still here!

Before starting my business, I used to sell small items like strawberries, pretzels, and rice krispies to my high school classmates as a way to make some fast/easy cash while still in school. After graduating high school, I was unsure of what I wanted to go to college for. Initially, I wanted to be an OB/GYN or a Pediatrician, but one day my mom suggested, “Well, you know you like to cook and bake. Why don’t you go to culinary school?”. This led me to start my culinary school journey at SLCC in Lafayette, Louisiana, where I completed two years and received my technical and associate degrees. After graduating, I transferred to Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, where I graduated in May 2023 as a professional and pastry chef with an associate’s and bachelor’s degree.

I started my business on September 18, 2018. Little did I know that my business would be going on for six years and counting. I am proud of how far my business has come and how much it will continue to grow. My ultimate goal is to continue sweetening up any occasion by offering sweet treats made with love to current and new clients. For potential clients, followers, and fans, I want to express my appreciation for the continuous support and love. Please stay on the lookout for new products, my Etsy shop reopening, and my website launch.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

One time when I had to pivot was after graduating from culinary school. It was pretty hard to find a job in my field. However, even though I was discouraged, my only other option was to apply to different jobs outside of my field because my bills still needed to get paid and I needed money to invest in my business. After about two months of being out of school and applying for jobs, I finally received an offer to work in a call center, which made me pivot from the culinary field to sales.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

Although my website is currently under construction, I have used Etsy in the past to sell my products. I took a year off to improve my products and refine my photos and presentation. I will soon be reopening my Etsy shop. While I have not tried selling on other platforms, Etsy has been very helpful in getting my products out there. Since I first opened my Etsy page, I have shipped pound cakes, oreo balls, pecan candy (pralines), brownies, and hot chocolate bombs to different states such as New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Georgia, and Kentucky. I have not encountered any major issues with Etsy. One minor drawback is that if your store is in vacation mode, you still have to pay a small fee for your listings. However, the benefits include the ability to ship outside of my city and state and the opportunity to meet new people and build new customer relationships. If any small business owners are considering opening an Etsy store, I say go for it. It will allow you to expand your business and reach customers worldwide.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amourmycreations?igsh=czk5MjBjc3VtcW5l&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amourmycreations?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: https://amourmycreationsllc.etsy.com/