We were lucky to catch up with Olivia Strickland recently and have shared our conversation below.

Olivia , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I absolutely love being a business owner! Often I think about what my days or life would be like if I just stopped and only had my current job.
So I own my home baking business but I also have a regular 40 hour job. While it is a lot to juggle I do my best to make it work. What makes me think about not having my business is all the hard parts that comes with it such as lack of a consistent clientele, trial and error of trying new ideas to increase clientele, and some days I have wave of orders and the next I have zero.

There was a time where I had zero traction. I mean no interaction with content and no orders. I really contemplated quitting my business all together. It was a hard time for me. I started to doubt my craft and all the work I put into my business. So I sat down and i started to write in my journal about how far I had come in my business. I wrote about all the time, money, and efforts I put in. Then I started to write about how much I loved what I did. I love to bake! I love to see the smiles I got from my customers when they received their orders. I asked myself would I be satisfied if I just quit and only worked a regular job? When I visualized what that would look like for me, I honestly couldn’t see myself quitting. I knew that I just had to keep going because I saw my little home bakery being something much bigger.

Olivia , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My love for baking developed over the years from helping my “Big Mama” in the kitchen on Sunday’s with the dessert, to even making my own birthday cakes as a kid.

In 2018, the adult bills came with the adult age, and one income was not enough. I started out as The cupcake Factory and I only did cupcakes. After a year, my passion for my business grew and I wanted to offer more. I then changed to Livvy Sweets & Treats and started investing in myself and wanted my business to be more than a side hustle. I expanded my business and invested in my dream by getting a mentor and began cake decorating.

I am proud of where I am today because having a business never crossed my mind and now that I’m here I can’t see myself not having my business. I have made cakes and treats for so many different occasions that I can’t wait to see where it takes me next.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Social media has been my best source. It’s a lot of work but I have gained several new followers by making different posts about my business, such as advertising what I offer or showing some of my recent work.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I have learned is that you cannot give up when things are not going your way. A lot of times I have wanted to be fully booked or have orders everyday and that started to feel like no one was seeing me. Then maybe a few days or weeks later I have several orders. I had to learn that everyday will not be same but that doesn’t mean stop or give up. It just means keep going because somebody will see your work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livvysweetsandtreats?igsh=N3AxcWwxYjBrbmx3&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: Olivia Etoya
• Other: https://linktr.ee/Livvyssweetsandtreats