We were lucky to catch up with Kayli Hessler-Gonzalez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kayli, thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I find my situation very unique. I am a cake designer full time, where I make wedding cakes, and other special occasion cakes, but I am also an actor. Both have found their way to keep me afloat, so I am very lucky to say that I get to do what I love for work full-time. I know I don’t make millions, and I probably never will, but that’s absolutely okay with me knowing that I am filling my life with things that give me joy and fulfillment.

I found myself starting the cake business because of COVID. I had been working as a bartender at the time to supplement between my acting gigs, and found myself without work at all when the pandemic hit and everything had shut down. Baking had always been a passion of mine, but it was more of the pastry route rather than decorating cakes, and I’d never taken a professional class or gone to pastry school. My grandma was a cake decorator, but I unfortunately was never able to learn from her as she passed away before I was 7. However, I did inherit her stand mixer and various other decorating supplies. Since I had the time on my hands, I decided to work on honing my “caking” abilities, and gave myself a creative outlet while I was stuck at home.
The beginning was rough, to say the least. There was a lot of trial and error with my work, but my perfectionism really pushed me to achieve the sort of professionalism I saw from the pros. I first started selling cakes to friends and family, just to get my practice out of the house and out of my own hands to eat, and eventually started advertising myself to my neighborhood. I lived with my parents during the pandemic, so the suburbs were full of families wanting to celebrate birthdays and create a sense of normalcy during an unsure time, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to keep pumping out different styles, and find what worked and what didn’t. Eventually, I was making 10 cakes a week, and adding new skills to my belt! A lot of that, I like to think was because of my grandma’s energy throughout using her tools to create.

The business didn’t become full-time until the beginning of this year. My goal was to target the wedding industry, since my heart was so invested in it, and absolutely love the energy that comes with making these huge, stunning cakes! And now, I wouldn’t have it any other way. During the weekdays, I am on set for a commercial, and on the weekends, I am delivering wedding cakes! It seems kismet.

The biggest thing that helped my business was using free advertisement. Social Media has been the main way I have been able to reach farther than my local community. I took pictures of every single cake I made and posted it to gain the traction I needed to just get my name out there. Now, I only post the photos that align with my style and my vision for the business. If that’s all your customers see of you, that’s what they will order!
Consistency is also key. To be able to take notice, you have to get your name in the faces of your potential clients as much as possible, and from multiple avenues. If I had made it a point to have constant, high quality content on multiple platforms from the beginning, I probably could’ve doubled my success rate in half the time.

I had a conversation with a friend recently where we were discussing work and how she was unhappy with her job. She doesn’t believe in doing a hobby for work because, if something were to happen where there was no demand for what she did anymore, there would be nothing else for her there. I feel it would be the exact same no matter what job you choose. You are expendable and replaceable in any other instance. Might as well take control and do something you really love!

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 make customized cakes, cupcakes, and cookies – but I specify in wedding cakes and unique groom’s cakes.

From the ripe age of 8, I have had a passion for creating. My grandmother was an avid baker, and decorated cakes for a living. Though I never had the chance to actually learn from her, I believe it was through her that I developed the knack for baking. There was something about the meticulousness of the culinary art that sparked my interest specifically… How one small thing could make or break your final product. And as a perfectionist myself, I found solace in working towards that delicious end product. Flavor is a big thing for me, and I really strive to make something that not only is beautiful, but tastes beautiful too. I am completely self-taught, so it is through trial and error that I found the uniqueness of my work, and it is just as much of an element of my baking as the ingredients themselves.
I’ve also worked hard to make my desserts accessible to as many people as possible, so making cakes that are gluten-free, vegan, or a combination of the two are also a part of my repertoire.

I hope that my passion to create through flavor and beauty will gleefully hit your taste buds someday!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

One big way to support us is to actually shop small business instead of shopping big business for the things we can provide for you. We’ve dedicated our lives to our craft, and more than likely, we are much higher quality than anything you could just grab from the store. I know times can be hard, and having the means to spend that money can be difficult to justify, but the easiest way to support us: share your work to your community! It’s completely free to share a picture or post that you see and love. Not only does it expose us to more potential clients, but it supports us without costing a dime! It helps a lot more than you may know.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I get to be a part of a lot of milestones in peoples’ lives, and that is such an honor. To make the wedding cakes of my couples, and to share in their excitement as they officially begin their lives together is so special. I feel the energy of the day when I arrive, and makes all of the care and meticulousness of putting their cakes together completely worth it. And to know they enjoy it makes it all the better!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kaylibakescakes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaylibakescakes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KayliBakesCakes

Image Credits
Cake cutting couple photo: Kasie Noel Fotos The Pulidos Cake: SJR and Co Photography White cake w/ fresh flowers: Erin Wiese Photo “G” cake topper cake: Ricky Estrada Photography