We were lucky to catch up with Evony Holloway recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Evony, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I didn’t want to start this off with something cliche but I want to tell the truth. And the truth is baking is therapy for me, and without it I don’t think I’d be here. 2020 was a hard year for a lot of us. Many people were laid off from their jobs and I was laid off from my education since our spring break extended to April then eventually we were out of school all together. During that time, I realized I had no true goals for myself,and I didn’t have a job yet whereas all of my peers were working and learning how to drive. With us being on lock down I began to worry for my future and if I’d have one at all since I didn’t know when I’d be allowed outside again. I became severely depressed and started to look for things to occupy my time and not focus on the negatives. Before I knew it I started baking. I remember telling myself, in a dramatic fashion might I add, “I don’t know when I’ll be able to go to the grocery store again so I need to learn how to fend for myself.” I started searching for things in the pantry and stumbled upon overripe bananas. I was tempted to throw it away but something told me to look up a recipe on banana bread and so I did. I made my first batch and it was amazing. I tried again and failed miserably because at the time I didn’t know the key to good banana bread were overripe bananas. I felt myself growing addicted to the trial and error of baking and once I got the gist of it I started to play around with banana bread by adding other ingredients into the mix like walnuts and pecans. Not only was I addicted to the feeling of creating but I also enjoyed the reaction of my family when they told me they liked what I made and would ask for more. I figured since my family enjoyed my baked goods why not extend that feeling to others? So I got my Food Handlers License and signed up for the Farmers Market in my town and sold my goods there, which was nerve wracking since I am an introvert at heart, and achieved great success. Even though I am still on a slow burn of building my company, it makes me happy to know that I can make others happy with the things I create and hopefully extend that feeling to others worldwide.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

A little fun fact about me is that I love plants. So when I sell my baked goods locally it comes with a sticker of my brand name in the foreground and a picture of a monstera in the background since monsteras are my favorite houseplant. As of right now, I only sell locally since I’m in school pursuing an Associates Degree in Theatre Arts. When I do receive an order from a customer I like to make sure I am as persistent as possible in all areas such as communication, punctuality of pickup or delivery time as well as letting them know what is in the product since my goods are made from home. Some of the things I am the most proud of when it comes to my work is my ability to stay on task and remain focused. As someone who is young and chronically online it is easy to get side tracked with other things that could deter you from the things you are supposed to be doing, but when I bake I like to be as present as possible and make sure I don’t miss any key details when it comes to a customer’s request like how they want their item presented, packaged and delivered. With any potential clients I would like to let them know that even though I am still on the rise and in hindsight a rookie to the baking industry that doesn’t mean I won’t take your demands seriously and operate as if I’m a trained baking professional.

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

One of the lessons I had to unlearn is that downtime doesn’t mean success still isn’t happening or could happen for you in the future. Everyone has a season of highs and lows and the low season is where you truly see someone’s potential and how badly they want what they’re trying to achieve.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing any business would be social media but more importantly knowing who you’re trying to sell your business to. If it’s a younger audience use social media apps like Tiktok (rest in peace), Instagram, etc to get them to engage. Learn their lingo, incorporate their jokes and align it with your business. And if it’s an older audience still use social media but more specifically Facebook. Join community chats and see who would be interested in trying your product.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evonyscosmiccreations?igsh=eG0ycnA2OGU2aDN5&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: Evony’s Cosmic Creations