We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ricardo Gudino a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ricardo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
Am I happy as a business owner? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t moments when I wonder what life would be like with a regular job.
The last time I had that thought was during wedding season. It was one of those weeks where everything seemed to hit at once. We had multiple wedding cakes, custom orders, staff scheduling challenges, equipment issues, customer emails coming in nonstop, and of course all the day-to-day responsibilities that come with running a business. I remember standing in the bakery late at night after everyone had gone home. The mixers were finally off, the kitchen was quiet, and I was looking at a long list of things that still needed my attention before I could even think about going to bed.
In that moment, I thought, “What would it be like to just clock out?” To finish a shift, go home, and not have the weight of payroll, rent, customer satisfaction, marketing, growth, and every other responsibility resting on my shoulders. I imagined what it would feel like to leave work at work and not wake up thinking about ingredient orders, staffing, or whether a wedding cake would arrive perfectly the next day.
But as quickly as that thought came, I realized something important. The stress I was feeling existed because I had built something that mattered to me. Every challenge was connected to something I chose to create. The long hours were attached to a business that reflects my creativity, my values, and the opportunities I’ve been able to provide for my team and my family.
What I ultimately concluded is that I don’t actually want a regular job. What I sometimes want is a break from the responsibility. There’s a difference. The freedom to create, make decisions, build relationships, and watch something grow is worth the difficult days. The hard moments remind me that entrepreneurship isn’t about loving every day; it’s about loving what you’re building enough to keep going through the tough ones.
So yes, I occasionally wonder what it would be like to have a regular job. But every time I do, I come back to the same answer: I’d rather carry the challenges of building my own dream than the comfort of building someone else’s.
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.
My name is Ricky Gudino, and I am the owner of Caked Las Vegas, an award-winning custom cake and dessert company specializing in luxury wedding cakes, custom celebration cakes, dessert displays, and interactive dessert experiences. I also proudly serve as the President of WIPA Las Vegas (Wedding Industry Professionals Association), where I work alongside some of the most talented event professionals in our market to elevate the wedding and events industry.
My journey into this industry wasn’t a traditional one. What started as a creative passion quickly evolved into a business after I realized that people weren’t just looking for desserts, they were looking for experiences. They wanted something that would become a centerpiece of their celebration, create lasting memories, and reflect their personalities and stories. I became fascinated by the idea that a cake could be more than dessert; it could be art, entertainment, and a meaningful part of someone’s most important moments.
Over the years, Caked has grown from a small custom cake business into a company that serves weddings, corporate events, social celebrations, luxury venues, hotels, and some of the most recognizable brands and event professionals in Las Vegas. Today, we create everything from elegant wedding cakes and elaborate sculpted cakes to branded desserts, dessert tables, cake carts, chocolate fountain activations, cannoli and tiramisu stations, and other unique dessert experiences designed to engage guests and elevate events.
At our core, we solve two major problems for our clients. First, we help bring their vision to life. Many clients know how they want an event to feel but struggle to translate that into a cake or dessert experience. We guide them through the creative process and help turn ideas into something tangible and memorable. Second, we provide peace of mind. Whether it’s a wedding, corporate event, or milestone celebration, our clients have enough to worry about. We focus on delivering a beautiful product, reliable service, and a seamless experience so they can enjoy their event with confidence.
What sets us apart is our commitment to creativity, hospitality, and relationships. There are many talented bakers and cake artists, but we strive to make every interaction feel personal. We don’t view ourselves as simply selling desserts; we view ourselves as helping people celebrate life’s most important moments. Every order represents a birthday, wedding, anniversary, grand opening, retirement, or milestone that matters deeply to someone. We take that responsibility seriously.
One of the things I am most proud of is the reputation we’ve built within the Las Vegas community and the event industry. We have been fortunate to earn the trust of clients, venues, planners, and fellow industry professionals who continue to refer us and include us in some truly incredible events. I am equally proud of the team we’ve built and the culture we’ve created, one that values quality, creativity, professionalism, and genuine care for our clients.
As a business owner, I am also passionate about giving back to the industry. Through my leadership with WIPA Las Vegas, I have the opportunity to help foster education, collaboration, and professional growth among wedding professionals. I firmly believe that when we support one another and share knowledge, the entire industry becomes stronger.
If there is one thing I want potential clients, partners, and followers to know, it is that everything we create is rooted in passion and purpose. Whether it’s a simple birthday cake or a large-scale wedding production, we approach every project with the same goal: to create something meaningful, memorable, and worthy of the occasion being celebrated.
At the end of the day, we don’t just make cakes, we help create moments people remember long after the last slice is gone.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
One of the biggest tests of resilience wasn’t when business was slow, it was when business was growing faster than we could keep up with.
There was a point where our storefront simply wasn’t large enough to support the volume we were producing. Every day felt like a game of Tetris. Cake boxes were stacked everywhere, racks were constantly moving, trays seemed to disappear the moment they were cleaned, and every square foot of space had to serve multiple purposes throughout the day. What started as a bakery became a near 24-hour operation.
I remember walking through the kitchen some nights wondering, “How in the world are we pulling this off?” We were producing more than ever before, but we were also hitting every physical limitation imaginable.
Eventually, we had to make a difficult decision. We closed our retail storefront so we could dedicate the entire facility to production. From the outside, some people may have viewed that as taking a step backward. In reality, it was one of the most important decisions we ever made. We chose long-term growth over short-term comfort.
That season taught me that resilience isn’t always about surviving failure. Sometimes it’s about having the courage to evolve when what got you here is no longer enough to get you where you’re going.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I believe our reputation was built long before people knew our name. It was built one order, one relationship, and one interaction at a time.
In the events industry, especially in a city like Las Vegas, your reputation is everything. Beautiful work might get someone’s attention once, but consistency is what earns trust. From the very beginning, we focused on delivering what we promised, communicating honestly, and treating every client and event partner with respect regardless of the size of the order.
One thing that has helped us tremendously is understanding that we’re not just creating cakes and desserts—we’re helping create memories. Weddings, milestone birthdays, anniversaries, corporate celebrations, and family gatherings only happen once. When someone trusts us with those moments, we take that responsibility seriously. Every cake has a story behind it, and every event matters deeply to the people celebrating.
I also believe our reputation has been built through relationships within the event community. Las Vegas is filled with incredibly talented planners, venues, florists, photographers, entertainers, and creative professionals. Rather than viewing others as competition, I’ve always believed in collaboration. Some of our greatest opportunities have come from building genuine relationships, supporting fellow professionals, and finding ways to contribute to the success of the entire industry. Through my involvement with organizations like WIPA Las Vegas, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful it can be when professionals come together to learn from one another and support each other’s growth.
Another factor has been our willingness to adapt and evolve. As our business grew, we listened carefully to our clients and expanded beyond traditional cakes into dessert displays, interactive dessert experiences, branded corporate desserts, and custom event activations. We constantly ask ourselves how we can create more value, solve more problems, and make the planning process easier for our clients and partners.
But if I’m being honest, I think one of the biggest contributors to our reputation has been something much simpler: kindness.
This industry can be stressful. Clients are making significant investments in some of the most important days of their lives. Event professionals are managing countless moving pieces behind the scenes. Things don’t always go according to plan. Throughout my career, I’ve tried to lead with kindness, show grace when challenges arise, and assume positive intent.
I’ve learned that showing up consistently, being dependable, treating people with respect, and extending grace when things get difficult will take you further than any marketing strategy ever could. People remember how you made them feel. They remember whether you were responsive, whether you kept your word, whether you helped solve problems, and whether you made their lives easier during stressful moments.
The thing I am most proud of isn’t a specific cake, award, or accomplishment. It’s the trust we’ve earned. So much of our business today comes from repeat clients, referrals, venue partners, planners, and fellow industry professionals who continue to recommend us year after year. To me, that’s the greatest measure of success because trust can’t be purchased, it has to be earned.
Looking back, I think our reputation has been built as much on character as it has on craftsmanship. Beautiful work matters, but being kind, dependable, authentic, and genuinely invested in the success of others is what turns clients into advocates and business relationships into lasting friendships.
At the end of the day, our reputation wasn’t built by one big moment. It was built by showing up every day, doing the work, honoring our commitments, supporting others, and striving to leave every client, partner, and community better than we found them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cakedbakery.com
- Instagram: CAKEDLASVEGAS
- Facebook: Caked
Image Credits
@flowersbyedgar, @andreaeppolito, @liannnamariephoto, @mylofleurdesign, @taramarieevents, @elizabethle_photography, @sielloweddings, @gracefulgatheringslv, @riskyexposurephotography, @ashleycreative, @juliastocktonphoto, @resortsworld, @liva.and.co.events, @taylormadeelope, @thatchapeldowntown