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

Hi Jackie, thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Success looks different for everyone, and the timeline of success looks different for everyone. Two of the main things that have helped me reach my goals have been persistence and consistency.

I have been blessed with being able to take my work at my own speed, since my primary job is being home with our two little girls. Even though my work hours have ebbed and flowed, and some weeks were more productive than others, I stayed consistent with some small goals every day/week. I stayed active on my social media channels and slowly but consistently grew my audience. While my baking and what I was able to accomplish from a recipe development standpoint was inconsistent, I found something that I could be consistent with. I interacted with and grew my audience. I now have over 22k Instagram followers and have been able to land brand deals consistently due to my engagement and larger audience. Find what you’re passionate about and be consistent. Also be persistent! It has taken me over three years to gain the audience that I have, and I still am working at it every day.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Three years ago I started my blog, Sweet Girl Treats, after the birth of my second daughter. I named the blog after my two ‘Sweet Girls’, since they’re my reason for starting it and they’re often in the kitchen with me working on recipes!

I left the corporate world in 2017, a choice that I never thought I would make since I loved my job. I found myself wanting to be home with my daughter more, so we decided that it would be best for me to step back from a full time job outside of the home. After my second daughter was born in 2019, I found myself in a rut, and I knew that I needed to find a hobby. I absolutely loved being home with my girls, but I knew I needed something for myself. I took up baking and realized that I had a skill in recipe development. After a few months of honing my skills, I launched sweetgirltreatsmn.com as an avenue to share my own recipes with the world. I also created social media channels (@sweetgirltreatsmn) to share my creations and to drive traffic to my website.

As I grew I have honed in on my niche, which is so important in order to build a larger audience. I have since approached every recipe with a goal creating a dessert that is decadent and creative yet approachable and simple. I look to minimize the amount of ingredients needed as well as use ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen. Sweet Girl Treats creates rich dessert recipes for the everyday baker!

I have also had the amazing opportunity to do regular live baking segments on our local morning show in the Twin Cities, Fox 9 Good Day. This has helped get my name and recipes out there, and has been a great way to connect with my local audience. My oldest daughter and I have also started doing live baking segments on Pinterest TV. She has absolutely loved being involved in the demos.

I have been so blessed to be able to create this business while being home full time with my daughters. My goal is to not only inspire others to bake and to show them that they can make beautiful and delicious desserts too, but also to inspire them to make that scary leap or change that they’ve been thinking about. Leaving my job in 2017 was certainly not an easy decision, but it has led to some pretty incredible things for me and my family.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The ‘success’ of my business is primarily measured through website traffic and social media audience. These two metrics can be discouraging to watch since web traffic depends on Google algorithms and social media (Instragram) engagement depends on Instagram’s algorithms. These algorithms are ever-changing and company content initiatives are ever-changing. I have seen my traffic and engagement numbers vary greatly throughout the past 3 years.

It can be hard to stay consistent and persistent with content when you’re seeing your engagement numbers tank, but I have found that, for me, where there’s a valley there is always a peak. I have stuck through the low-engagement weeks and just continued to post and continued to be true to my brand. My audience sees that and, in turn, becomes more loyal to my business. If you’re resilient, flexible and persistent through the ever-changing world of SEO and content algorithms, you will see success!

Have you ever had to pivot?

The beginning of Sweet Girl Treats came out of a major life and career pivot, and I’m so happy that we’ve landed here!

As I mentioned previously, I left my corporate career in 2017 to stay home full time with my first daughter. I loved my job, so I never envisioned myself making the decision to be home. After placing her in daycare for 6 months I decided that my heart was not in my job anymore, and we chose to have me care for her full time instead.

I loved my time with her, and in 2019 my second daughter was born. After the birth of my second child, I found myself desiring more. I knew that I needed to pick up a hobby or something else that allowed me to feel like more than just ‘mom’ (though that title is still my primary one!). Enter: Sweet Girl Treats!

This business has been one of the best things to happen to our family because it has enabled me to be home with our girls, which has always been my primary goal, while also finding a way to pursue my passion and bring in another income.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sweetgirltreatsmn.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetgirltreatsmn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetgirltreatsmn/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiehill2254

Image Credits
Food photography: Sweet Girl Treats (@sweetgirltreatsmn) Portrait photos: Scherer Photo Co. (@schererphotoco)