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

Christine, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Managing a life that involved a lot of juggling, a lot of hustle and bustle was the norm for me. My titles were wife, mommy to a toddler, an account manager at a large HR outsourcing company, a new entrepreneur, and the occasional therapist for a few close friends. I wore these hats seamlessly everyday, or so I thought. My body starting screaming at me and I was slowing seeing affects of burning the candle from both ends for an extended period of time.

After a number of run ins with stress induced ailments I knew I had to shift. I had to reduce my stress and that directly looked like unloading some of my responsibilities. I had a decision to make. Just to add a bit of insight, these occurrences took place around June of 2019, a time where we were in the Pandemic. Our overall health was a major concern. Many people were impacted economically as well due to shut downs and isolations. I worked in an industry that was pretty secure as we managed Health and Welfare accounts for a number of clients. The job security was a direct exchange for long days and an overload of responsibility. We were responsible for real time policy changes to assist employees with real time health condition management. On the other hand I had a successful confections business that I was actively growing.

I weighed my options and consulted with my then partner, and we made a decision. In-spite of the elements around us I should follow the passion work. I started designing cakes and treats in 2016 as a way to be the most hands on mom for our daughter. My ability to execute designs and ideas grew and my love for doing these things grew as well. I was able to share my works with people and the benefit of it all was that it grew to be able to help me sustain our life financially. I started working to knock out some goals before walking away from a nice guaranteed Salary. I decreased my expenses and paid off as many debts as I could. In July of 2020, I informed my employer of my decision and I bet on my business. This was the most frightening yet exciting decision, and it has paid off wonderfully!

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?

I am Christine P. and I am the owner and Cake designer of Jae Sweets LLC. I am a Philly native. Born in North Philadelphia but raised in West Oak lane. I am always been into the arts such as music, sculpture, and Photography. I am blessed to have received many opportunities from the Philadelphia public school system to expand my knowledge on the things I’ve always been interested in. For example, one of my strengths is color theory, which benefits me in business because many of the colors requested I have to create. I am a mother to a lovely little lady who is the main reason I developed my cake design abilities.

My business is based in New Castle, Delaware and I service All of the connecting states. I offer custom cakes and treats which include chocolate covered strawberries, pretzels, Rice Krispy treats, etc. I offer various party packages as well to my clients based on their party/event size. Many of my clients are looking for custom goods that are visually appealing AND delicious. My cake and treats meet this need and it makes the purchase worth while. In addition, my clients receive a very pleasant experience and level of customer service that one should expect from a business.

I am very proud to have a business that is tailored to the needs of my clients. I am developing a brand that offers ‘sweets’ in more than just an edible way. As my brand grows I look forward to the opportunities that I plan to provide for those in my niche as well as those in my community.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Business Financial Literacy. I which I knew a lot more about the financial options when I first started my business. The dos and dont’s, in addition to the options to receive funding through business loans or business credit. The beginning journey of my business was funded 100% with personal funds. All of my machinery from spatulas to mixers, branded apparel and marketing I covered out of my money until my business was able to cover the expenses.

I am now aware of different methods to receive funding as long as you qualify and it is very helpful when you are looking to scale your business or need capital to invest in a pricey item.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The fact that people trust my skills and creativity enough to receive cakes from me with the understanding that I have full creative freedom, it feels amazing ! I went from not having a clue about cake design to improving my skills enough to execute any cake design. While no one is perfect I can say majority of my cake designs have my clients blown away and I love that part of delivery or pickup.

Contact Info:

• Website: JaeSweets.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jae.sweets/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaeSweetsLLC/