We recently connected with Alaina and have shared our conversation below.

Alaina, appreciate you joining us today. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

My business is to help customers put together a vision for their custom cake and bring that vision to life. I often work with people who have a hard time putting to words the idea they have in their head. I love to spend time with them, piecing together their ideas for the event and visualizing how a cake could complete the day. I love when a customer is surprised and grateful that I took the time to get the idea just right— it’s so worth it to make them happy!

Alaina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a self-taught and bakery-trained cake decorator living in Salt Lake City Utah. I grew up baking with my mom, sitting on the kitchen counter and sampling everything I could. My dad is an amazing bread baker too, so I learned a lot about the science and techniques behind it from both of them. I started cake decorating in high school and found it a fun creative outlet. I have always been artistic and cake is such a fun medium to work with. I worked in a professional bakery a few years ago and refined my fondant and piping skills. Now, I run a home business and where I strive to make creative, artistic cakes that actually taste good! Style, ingredient quality and customer experience are most important to me. I want to bring customers’ visions to life without looking like every other grocery store cake. I particularly love piping— piped flowers or highly detailed cakes are where I shine.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the assumption that there is only one best way to do something. When I worked in a bakery, I thought I would be able to continue decorating in my preferred style. My manager would often critique my work— not that it didn’t look nice, but that it was taking too much time and material. I quickly realized with the high volume of orders that she was right. Speed and efficiency were more important than making the most beautiful or elaborate cake. I learned different methods and approaches serve their purposes in different contexts.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have a masters degree in art history and assumed I would have a career in museum management. However, once I tried a job or two in my field I quickly realized that the opportunities were few, and compensation and benefits were scarce. It was scary to pivot to a new career, but I took stock of what I liked about the art world and what skills I had gained was able to transfer those to project management. The improvement in job quality also improved my quality of life outside of work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Cakesbyalainaut

Image Credits

All taken by me