We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angelique Vaccaro. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angelique below.

Angelique, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To be successful, I believe you need dedication, passion, and connections. I really love what I do, I thought that sharing what I love would make my community notice me. But there is so much competition, it has been difficult to find my place. Yes, I am passionate about baking, I was very dedicated in the beginning when I started my business and still am. I was so excited and all, but I quickly realized it was not that easy. If you don’t have connections, you are on your own, but with perseverance, everything works out!

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?

My name is Angelique, I love seeing how food brings people together, how powerful it is when you share it with love. It can heal broken hearts you know! Food is literally a love language, and I just enjoy giving love through the food I make… After receiving so many compliments from family and friends about my baking, I finally started my own home-based bakery which I am very proud of. I thought it could be fun to see where it could take me, what I could do to spread love around me while doing something I enjoy very much! I started with familiar items and then I had to dig further and learn how to decorate cookies for example, and push myself more to really stand out and provide something good and beautiful at the same time. I found the whole process fun and exciting. I thought that because of my French background and my traditional cookies, it would make me somehow different from all the other bakers.

I am proud to have pushed myself out of my comfort zone. Being an introvert is debilitating sometimes. It was very hard for me to take that first step. But with my family members’ and my friends’ support, I made it! And I love doing it. Having my own business gave me a purpose.

I want people to know that I do everything with love. That I give it all my energy and dedication. I want them to be happy and satisfied when they see my work. I want them to come back for more! I truly bake with my heart and I want them to know that. It makes them even more special to me.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Ha! My neighbors for one. They have been so supportive of me. They are the ones who made me want to have my business. Every time we hang out together, it is an opportunity for me to show off my skills! They love everything I make. They started asking me “can you do this? can you do that?”. And my answer was yes! I did not even realized I was capable until I tried. It gave me so much confidence. I wanted to see what it would potentially be if I had my own bakery, and then the whole cottage food business came to mind and here I am!
So I built my business and started baking for markets, schools, and people within my community… It really is a lot of fun! It’s obviously a lot of work, but it is so rewarding! I love seeing the little kids’ eyes light up when they see my Christmas cookies, or fellow French people all excited when they see I baked French cookies. It brings me so much joy.

So yes, word of mouth helped me for sure. And just being out there in the open when I can. I know it takes time to build a name, and I am a patient person. I am just enjoying one season at a time!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source for new clients is definitely word of mouth. I tried social media, it did not work very well for me. But I think it’s because of the competition, there are so many bakers in my area already. Even though I offer something a little bit different, some people like their own comfort food and don’t dare to venture into something they don’t know. Which I understand.
My girlfriends talked about my business to their family members, friends, coworkers, teachers… It helped me a ton and brought me a few more customers. My friends and neighbors order from me all the time too! I am so appreciative of them supporting me like that. They do not have to but they do it anyway! How amazing are they! I am so so grateful. I feel very loved.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.angeliquecooking.com/bakery
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angeliquecooking/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angeliquecooking/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0VQzfmuyboe78iI3jO3Ttg
• Other: email: [email protected]

Image Credits

Angelique Vaccaro