We were lucky to catch up with Ashley Gossett recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

Social Media is something I feel I am horrible at doing. I never know what to post or when to post. I always have great photos, but I never have the right words to go along with them. I currently manage my own social media. I would love to hire someone to do it for me, however I am afraid that it wouldn’t be personable. I question things like do the person I hire have to know me? How would they know how to interact with my followers. It would make life easier if I could hire someone to assist me in this area of my business. In today’s society it seems that social media is very important for a business and it could make or brake your business. It seem like there are so many rules and if you don’t know what you are doing you are wasting time and sometimes money.

Ashley , 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?

Hello

My name is Ashley Gossett and I am the owner and operator of Ashton Marie Cakes, LLC. I am a home based cake designer/Pastry Chef. I have been in business for 10 years . I started my business doing cupcakes and graduated to cakes and tiered cakes. I do provide all occasions cakes, however; I want to change this and only be exclusive to weddings. I feel the things that set me apart from others in my industry is my customer service. I know many way say oh that’s nothing, but to me it’s everything. I love to serve my customers and make sure they are not only getting a cake, but they are getting an wonderful experience. I love to educate them on how to handle their products once they purchase them from me. I do this by giving cutting guides worksheets and sending a text or email on how to keep their cakes safe and fresh for their events. This is important because most customers are not use to cutting custom cakes. It’s very different from cutting a grocery store cake. I pride myself on being able to create the perfect cakes for my customers. I listen and pay attention to details and by doing this I give them exactly what they ask for.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think producing a beautiful cake that taste good has helped me build my reputation within my market. I am consistent with making my products taste the same every time I make them.

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

My journey has been very difficult. My business is ran off the back of my husband and what he provides within our household income. We are a single income family and anything my business needs it come from this income. We are a large family so sometimes it is hard, and when it gets hard I get discouraged and it has been so many time where I have just wanted to give up. Or question if I am in the right business. What keeps me going is my family and knowing that even though it’s hard my husband doesn’t mind supporting my business financially and one day if I keep going Ashton Marie Cakes, LLC will be financially stable.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ashtonmariecakes.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/ashtonmariecakesllc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ashtonmariecakesllc

Image Credits
Jen Symes (Gray square cake, Dusty Blue cake) White Orchid Photography (White square cake) Rachel Laine Photography (Blush Cake)