We were lucky to catch up with Aylissia Spragins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Aylissia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

How did I scale up? First things first! Content, content, content!! You want to make sure you take a picture or record everything you make or do, and you also want to make sure you’re posting your business at least 2-3 times a day. I know it sounds easier than it seems but the more you post the more people will take you serious, more people will recommend you! Word of mouth has got to be the fastest way to up scale your business. Even when you’re posting and you’re not getting any likes or comments don’t let that discredit you, someone is always watching! Next I would say i surrounded myself with like minded people. You cannot upscale in life being around negative people or environments. Find you some business friends that has the same goals and ambitions as you. People that can you can make accountability partners , people that can push you to your full potential. I also attended social network events for entrepreneurs, took business cards she passed them around and met different business owners that were much larger than me, once again all about word of mouth. Lastly I would say always make sure you’re knowledgeable about the field your in, it never hurts to take classes or asking questions from people in the same field as you! You can learn things that you never knew before. Watch YouTube videos, reels, and tiktok videos. It’s so much information out there that can help you grow, never stop grinding and never give up!

Aylissia, 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?

My name is Aylissia, Founder & CEO of Rich Sweets. I am your cake baker/artist, treat maker, event planner and event designer! I offer several different services for your events, some may even call me a one stop shop!! I am located in the heart of Memphis, TN but I also travel. I Am BBB Accredited, WBE, SBE, SCS Vendor, SCG Vendor, and also an Accredited Wedding/Event Designer. I have been in business for 4 years, and the experience has been very rewarding and most definitely each event has been something to remember!! I will make each event come to life for my clients, I love to see the smiles on their faces!

I got into this business because growing up I would loveeeee to make treats, I always made treats for and with my family members before I actually made it my career. What I think sets me apart from others is that I am self taught so that’s why I put so much pride into my business. One day I woke up and just decided to see if other people would be interested in my treats had little did I know people wanted my treats literally everyday. Next I decided I wanted to get into being a cake artist, I started off pretty rocky looking back at my work today but I never gave up & my clients never gave up on my either. I think that’s another thing that Kept me going, it was so many people that I didn’t know that was rooting for me. However, my work is amazing now & I’m only getting better! What I’m most proud of is my dedication and hard work, I’m a full time mom and I’m also a full time employee so sometimes things get really hard for one person but I push myself to keep going and continue to show up for myself and my business because one day I’m going to be a full time entrepreneur, that’s my goal!

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

Yes I do have a website and I also have a shop on Etsy where I sell certain items that I’m able to ship. Pros for having a online shop is that reach people thats not in the same city or state from you which gives your work a bigger audience and it’s also a good stream of revenue since everything is online these days. I don’t have any cons at this time about E-commerce.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Every time I gain a client I make sure to get their phone numbers and email address. Once you have those 2 items you’ll forever have contact with them. It’s apps and softwares you can use to send out promotional texts and emails to your clients. So if they don’t have social media or they can’t remember how to find you, they will have a phone or an email account you can reach.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bakesy.shop/b/rich-sweets-all-things-events-treats
• Instagram: https://bakesy.shop/b/rich-sweets-all-things-events-treats
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rich.Sweetss?mibextid=LQQJ4d