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

Are you happy as a business owner? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a regular job?

I’m extremely happy and fulfilled being a small business owner. It has given me a sense of pride and accomplishment I never thought I could have. People really love my cakes and I get to showcase my talent through them. The best moments are when I get to see my customers’ expressions when they first see their cake… the look of pure joy and happiness melts my heart. It’s in these moments that I know I’m doing the right thing and I’m exactly where I should be. As far as a regular job goes, I’ve had plenty of those! For many many years, I had meaningless jobs where I felt under appreciated and ultimately replaceable. I knew that these jobs weren’t where I was ‘meant to be’ but I couldn’t figure out how to channel my creative abilities into something worthwhile. And then Covid 19 happened. I found myself at home and in the kitchen, which has always been my happy place. Shortly after launching my social media pages, my business really took off and I’m now cake decorating full-time.

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 background and context?

Of course! Well, to start with, something interesting to note is that my name is Bonnie. People always assume that I’m “Dolly” in Dolly’s Kitchen. And even though I adore the name, Dolly is actually inspired after my late grandmother Marie who was a major influence in my life. She was a classically trained artist who got her degree from the Art Institute of Chicago and in her later years, taught me many things about painting and sculpture. She really was a “doll” and everyone loved her. Additionally, my other grandmother on my father’s side was a phenomenal baker. Every year during the holidays, she would spend weeks working on her famous Christmas cookies. Now, these weren’t your average sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles…These were delicate pastries and puffs, expertly crafted with detail and precision. Every cookie was like a small masterpiece. I have since tried to recreate some of her cookies and have struggled. Come to find out, there’s a few master classes on some of the cookies she’s made. So one could say that cake decorating is in my blood. And ever since I was a little girl, I loved cooking and baking. It was something that came naturally to me as did my artistic abilities. I still have a deep love of painting, drawing and ceramics. Best of all, I honor both of my grandmother’s memories through Dolly’s Kitchen.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I get the majority of my customers through Facebook and Instagram. And once I get a customer, almost all of them become repeat customers. I actually got suggested for this interview from a previous cake customer!

Because I’m not a brick and mortar bakery, I get to spend more quality time getting to know my customers. It’s not uncommon for me to have 30-60 minute consultations before I even book a client. And it’s important to have high standards when it comes to customer service. I want a customer to feel confident and comfortable with choosing my kitchen over a bakery. I also offer more flexibility for any last minute changes whereas a brick and mortar can be rigid with their high volume of cake orders.

Word of mouth has also been a great way of gaining new customers and I’ve made cakes for people all over the valley. I offer delivery as well as not everyone has room to store a cake in their refrigerator. I also offer other treats in addition to cakes such as cupcakes, royal icing sugar cookies, macaroons and more!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

It all started by making birthday cakes for my family members. Each cake I made got progressively better and more detailed. Then I started watching YouTube videos on different techniques and that was a game changer…. I started to get more and more excited about making cakes. Pretty soon my family started referring me to their friends and word got out that my cakes not only look good, but taste amazing too! I was shown lots of love and support and soon after, I bought the LLC to Dolly’s Kitchen, got licensed, and launched a few social media pages.

I’m now cake decorating full time and I consider this a ‘regular job’ despite working out of my home kitchen. In fact, I spend more time in my kitchen than a typical 9-5pm job. I often work from when I wake up early in the morning to well into the evening. The difference is I LOVE what I do and time flies when I’m busy working on cakes. Everyday is a new challenge to create something wonderful, using cake as my canvas. And I’m extremely grateful for all of my wonderful customers who support this craft of mine and encourage me to do more.

I’m still learning something new everyday and I’m excited to see where Dolly’s Kitchen is headed in the future. But for now, let’s cake!!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dollys_kitchenaz/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/dollyskitchenaz/
• Other: https://dollyskitchenaz.blogspot.com/?m=1