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

Hi Brianna, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

As a teen mom who had recently found out about my sons autism diagnosis I was in complete fear of what the future held for my son Mateo. I had two amazing parents growing up but although they did the best they could we still struggled and didn’t have much, because of that I’ve always worked my hardest to break the family cycle. Who would’ve known making cupcakes and cake pop arrangements one holiday season for extra cash would turn into a dream come true. I wanted to be stable in my life for once, my kids deserve that. I wanted to give my boys the life I wasn’t able to have, when I’m no longer here I want to be able to leave something behind for the both of them. I started making treats for friends and family for free back in December 2020, just so I could practice. After a couple months and practice they started recommending me and sharing my work, it meant so much knowing there were people out here who seen where I came from and that were proud of me. From cake pop arrangements and cupcakes I then started making cakes in January 2021. It was a very scary feeling trying to do something new, but I continued to tell myself to think positive. I still remember my first cake, it was free of course. Gender reveal cake to be exact, nothing came out as planned. I was devastated, upset and that very first cake was almost the reason I stopped, but the words “stay positive” and “you got this” made me keep trying until I finally made a cake I was happy with. April of 2021 I bought my first waterslide, at this point I didn’t know where this business thing would take me but so far with the support of my community everything was working. I then bought a used bounce house and continued to add to my inventory throughout that year. I was booked and busy every weekend, I didn’t have employees, I was a one person business. There were even days where my babies would come to work with me if I didn’t have a sitter, still till this day they come along with mom to many events. I love bringing my boys with me for work related things, if permitted of course. They are the reasons I do what I do, I love sharing our story with new people we meet. As of November 2022 I am proud to say, we have done over 20 fundraising events, donated over $1,200 to families in need, have been completely sold out at 12/15 vendor events we’ve attended to and now offer face painting services, commercial bounce houses and waterslides, custom treats, cakes, cupcakes and our new soft play equipment. Never in a million years would have I thought trying to make some extra cash would put me where we are today. Blessed isn’t even the word, we were able to buy a home this year that not only is perfect for our family but our business. In 2023 we will be officially opening Queen Bs Entertainment & Sweets located in Martinsburg West Virginia.

Brianna, 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?

If you don’t already know me my name is Brianna Garcia aka Ms. Queen B. I am 23 years old, born and raised here in Martinsburg West Virginia. I lived in Queretaro Mexico for a couple years with my mom and older brothers, but then came back to the United States back in 2012 to live with my father. I’ve always been one of those kids that if we couldn’t afford it I would find ways to recreate what I wanted, or just made it work with what I had. We didn’t have huge birthdays or celebrations, it was always super simple, I am grateful my parents always made the best of it regardless of any situation. Whether it was surprising me at school for lunch or baking a birthday cake together those are memories I will forever cherish. I know many people are proud of the path I took, but most important of all I am proud of myself and where this journey has taken me so far. I dug myself out of a hole I thought I would always be stuck in, just by never losing faith and staying positive. Don’t get me wrong there are days that are very stressful but they are lessons learned for me. My main goal is “making every child happy one day at a time” I want to create your custom visions for your special birthdays, I want to make it fun and affordable for you and your family.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

It was April of 2021 and I had been invited to my first vendors event. I am an over thinker for sure, I spent weeks coming up with a menu and how I would set up my table. My worst fear was I wouldn’t sell not one cupcake, I stayed up the whole night before baking and getting ready for this event, I think I was way more than nervous. I made sure to promote the event flyer every other day in hopes my closest friends and family would come out and support me. As I got there I began to set up my table and canopy, as I was setting up I noticed a line began to form near my set up, I didn’t think to much of it. As soon as my canopy went up I started adding the decor to my table and that’s when the sales started. I heard “how much are the cupcakes?”, “these look so good!”, I even had someone buy 10 individual cupcakes at once. 99% of my sales were from complete strangers, I met so many people that day that followed my page and supported me. I went home with not even a cupcake left. The joy I had walking into the door telling my fiancé how I sold out within 50 minutes of my first event was so exciting. My fear quickly turned into motivation and that one event was just the start to many other business opportunities and events I’ve came across. I have connected with many other business owners since I started participating in these vendors events or as many say “pop up shops”, connecting with other people and word of mouth is real.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media has been a plus in starting my business, I want to say that most of my business connections and friendships have started through social media. I currently promote on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and I’m even on TikTok. Being consistent is very important, I’m currently in the process of starting my very own YouTube channel to expand my social platforms. My best advice to anyone wanting to start a business is, plan. Yes! Planning is very important, without planning ahead I don’t think I would be this far. I have my own notebook I use for planning my weekly content and advertisements, before starting this I was so unorganized. Ive noticed by planning ahead and being on top of promoting myself I am currently accomplishing my weekly goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: queenbsentertainmentsweetswv.bigcartel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queen_bs_entertainment_sweets_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QueenBsEntertainmentAndSweets
• Other: TikTok – @qbs_entertainment_sweets

Image Credits
Natasha M Photography