We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bryonna Williams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bryonna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I think this question is extremely important because I feel society places a heavy emphasis on being an entrepreneur and business owner & somewhat downplaying those in the corporate world. Being a business owner is absolutely incredible, FOR ME. I 100% have thoughts all the time of how much easier it would be to know exactly what I’m getting paid every month, have a set start & end time, get paid vacation & sick days, & have free weekends. Being a business owner is one of the hardest challenges I’ve ever experienced in my life. I go through a rollercoaster of emotions on a daily basis. But this is my passion & my calling and what I’m meant to do. I have no doubt about that. But I want to stress the idea that entrepreneur life if not for everybody & that is 100% ok. As long as you are doing something you love, are passionate about it, & are happy, it doesn’t matter what that looks like.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hey yall! I’m Bryonna, owner of Flick of the Whisk Cakes. I specialize in custom, scratch-made cakes & cupcakes for all occasions. My business has taken a complete turn this year as I venture into the wedding industry, with 80% of my orders this year being for weddings. I am extremely grateful since this has brought me a whole new clientele & really forced me to push myself in new ways. I love all things cakes though so I still get excited when the occasional birthday or anniversary order comes through!

However, lets start from the beginning. I graduated with a degree in interior design & marketing (nothing at all to do with baking haha) & was working in interior design for 7 years before starting my business. To say baking was random & unexpected would be an understatement. I literally made a list of things I enjoy doing & picked one that I wouldn’t mind turning into a business. Baking came out on top & I used all $4k of my savings to start my business & sign up for local farmers markets.

This is truly the path God has planned for me because it has changed my life completely. I had no previous business experience & everything was trial & error yet somehow it worked & my business continued to grow at a rate I never dreamed of. I learn so much everyday & my customers constantly push me through the hard times of wanting to give up. I have the best customers ever because they have always been so supportive & encouraging of me since the beginning.

Lastly, what I strive to do everyday through my social platforms is encourage others to take care of their mental health, place importance on self-care, & build solid business practices. I have experienced so many challenges during my 3 years in business & I enjoy using my mistakes to help others in hopes of spreading awareness about mental health & eliminating the stigma of having to be a burnt out, overworked business owner.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I believe the most effective strategy is networking on social media. I am not the biggest fan of in-person networking mainly because I’m extremely awkward & shy when meeting new people. So if you’re anything like me, an alternative way to build new clients is to reach out to other business owners similar to your field. For me, it was caterers, event planners, other dessert makers, venues, photographers, florists, etc.. All of these vendors are involved in the wedding industry & if I develop a good, solid relationship with them through supporting them in whatever way they need, that brings business my way in the form of referrals.

Also, offering great customer service is the easiest way to build great clientele. Being kind & understanding to your customers is a sure way to get repeat customers who are loyal & talk you up to their friends/family.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I first started my business in May 2019, I thought I could do it all. I thought I was ready to take tiered wedding cake orders without every building a tiered cake. I was confident & thought “I’ll just watch a couple videos to learn & it’ll be fine”, I was wrong. I received my first 3-tier wedding cake order in August 2019, less than 3 months after starting my business. Mind you I had no prior experience decorating cakes and hardly any experience baking from scratch.

The day came to deliver the order & 5 minutes out from the venue the bottom tier collapses from the weight of the top 2 tiers. I didn’t have the correct support in the bottom tier to hold up the weight. I was in the back of the car trying to put this cake back together because I didn’t want to walk in & have everybody see this disaster.

I sucked it up & carried the cake in, humiliated & embarrassed. I explained to the planner what happened & thank God she had a backup baker in the area and was able to have her put a cake together quickly. I sat down & cried and on the drive home told myself I would never do another wedding cake & that I should just stick to cupcakes. For a while I only took “safe & simple” cake orders. Nothing that would challenge me too much or take me out my comfort zone.

Fast forward to 2022 & I’ve booked over 100 wedding cakes, majority of them being 2 and 3-tier cakes. I had to realize that I made a mistake, made it right with the bride, & beating myself up about it wasn’t doing me any good. I practiced and practiced and watched tons of videos and followed other bakers who were masters at their craft. I learned about properly supporting & transporting cakes. Had I had the same negative mindset of not being good enough to make tiered cakes, my business would have generated less than half of what it has & i honestly probably would not have a profitable business.

I always remember this day because it shows me how far I have come in my skill & mindset. Never give up because you’re challenged. Failure is what pushes us to be & do better.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.flickofthewhiskcakes.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/flickofthewhiskcakes
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/flickofthewhiskcakes
• Linkedin: N/A
• Twitter: N/A

Image Credits
Jennifer Timilyn Photography Kenz & Nick Photography Rebecca Milam Photography Alex McCormick Photo