Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Courtney Carey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Courtney thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I developed the name of my company through my love of baking and 80s music which have been consistent passions throughout my life. Cake Me Home Tonight is a spin off the classic 80s hit, Take Me Home Tonight by Eddie Money, one of my favorite 80s tunes. The mission of my baking blog is to “help home bakers elevate their baking game” by providing readers with easy and delicious dessert recipes and simple baking tips and tutorials. The goal is to learn to “cake” at “home”.

Courtney, 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?

Baking has always been my favorite hobby since I have been a teenager. I loved being creative, developing delicious recipes, and making people smile with my sweet creations. I started to make cakes and cupcakes for close friends and family which turned into a very small side business. As I moved into my fulltime career as a mental health counselor, married my husband, and had two beautiful girls, running that baking business became impossible! As baking is my way to relieve stress and to find self-fulfillment, it was not something I was willing to give up on. In summer 2020, I looked into starting a blog to share some of my favorite recipes with my family and friends, so they could learn how to make my creations in their own kitchens. There was only one small problem, I had never built a website, used a camera, or had a presence on social media. Through a lot of self-directed education (mainly on YouTube), I built my website, started practicing with food photography and editing, and grew my presence on social media. During the summer of 2021, I had a TikTok video of my cookies and cream dessert cups go viral on TikTok, and since that time, I have been growing my audience on social media and on my blog.

On my blog, I share easy and delicious dessert recipes including cakes, cupcakes, cookies, bars and brownies, cheesecakes, no bake desserts, and dessert cups (my signature treats). I also share baking tips and tutorials to help make baking fun and easy. What I have found it that many people feel very intimidated with baking. Although measurements and techniques can be important, often times, I believe people get too caught up in is what is the “correct” or “perfect” way to do something. Baking can be fun, stress-free, and delicious!

One of the things I am the most proud of in regard to my business is that I have built everything from the ground up myself. I have dedicated countless hours to learning, improving, and creating Cake Me Home Tonight. Although I have a long way to go, I love how far I have managed to come in a short period of time.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One thing I have had to unlearn is my perfectionist tendencies. I have always had problems with perfectionism which has often led me to spin my wheels. I will not put something out into the universe if it is not “perfect”. As I had no experience with blogging, photography, or social media, I had to jump in with both feet, even if I screwed up or failed. I still struggle with thoughts of perfectionism and thinking, “why am I not at this point now?” or “why can’t I learn this particular skill?”. But to me, I think embracing the lack of perfection is what helps drive my motivation to improve, but also connect with my audience!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building a social media presence took time and persistence. Before the summer of 2020, I did not have an Instagram account and until the summer of 2021, I did not have a TikTok account. I began posting photos and videos daily with very little growth. If a video I posted had 100 views, I was thrilled! Despite the limited growth, I continued to post daily, improving my photography and videography skills. Eventually, on both platforms, I hit the algorithm correctly and had a viral video! Once a video went viral, I started growing my audience slowly but surely. I learned what my audience liked and what didn’t play as well. Currently, I have over 300k followers on TikTok and 140k followers on Instagram. My highest viewed video reached 17M views! My advice to those just starting to build their social media presence is to post often and pay attention to what your audience wants!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cakemehometonight.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cake_me_home_tonight/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/295183848951605
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKkqna3J3_hyQX2rWbLUrVw
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cakemehometonight