We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cristina Soriano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cristina below.
Cristina , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I’ve dabbled in different job fields over the last 20 years. From banking, to waitressing to sales. I would quickly get bored and look for something that I could use my creativity in. The two professions that I would find myself loving, is being a make up artist or having my own baking business. I started baking and playing around with different recipes for my family and friends. After a ton of trial and error, I quickly began to love it! I decided I wanted to start selling my bakery about 13 years ago. Without a company name or any professional supplies, I reached out to local craft shows to set up a table and sell my bakery. I put everything in ziploc bags, showcased them in tin foil pans and I would SELL OUT! That gave me the confidence to start getting my self out there, creating a business name and Facebook page! I crated my page on Facebook in October 2010. I had just a few “likes” on my page but that didn’t stop me from posting all of the pictures of my bakery! I kept going part time for many years all while getting married, having 2 kids, being a stay at home mom and being my husbands secretary!! 3 years ago is when I realized I needed to be full time. I have sold my products in and out of local stores, from my home and in businesses. I’ve created my business with only practicing different recipes. I’m very picky with desserts so I know I needed to come up with stuff that tasted amazing! Over the last few years, I’ve grown into a small business owner and have been trying my best to provide the best desserts in my area! I’m so thankful to everyone who has supported me because if it wasn’t for referrals and support, I wouldn’t be where I am today!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I am very proud of myself for how far I have come. I am a self-taught baker. Everything I know, I have learned from watching how to videos, researching many recipes online and from cookbooks, watching Food Network and practicing recipes until I knew they were going to be a hit!
I make many different types of desserts. Anything from cakes, cupcakes, cookies, brownies and oatmeal cream pies! My best sellers are my cassata cake/cupcakes and my decorated sugar cookies.
What sets me apart from the others is I am a one woman show so everything you buy from my business has been made by me only. I use good quality ingredients, and everything is fresh- never frozen! I do my best to make sure that my customers are happy and satisfied with my bakery.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I started a Facebook page with just a few likes. After many years of being at around 300 likes, I started gaining popularity from sharing some pictures of new products and videos while I was decorating. I created a man Instagram page as well . I’ve shared a ton of stories showing my work progress. I became consistent with my content sharing and interacting with my viewers/following. My best advice is to be available to respond to messages and comments on your page and being consistent!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
There has been many times I felt overwhelmed and not good enough especially when I haven’t met the satisfaction of my customers. I have wanted to quit many times since I do take it very personally if someone is not happy with my products. I do have to constantly remind myself that the good outweighs the bad every single day and if I do make one person, unhappy, I have made hundreds happy! I also have to remind myself that I may not be for everybody, but I do my best to make sure everything is always fresh and delicious!
Contact Info:
- Website: Bakebycristina.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/Bakebycristina
- Facebook: Facebook.com/bakebycristinasoriano