We were lucky to catch up with Daphnne Laurent recently and have shared our conversation below.

Daphnne, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I am highly intuitive, so I innately knew I would continue my passion for baking from my childhood, the question was always how?

I realized that I wanted to pursue my career full-time when I was in my second year of college. I remember trying to gain clientele for Valentine’s Day in 2o2o, a few weeks before COVID. I wanted so badly to fulfill orders; I cared more about the orders I received than I did my classes! I stayed up to complete them, perfect my packaging and store them for pickup on the following days, totally disregarding the time. Before I knew it, it was 4am and my class was scheduled for 9am that morning. I didn’t get adequate rest that night and I knew I would have to resume my orders when I got back. Naturally, I attended class. I remember dosing off in front of the class and my professor calling me out for it. From that moment on, I knew what mattered most to me and it definitely wasn’t finishing that semester.

Divinely, lockdown struck a few weeks later, making it harder to focus on my classes, which subsequently led me to discontinue. I briefly worked at a local bakery some months prior, where I learned the basics of cake structure and the crumb coating process. I took what I was taught and applied it into making my very first cake at home! I used my own cake and buttercream recipe and improved as much as I could with the resources I had. I’m very appreciative of how determined I was then and going with my first mind, no matter the circumstance. All of what I did back then is what led me to having the knowledge, experience and skills I have 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.

As a cake artist, I provide services for events including but not limited to birthday celebrations, baby showers and weddings. I focus on making my clients’ experience pleasant, memorable and, of course, delicious! My most requested services are cakes, cupcakes and chocolate covered confections which are customized and personalized to match their requests.

Most times, I record and share my decorative process to my Instagram and TikTok accounts, This helps me bring in more clientele, as well as reach and inspire an audience of other creatives who need help or may want to learn a new skill!

In addition to custom orders, I am a mentor which welcomes people who are just beginning in cake decorating or have already started pursuing a career in custom confections to come to me for tips or questions they may have. I offer online and virtual 1-on-1 cake classes that focus on each person’s individual goals to start decorating cakes with a technique I curated within my own experience. Each class includes an all inclusive participance from 2 to 3.5 hours, depending on the student’s goal. I incorporate light lunch and refreshments, my cake and buttercream recipe, a small starter kit for cake decorating. I strive to ensure each person leaves with a personalized experience that helped them gain confidence, get comfortable and enhance their skills to continue their cake careers!

I share my gifts and my voice in hopes to inspire and motivate others who may be afraid to pursue their crafts. So far, it’s been well received. I am grateful to be able to make a difference in people’s lives in the way that I do and I plan to continue sharing my work with the world.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When I started, I tried to engage with as many people as I could. In college, I would greet people with cupcakes and ask for a follow on my social media accounts in exchange. Even though it worked at the time and some people are still supportive, I realized that method doesn’t do as much as word of mouth does. Eventually I grew more confident and comfortable in my work as I progressed and started to post frequently.

Consistency plays a huge role in social media. When building an audience, it’s best to consistently show your work, who you are, and your thoughts. People are always listening and watching, whether you feel that way or not. I know how anxiety inducing this can be, especially for beginners, but I feel it’s very important to overcome that worry, doubt and fear. It gets easier the more you do it! If two out of two hundred people connect with you, acknowledge and appreciate them as you would a whole crowd! I try my best to promote authenticity, that way it is easier for your audience to find you and connect with you as opposed to you searching for the “right” crowd.

I feel like many creators show what they want to be seen to portray an image of themselves that is aesthetically pleasing to others. While I don’t see it as an issue, it can be detrimental to an audience and portray an image of perfection when life isn’t that. I found that sharing my real, whole, authentic self connects me with my community. I am who I am on and off social media, so when I meet people and inform them of my work, they stick around!

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

Even though I am self sufficient in my own ways, I learned that not everything has to be done alone. There have been too many instances where hyper independence got the best of me which resulted in feelings of loneliness, burnout, and mistakes that could’ve been avoided. Solving this issue did not happen overnight. It took a lot of mental and emotional self work to investigate and overcome it.

Asking for help from a friend, peer or family member can really save you stress. I remember many instances where solving a problem on my own stressed me out more than it relieved me. Once I started expressing my troubles and leaning on the people I knew I could trust, my life has become significantly easier. More times than not, the assistance and resources I needed to solve a problem was within my reach. I had a bad habit of thinking and saying “I thought I was the only one!” when sharing my experiences with others. When you build relationships with people, learn to give as much as you take. Be sure to give thanks and appreciate those in your corner; whether it’s a listening ear, advice, resourcing or networking, there’s always someone. If you don’t have a community, I suggest you build one starting with yourself!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.delightsdlaurent.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/delightsdlaurent?utm_medium=copy_link
• Other: https://linktr.ee/delightsdlaurent Cake Inquiry Form: https://delightsdlaurent.com/contact TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPd6oShoV/