We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erika Roberts a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Erika, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
None of us are born with the knowledge we need to succeed, so we have to put our boots on the ground and persevere through the struggles to gain knowledge. There will always be obstacles and you cannot get stuck focusing on failure. There will also always be competition, so sometimes you must be even more determined to succeed than those around you. Success comes from having the resolve and the courage to see your work through to the end.
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.
My name is Erika Roberts. I am a Spanish Teacher/Entrepreneur. I started working in my Cottage Business in the middle of the pandemic in the year 2020. When I first moved to Lakeland, I was working in a café as an assistant manager. Long story short, the pandemic hit, and people were afraid to go out to eat. During this time, one of my neighbors, who was a big fan of my baked goods, encouraged me to do a side business, and Sweet Bakes and Creates was born.. My first orders were from friends and family. Word traveled, and the rest was history. Here I am keeping my business afloat from home. I’m still taking orders according to Florida Cottage Business Law.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Starting my business during a pandemic meant subjecting myself to more risk than is present for the average entrepreneur. I mean, why would someone want to open a business in the middle of a pandemic when so many other businesses and bakeries were shutting down? It was difficult to get all the supplies I needed for each order, and receiving orders online was not dependable. There were times when I would work hard to produce an order and the customers would back out. Not having a storefront made order cancellation easier for people to do. Other times I would drive to make no-contact delivery orders in really sketchy places and wonder if I was going to get paid. There was so much risk involved when not being able to speak and work directly with customers in person. But then I realized everyone was faced with so much fear and depression that went along with their own risks. In a time when people were losing hope, I wanted to give them a reason to smile. So I started taking opportunities to give away free baked goods to the mail carrier, and the trash collector and others in my community. It was amazing how just a small cookie could brighten their day and not only keep them going, but keep me going as well.
Have you ever had to pivot?
There is plenty of competition for small bakeries from the big box stores. They can produce larger orders at a cheaper price; however, the quality is, of course, not as high. Still the competition makes it difficult to pay the bills simply by income earned through the bakery. So I was forced to consider utilizing my other skills and talents to make ends meet. I worked with an insurance agency for a while, helped manage a café, and eventually became a Spanish teacher. I had to pivot and I have to work to hold on to my dream.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Sweet Bakes and Creates
- Facebook: Sweet Bakes and Creates