We recently connected with Heather Scott and have shared our conversation below.

Heather, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My mom was my biggest encourager and I am sure that she has the best view from heaven, watching the creations that I have made and continue to make. I come from a single parent household; but I did not feel that I lacked anything. I was taught the value of hard work and saw that in my mother, as she worked six days a week and was also the caretaker for my grandmother. She taught me the value of being a person of integrity, which is incredibly important. In a world where people want to take shortcuts for instant gratification, there are many nights I am up super late until 2:00AM in the morning. I then have to turn around and stay focused at my corporate job where I count millions of dollars daily. I know that one day, I will be able to handle my own million dollar portfolio with minimal variances and no issue! On this journey from the hard work & integrity I learned from my mother, helps to push me on days where I am super tired or feel like giving up.

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

As a child, I would curiously watch my mother and grandmother cook and I loved the final results with the love that you could taste in each dish. While I was in college and bored from the mundane selections from the cafeteria, I began honing in on my cooking and baking skills. Any of my friends that lived in the same dormitory knew that I would experiment with different food and they were my taste testers. Fun fact, I do not have any recipes written down; they are all memorized! Fast forward a few years after graduation, and a church member and friend asked me to cook her anniversary dinner for her and her husband. As I am finishing up cooking, I look up different bible verses on marriage, and write the verses on the containers for them to review as they are enjoying their meal. She saw the joy that I had as I packaged up their food. In my kitchen, we prayed together on if it was Gods will for my gift to be used as a business that he would make a way. The very next week, an old college friend asked if I still baked and wanted to know if she could place an order for 5 cakes for a family function. She told me she was ready to pay in full and that she did not expect a discount. I also ended up preparing and being paid for an additional three food dishes to prepare. On a weekly basis for the next 3 months, orders began to roll in. I researched cottage law for the state of Missouri, what steps to take to obtain a business license and initiate the process for obtaining an LLC. on December 27, 2017 I filed my LLC with the state of Missouri, became food handler certified and the journey continues 5 years later!

I prepare cakes, cupcakes, cookies, ice cream, cheesecake and I have even made dessert egg rolls as well! My heart goes into every dessert and food dish that I prepare and I think that is truly what sets me apart. Even in times where I should charge more to make a better profit, I sometimes take a loss to make sure that the item exceeds my customers expectations. I am been blessed far beyond my wildest expectations or any financial loss that I have taken, For the past two years, I have exceeded more than 10K in sales and the best is yet to come!!!

I think that I am most proud of how my portfolio continues to expand because I would not have imagined the things that I have created would have come to life!

I want customers to know that I appreciate your support and encouragement and it means the world to me that you are supporting my dream.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

This close call had me on the edge the entire time! I work with a few party planners who in most cases order weekly or bi-weekly. It is really exciting to be a part of so many special occasions. This one planner placed multiple orders in the week two events were on Saturday and one event on Sunday.

After leaving my corporate job, I went grocery shopping and grabbed some more supplies that I would need to complete the orders for the following two days. I get a call from the planner and she asked me if I was sitting down and was I home. I told her no, I am at the grocery store and would be home in about an hour. It was 5:30 at the time. She tells me she mixed up the dates on her calendar and one of the parties that she needed desserts for was starting at 7:00PM. I texted my husband to see if he could get a ride from a coworker (we share one car and he was not off work until 615 which means that I would not have been home until close to 7PM (when the party started). I told her I could have the desserts ready by 8:30PM. I immediately text my husband again and told him it was imperative that he get off work on time so that I can meet this deadline. We quickly drove home, I prayed for strength and nerves of steel to be able to complete the task needed. I went home, washed my hands sanitized the kitchen and began quickly working. Thankfully it was chocolate covered treats and cheesecake parfait cups which do not require a lot of time to complete. I have never moved so fast in my life. The planner pulled up to pick up the order at 8:20PM and I had it ready. I sat and celebrated and tried to catch my breath cleaned my kitchen and started the process over again for the orders that were due for the rest of the weekend. I have now implemented a rule for myself to try to have the order ready a day ahead of schedule so that if the order is needed earlier than originally planned, it will be ready. What a close call!!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source for new clients, has been referrals from existing clients. They know that I will do my best and give my all with their orders, ensure that I have concise communication and value their time. I have looked into email and text marketing as well to make sure that I am continuing to maintain the relationship in between orders. Since my budget sometimes is limited depending on sales, and personal responsibilities it is hard to maintain consistent paid marketing strategies to continue to foster those important customer relationships.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sensational-flavors.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sensational.flavors/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sensationalflavors
• Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sensational.flavors?_t=8VsGAQox5Ek&_r=1