We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jazminn Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jazminn, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
In February of 2020 I had just given birth to my son, 2 weeks later I was being medically retired from the Army after I was diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder. At 25 years old the thought of never having to work again was so strange. A few months passed and I had become comfortable taking care of a tiny human and I suddenly realized I was bored A LOT. I think a lot of stay at home moms can become consumed by motherhood so much we forget ourselves and our passions. I thought to myself I want to be a baking mom when my son is older I want to send him to school with muffins and treats. So I started practicing. Eventually I discovered YouTube had a vault of videos on how to make fancy cakes and for weeks I spent all my nights and free time watching cupcake Jemma. I started getting really good with all the techniques and people wanted to buy from me. On top of that I noticed backing was incredibly good for my mental health and it made me feel good about myself to know that I had other skills outside of being a soldier which had been whole whole life for the past few years. Then it hit me I would specialize in military ceremony cakes. Which is not what I’m most known for. I had a special understanding and connection to services members and I also had a skill which was very desirable to them when they would get promoted or retired.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a 25 year old self taught cake artist. I create custom cakes most specializing in military ceremonies. All my projects are created completely by me since I’m a one woman shop. I started my business after I retired from the Army and I use baking and cake decorating as therapy for my mental health.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The absolute best source of clients for me are events where I’m delivering and cutting cakes. I’m always sure to bring cards and wear my brand. When people see and taste my cake they are always interested in having one at their next event. Other than that social media is also so important 80% of my booking come through Facebook and the rest through my website.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
My advice it to do one thing at a time. Think about one task at a time only. It’s impossible to give all of your attention to several tasks. It’s much better to focus on one thing and give it your all, than it is to try and spread yourself thin. For morale it’s simple when you feel overwhelmed take a day off. I know it sounds crazy but you are way more productive when you feel recharged.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.jazzys-sweets.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jazzys__sweets/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/JazzysSweetsTM/