We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeanine Lynch. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeanine below.

Jeanine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Oh yes! One can definitely earn a full-time living from custom cake decorating. You will need to gain some experience so that your work speaks for itself, but with a show of ability you can make this work for you!

When the market dropped out around 2008, I began to pray and ask the Lord for ideas that would continue to grow income as a service to people, despite a bad economy. We had been in the decorative arts business for many years, but that truly was not a necessity and people could simply choose not do anything extra to their homes or businesses until the economy picked back up.

At the time, I had a friend who needed help getting her wedding planned. She had a twin sister who would have normally help her, but her twin had been put to bed-rest carrying her own twins! So I volunteered to help my friend. When we came around to getting her bridal shower cake, I realized I didn’t have a plan.

After looking around, I thought that surely I could make her cake, because it was, after all, only ART! Fortunately her cake was a huge success, and I started getting asked to make cakes.

Shortly after that I realized that THIS was probably the new way to keep earning income AND do ART which I LOVE, all while serving and pleasing people! How perfect! Making special design, custom cakes is completely an ART (not bakery type cakes), and people will always want to celebrate something!

Thankful to the Lord, I was happily making cakes here and there. BUT, and there’s always a “but” right?

But one day the Department of Health showed up at my door and said we were illegal, and she could take me to jail right then! I was stunned. We never found out who turned us in… So we really had to be persistent in looking for places. We priced rental kitchens (too high, too much trouble), asked churches, and approached many restaurants which couldn’t work for a variety of reasons.

So I got my food safety license, and kept looking for a place I could work from legally. Eventually, we found Chef Leroy with “Caribbean Flavors” restaurant. He was wonderful and took me in and allowed me to work from his restaurant.

About a year after that time, my state had started allowing Cottage Industry bakers, but MY COUNTY would never accredit anyone. Never. So I kept praying and watching. One day, on Facebook, I saw that someone in our county had indeed gotten a license! That was sooo exciting! We began our research on how to get the. Cottage Bakery license. I ended up writing a “How To” paper which I’ve since shared with many people wanting to start in the caking industry.

Time went by and we became completely licensed, insured, and approved for a home bakery by the Cottage Industry, State of Georgia.

As far as advertising, very early on, I had started filling out free online advertising ads with several different places. Through the years, that paid off and we became the number 1 custom-cake-place in our area. As time went by though, search engines and social media became different. So now, I have to put in quite a bit of time trying to keep up with what key words and search engines want. BUT, it is STILL a great industry to be in.

Also through the beginning years, my husband, Tom, came on and became our Head Chef, and analytical advisor, purchaser, and DELIVER. He soon learned enough that he helps me with covering cakes in fondant, and some of the decor. It’s just wonderful to work together with your spouse! We have a smooth flow, and ideas, and “how-t0s” come together easily. I couldn’t do this business without him! So I do recommend that you have someone to help you.

I also think it is important that you develop a product to sell, or a way to help people besides the cakes.

At the beginning of the year, I published a book, called “Kidz EZ Pro Cakez.” This book is a great way to learn the PROFESSIONAL way to make and DECORATE cakes from the very beginning. Why not learn the right way instead of having to figure it out later! I think this book is perfect for the beginner adult and any child able to read and have oversight, to learn about custom cake decorating.

Another thing we have done is we have developed cake separator stands, among which is a “MISSING TIER” stand, and we are the ONLY U.S. made products of this type.

We have made cakes for Disney, and other TV shows, and celebrities along the way; have been featured in “Perfect Wedding Guide,” and “Voyage Atlanta”; we feel very blessed.

We are a luxury, custom cake business, specializing in custom decorated wedding cakes, edible-art cakes, and Carved cakes for all occasions, including corporate events. We love to help make every celebration fun and memorable!
​
Sooo, let us give you something that will be the “WOW Factor” at your event! After all, It Takes the Cake To Make The Party Complete!℠

We proudly serve Metro Atlanta and surrounding areas including North Georgia.

Here we are today, just wanting to shout-out that we are here to help you have your dream cake! We listen very closely, and ask questions, and figure out just the right way to bring your vision into being.

We also have been told time after time that our cakes taste really good! So that is a definite plus! In fact we’ve had brides tell us that they wish they’d had more cake because it was gone so quickly that they didn’t even get any!

So if you are interested in getting into the field of custom decorated cakes, do your research. Find out who in your area already does it successfully, and watch them for a while. Give them a call to ask some questions. Follow people on IG and FB. Watch the trends. When developing your pricing figure in your skill level and build from there. Go ahead and start out small, and work your way gradually into more difficult cake designs. Don’t be afraid to try to new things. And don’t be afraid to call a fellow Caker and ask for help or advise!

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?

Since I told most of this in the previous area, I will talk about the most important thing to know about us. We believe that we are truly service oriented.

We delight in pleasing you. We want to listen, and read between the lines to hear what makes your perfect dream cake perfect for YOU. We love to come up with original designs and ideas; we LOVE to see the SMILES on the faces of the brides and others who get to experience our cakes!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

It’s definitely the journey along the way, and especially the people we make smile! Being creative, gives such joy to us. But it also usually brings in a type of perfectionism that isn’t healthy. So the one thing about that is, you have to eventually learn when hand-made is perfect with its minor imperfections! Hand-made is the most wonderful gift you can give. It takes your time, your resources, your experience, your talents, and makes YOUR creativity original to only YOU. Don’t be afraid to fail. Just learn from the experience what to do differently the next time. As artists, we can have a hard time with what’s in our heads, and getting THAT into a show piece. But also as artists, each one of us has something unique to share with the world. When you take conventional art and turn it into CAKE ART, you are just moving one step further into a realm that is hard to control. Cakes is cake, and therefore not permanent. We have to learn how create and how to let go. We make one client totally gleefully happy, and then we are already moving onto the next client. The really good part of this business is that usually clients become friends! I so totally appreciate my clients and new friends.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I think the most trying time for me was before the State of Georgia allow Cottage bakeries, and then even when the state did, Gwinnett County did not. It was very frustrating to want so badly to make cakes, yet knowing I HAD to find a way to do it legally.

It takes perseverance to build any business and caking is no different. You have to be constantly looking for answers, and constantly looking for new ideas. Keep knocking when the answers are no, or just not helpful. Eventually, you will find someone who is willing to help you or advise you.

It can be painful to fail. But not giving up, and finding a way to make something work is what makes entrepreneurs successful. But the FAIL can bring a whole lot of light. Failing can bring brand new ideas, brand new ways, and brand new products to the field.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ittakesthecakeonline.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ittakesthecakelawrenceville/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ItTakesTheCakeOnline
• Other: Google: https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=it+takes+the+cake+on+Google&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Image Credits
Jeanine Lynch