Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jess Wright. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jess, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Growth is exciting, but from what we’ve seen across thousands of conversations with entrepreneurs it’s also dangerous if costs aren’t watched closely – sometimes costs can grow out of control outpacing revenue growth and putting the viability of the entire business at risk. How have you managed to keep costs under control?
Keeping costs under control for my area of work is definitely a little more difficult these days. It’s no secret that inflation has just become a little depressing, for everyone. The food industry especially because, the more you make, the more you have to spend to keep inventory up. Not only am I dealing with product cost, but since Covid, I have to constantly deal with finding products in stock. Some weeks I can’t find cream cheese, some weeks I have a hard time finding eggs, etc. Because a lot of items are so scarce, it also makes whatever you do find super expensive. Being a pastry chef, there are just some things you cannot substitute. For example, a strawberry cake. I had to travel to three different grocery stores just last week to find strawberries for a cake. Not only was that costing me gas, time, and energy, but I knew whenever I found them, I would have to pay whatever cost because I absolutely had to have them. With all of that being said, how I try to control cost as I grow is by buying in bulk as much as I possibly can. SAM’s club has been amazing for my business. And also having a great family and friends who are always willing to help (at no cost) when I have large orders or during super busy times when I am overwhelmed with orders and just need an extra hand. I have only been in business for about a year and half, so I am still learning how to keep cost down and the more experience I get the more I understand what things I am okay with cutting back on and how to really get the best bang for my buck.
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?
My name is Jess Wright and I am a pastry chef in Lawrenceburg, Tn. I went to culinary school at The Art Institute of Nashville, where I graduated with my Associates in baking and pastry. However, this wasn’t my plan originally and I didn’t always know I wanted to be a pastry chef or what direction I wanted to go.
I went to MTSU after high school where I graduated with a degree in marketing. I got a job during college as a pharmacy tech, and after I graduated from MTSU I continued to work there until I figured out “what I wanted to do with my life”. I was not very passionate about marketing, and I will admit, I only chose marketing, because my guidance counselor told me I could do a lot with that degree, and I could figure out my passion later. While this is very true, you can do a lot with a business degree, something just didn’t feel right, and I wasn’t motivated to find any work in this area.
It wasn’t until one night I had just gotten home from work, and I was watching TV with my sister, we always watched Food Network, but we made a point to watch the Kids Baking Championship shows every week. I remember sitting there thinking how awesome it would be to just wake up every day and bake. I have always loved to bake. I get it from both of my grandmothers who baked all the time and were so good at it, but I never thought about doing it as a career. I could never see myself working in a restaurant or anywhere fast paced, that was just not my style and I thought that’s where I would have to work if I did something like that. So, while I was sitting there watching little kids follow their dreams I decided to google “culinary schools near me” and The Art Institute of Nashville popped up. I clicked the link and filled out the information to view the brochure, and the next thing I knew I had told my parents and we were touring the school. I fell in love with the school and the curriculum, knowing I would have an entire class on chocolates, breads, pastries, was just so exciting to me and I had found my passion. I was finally excited and motivated about something.
I graduated with my Associates in baking and pastry in a little under a year. I was a top student and an overachiever; I traveled 4 days a week from Lawrenceburg to Nashville at 2:30 am for a class that started at 5:30am. I was so punctual and could not stand the thought of being a second late. So, I would arrive around 4:00 and take a nap in my car until class started. I was the complete opposite student than I was at MTSU. It truly is amazing the difference it makes when you are passionate and excited about something.
Towards the end of my year of culinary school I was introduced to a woman by someone who knew someone who knew someone who knew that I was fixing to graduate culinary school. It was definitely fate, and my next journey landed into my lap. Not only did I think I couldn’t be a pastry chef and not work in a restaurant, but I definitely didn’t think I could be a pastry chef in my small hometown either. Until I got a call from the owner of an assisted living facility called Keestone. I had lived in Lawrenceburg my entire life, at the time 26 years, and had never heard of this place. It was 5 minutes from my house, they had three locations and were in the talks of opening a fourth location, but this one would be a retirement community and in Loretto, Tn, about 15 minutes from my house. Here, they would be in need of a pastry chef. This is where the fate comes in. I went for an interview that next day and was hired as an intern that day until I graduated and then I would be hired, if all went well, as a full-time pastry chef. At first, all I was responsible for was making and delivering desserts every day to the three facilities so their residents would have really nice desserts to look forward to after lunch and dinner, this kept me very busy, but this was also the time where they were in the process of building the Keestone Resort. Everything I was doing, was preparing me for becoming the pastry chef when the resort opened.
I was at Keestone/ Keestone Resort for almost 5 years. I learned the technical things at culinary school, but my time at Keestone really shaped who I wanted to be not only as a pastry chef, but a business owner as well. I was able to practice basically every day, learn new recipes and get out of my comfort zone. I had to teach myself new techniques and make stuff not only taste amazing but look like it came out of a magazine. That is still what I strive to do every day. Early 2021 I decided to take a huge leap of faith and start my own business “Baked Jess Wright” working out of my home. With the help of my family and friends, I turned my garage at home into a commercial kitchen where I bake for the public every single day. I get to wake up and bake, just like I had wanted all those years ago while watching Food Network and though having your own business is difficult at times, it is the most rewarding thing I’ve accomplished thus far.
Since I am not yet a storefront, my business model is a call-ahead, pre-order basis. I have been able to build my clientele enough to where I stay busy at all times, and sometimes am working 7 days a week. I am blessed to have some of my desserts in restaurants around town and stay extremely busy during the weekends. I have some specialty items that I can make with my eyes closed and am learning new recipes all the time where social media has helped me tremendously. Posting new items, seeing customers reactions and being able to sell stuff and reach so many people I would otherwise not be able to, has helped make my business successful. Some specialty and bestselling items would definitely be my Key Lime Pie, cheesecakes, oatmeal cream pies, I also love to make specialty pastries such as chocolate domes, chocolate tortes with a chocolate mousse, and even taking something simple and turning it into a fancy dessert that looks like it took hours to make.
I think something that sets me apart from others, especially where I’m from, is that there’s not a whole lot I can’t or won’t do, if there’s something I’ve never done before, I love the challenge of trying it over and over until I learn how. I don’t have just one area of expertise because I truly love it all. Pastry is such a passion of mine and I truly love what I do every single day.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
I would say the most effective strategy of building my clientele would be being consistent with social media. Facebook has been such a significant part of growing my business and I never post something without getting someone new messaging me about something they need or would like to try. It’s almost like when you post something you remind someone “oh yeah, I need to order that birthday cake” or “oh yeah, I’ve been wanting to try that new dessert she posted” There’s also the aspect of people posting something they’ve tried of yours and tagging your business where people who maybe have never heard of you see it, and then they are interested, so they start following you and it just creates so much noise and activity, I love having that form of marketing at my fingertips.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I would definitely say attending culinary school has helped build my reputation. I was fortunate enough to be taught by some extremely talented chefs and learned so many different techniques that I’m not sure I would know today had I not attended school. Word of mouth about me attending culinary school is what landed me my first job right after I graduated.
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