We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessa Mayer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jessa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
I grew up having a sweet tooth! I loved any and all kinds of baked goods/desserts. My favorite show for a long time was Cake Boss! I was totally obsessed with the idea of mixing art and cake. I have always been a very creative and artistic person, the idea of being able to work with my two favorite things was always such a big dream of mine. Throughout the years, I would bake and decorate some goofy looking cakes… lol!
I was alone on my 20th birthday and was feeling kinda down about it, all of my family was out of town and friends were busy with work. I decided to cheer/celebrate on my own by making myself a birthday cake from scratch! It was the maybe not the prettiest and kinda tasted like cornbread but I still loved everything about it. It was challenging and I love a challenge! From that point I knew I wanted to keep trying and get better! I ended up buying a dinky little decorating kit and mixer from Amazon and start there. I was able to grow my skill and begin working in the local grocery store bakery where I could hone in on my skill and learn other techniques and speed!
After I felt confident about my work and what I could accomplish, I felt like it was time to share it with everyone that wanted to see! I started up my baking instagram page and began to try selling my cakes! I felt like I was really on my way to achieving my dreams of being a real baker/decorator.
I worked long and hard at it, there were points in my life where I was working two jobs and still doing cakes on the side. Even though I was exhausted, I still had this huge love and desire to make that my only job. I knew i had to continue working really hard at it.
Fast forward to now, all the hard work has paid off. I work full time for myself as Wicked Cakes Co. and I love my job more than anything. I get to have my dream job and make people happy al at the same time. I have an amazing community around me that supports me endlessly and pushes me to succeed. I am at a pint with my business that I am booked and busy, I also now offer decorating classes where i get to share my love and knowledge with others.
I have lots of big goals and dreams for my cute small biz! I am hoping to open up a fun all pink bakery here in the next few years and take Wicked Cakes as far as I can. I love my job and wouldn’t trade it for the world!
Jessa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Like I said previously, my love of baking started at a very young age and has blossomed into the best job I’ve ever had!
I currently specialize in Vintage style cakes, pastries and wedding cakes! I have done almost every style under the sun but I love the vintage style. I love how creative you can get with the pipping and really just have fun with it! I now get to teach decorating classes on this style!
My brand is very bright, pink and retro!!! I go for fun, I love the modern look/colors but there is something so nostalgic and fun about going the more retro route! I grew up being very quirky and goofy and I want my business to reflect that and attract more of the misfit crowd because I am them!
I have done a lot of great things and have had a lot of amazing opportunities with this business but my favorite one is when I had the pleasure of making a cake for the JONAS BROTHERS!!!! I fan girdled so hard! I have always loved them, they were on my walls, on my MP3 player, I had a godly amount of Jonas Brother Merch! They came through Idaho to perform and reached out to see if I could make them a cake for Kevin Jonas’s birthday. They then presented it on stage in front of the whole stadium! I couldn’t have been happier and more proud of myself.
I can’t wait to see how far I can take this business! I can’t wait to grow and make this business the best it can be!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I try to be as personable as I can with my customers/followers. I dont want them to think I just do it for the money because thats as far from the truth as you can get. I love getting to do pop ups and meet the people that support me so much!
I also try to be my true authentic self when i meet people and when I present myself online. I want people to know that I am just a silly 25 year old girl also trying to figure out life and just happen to have this super cool business that I get to share with them.
I have always been kinda weird (in a fun way!), fun and bright and I want my customers to feel that through my business! Cakes that are just as quirky as the people that buy them!
I hope this is something that can help other people feel confident in being themselves and that you dont have to change anything about yourself to fit some mold and be successful with your business.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Not only is my job an absolute blast but getting to see how happy it makes the customers is truly the icing on the cake (pun intended)!
I love meeting with couples to go over their cakes/desserts for their big days and see how excited they are! And then when I get to drop it off and see that its everything they wanted and more is even better!
I love being a part of someone’s important day, whether thats a wedding, birthday or just something sweet to say “ I love you.”.
When people send me pictures or videos of their cake reveal, my heart literally almost bursts. Or if I’m doing a contactless pickup but can hear them squeal with excitement when they pick up their cake is EVERYTHING!
Everything about the job is so rewarding and I can’t believe I get to share that with everyone!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Wickedcakesco.com
- Instagram: https://Wickedcakes.co
- Facebook: Wicked cakes co.
Image Credits
Taryn Bliss
Kevin Jonas