We recently connected with Jesseca Sutherland and have shared our conversation below.
Jesseca, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share a story that illustrates an important or relevant lesson you learned in school
One of the most important lessons I learned in school was that you are only as strong as your weakest link. My highschool in particular strongly valued social and emotional learning just as much as academic learning, to the point where it was a part of our overall grade (which I’m so thankful for). Teamwork became a core part of our everyday lives, whether it was in the classroom, in the gym, on a trip, or in a student council meeting. Being reminded that everyone in our group’s efforts mattered, pushed us as students to remember to hold our weight and also helped us to hold each other accountable. If a chain has just one link that’s broken or rusty, then the chain as a whole can’t function at its highest ability. If someone were to pull it, the entire thing would either fall apart or it wouldn’t be as effective because of that one dysfunctional link. I have applied this quote and many others I’ve learned to several areas of my life, especially within the executive world. Ensuring that your team shares the same passion, vision and goals as you for your business is crucial to its success. Everyone doing their part effectively is important to the overall functionality of any good business. I’ve had to apply this concept to my personal life also, when it comes to the friends I choose and the people I surround myself with. This lesson will always stick with me because it can be applied to a variety of situations.
Jesseca, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Growing up, I often expressed myself through the arts as early as age four. Whether it was painting, crafting, dancing, singing, or acting, I always found a way to turn an idea into a reality. When you’re surrounded by a family of cooks, you’re bound to learn something about the kitchen. At age nine, I would bake cakes every other weekend with my Grandmother for our church’s Sunday School classes. I had so much fun seeing ingredients come together to create a masterpiece.
Outside of the kitchen, I saw the lack of custom cakes and desserts in the Queens borough. I remember always asking my mom why all of the cute aesthetically pleasing bakeries were only in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Having a creative mindset as a young child, the passion for baking and the desire to fulfill this need in my community birthed Jesseca’s Sweet Street at only 16 years old.
My love for the arts and DIY has also birthed my newest business Jesseca’s Craft Street, where I handcraft personalized items such as wine glasses, wedding robes, business merchandise, party favors and so much more! I ship throughout the United States.
In all that I do, my goal is always to spread the love of Jesus Christ and to inspire others to pursue his unique path for each of their lives.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Throughout my life as a young entrepreneur, there have been many hurdles I’ve had to jump over and several mountains I’ve had to climb. I’d say the experience that shows my resilience the most was reopening after having to make the executive decision to temporarily close down my business to focus on my health. There’s a saying that goes, “If you don’t take a break, your body will take it for you.” and that’s exactly what happened to me. When you’re a full-time 22-year old college student with 2 businesses, an active social life, and a night shift part-time job (at the time), your daily routine gets robotized. I was just going and going like I always have, but never at this high capacity. A lot of times we as entrepreneurs focus so much on perfecting our craft, serving others and our day-to-day responsibilities that we push our mental and spiritual health to the side. I got to a point where I found myself going in cycles in every area of my life. I became visibly unhappy, drained, and emotionally frustrated. I often wondered if and when everything I bottled up was going to bust, or if I was going to continue in this unhealthy spiral. I wasn’t eating anymore, resorted to substances for temporary satisfaction and sure enough, I was hospitalized.
In my almost 7 years of creating delicious desserts and cakes, I never really took a break. My definition of a break has always been just one-two days of rest or being out of town, so imagine having to close for 2 weeks straight? It wasn’t easy, especially because it wasn’t planned, and I don’t like letting people down, let alone my lovely customers. Although I love what I do, I realized that there was no way I could continue to show up for my customers, if I wasn’t even showing up for myself. In the midst of what seemed to be the event that would end me, I now had the opportunity to regain my focus, prioritize my health, and deepen my relationship with God. I reopened my business just 2 weeks after my discharge, fulfilled the orders I had (with my mom’s help), and my customers were waiting with open arms! Fast forward to today, I’ve never felt healthier, happier, and more whole than I am now.
Through this life changing experience I was able to re-strategize, re-organize, re-fill my plate and re-start. I also let go of draining relationships, friendships, situations and poor habits that needed to end in order for me to grow. Through God’s love, grace, mercy, strength, and deliverance I was able to recover quickly from difficult circumstances. I love my customers and have always promised to give my all in everything I do, so I thank God for his complete healing & refilling so that I can continue to pour into others!
To my fellow entrepreneurs reading this (especially the young ones); take a break, before you need a break. We are humans, not robots, and we should never take on more than we can handle. Your mental health and well-being is just as important as everything else. Take the time to refocus, recharge and refresh as many times as you need to, and don’t you ever feel bad about it!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I had to unlearn was that in order to be successful, you have to fit into society’s norm of what a profitable career looks like. As young children, we were taught in schools to aspire to be something like a doctor, lawyer, teacher, police officer, etc. The jobs listed were always popular occupations that everyone had, because they either had high/stable salaries or were always hiring those positions. I struggled with the idea that I would have to fit myself into one of these categories, because I always felt like none of the options were for me. I never knew what I wanted to be right away, but I never saw myself being in the medical, educational, or governmental field. It wasn’t until I turned 8 and started watching shows like Cake Boss, Cupcake Wars, and DC Cupcakes that I realized, I don’t have to fit into the norm. I always thought it was so cool how these adults just made the most craziest cakes and sweets all day, and this was their full-time job! Years later at age 16, I started Jesseca’s Sweet Street and it clicked. To grow up watching & learning from the most talented cake artists, and then to become one is something I didn’t think was possible. Bakers were never held to the same caliber as a teacher or a nurse and the dessert industry is often looked at as a side hobby. Despite society’s labels, this was the career that best fit me all along! I’m glad I never fit in with the others, because now I’m doing what I’ve always loved!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://msha.ke/jessecasutherland
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessecasutherland/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jsweetstreet
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesseca-sutherland-bb0aa6205/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessecastreets
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jessecastreets Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jessecastreets/
Image Credits
@VersatileLens