We were lucky to catch up with Josalyn Mayfield recently and have shared our conversation below.

Josalyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

In 2017 I was living in New York City and working in finance at a prominent wealth investment company. The money was great, but my days were horrible. I felt stuck. I was miserable everyday walking in the office feeling unfulfilled. In Q4 I made a goal to leave the company in 2018 Q1. Fast forward to March 1, 2018, my last day at that job – and I remember it being one of the freest feelings I’ve ever experienced. Two weeks later and I found out that I was pregnant with my first child. I thought “now God, why would you do this to me?” I had big dreams and ambitions with a solid plan to start my own business, but I knew that I couldn’t pursue that particular business while being pregnant. 9 months later (December 2018) I had my son, and towards the end of that month I said to myself “I’m going to teach myself how to bake, and if I’m good at it I’ll make it a business”. The reason I was motivated to learn the skill at home was I loved being in the kitchen, I knew I could do it in the comfort of my home, and I knew people enjoyed sweets. So at the beginning of 2019 I was learning two complicated things: 1. how to be a mom and 2. how to bake. Honestly, both were harder than I anticipated…lol. But with the help of youtube and hours of testing in the kitchen I mastered the french macaron – it was the first baked good I taught myself how to do. I allowed people to try them and they loved it. I knew I had something special, so I learned how to build a website, got all of my business endeavors in order, and launched April 2019. From there we’ve expanded our product-line, shipped nationwide, opened a kiosk in downtown Atlanta, and actively looking for a storefront.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am originally from Philadelphia, and attended Clark Atlanta University from 2006-2010. I always boast that the years I attended college were the prime years of Atlanta. I can remember hanging with friends downtown at the Underground and Little Five Points, and catching Marta to go anywhere there was a train – these were exciting times. There was something special about Atlanta to me, it always felt like home, and I knew if I ever left I would somehow make my way back. But after graduating, I left Atlanta to pursue my MBA abroad – I lived in London and Thailand for 18 months. During that time I was able to explore so many other countries, immerse myself in other cultures and try new foods. Although my degrees were in business and finance, I always knew my future would be in food. After several years of working in finance, I took a leap one day and left. Getting pregnant and being home full-time brought me closer to my kitchen. For me my kitchen turned into my therapy – I was learning a lot about myself. Patience. Details. Ingredients. Flavor combos. Creativity and so much more. Once I launched my baking business I became obsessed with seeing customers happy and couldn’t stop creating. I moved back to Atlanta in January 2020 and boom, the pandemic hits a couple months later. It was a confusing time for me, I was pregnant again, a new homeowner and the world was in a frenzy. I put the business on pause to re-strategize and that’s when I came across the kiosk downtown. Before I applied to become a kiosk vendor, I first wanted to visit downtown. Lets just say it wasn’t the lively downtown that I was used to. Storefronts were vacant. The Underground was closed. Food establishments were scarce. And the people just looked miserable. I said, “I wonder if exciting desserts could bring some excitement down here?”, and that became my why. Sweet Heads opened its kiosk downtown in October 2022 to serve the overlooked communities. Our mission is to make an impact on tastebuds and people through our desserts and service.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Being my authentic self. People will buy product, but they are really buying you. It doesn’t matter what type of day I’m having, my customers will always receive a smile and good conversation. Second is making sure the product looks and taste bomb! If they love your product(s) and like you, they always come back for more.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Referrals. Most of my new customers shop with me because a friend, colleague, professor, etc. told them about me. I believe word-of-mouth will always be the most powerful form of marketing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sweetheadsatl.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/sweetheadsatl