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

Juliette, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I went to college thinking I was going to come out being a strength and conditioning coach at one of the biggest colleges in the United States. Although I did work as a coach and private trainer for a couple of years after graduating, I never would have thought I would leave everything behind to start a baking business. While I was working as a personal trainer at a small gym in Pennsylvania, I started baking on the side for fun and a little extra cash. As word of mouth started to spread about my baked goods, orders started piling up and I was working 60-80 hour weeks. Once COVID hit, I decided I needed to take a big risk by leaving my full time job and starting my own baking business. I knew nothing about professional baking, let alone starting my own business. Luckily, I had parents who were entrepreneurs in multiple businesses and I was able to learn from them how to navigate getting started. I also worked with a non-profit organization who specifically works with individuals starting their own businesses. They were able to walk me through all the steps I needed to take to officially become an LLC. The Little Italian Baker has been in business for 2+ years now and, even though it was a big risk to start a business on my own, I have no regrets. I love what I do.

Juliette, 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?

My name is Juliette Arciuolo and I am ‘The Little Italian Baker’! I grew up learning to bake from my mom, grandmothers, and aunts. I remember standing on a chair, watching my mom in the kitchen and just wanting to learn how to make everything. I am lucky to have three brothers who were my very first taste testers and my toughest critics. I love to bake because I love that feeling of making something and watching the reaction of the person eating it. Getting to see them take the first bite and watching their reaction is what I love. Ironically, I graduated college with a bachelors in Behavioral Health and Strength and Conditioning. I went to school to be a Strength Coach and even worked at a few universities. I moved over to the private sector and began working as a personal trainer. Once I started having more time throughout the day, I started baking again and it quickly grew into my very own baking business. I started off decorating cakes and cupcakes and now have shifted primarily to custom decorated sugar cookies! I am able to take any clients dream and create it on to a sugar cookie. Although there are a lot of bakers out there, I like to think I am one of a kind when it comes to my work. I am not just a baker, I am an artisan. I might not be professionally trained but I put a lot of pride into my work and have learned over the years how to take my cookies to the next level. You won’t find cookies like mine at the grocery store. Each cookie is made by hand and unique to each customer. For any special occasion, The Little Italian Baker cookies will take your event to the next level!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I am going to be honest. When it came to building my social media presence, it took me YEARS! I was posting multiple times a day, on multiple platforms. I had to create so much content. The best advice I can give to anyone trying to build their social media presence would be to be active. Post daily on all your platforms, comment on other posts and make yourself known. Social media is so saturated and the best thing to do is see what is ‘viral’ and run with it.

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

The best source for all my new clients would mainly be social media and word of mouth. On top of having my location on all my posts, I also hashtag my location so when a customer is looking for a local baker, they can find my work. Another source for clients is pop-up shops. I have been invited by stores like Anthropologie for the holidays and promote my business!

Contact Info:

• Website: thelittleitalianbaker.com
• Instagram: @thelittleitalianbaker
• Facebook: The Little Italian Baker
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@thelittleitalianbaker
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@thelittleitalianbaker

Image Credits
Any professional photos of me were taken by Krystal Blazer Photography