We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kemaya Molden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kemaya , thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Hard work and dedication- as the late Nipsey Hussle would say. It’s all about not giving up. I believe in myself and in my work so I know where it can take me. In the hard times you have to want to succeed, that’s all it takes! Pushing through all the really tough times makes it all worth it.

Kemaya , 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?

I’ve been baking for a long time- starting with an easy bake oven! I progressed to box mixes and real ovens when I owned my own business at 12. Fast forward to right out of high school. I began experimenting out of inspiration from the show, Cupcake Wars, on Netflix. I made my first pound cake for my neighbor and she encouraged me to sell. Now I’m here- running my own store front, becoming a manager, growing right before my own eyes. It’s absolutely challenging! It’s fun though, and I’m learning and experiencing more than I ever could’ve imagined. The support from the public is astronomical. The reviews and smiles I receive are heartwarming to say the least.

Every treat I create has its own backstory and is packed with tons of nostalgia; one of the things that makes Maya’s Bakes unique 😉. Being that Maya’s Bakes is my own canvas, I’m able to create, experience and learn new things everyday!

I have completed courses through the Findlay Learn: Growing Into a Storefront 2022 accelerator program. Absolutely recommended to anyone wanting to start a food business. Maya’s Bakes has a lot coming in 2023. During this course and storefront process I’ve learn so much about myself as an entrepreneur and about Maya’s Bakes as a business. I’ve developed new methods of operations, my creativity is through the roof because the limitless opportunities presented to me, and feeling in control of my own destiny really helps with daily motivation.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I got some really good advice on Maya’s Bakes Instagram account last year from another business owner, Tiffany B. of Sweet Mae’s’ Cookie Co. Not only did she help me with a clean up, she helped with exposure as well. Her advice was to delete EVERYTHING and post the product that was the focus. At this point it was The Best Brownie, but I can be stubborn so I left a few pictures of things I felt still fit in. Luckily I did! When she dropped my name in her influencer group, they spotted my pink cookie and insisted the Pink Lemonade Cookie be apart of the come up.

Having a clean straight forward page is absolutely the most professional way to go & having influencers shout you out is amazing exposure.

Of course study your algorithms, schedule posts, and most importantly dedicate time and attention to your social media.

My personal page, @mayaplainjane, has over 100k followers, but engagement is up and down- which reflects my dedication to it. Maya’s Bakes Instagram has over 2k followers and growing everyday. I’ve decided to focus more on it, making a 5k follower goal before our next shop grand opening in early 2023!

My advice: set goals and stick to it! Make quality content and have fun.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

Maya’s Bakes Shop is actually the newest venture/stream of income. Maya’s Bakes serves the community in other ways in addition to local pop ups and our store front.

Maya’s Bakes: Ice Cream Social is an event fit for networking, celebrations, & kicking back while enjoying self made ice cream sundaes. The goal is to obtain a food truck/trailer and take it on the road! Available for booking anytime of the year but ICS season is April through July for us, so be on the lookout for an event reflecting such!

A Taste of Maya’s Bakes is a production that showcases the love for the product. It captures raw reactions from real people and is such a fun day for all involved. Our very first production is on Maya’s Bakes YouTube channel. We have a bunch of inquiries for the next episode! If you’re interested in participating in this production email icsevents@mayasbakes.com. Our goal for this is for it to blow up and have people traveling to be apart of this production!

Maya’s Bakes: ForFun! is a baking program designed to encourage easy baking, which promotes social skills, critical thinking, sparks creativity and rewards with therapeutic effects and the sense of accomplishment. This program is what I’m doing ALL of this for. My absolute main goal is to have MBFF! instilled in after school programs, summer camps, I want it to be frequented like the movies and sip & paints; I want it to be a way of life- very much normalized. I know what baking has done for me, and to hear people discouraged because they never had the chance to explore kitchen art in a safe environment, moves me to take action.

We also offer nationwide shipping and we wholesale to DashMart- DoorDash convenient stores- currently in 4 locations planning to expand soon.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mayasbakes.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/mayasbakesllc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mayasbakes
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/mayasbakes
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@mayasbakes1953

Image Credits
@Off.the.cuff.kitchen pink cookie Findlay Market headshot Cincinnati Magazine pound cake & print