We were lucky to catch up with Ke’Nyzjah Ferebee recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Ke’Nyzjah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
Ever since I was a little girl, I had always dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur. I watched my father work hard, and my mom study entrepreneurship in college. I planned never to have to work for anyone else. I was inspired by famous entrepreneurs’ determination, creativity, risk-taking, and many other skills that helped them be successful. My only struggle at the time was finding my passion. I knew I wanted to have a business, but what would I offer to my customers? Fast forward to 2020, the year that COVID-19 peaked. I was out of school(I was in 8th grade at the time) and couldn’t go many places because of the virus. This led to me being bored and trying many new things I could do at home. One night, I decided to bake a cake without my mother’s help for the first time. My first time baking a cake was a complete failure. I put all the batter in one pan, and spilling it all over the oven. However, I decided to give baking another chance the next day, and the cake came out perfect. I discovered that I loved baking and continued to do it. Each cake got better and better. Within just a few weeks, I realized that baking was my true passion, and it was finally time to do something I had always dreamed of: opening a business. My parents helped me get started financially and legally. When I was ready to start selling, family and friends were my first real customers. A couple of months later, in the fall of 2020, I took a Principles of Marketing & Business class taught by Patricia Cote during my first year of high school. I learned valuable information in this class, and my teacher even helped me pick out a logo for my new brand. The next step was branching out to social media and gaining new clients. Building a clientele was one of the most complex parts of getting started. It required much patience, but within a few months, I had more customers than I could have imagined. I continued to work hard and let nothing stop me from achieving my goal of having a successful business. Last summer, all of the hard work and long nights really began to pay off. I participated in a cake competition and won first place. I was featured on the front cover of the ‘Virginian Pilot’ and the ‘Daily Press,’ multiple radio and news stations, and much more. Today, I can proudly say that I am still learning and growing, but my company has come a long way.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am Ke’Nyzjah, a 17-year-old self-taught baker, cake artist, and entrepreneur! I provide all kinds of cakes and cupcakes for small, intimate events such as birthday parties and baby showers to huge celebrations like weddings and company anniversaries. I started my business at just 15 years old when I realized that baking and cake decorating is my true passion. It has not been an easy journey, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love being able to share my beautiful and tasty creations with the world. So far, I have appeared on ‘Living 757’, The Virginian Pilot, The Daily Press, The Virginia Living magazine, and was first place winner of the kids league in the ‘Cakes for a Cure’ contest! I am also a certified customer service specialist and food handler. After graduating High School, I plan to study business at the college level, and continue my baking journey.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
There are a ton of challenges that come along with owning a business. Social media presence is one of the most complex problems that I faced. I started an Instagram account a couple of months after opening my business. I made my company logo my profile picture(a big mistake) and began with a picture of brownies that I made as my first post. When I first started, I was heavily concerned with how many followers I had and how many likes each post earned. However, I realized those things were less important than I thought. What really matters is engagement and friendships. So, I decided to get myself more involved in the teen baking community on Instagram, where I made several talented baking friends. The support that we gave one another meant the most. My advice to those just starting to build their social media presence is to shift your focus from story views and follow count to connections and friendships.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
After starting my Instagram account, I noticed I was gaining fewer new clients than I had hoped. As a result of this, I decided to create a Facebook account. It only took a few weeks for me to see a significant growth in clientele. After getting my business name out in groups and posting frequently, I had a ton of customers. Then, I realized that with good customer service skills, my clients began to do the marketing for me by telling their friends and family about my baking business. Now, most of my customers tell me that they discovered me from a previous client.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kaykebakery.cococart.co/
- Instagram: @kaykebykenyzjah
- Facebook: KaykeBakery
Image Credits
Wedding Cake Photo- Christine Cabone