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

Khella, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

When I started my baking business, it was in 2017 after almost a year of corporate job searching. I had been let go from my first corporate job after college in April of that year, and it was challenging. I was really hard on myself and at the time I didn’t really understand why. I hadn’t had any other “big girl” jobs and no prior experience than the part time jobs I held in college. I felt so stuck, but I also felt as if everything was happening in divine timing.

Thinking back on when I started my business in November 2017, I don’t think it would have been better for me to start any sooner. Though being let go was tough, I think that experience gave me the determination to start my own business. If I had started sooner, I don’t think I would’ve taken it serious enough. I also think starting later would have made me second guess myself. All in all, I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything – because it’s mine.

Khella, 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?

Bee Buzzed was created as an idea I had just lying in bed one day. My mom used to bake me and my brother’s birthday cakes when we were younger, and I loved to be in the kitchen with her (mainly to get the leftover frosting). It was something I have always remembered from my childhood, and it meant a lot to me to have homemade birthday cakes every year. I figured this would be something that her and I could do together and share our experience with others in our community.

Once we began, we really received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback. I had realized that this was something I was not only good at, but in the end, was also something that was so fulfilling. I love seeing the reactions from our customers, especially the kids. Bee Buzzed originally began as a dessert company geared towards adults because we infuse our creations with different types of alcohols. However, we decided to offer more options to cater to anyone who liked sweets. By doing so, we have been able to offer so much to the community through participating in pop up shops around the Metro Detroit area, donating to community programs and drives, as well as offering our own community services and events. Our most popular community event is our Free Slice Day, held every first Saturday in July. Free Slice Day is an event where customers can swing by our location and pick up one free slice of cake to enjoy! We offer a variety of flavors and additional slices for purchase. Our newest venture, Sugar Hive Cake Club, is a program that will begin in January 2023. This program provides birthday cakes for families with children ages 1-18 who find that purchasing a cake may be outside of their budget. We at Bee Buzzed enjoy giving back to our community because there would be no Bee Buzzed without our customers. For more details on the Sugar Hive Cake Club, visit our website at www.bee-buzzed.com/shcc.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Though we do not have thousands of followers on social media, we have worked very hard to get to where we are today. There’s a sound on Tik Tok that says “Everything is content” and we believe that is one of the truest statements for people who own any type of business.

When we make our cakes, we take pictures and videos of everything. When we first started, there were times where I may have struggled through a design and didn’t really like it in the end, but I took a picture anyway. This practice was, and still is, helpful for times where we may not have much to post. I can go back to those pictures and share them with our followers to stay relevant on their timelines. I have also had to remind myself to record the process. Everyone loves process videos in the current time we’re in where reels and one minute videos rule the internet. Overall, trust your process and document EVERYTHING. You’ll be able to use it in the future.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I believe we gained our reputation through not only our desserts but our intriguing name, network, and involvement in our community. We are known for being a mother-daughter, black-owned, women-owned business.

Both my mom and I share our business with everyone that we meet, it has become a huge part of our lives. We have a strong support system full of our family, friends, and customers. We have friends who leave our business cards in different locations and even place our stickers around Coney Island drive thrus. By participating in vendor events and volunteering our services to community events, we have built a strong rapport in the Detroit area. This has allowed us to gain majority of our business from word of mouth and customer recommendations.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bee-buzzed.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/beebuzzed
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/beebuzzed.co