We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kimberly Nesmith-Huger. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kimberly below.

Hi Kimberly, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

Definitely. I wish I would have started my business much sooner. Life has a way of humbling you, so I had to learn to “let my guard down” when it comes to taking risks. In early 2017, I experienced a layoff from my corporate job. For the first time ever I was unemployed and seeking direction. I knew the gifts and talents I possessed but was unsure of how to leverage them properly for a business. So, I did what most do and treated my craft as a “side business”. This was a prime time in my journey where I had resources and availability to grow my business, but my focus was on growing someone else’s-I was seeking another corporate job. I was unemployed for almost a year and returned to corporate America in late 2017. While my “side business” continued, I was again splitting my time balancing the needs of my family, personal life, and a 50-hour work week. Fast forwarding to 2020, the pandemic hits. A quickly changing world around me forced me to re-evaluate the necessity of making my “side business” a primary focus. Since doing so, I have exited the corporate workforce and am focused on creating opportunities to grow my own brand. While I do believe things happen in perfect and due time, I can’t help but think I might have been celebrating several years of running a successful business had I started sooner.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Kimberly Nesmith, and I am the proud owner and creative force behind Kakes By Kim. My passions are people, creativity, and food. My journey with cake artistry began in 2009, in response to some personal and career challenges I was facing. In the midst of my difficulty, I remembered the quote, “Be brave enough to be bad at something new”. It was then I decided to refocus my energy and try something new. I walked into a craft store and decided to take a cake decorating class. Cake decorating quickly became my art therapy, and I began teaching myself new and trending cake techniques. The rest has been history. On the horizon are plans to open a cake studio for cake creatives and food enthusiast to come learn the art of cake decoration. In the meantime, I am partnered with a local co-working space to offer those classes. In my spare time I enjoy sports, music, and spending time with my family, which includes my husband and 2 daughters. I am a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, Gamma Xi Omega chapter in Charleston, SC.

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

Social media has been a very integral part of growing my business. My new client leads and followers have primarily come from me simply posting my work. I’d recommend to anyone who wants to use social media as a way to gain followers and supporters, to not only actively post their work, but also to engage with their followers in the comments of their posts. It helps to improve algorithm results.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Email marketing has provided very favorable results, as it allows me to share newsletters, business updates, and promotional information directly to my customers. The feedback I have been provided from customers is that they love being the first to know when sales are coming up. Most importantly, I provide a follow up “thank you” to each client.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kakesbykim.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kakesbykim_charlestonsc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/kakesbykim23
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kakesbykim