We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lana Hickey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lana , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
I am incredibly happy as a business owner. I love the personal connections that I make daily. I live seeing my regulars and getting to check on them and stay up to date with their lives. Serving is what I love and with my job I get to serve my community everyday. Not only doni serve my community but communities all around.
I do often wonder what it would be like to have a regular job. A 9-5 where I get to shut it off at home. I have worked regular jobs but I was in college and it was prior to having kids. I think my current job gives me the flexibility to be a mom too.
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 went to college for culinary arts. Cookies has always been a passion of mine and especially baking. After graduating college, I got a job as the pastry chef at a well known hotel. During that time my husband and I found out we were expecting. He and I decided I would stay home with our daughter. I gave up cooking and baking in a professional setting but I continued to bake and serve from my home.
My husband and I moved to Arlington, TN for the school system. My daughter was starting kindergarten and we came to tour the town. One of the things I noticed was that there was no coffee shop or bakery in this area. A year later a cute storefront became available and I knew I had to have it!
I hired a general manager who had a background in cake decorating and baking , tho I didn’t know that at the time I hired her! Anyway we started baking homemade pastries and doing like decor on things. One day someone came in and asked us for a custom cakes to which we agreed. We did one cake after another until it was too much for us to handle our of the coffee shop so we knew we had to open a bakery.
I have been incredibly blessed and supported by so many. It’s a hard job but it’s very rewarding. It’s pretty cool to take a custom order, execute it as an art piece and see the reactions of your guests. I love being a part of important moments in their life. I am thankful and honored that they trust me with such important events.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I built my social media by immediately being “ahead of the game”. Being creative and engaging is key. You have to offer promotions and giveaways. Share , share, share! Besides sharing try to post daily. At first it takes a lot but being consistent is key! You want people to be involved in your story as well. You need to give them the opportunity to post on your business page something personal even if it includes photos. You want your audience to feel like they are a part of you and your success! At the end of the day they truly are what makes you a success! It’s always nice to showcase them.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I think the key to building your reputation is your customer service and the quality of your product. We pride ourselves in the quality of our product. We use recipes that are homemade that come from several of my family members as well as my employees family members. We do not purchase premade products. In addition to the quality customer service is always key. When you are being trusted with someone’s special occasion you have to be on point with details and turning their vision into a reality. If at any point in time you feel as though you are guest is upset or unhappy and is your job to fully solve the problem while eliminating any stress on the client. Doing those two things is what has given us the reputation that we currently have.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cravesweetshop.com
- Instagram: @cravesweets107
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cravesweets107?mibextid=ZbWKwL
Image Credits
Lana hickey