We were lucky to catch up with LaTisha White recently and have shared our conversation below.

LaTisha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I prayed about my passion and for God to reveal it to me. I heard Steve Harvey one day; he said your passion is the very thing that you would do for free. You get lost in it and it is probably connected to childhood. When I was a child, up to the age of 14 I played with playdoh. I was addicted to it; I love creating edible images and objects out of cake and fondant. I started working with fondant about 10 years ago for my niece’s first birthday party. I was not solving a problem but, I am very good at it as well as customer service. This idea got me excited because, I feel like a kid again when I am creating and decorating cakes. I love my client’s reactions and how it makes me feel to provide such a service for a lasting memory.

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.

I came up with the name God’s Ivy because my spiritual connection with Christ and my sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. One of our symbols is the ivy leaf. The ivy leaf is extremely hard to kill when planted in soil. Also, anything you place God in front of will prosper, God’s Ivy. I also come for a long line of bakers. It is in my bloodline. I am also a project manager full time, so I use my skillset there to help me plan for events and cakes I plan to make. I think this makes me unique from other bakers. Also, my cakes are homemade, and I try to use the healthiest options for my clients as possible, instead of whole milk, I may substitute for low fat or skim milk. I also prefer to use oils over butter. I am most proud of the fact that I am carrying on the legacy of my ancestors. I know my mother, grandmother and aunt are all proud. What I want my fans/supports and potential clients to know about me is I am going to give you my best every time. Your cake will be unique to you and the healthiest version possible. It will be on time and to your liking.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I started my business in 2006 with the name God’s Ivy Event Planning. Initially, I offered event and wedding planning services to clients in the DC, Maryland and Virginia area. One day, I was challenged to create this complicated cake design. This was after me asking God to show me what my passion was because I am talented at a lot of things, but I wanted to folks on why he placed me here. So, I am making the cake and I noticed that I enjoyed it. Like I was having so much fun. The cake turned out horrible because I was untrained and had very little practice, but I enjoyed the process. It was in 2016 that I decided to start baking cakes as a business. Once I go into the flow of things, I decided to really focus in on the cake business and study it. I have been baking specialty cakes, wedding and corporate event cakes ever since.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I started my cake business, I would not always get favorable feedback from clients. They thought they were too sweet or dry. So, I had to learn that not everyone will like your cakes. But I also learned that I have to find a way to improve my success rate, so I started playing around with my recipe and testing it out on family and friends. I learned that less is more and to go lighter on specific ingredients. My success rate is about 97% now. I seldom receive unfavorable reviews on my cakes.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.godsivy.com
• Instagram: godsivycakes
• Facebook: godsivycakes
• Linkedin: LaTisha Whtie
• Youtube: God’s Ivy Cakes
• Yelp: godsivycakes
• Other: TikTok- God’s Ivy Cakes