Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Loequishia Howard. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Loequishia, thanks for joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Owning a business instead of having a regular job has its rewards, but its really just a trade off of stress. For example, I have the freedom to take off work without having to get days approved by a Supervisor, but there is no PTO as a business owner. When you’re in the service industry, taking time off means making no money during those days. I’d still choose to be a business owner in that instance lol

Truthfully, I’ve had many days where working a regular job seems more appealing because you clock in, do your work for 8 hours a day and go home. As a business owner with no team, ALL of the workload is on you. At a job you have different departments for everything, when you’re a solo entrepreneur, you are every department – Customer Service, Marketing, Payroll, Inventory, Laborer, etc Most of my working days are well over 8 hours. Weekends are workdays!! Everybody wants a cake for Saturdays! lol

When I get in those moods, I just remind myself that I’m in this industry for more than just a pay, more than just PTO. And I put so much into EMC because its my baby! Its something that I started from nothing, and has grown into something I never imagined! So it matters if it fails. It matters more to me than any work I can do at a regular job.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Loequishia Howard! But everyone knows me as Niecey :) I started Eat More Cakes by Niecey back in March of 2018 by accident. I was let go from my full time job and a friend of mine who has been an Entrepreneur since I’ve known her suggested I sold some cheesecakes! She’d first tasted my Cheesecakes the December of 2017 during a party and loved them! She told me to bake some and she’d take me out to sell them. Our first stop was a small barbershop in East Saint Louis, and they showed me so much loooooove! I’d almost sold out of everything I’d baked! I started to post to Facebook and people began to DM me for orders! In May 2018 I’d found another job, but I continued selling cheesecakes. In June 2018 I received a request for a Cheesecake Number Cake, and that’s when the magic started! I started to get so many more orders for the Number Cakes that I was able to quit my job a year later. In June 2019 I stepped out on faith and number cakes!

Since I made them so often, I started to have a signature look to them, which drew more people in. And in addition to my one-of-a-kind creations, I offer excellent customer service. All those years of retail and call centers and general good manners is what sets me apart from the rest of the bakers/decorators in St Louis. I know my clients are what make my company grow and succeed and I love them all. I love and appreciate them so much and I treat them as such. I’ve retained clients from my first year in this industry. I have clients that contact me multiple times a year for holidays, their birthdays, their children’s birthdays and their parents’ birthdays! I think that loyal clientele is largely due to how theyre treated when they shop at Eat More Cakes by Niecey.

Along with creating beautiful cakes and treats for my clients, providing them with exceptional service is top priority.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

What are NFTs?

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Funding is something I struggle with! In the beginning, I had nothing but a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer and one cupcake pan! All of the capital my business has seen has been from my sales. I’ve always been hesitant in borrowing money, because borrowing means paying back and that scares me. So many small businesses fail within the first few years and I wasn’t, and still am not, comfortable applying for business loans within my first five years of business! I’ve seen different grants and advertisements for women in business but they’re usually always geared towards the tech industry, or non-profits etc March 2023 will be five years for me, so I guess we’ll see if I have a change of heart. If you know anyone looking to gift a young lady-baker with a few thousand business dollars, please send them my way. lol

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/em_cakesbyniecey
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/EatMoreCAKESbyNiecey
• Other: TikTok @cakesbyniecey

Image Credits
Kris Bland – No Flavor Imaging