We recently connected with Marisol Leach and have shared our conversation below.

Marisol, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

It was actually inspired by a quote from The Office (US). In one of my favorite episodes, “Goodbye, Toby,” we’re introduced to the character of Holly, the new HR rep, with whom Michael eventually falls in love. I found the way he described her was ridiculous and cute. “Holly is sweet, and simple. Like a lady baker… I’m pretty sure she’s baked on a professional level.” Before I even considered baking cakes for a living, the name “lady baker” stuck with me because it was cute and silly. I (obviously) modified it to Lady Caker ‘cause that’s all I wanted to bake!

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?

Whenever I tell anyone about how my business began, I always start with my oldest niece’s eleventh birthday. All I wanted to do for her was to make her feel so special and seen. Since I started doing this for a living, every order I fulfill feels very personal to me. I try not to overload myself with multiple orders every week so I can give each order all the attention it needs. My goal is for people to see the thought and heart I put into each order. Whether it be a cake for a wedding, a birthday, or an anniversary, it’s for someone special, and they need to feel it.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

In the first few years of caking, I had very few boundaries when it came to what I offered. I said “yes” to any kind of order I got. Keto cake? Sure! Strawberry white chocolate ganache? I’ll figure it out! A homemade fondant Mickey topper? I got you! Of course, I also way undercharged for these things. I learned the hard way that I could say “no” if it wasn’t something I could do or wanted to learn to do. It takes a lot of time to master new recipes and to learn how to make something for the first time (and sell it) confidently. Knowing what you can do and doing it consistently well is very important.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A small, personal tidbit from my life recently is that I found out I was autistic last year. It clarified a lot of things for me personally, and it also lifted a massive weight off of me professionally. I used to constantly beat myself down about how I didn’t have the stamina or capacity to work for 8+ hours at a time on a cake, or do 10 cake orders a week. Whenever I tried, I physically had nothing left in me; I could barely stand or see straight. I felt useless, like I was in the wrong profession. I would see so many others out there pulling all of that off in addition to raising a family or even having a second job. Finding out that I physically am not built to handle that sort of load allowed me to forgive myself. Learning that my brain works differently than most has given me the space to run my business and work in a way that is effective for me.
I learned and accepted that even though I can’t handle that much at a time, I still have the passion and talent to keep going.

Contact Info:

• Website: ladycaker.com
• Instagram: @lady_caker
• Facebook: facebook.com/ladycaker
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lady-caker-arlington?osq=lady+caker