We caught up with the brilliant and insightful MARYN Silverberg a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, MARYN thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers
My mom has always told me that I wear my heart on my sleeve (and it’s the truth). I also had a boss once who quantified his verbal abuse of me by claiming it would give me a thicker skin (spoiler alert: all he achieved in doing was giving me cystic acne and a vodka martini problem). The reality for me is business has always been personal (no matter the job) – so when something positive happens, it sends me to the moon with joy and satisfaction. When something negative happens, it’s like a linebacker headlined right into my gut – and it never gets easier (for me) to receive the negative, be it justified or not. If its justified, I feel bad that I disappointed someone. If it’s not, I feel like I’m sinking in quicksand. More often than not, when I’m dealing with a customer who is unrightfully unhappy and coming at me, I try to deal with them how I would want to be dealt with – I want to know I’m being heard and I want them to explain their end, which I always try to do with patience and grace, even when what I’m receiving back is the opposite. I have to remind myself that not only am I human, but I’m not going to please everyone, food is like art – its subjective, this too will pass, etc. I also have to remind myself that what I chose to do is not an easy path (no one will say it is). Sometimes quantifying someones gnarly words with the truth of reality is helpful. More than anything: I do the best that I can every single day with every single order.
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.
If you’re looking for the type of cake that screams my-trainer-is-going-to-let-me-have-it tomorrow, you have found the right baker for you! Light and fluffy, we are not!
I always say that I was born in Cleveland and raised in my mom’s kitchen. Baking was instilled in me as a form of bonding and a way of communicating – the aromas of dense, espresso-laden brownies and light, lemony, graham cracker crusted cheesecakes was rich with love, comfort and confidence. Sitting around a table, gathered at parties, or secretly sneaking a last bite of cake in the middle of the night, dessert is the perfect way to share, enjoy and indulge (sometimes all at the same time).
As a film major at Emerson College in Boston, baking was never far from my mind. When I wasn’t writing papers on Fellini or deconstructing David Lynch, I was baking: lemon-glazed bundt cakes, Oreo cookie cheesecake, double rum cake, triple chocolate chip cookies; my friends and neighbors loved coming home from a suffocating ride on the T or a cold walk down Boylston to find a wedge of cake at their door.
After living in Los Angeles and working in entertainment for eight years, I began to long for the days of bringing a smile to someone’s face with a treat, and to smell those familiar comforting aromas of my childhood. After careful reflection and a lot of encouragement from my friends and family, I donned my kitchen whites and slip proof shoes and began the intensive pastry program
at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena, CA. I graduated with highest honors and perfect attendance, and turned in my kitchen whites for a blue bandana to become part of the staff at SusieCakes bakery. My next job took me to the front of the class as a cake-decorating teacher at The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories where I could share my excitement for cakes with others.
My mom Gail started her baking business, Piece of Cake, in 1963 and is the reason that butter and sugar and love runs through my veins. It’s only fitting that she is the face of my business, as she is my inspiration every time I put on my apron and pre-heat the oven. I want to pay homage to the business she started years ago by baking for all who appreciate and understand that the brilliance of the perfectly satisfying dessert is the company you eat it with. Piece of Cake LA is that homey tastes-like-mom’s flavor, with a modern twist.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I realize not everyone struggles with this concept, but those that do will totally feel me on this one: I don’t come from lazy people. I didn’t grow up sleeping in or spending a day on the couch watching TV and being unproductive. My dad used to say “why put off until tomorrow what you can accomplish today?” and that has very much stayed with me throughout my career. In most ways, its helped me to be a pre-crastinator – I want to accomplish as much as I can today so I can maybe have some down time tomorrow. But then the issue of the downtime sneaks up… I have trouble doing nothing. I struggle to let myself close up early to relax or get personal things done. I tend to force myself to do more when in reality, I should be taking advantage of that available downtime to rest and recoup (seeing as my name is unfortunately not Benjamin Button). I told myself that this year, I was absolutely going to make the effort to be nicer to myself – to be better about taking care of myself both physically, mentally and emotionally. Stay tuned.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I received this advice fairly early on from a friend is was also a small business owner: I am my business, I am the product, so I have to be the one to sell it. This means that I don’t use anyone for PR or social media and when someone reaches out regarding an order, I am the one they hear back from. I am also the one pushing the massive cart at Restaurant Depot piled high with 50 pound bags of sugar and flour. I am the one making the pitstop at Smart & Final for that random ingredient or the grocery store for that specialty item. I am the one assembling your wedding cake on the top story of a yacht or in the hotel ballroom or your aunts backyard. I am also the one bringing your order directly to you, the one folding the cake boxes, taking out the trash, resupplying paper products, searching for decoration items online, etc. I handle every single aspect of my company and what the customer receives in return is something born of me – something made from my heart, head and hands.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pieceofcakela.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PieceofCakeLA/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pieceofcakela
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/piece-of-cake-los-angeles