We recently connected with Megan May and have shared our conversation below.

Megan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I created the name “Body, Mind, & Cake” I was not trying to come up with a name for my business, I was envisioning a brand. The vision was a boutique bakery that met the needs of anyone who was to walk! When I envisioned this brand, I imagined what the interior decor would look like, what the names of the desserts would be, and who I would want to serve.

The vision behind Body, mind, & cake is that it will be all encompassing of anyone’s dietary needs. This is a journey I’m still venturing into. The goal is to create a solid keto collection that tastes delicious. I already have made gluten free and vegan options.

After getting diagnosed with diabetes and a ton of allergies it is very important to me to eventually have those options for people.

Of course, right now I’m still heavily producing fun sculpted and artistic cakes that are full of sugar. I love turning cake into art and the feeling the name of my business gives is that it is ALL ABOUT CAKE! Rather it is art, sugar, vegan, gluten free or keto, it’s still Body, Mindy, & Cake!

Megan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have a bachelor’s degree in interior design, and I worked in that for a while before switching to sales. So, I still work with designers but sale products to them. I made this switch to sales in 2019 leading up to the pandemic in 2020.

I was still in sales, but it was a little slower, so I had free time. I have always had an artistic background, but I never really thought about cake decorating and never spent much time in the kitchen. In late 2019 I was diagnosed with diabetes the same day I lost my 16-year-old pup. So, believe it or not, the combination of the diagnosis, my little dog passing, and covid all contributed to me taking up baking as a hobby.

My first thought was that I wanted to learn to bake so that one day I could dive into alternative baking. Then when I started baking, I realized it was very therapeutic with the loss of my dog. I became quite obsessed with the art of baking and was doing constant research. It helped with the grief of losing my lifelong fur baby. Then when covid hit in early 2020 I had so much more free time that allowed me to really dive into this hobby. By 2021 I decided to make it a business.

I call myself a cake artist and I feel as though art is my focus along with taste. I was more of a brownie person before I started baking. Now that I bake, I realize I LOVE good cake when it is moist and delicious. So, I put a lot of effort into taste as well as beauty.

What sets my business apart is that I really want the cakes to reflect the person. So, I say it’s your blank canvas and I would like to create the art that is most impactful for your special day. I also want it to be catered to the dietary needs of the client. So, I can create vegan and gluten free options. I love educating clients about what art can be created with sugar products vs. if you are using alternative ingredients. I walk through the details and what I’m going to make each element out of, so they know what they are getting. If they don’t like fondant, then we can find a creative way to make the art with another ingredient. I want the client to love the cake in every single way. Not just the beauty but to enjoy eating what they purchased.

I believe my attention to detail and focus on the client is what sets me apart. I was so honored at an event when I was told by a client that I made her feel special and included when I hand delivered her a gluten free cupcake to ensure she got one before they ran out. It felt wonderful to know that I impacted someone’s life in that way. It is hard when you are out, and you have allergies or a disease that prevents you from being included and leaves you hungry.

One of my most proud moments was when I did a photoshoot with a cake made to look like a realistic plant. It was a fun experience, and I was super proud of the cake and the time it took to learn the techniques. It also was a wonderful marketing opportunity as I know use those cakes on most of my marketing/social media/and website. I love the idea of cake being art so much that I’m in the process of trademarking my new catch phrase, “Don’t eat cake, Eat Art!” ™

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Body, Mind, & Cake, LLC. is a very new business and I’m grateful that I have a day job and I’m willing to move at a slow pace. I don’t want to get a bunch of loans so right now I’m funding my business through my day job. This can be stressful at times, and I do want to grow. Right now, I’m doing research and networking with other professionals to learn how to structure and scale my business.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I grew up being a people pleaser and initially I was bringing that into my business. I had to unlearn that behavior and treat my business as such. I stopped taking orders that were due the next day and I started pricing my cakes for my time and worth. I now value everyone that has a business and I never say that is too expensive anymore! I had to set boundaries with how and when I respond to clients and make sure during this process that I was still giving myself care. I used to feel like I had to stop what I was doing and answer someone right away. I noticed that I was answering around my hours of operation. I wanted to create a business to eventually have more freedom not let it consume me and it is a really delicate balance.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bodymindcakellc.com
• Instagram: @bodymindcake

Image Credits
Trey Brunn