We were lucky to catch up with Melinda Grayson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Melinda, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The story behind my mission is very meaningful to me but it is also meaningful to people of all walks of life. In 2017, we lost a beloved family member, my nephew, who had just turned 25 years-old. He was a bright and shining star in the Navy and then just like that, he was gone. Then on January 1, 2019, our beloved 38 year-old nephew passed away unexpectedly. Both of these young men had such wonderful, bright and amazing futures ahead of them and just like that, they slipped away. It was heartbreaking to say the least. They were upstanding, beautiful young men with manners, dignity and respect for their elders. They tried to help everyone that met in some way, shape or form. This is why I am so passionate about our youth and the mental health services that are available to them. I am striving each day to open a storefront where the youth and young adults will feel at home. I want them to feel like they are a part of the Sweet Creations Family and that there is nothing that they need help with that we would’t try to understand it and get them the right help, as quickly as possible that they need. More often than not, our youth do not feel comfortable with sharing their personal challenges with their core family members. A lot of the time, they feel most comfortable sharing with a trusted mentor, friend, or extended family. We just want to help them and reach them right where they are! Our family experienced first-hand that a loved one can be right in your midst that is suffering greatly in some type of way that you know nothing about, even though you have shown them as much love as possible throughout their childhood. We want to be that place where they feel safe, no matter what they may have been through or are currently going through.

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

I actually started baking at the age of 9! My family discovered that I had a talent for making boxed cake mix taste exactly like a bakery cake made from scratch! So from that point on, I made every family birthday cake and then went on to special occasion cakes. Then friends and family started to challenge my skillset and ask for made from scratch cakes, such as the all-time favorite, German Chocolate Cake, 3-Layer Yellow Cake w/Caramel Icing and 3-Layer Coconut Cakes. At every occasion, people would tell me that I missed my calling and that I should quit my administrative job and open a bakery! I made cakes for free for many years until the ingredients started to escalate in price. It went from charging just for the ingredients to eventually charging for my services as well. During my entire career at the Fairfax County Government, for 30 years, I made my dessert orders in the evenings and on the weekends. In May 2018, I retired fully and I have been baking full time since then, working towards getting my DREAM accomplished of opening my very own STOREFRONT Bakery! I want to be able to interact with my customers on a daily basis, face to face and eventually work towards having “CRAFT DAYS” with Ms. Melinda of Sweet Creations with the little people, giving their parents a much needed break once per month.

At Sweet Creations by Melinda, we believe in using only the highest quality ingredients in our desserts! We have built the foundation of this brand on providing amazing desserts with the highest standards of freshness and quality control. We specialize in home-made, old-fashioned desserts as our foundation, that take you back to your childhood memories of your Mother, Grandmother and Aunties most favorite desserts!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

The very first thing I did to bring more exposure to my bakery business was to create a website. I used the free WIX site to build my very first successful website. I asked my niece to help me with this huge undertaking because I had so many dessert items to offer. Once we successfully completed the this task, she advised me that I next MUST create a Facebook Page for the bakery! I didn’t want to do this. I felt that it would take up too much of my time and energy. Well, she insisted and it was the BEST decision I have made so far in building the social media presence for the bakery! TODAY, I just reached 15K followers! Ever since it’s launch on Facebook, my page has been the catalyst for major sales and door of opportunity to open for my business. The majority of my orders are received through my Facebook Page Business Suite. I also have an Instagram account as well as Twitter, but the massive exposure has truly come through my Facebook Business Page. My main goal was always to have the exposure on social media to direct potential customers to the website to get the best feel for what our bakery offers according to what they may be looking for, but I have found that even if they do not go to the website, they will still proceed with ordering through the Facebook Business Suite.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

One of the most effective strategies for growing my clientele has been making LIVE videos produced on my Facebook Business Page each week. In the beginning, I would produce just one video per week, providing instructions on how to prepare mostly gourmet pound cake flavors. The audience would watch as I painstakingly went through each step by step instruction to produce a BEAUTIFUL gourmet pound cake flavor and icing/glaze. At the end of the LIVES, I would pick the name of a viewer who had stayed throughout the presentation and would have them send me their name, address, etc. if they would like to receive the dessert that I had just made right before their eyes. I had no idea this would take off so quickly and they would want to receive the free cake each week. I weighed the pros and cons of sending a FREE cake per week and decided it was well worth my time and finances. This was the strategy that would shoot my page followers and clientele to a whole new level. This also opened the door to receiving compensation for my videos from Facebook.      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sweetcreationsbymelinda.com
• Instagram: sweetcreationsbymelinda
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sweetcreationsbymelindag
• Twitter: @Sweet_Creation8

Image Credits
CATHY GORE OF GORE MEDIA STUDIO