We were lucky to catch up with Naana Nyarko-Asante recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Naana, thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I believe what it takes to be successful starts with your customer service. Customer service can make or break your business. You could have an amazing product but bad customer service which can cause your business to not flourish. I pride myself on making sure I treat all my customers with respect. I love what I do and I put love into my products. I make sure my customers feel that love as well. In addition to customer service you need to be resilient to be successful. There will be many ups and downs and you need to be able to push through all the obstacles in order to execute your vision. Never give up!

Naana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Sweet Treats by Nauni is a home based bakery. As a child I always had a passion for baking. My first baking encounter was at the age of 6, when my mother bought me an easy-bake oven. Growing up I knew baking was my passion and sense of relief. During my senior year in undergrad (2019) I was baking heavily in my home. My roommates one day suggested that I should start selling my delicious items to see how people would like them. I thought of different concepts of reinvented desserts everyone loves. I decided on making decadent desserts served in mason jars, allowing for easy portability. Once I started selling, many people were interested in my products. Over the years I have been going through school, I am currently a 3rd year student in a doctor of physical therapy program. Running a business while being a student can be difficult at times. I have had to put my business to the side at times due to an inability to juggle both. However I am now back to focusing on what I love in addition to my doctorate program. I have now expanded into making cakes, cupcakes and other treats. Over these years I am most proud of all my loyal customers, even through the year where I was unable to sell treats. When I began again, my customers were ready to receive my treats. I truly appreciate the love and support. I would be nothing without them.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My most resilient moment surrounding my business was being accepted in my doctorate program. Growing up alongside baking being my passion, I knew that I wanted to work in the healthfield. I chose the profession of physical therapy. In 2021 I was accepted into a physical therapy program. I was ecstatic because I was one step to achieving this dream. I quickly realized that I would need to pack up my life and move 3.5hrs away from the place I call home. The place where my business was thriving. When I started school I had to put my business on the back burner due to the mental resilience I had to prepare for myself to go through a rigorous program. Along with running a business. In 2022, I missed my passion of baking and having people enjoy my sweets. I decided then that I would open a bake shop and find a good balance between school and my business. With reopening it was a struggle in the beginning due to being in a new town. To include figuring out ways I could offer my treats to people not located in my area, my original loyal customers. I then started offering shipping. Throughout all of this I believe it required a lot of resilience to come to the point where I knew that both of these aspects are important to my life. I’m willing to sacrifice in order to have both.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is a great place to grow your business. My business flourished off of social media. You have to start by having your friends and family promote your business on their social media. It is also a great idea to do a giveaway to gain more followers. This will bring traffic onto your page. Once you start having more traffic on your page it is important to engage with your customers. This can be done by creating polls on your story, posting recent creations, and constantly showcasing what you are offering.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: sweettreatsbynauni
• Twitter: sweettreatsbyn1
• Other: [email protected]