Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Natasha Keel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Natasha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I never intentionally set out to be a business owner. I was never one to take on leadership roles, I’ve always been a very laid back, go with the flow kinda gal. However, when I fell in love with baking, I wanted to do it more on my own terms. I taught myself by constantly reading and trying new things. I had a 5 year old and an infant so I didn’t have time for culinary school and I think to some degree I was afraid of failure, it was easier for me to test different recipes and methods without any knowing what exactly I was supposed to be doing. I found my own style that way. As I became more experienced, I became more confident and continued with wanting to bake on my own terms. To me and my serial entrepreneur husband, the next step was to open my own little business. Fast forward 5 years and I’m still questioning how I’m the one in charge. I don’t know what a “regular job” would even mean for me. I’ve always needed to do something creative. I know there are many, many times that I question why I’m doing what I do instead of just going and working in a bakery. Every time I have to rework the schedule or interview people, every time someone calls off and we have to juggle, rearrange and work longer hours, I question it, but I think it still boils down to me wanting to bake on my own terms.

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

I got into baking soon after my middle daughter was born, about 8 years ago. My husband worked quit a bit and I was a stay at home mom. I needed some sort of creative outlet for myself, I needed something outside of being mommy. I randomly found some cake pop molds at a dollar store one day and began experimenting. I tried different methods and really had fun with it. I started selling them on Facebook to friends and family and developed a small following, even selling them at a few local stores. After about two years of doing only cake pops, I ventured into more baking projects. I started baking cakes, cookies, cupcakes, I got into cake decorating as well. My first big order was a friends wedding cakes (no pressure there, eeehhh). I began doing local shows and farmers markets. It finally felt like I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. A year after I began baking more than just cake pops, I opened my own little bakery. No training or classes, I never even worked in a bakery, I just had a passion for baking and creating and the support of my family and friends.

Five years after opening that tiny bakery, we’re now in a bigger location, I have a great business partner, Donie, and a wonderful staff. When we moved to the larger place we also expanded our menu. Not only do we make a variety of cookies, cupcakes, brownies, scones, macarons, cake pops (of course), etc. we now offer a lunch menu, paninis on house made bread, soft pretzels, soup, breakfast sandwiches on the weekends, a variety of coffee drinks. Mindy makes amazing croissants and pastries. I think that’s what I’m most proud of. Not only how far we’ve come, but that we offer such a variety and it’s all delicious and it’s all made from scratch. I have an amazing team that really works hard to ensure that customers are happy. I don’t know of many places that you can order a beautiful custom cake, and have lunch, coffee, and dessert, all in one spot.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

I don’t recall any specific times of almost missing payroll, I know the first few years I personally didn’t bring home a paycheck. Fortunately my husband made enough to support us and I was able to pay off the business quickly by not paying myself. However, the “near death moment” of my business was not so much financial, but due to burn out. My third daughter was born in May of 2020 at the height of the pandemic and lock down. I kept my business up and going up until a few weeks before her birth. I went back to work in June. A few months after juggling 3 kids, running a business and trying to roll with the punches of masks, social distancing and food shortages, I was exhausted. I struggled with the guilt of not being with my kids enough but also feeling like I wasn’t doing everything that I could for my business. I attempted to sell the business or even just the equipment, but didn’t have anyone interested enough to give me what I knew was a fair price, it wasn’t a great time to open a new business for anyone. After talking it over with some friends, repeatedly, I knew I had to hold on to my bakery. I had worked too hard to give up. I made some changes to my business plan, took on some wholesale business instead of so many custom orders. There are still times that I wonder if life would be easier if I had thrown in the towel, but most of the time I’m truly glad that I didn’t and grateful for the people that wouldn’t let me give up.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I met Donie when I posted in a local moms Facebook group, I was looking for part time employees. She worked at the bakery on and off for about 3 years, taking breaks to coach her kids sports and summers with them. When the opportunity arose to move to the bigger location, I knew I could not take that on without her. I never had the intention to have a partner in the bakery, aside from the behind the scenes work that my husband does. However, Donie and I work together very well. She’s amazing with customers and the sales side of things where as I am more of an introvert and prefer to focus on the more creative aspects, we make a great team.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sprinklecitysweets.com
• Instagram: @sprinkle_city
• Facebook: @Sprinkle City Bakery & cafe