We were lucky to catch up with Netta Gamble recently and have shared our conversation below.

Netta, appreciate you joining us today. Looking back on your career, have you ever worked with a great leader or boss? We’d love to hear about the experience and what you think made them such a great leader.

The best boss I ever had; hands down was the owner of the first salon I worked at. She was strict, intense and an excellent teacher. Her motto was “where it’s all about service” in fact that’s how we answered the phone. From check in to check out we were trained to ensure that our guest had the best experience possible. Every-detail-mattered. If you didn’t have a good memory you were to keep notes on each client. General things like the name of their children/cat/dog, events that were coming up, how they liked their cappuccino, if they ran hot or cold so the room temperature was set to their liking when they arrived. All of these details continuously ensuring the desired effect, your guest feeling like they were important and you cared about them. The idea of the customer is always right was enforced with the caveat that whether they were or not, it was our job to make them feel that way. She was also a person who taught you how to swim by throwing you in the pool. Ready or not she would push your skill set and keep you uncomfortable so you were always learning. All of her tips and tricks have stayed with me throughout my career and for that alone she was the best. Looking back on all of that training I hear Maya Angelou’s words “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”.

Netta, 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?

Warm Cookies, Cold Milk and The Sweetest Gift Ever. That was the idea that set forward the motion to begin a bakery. However, that is not where we start. For that, we go back to the story of the little girl in the kitchen so excited to bake for the first time alone without any adult supervision! I was 8 years old and I wanted to bake chocolate chip cookies. I followed the recipe on the packaging to what I thought was perfect compliance. However, to my chagrin at that time, I did not know the difference between TBS (tablespoon) and Tsp (teaspoon) thereupon pouring one full tablespoon of salt into my cookie mixture. Unbeknownst to me, I proudly shared my freshly baked perfectly round, salt-filled cookies with my family. At first bite, my aunt with a sweet smile simply said “they will get better and better the more you make them”. Since that long-ago day, I have proudly learned the difference between tablespoon and teaspoon and my Aunt’s words of encouragement became true. I now ake delicious cookies! I have been baking privately for my family and friends for over 25 years and very often someone would say “you really need to sell this or these”. I would smile and say “Thank you” but if I am being completely transparent, I didn’t believe them, or more to the point, I didn’t believe in myself.
I struggled with the confidence to pull something like that off. My background is in the beauty industry and customer service. I specialized in making people pretty and feel good. I had no business experience, no real knowledge of the inner workings of how to start, run and sustain a business. Over the course of a year, I played tug of war with self-doubt and all of my insecurities. Until one day I woke up with a confidence that said okay let’s do this. I was overwhelmed by the mountain of things that had to be accomplished before I could even sell one cookie. But I love that adage by Desmond Tutu “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time” with that mindset of just taking a little at a time, I looked at my proverbial tool belt, put it all on the table and said, “every skill you have obtained to this point can be applied to this bakery”, so that’s what I did!
As a manicurist instructor I had to know all of the state’s rules, laws and guidelines in order to teach my students on what they needed to know in order to pass their state board exam. I took that same approach in acquiring all what I needed to know to obtain a cottage food license, insurance and setting up a business. That thought process was than applied to every aspect of my business from presentation to taste.
Taste being the principal thing. Excellent ingredients go into every single item we bake. Yes, it is costly and yes, it is more luxurious but when you get reactions like “I never liked oatmeal raisin cookies but I can’t stop eating these” or “this is the best cookie/cake/brownie/pie I have every had”. All of it is worth it.
Working in the beauty industry we have what’s called “last looks” it’s your completed presentation of the service you have performed. The makeup artist holds up the mirror, the hair stylist spins the client around to revel their flowing mane and nothing is better than looking down at your nails and seeing the perfect manicure. That same mentality of presentation is what is at the core of what Netta’s Bakery does. At Netta’s Bakery Presentation is level pegging with taste. Giving gifts is a great pleasure of mine. So, when I was considering the packaging for all of my sweet treats, I wanted my customers to have the sensation that they were opening a gift. Hence our phrase “The Sweetest Gift for…anything” I once heard someone say that as bakers, we are in the “celebration industry”, to which I whole heartedly agree and count as an honor. I often find myself replying back to customers when they thank me for what they have ordered, with “it is my joy”. As it truly does bring me happiness.
Most importantly, customer service. The reason we fight so hard, is to win the hearts of each and every guest that orders, so you have the assurance that when your order arrives, the “Gift” you sent will be happily received and You are the Hero!
Netta’s Bakery is built with hard work, hand crafted flavors and a designer look that brings another level of experience to the Sweet Treat Connoisseur. Our brand is a culture of excellence. Inviting you, the customer, to trust us with the task of delivering a promise that whatever we do, we do brilliantly.
We still have a very long road ahead, I have not figured everything out, still make mistakes and I am hit with waves of doubt and insecurities often, but I have a strong faith and remind myself daily the scripture that has been my truth and mantra – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me Philippians 4:13. So I continue on “one bite at a time” endeavoring that my customers have a taste to remember.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Resilience, I value that word so much. The word is defined as; the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. In 2019 the thought to start an at home bakery became more real than ever before. By the end of that year I had decided my bakery would be open in January of 2020 and it was. I was excited and things were percolating very nicely but by the end of February everything came to a screeching halt, Covid-19 a worldwide pandemic was upon us. We were forced to stay at home and quarantine. Our lives were changed drastically and as people stayed home, they rediscovered their kitchens. Social media was filled with banana breads and sourdough starters. In one fail swoop, my great idea of an at home bakery delivery service seem redundant. There was an article in The Atlantic in May of 2020 with the title reading “Americans have baked all the flour”. The very people I was supposed to be baking for were doing it for themselves and no only that using up my main ingredient. I had every reason to throw in the towel and no one would have said a negative word about me doing so. But I “held fast” and rode out the storm. As the grip of quarantine slowly eased off, work began to pick up and I was glad I stayed in the fight. That being said even now with food prices rising due to the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Sanctions on Russia our country continues to face hard times but with that Netta’s Bakery will find a way to keep on keeping on. I am remined of the quote from Martin Luther King jr. “If you can’t fly, then run If you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl but by all means, keep moving”.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

When I started this adventure, I knew nothing about running a business. At this moment I can no longer say that due to the videos and books that I have read. In no particular order here is a list of books that have helped me tremendously. Atomic Habits James Clear, The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber, CRUSH IT by Gary Vaynerchuk, The Entrepreneur rollercoaster by Darren Hardy, Power of Vison Myles Munroe. I am also very encouraged by motivational speaker Les Brown and Pastors Tony Evans.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nettasbakery.com
• Instagram: nettasbakery
• Facebook: nettasbakery
• Yelp: nettasbakery

Image Credits
nettasbakery and @beautybycharity