We were lucky to catch up with Princess Akindele recently and have shared our conversation below.

Princess , appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

It definitely takes consistency, hard work and determination. As a small business owner I find myself taking on multiple roles. Not only as the baker but also the accountant, social media manager, content creator, delivery person and more! It takes a lot of work and there are times where I have been physically and mentally drained, but the feedback and reviews that I receive from customers makes it all worth it.

Princess , 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?

I am the owner of Treats Royale Bakery which is a home based black owned bakery business. I specialize in delicious sweet treats such as banana bread, cookies, brownies as well custom buttercream cakes made to order. I got into the baking industry out of my love for baking delicious desserts for family and friends. I always wanted to start a small business but was afraid to get started. It was when covid hit that I decided to take a leap and launch the business. I had so much support from family and friends that I knew it was time to make this dream a reality.

Our banana bread loaves have been our top selling item for the past 2 years. We recently launched a sampler box which allows you to taste a variety of our treats. These boxes have become so popular and a great addition to parties and celebrations.

I am most proud of the community of amazing customers that I have gained since I launched the business. I have felt so much love from my community and received so many referrals. I am honestly blessed to have so many amazing people supporting my business and I am looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for Treats Royale.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I sell directly from my website treatsroyale.ca. The website is connected to Shopify which has made it super easy and seamless to order our treats. Customers have commented on how smooth and easy the payment process is when they purchase treats online. My website was designed by an amazing platform named SoPlugged. SoPlugged connects you with black owned business across Canada. They provide a service called SoPluggedPro where they help you design a website and also provide social media content to help you grow your business. They brought my design ideas to life and created a beautiful website as well as some social media content for my instagram page. Definitely check them out for all your website design needs as well as a directory filled with so many amazing black owned businesses.

The pros of having a website and using shopify is that it eliminates having to communicate back and forth with potential customers. This used to be my initial mode of taking orders which i did through DMs on my instagram page. I realized that I had to find a way to reduce the time spent discussing orders and make it a more professional and stress free process. The website allows customers to choose the treats they want, what day they want them, and whether they would like to pick up or have their order delivered.

The only cons that may arise with this process is technology glitches, but I have yet to encounter any errors with my website.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

As I am still a fairly new small business I am definitely still building a reputation within my market but I would definitely say that referrals go a long way. I have been fortunate to have many returning customers that refer my business to their friends and family members, either through word of mouth or simply by taking pictures of their orders and posting it on their social media platforms and tagging me. This method has continued to bring new customers to my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.treatsroyale.ca/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treatsroyale/