We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rachel Smith. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rachel below.

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?

It takes a village to run an At Home Cake Business. Its Chaotic.
Its Exciting.
It takes continual conversations with your spouse.
It takes sacrifice.
It takes LOTS of cleaning.
It takes organization.
It takes scheduling.
It takes being okay with imbalance.

Rachel, 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?

It all started when it way my first girls birthday. I was struggling with postpartum depression without realizing it. I was a lost mom who needed something to do. I needed a hobby. My husband pushed me to order an Amazon cake kit and make her first birthday party. Goodness, I was an anxious mess. That first cakes was weeks of stress, baking and fails. BUT I LOVED IT. I fell in love with the creative side of making and creating cakes. It used a part of my brain that I hadn’t accessed in years.
I remember a few weeks after her birthday, my husband and I were laying in bed and he asked me, “What would be your biggest dream when it comes to cakes?”
Seeing that I ran my life with fear, this was a very difficult question to answer. What would be my greatest dream? After lots of pushing, I finally spitted it out “For ONE person to buy a cake from me.”
Fast forward to 3 years later, here I am creating 7-8 cakes per week during the busy season, and 3-5 cakes during the slow. I am now making over $30,000 net simply by baking, decorating and delivering cakes.

This “hobby” has helped my family build our first home, furnish our home, pay for family and couple trips, pay for my children’s clothes, allow us as a family to go out to eat and do fun activities around town. It gave my family financial freedom, but even more important, it pulled me out of a dark place that was filled with depression and anxiety. It gave me confidence, something to do for me, allowed me to create, serve and reach out to so many individuals I would have never met. It became part of who I am and my life. Something I will always be grateful for.

But it didn’t just come.

It takes continual communication with my husband, Josh. We are always adjusting. There will never be a perfect balance in our life, as it is for so many, our lives thrive in perfect chaos. Why? Because that is how we grow. Perfect balance doesn’t allow growth. It’s coasting. Chaos is where we live, but it’s is perfect because we are on the same page. We schedule, we communicate our expectations for ourselves, our girls and each other. We listen and care for one another’s desires and thoughts.
It takes sacrifice. My girls know what “Cake Day” means, they know they will need to play independently. They know the “Why” to why their mommy makes cakes. But they also know that mom is always available for when they need her.
It takes LOTS of late night baking, dishes and cleaning parties.
It takes priorities. Listing those priorities out as a business owner, mother, wife, friend and daughter and as I list those priorities out, letting those run my perfect chaotic life.

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

I was 9 months pregnant with my 2nd child. I had 10 more cakes to get done, a week prior to having my baby. One of which was 3 hours away. I did it and 3 days later had my baby girl. It doesn’t seem like much, but being on my feet, having contractions any time I would walk, managing a toddler WHILE baking and decorating cakes….it was a lot. Then on top of all that, having to deliver a wedding cake 3 hours away, well knowing that my baby girl could be born at any time….but I love it. I love the rush, the push, the beauty and the excitement of wedding cakes.
So you dig in, you find your grit and you just do it.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Everything changed with a few top wedding venues in Utah asked me to be their preferred cake artist. The first one was Walker Farms. A stunning venue that hosts to higher end clients. They asked me to be part of their bridal show, and even though it was SO much work, due to baking over 300 cupcakes to give away and boxing each one individually, it was worth it. Because of that single event, I broke into an incredible industry, weddings. That is when the revenue starting coming in, when I started connecting to incredible brides, grooms, mothers and fathers, venue owners and workers…it filled my cup as a stay at home mom who craves interactions but it also started blessing us financially.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @cakes_by_rach686
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cakesbyrach686/

Image Credits
@jessieanddallin @peppernix @warrenatkinphoto