We recently connected with Shannon Kelly-Bowers and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories 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 must say that I am very happy to be a business owner. It is a great accomplishment to be an entrepreneur. The feeling of empowerment when you’re able to execute your vision is unmatched. I work full-time for the Federal Government and operate my business after hours. I often wonder what it would be like to operate my business full-time. I know it would be a lot of work but along with that I foresee it to be very rewarding. At some point in the future, I do intend to operate my business on a full-time basis.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Certainly, I am Shannon Kelly-Bowers the owner of Shannon’s Indulgence Desserts. I am a self-taught baker who operates a separate domestic kitchen solely for Shannon’s Indulgence Desserts, here in Nashville TN. My love for baking started through my quest to make the perfect Chocolate Chip cookie. My desserts are scratch made with the best ingredients. I aim to provide desserts reminiscent of your grandparents baked goods. I have fond memories of my great-grandparents and grandparents baked goods. I could tell they were made with love. I also feel that love when I am in the kitchen and put my all into each item that I bake. I am most proud of how my business is unfolding. My business exploded from the beginning, which was a great surprise! I enjoyed fulfilling each request but after some time I knew that I needed to scale back so that I wouldn’t lose my joy for baking. Being a 1-woman operation, it was often overwhelming baking on demand. I had to learn to be structured when taking orders by placing them in queue, comparing them to other orders and prepping for larger orders. I’ve also taken courses on how to build, manage and scale a successful business. I have succesfully completed the 12-week online certificate program in the Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell University. Investing in myself and learning how to grow my business has helped tremendously. My brand identity is very important. I would like Shannon’s Indulgence to be viewed as professional and delectable.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that I had to unlearn was trying to accommodate every customer request. As a business It’s natural to try to please every customer and fulfill special requests. As your business grows, your flexibility may change where you won’t be able to accommodate certain requests or timelines. I’ve learned over the years that my time is precious and is equally important as my customers time. I ask myself two important questions, 1) do I have time to fulfill this request and 2) will this request cause me undue stress? Depending on the answer determines my acceptance of the request. Most of my customers are understanding and are willing to wait for my baked goods. I am so very thankful for them and appreciate their support for my love of baking.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source for new clients for me is by word of mouth. When customers refer you to their friends, speaks volumes. My heart smiles when I’m told that they’ve heard about this or that from someone else. I also acquire new customers through social media such as Instagram and Facebook. Maintaining a social media page can be time consuming but is well worth it. I would love to grow my Instagram @shannonsindulgence, please follow me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shannonsindulgencedesserts.com
• Instagram: @shannonsindulgence
• Facebook: Shannon’s Indulgence Desserts