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

Hi Shemika , thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I would’ve never imagined one random day having a craving for cheesecake while on a diet would completely change my life. If anyone told me that I would not only be a baker, but a successful baker, I’d probably give them the side eye. I wasn’t always in the kitchen trying different recipes because I really wanted to bake. I didn’t have the desire to bake for the holidays or watch tons of baking shows to get inspiration. I baked a batch of boxed brownies and burned them! That was it! I didn’t attempt to try and get better at it. I just let it go. Until one day, I got so desperate for a sweet treat while on the Keto Diet and I baked a cheesecake with stevia and almond flour crust. The verdict was a no! But it did make me curious to bake a cheesecake without all the substitutes to stay in ketosis. That moment birthed the baker you see today! A woman whose curiosity is turning her into an Entrepreneur for something she didn’t even know she was capable of. God is so good isn’t he! I’ve taken this gift from God to not only satisfy your sweet tooth, but to give you an experience you could never get anywhere else. There’s great bakeries everywhere you turn in Houston. However, I never wanted to be like those successful bakeries. Everyone loves an upgrade! It’s proven in how many people get the latest iPhone every year even though the quality of their current phone is still pretty great. It’s the excitement of something new. The anticipation of indulging in something you already enjoy but knowing it’s about to get better. The upgraded version of your favorite sweet craving. The remix to that one song you have on repeat while heading to work. It’s a new rhythm, to an old rhyme. That’s what The Esculent Experience is all about, finding ways to create new levels for an area that was never lacking to begin with. I wanted to offer the world more than just flour, sugar, and butter. I didn’t want to create the typical ordinary menu. I wanted to create a safe space for your crazy cravings to flourish! Your experience, your way! It’s been a blessing to have a gift that is not only changing my life, but the lives of others. To some it may just be dessert, but to others it’s a good memory worth reliving. That feeling is why I have a business today. That feeling is why I have the pleasure of being interviewed by you today. I created a upgrade that combined faith and favor and called it an experience. It was an experience coming into this purpose, and it is an experience to see it grow beyond what I could’ve ever imagined it to be.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

My name is Shemika, and I’m the creator and owner of The Esculent Experience. The word esculent means edible in French and my motto is to produce a quality edible experience. I started my journey to entrepreneurship two years ago by simply posting my trial and errors on social media. Apparently I had more victories than defeat because my content was the only reason I got my first customer. You could imagine my amazement when someone inquires about my pricing and I didn’t even have a business yet. You could imagine my amazement thinking I’m just sharing my hobby and now someone feels the results are good enough to pay real money for! Yes, I said real money! I want you to understand none of this was planned. I was living my life, finding ways to keep busy and stay healthy. Then, someone notices what I’m capable of before I even see it. I never looked back to that version of myself that lacked vision. The Esculent Experience started as a hobby, then a home bakery. I provide a variety of cheesecake and cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberries, cheesecake stuffed strawberries, banana pudding, pecan chocolate chip cookies, fudge brownies, peach cobbler and so much more! I’m located in North Houston near Spring, TX. I make icing that my customers refer to as crack and I persuade non-sweet eaters to join the addiction. I make individuals who hate chocolate value a red velvet cupcake and I make people purchase 9×12 inch pans of banana pudding just for themselves. I aim to produce a quality edible product and my customers have proven it so. The reactions I get for my creative work is a blessing far greater than money. I am planting seeds for opportunity. Opportunity to create a lane that no other establishment has ever tried to accomplish.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is vital to your business! After all, it is the very thing that made the start of my business possible. It’s also how I keep my business growing. I went from posting videos of the very first cupcake I made and next thing you know I’m creating post saying “Now available, let me know if you’re interested” in only a matter of days! My content got their attention and the quality of my desserts made my customers consistent. When customers would send their feedback I would post it and their reactions would also generate more traffic into my business. Even if people didn’t respond to my post, I still got their attention and they eventually became an experiencer themselves. Through social media, I was able to show people that I was serious about my new journey and that I was good at what I do. Social media was the easiest way to get my business out there and to get free advertisement. I would search for baking content on all platforms just to see what people were interested in. I learned how to make my iPhone all the studio equipment I needed to make a good reel. Creating reels allowed me to gain more exposure. Being strategic with your posting can give you the results you want for your business. It’s all about the quality of the video you’re making, the trending song you use on your reel, the hashtags you post under it, and the time of day you post your reel. If you take the opportunity to go the extra mile by being consistent with social media, you can open the door for new customers to pile in and keep you sustaining a thriving business.

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

I think many business owners received a reality check during the pandemic and I was certainly included in that number. I wanted to maintain my business but the pandemic made it quite difficult to do so. During this time in my business was the first time I lost my momentum and started losing profit. There was never a week I didn’t have a order to be fulfilled. There wasn’t a time where I posted about having extra desserts prepared and those items were sold out in a second. I then came to a point in my business where I either had to do more to put myself out there or give away my products for free. The pandemic was not only a hard hit to my business but also my confidence in what I was assigned to do. I began to question was I really supposed to be successful at this? I asked my myself was it just a moment in time I got to say I accomplished something but decided had to let it go? No! It was only a season of reflection and being thankful for the opportunity. It was a season of trusting God with my finances more than customers buying my product. A season of eliminating double mindedness and remembering how I got here in the first place. It was about favor! Favor was with me then and it is with me now. I had to understand that my gift wasn’t one dimensional. I had to talk with God to see how I can now create the Pro Max model to the upgrade. I never wanted to give up my gift. Now God has shown me ways I can honor this gift without letting it fade away. I’m excited to see how my new services can take my business to a higher level. A level that I hope you all can benefit from my experience.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theesculentexperience/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/shemikadunbar
• Other: TikTok: she_mika

Image Credits
Image Credits: Personal shot was taken by Photographer Brinisha Shaw