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

Shonda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My MOM!! My mom is my forever hero and is the foundation and backbone of “Fancy & Frosted”. For as long as I can remember I have always shadowed my mom in the kitchen. It has always been a challenge to me to make sure the meals and desserts that I baked would always taste as good as something she prepared. In our small town “Ms. Lynda” is a household name when it comes to good food and great desserts. My goal was if mine could taste half ad good as hers then I’d be successful. When it comes to business decisions or how to mold or produce my product my mom may not be the face you see but she is most definitely behind the scenes guiding and encouraging me to make sure things are running smoothly.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am Shonda Tuck-Strickland owner/ cake artist of Fancy & Frosted Cakery in Siler City, NC. One of the 1st questions that is always asked is “where did you learn to do this”. I am a self-taught cake artist. This skill is a gift from God that I’m ever so thankful for. My home based bakery started 10 years ago as a result of a picture that I posted on Facebook from my daughter’s 9th birthday. This post lead to people asking me to bake specialty items. Fast forward 10 years later I am full time and prepare cakes/cupcakes from intimate parties to extravagant weddings. I prize myself with custom orders for all of my clients. I operate by custom orders only therefore all orders are delivered freshly made. I believe that not only should the dessert taste good it should also be appealing to the eye.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth!!!! I can not express this enough!!! If you offer a good product and keep your word clients will come. Starting your business and keeping clients is kind of like dating… the same thing you did you get the clients you must continue the same to keep them and grow..

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I take the small town approach with most of my clients. When birthdays or holidays come about I reach out to my clients to offer services. I always pair specials for holidays however I reach out to loyal clients to offer services before I’m booked by the general public.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: fancy.frosted
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/fancyfrosted

Image Credits
Image credit for personal photo : Tyvizuals