We recently connected with Shontae Carter and have shared our conversation below.

Shontae, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

The biggest risk that I have taken in my life thus far was deciding to leave my full time job and become a stay at home mom. I have always loved working especially being in a management role where I could still be creative. I remember after I had my first child I prayed non stop that I would be able to stay home with my son. But the time was not yet as I later learned. I went back to work full time after my maternity leave was up. I cried everyday for the first two weeks I was back. Two years later I had my second child and I realized if I were to go back to work full time my whole paycheck was going to be used to pay for daycare. That’s the moment when me and my husband had a conversation that made my heart race. This was it, the moment I prayed for over two years ago. This was the risk that we called stepping out on faith. I would become a stay at home mom while my husband would become the sole provider. Little did I know this would be only the beginning of a wild ride to come.

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

I have always loved cooking since I was a child. My mother famously tells the stories of how I used to cook and pretend like I was talking to an audience on my own cooking show. Fast forward to my highschool graduation. I remember asking myself what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I had no clue but what I did know was that if I didn’t apply myself to something that I would fall by the wayside like so many had done before me. So I told myself I was going to go to college right after I graduated highschool. When I thought about what would keep me there the only thing I could imagine was cooking. So I signed up for Culinary Arts. I didn’t know what to expect but I later realized it was the best decision I could have made. After I graduated and obtained my Culinary Arts AAS Degree I went on the hunt for a job. And I failed miserably. I cried as I realized sometimes when you’re first starting out, it’s not about what you know but more about who you know. Luckily my future husband was someone I knew who was working in the industry. He helped get me my first job as an assistant pastry chef for a catering company. And that’s how my baking journey began. I have been in the culinary field ever since then. I have a passion for baking and cake decorating. I use cake decorating as an art form. I specialize in custom made cakes for all occasions. I started my home based cottage food bakery in 2018 a little while after I became a stay at home mom. My home bakery stemmed from a period in time when I was struggling heavily with postpartum depression. I didn’t see a way out at the time. But I told myself one day that I no longer wanted to be bound by depression and that I wanted my joy back. The next day I started baking cakes and I slowly but surely started to see the light again. I love when I am able to create something personal for people I barely know and watch them light up when they see it. It’s nothing better to me than putting a smile on someone’s face or watching them cry happy tears from the joy that my creation has sparked.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele so far has been great customer service. What I see nowadays is that people will be loyal to you if you have great customer service. Even if you have a bad day or you make a mistake as long as you are open and honest and make things right your customer will find there way back to you.

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

One lesson that I had to unlearn during my journey is that I can do it all by myself. Growing up with a single mom who did a lot of things on her own this was a lesson I learned without even knowing it. I taught myself how to be strong and self sufficient. But as my business started to grow I realized that the strength doesn’t come by doing it all by yourself, the strength comes by asking for help along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.justdessertscandiesllc.com
• Instagram: @JustDesserts&CandiesLLC
• Facebook: fb.me/JustDessertsCandiesLLC