We recently connected with Sophie Makowski and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sophie , thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Baking has always been a passion of mine since I’ll was a child baking with my mom. When I went to Michigan State I worked at the MSU Bakery for my work study. It was one of my favorite parts of my 4 years at state. After graduating I would decorate cakes and cookies for family and friends but never thought to turn it into a business. Fast forward to getting married and working at an Assisted Living in their Marketing Department I had my daughter. I loved working with seniors but I desperately wanted to be home with my daughter, so I made the decision to be a stay at home mom and grow my home bakery business. Just three months later the pandemic hit and I found out I was pregnant with twins. I thought the pandemic would really effect my business, but because all standing store front bakeries closed my business ramped up. During that time I pivoted my business to porch pickups only which everyone felt comfortable with. From then on my business only continues to grow mostly due to word of mouth and social media. I am beyond grateful to my customers who have stuck with me during a pandemic, a twin pregnancy and now the juggling act of being a mom of 3 and business owner. I would not be as busy as I am without word of mouth.

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 back background and context?

(sorry some is a repeat) I learned how to bake from my mom at a young age. My most memorable moments baking with her was during the Christmas season making cookie platters for all of our neighbors. I continued baking throughout highschool brining my friends treats to school. When I went to Michigan State my job was working at the MSU Bakery. The MSU Bakery bakes all the desserts, breads and bagels that go to all the cafeterias on campus. My first year there I worked in the main bakery making cookie dough and packaging up orders for Sparty’s on campus. My second year they were looking for students to train and work in the decorating room and that is where my passion for detailed cake decorating began. I worked there the last 3 years at state. After graduating I did small orders on the side and then I made the move to be a stay at home mom and grow my business. I am most proud of being able to juggle being a business owner and SAHM mom. Both jobs are 24/7 jobs because you do not have any back up or help.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

My biggest advice for growing your business on social media is getting involved with other small or big businesses. For example I found a sprinkle brand called Neon Yolk shop that’s product was my favorite. I took part in all of their collaborations and groups. Through that I was able to meet and support other bakers and the small sprinkles business. Now I am one of the brands Ambassadors which has grown my social media presence.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think what has helped build my reputation as a bakery in an area that has a ton of bakeries and home bakers is word of mouth, but also making friends with the people in the same field as me. We all support each other. For example if I am too busy to take an order I will refer my customer to another baker and then other bakers do that for me. I love supporting rather than competing with people in the same field as me. It pays off more

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @PhilosophieBakery
• Facebook: Philosophie Bakery
• Other: Tiktok: Philosophiebakery

Image Credits
3 tier wedding cake cake at Colony Club photographer: Rosy and Shaun 3 tier wedding cake with dog: Jean Smith Photography 3 tier wedding cake with babies breath: Beth Joy Photo