We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Theresa Foust a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Theresa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To be successful, I think it takes being able to provide great customer service, quality products, strategic but creative marketing/branding, and competitive pricing. I’ve been able to build a loyal cliental based off customer service and the consistency of great products. I have this particular client that places orders for work events to family functions, even when she just wants cupcakes for no reason. I’m a firm believer in he principle of the golden rule, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” -Matthew(7:12)

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.

I am, Theresa Foust, owner/baker of ReRe’s Sweet Treats located in Charlotte, NC. I began baking at the young age of 13, grew up watching my grandmother’s cook and bake for Sunday family dinners and holidays. Over the years my love of being in the kitchen grew more and more. I began to cook and bake for friends and family members birthdays, baby showers, engagement party’s, and many other special occasions. Growing up I always wanted to work in the medical field but had a change of heart once I reached my Senior year of high school. I then decided to attend Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, S.C. for business management. Completing the 4 year program achieving my Bachelor of Applied Science, Hotel & Restaurant Institutional Management. I continued to practice my craft as a hobby, friends and family members would often tell me to start a business. I didn’t have much faith within myself to start a business so I continued to work within the corporate field of customer service and hospitality. When Covid happened in 2020, I was relieved of my job duties because the hospitality industry had been affected so drastically. After several denied job applications, I prayed to God asking “What should my next steps be?” The response I received I didn’t think I was ready for but I followed and started my business, ReRe’s Sweet Treats LLC. In the beginning I was only offering cakes and cupcakes to customers then over time my menu extended to chocolate covered treats such as pretzels, rice krispy treats, strawberries, cookies, coco bombs, brownies, candy apples, and breakable hearts. No matter which item I’m creating I make sure to do it with love, I’d like to think this is what assist in differentiating myself from other bakers. I want my clients to feel the love that I put into each treat that I create for their special occasion. I must say it’s far from easy being an entrepreneur but it’s a must that you have self discipline, push all fears aside, and have faith that all things will workout the way it’s supposed to. I think I’m most proud that I’ve chosen to keep going even in the times when I had no sales to the times I had so many sales that I lacked sleep or missed out on attending events with loved ones. It’s easy to make excuses and give up but so much gratification when you push through barriers that you never imagined that you could accomplish.

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 I had to learn was that having a good heart doesn’t mean that you have to reduce your prices or give products away at no cost. Often times in the start of my business I would feel bad about pricing my product at a higher cost, if a customer stated it was too much I would then discount the item to meet their needs. At times I would even give custom cakes or cupcakes away to show that I was understanding to the customers financial request Well over time my profit wasn’t reflecting the amount of work and materials that I was putting out. So I had to come to terms with myself that something will have to change or I’ll put my own self out of business. Growing up I had the opportunity to witness my mom always willing to help other’s, so I must say I learned that trait from her. Understanding that I have to charge my customers the full price in order to make a profit and see my business grow. I learned that I can still have a good heart but the conversation would be different if a customer need a cake or cupcakes to meet their budget. Meaning I would provide options of what I can do that will be accommodating for them an allowing me to gain profit without reducing my price or giving product away. Which allows a win/win solution, having a good heart doesn’t mean that you have to give product away or decrease your value. It simple means to unlearn the behavior that I had associated with having a good heart. But to have different conversations with my customers some may be tougher than others but to provide options that will give more reasonable solutions.

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

I’d have to say my best source of new clients has been from “word of mouth”. I get several new clients from Instagram or FaceBook, some how they stumble across my page then begin to follow. I’ve had a couple clients say that they Googled a particular product then my Facebook page popped up. But I must say at least 80% of my clients come from referrals of other clients that has utilized my services. There’s an old saying my mom would say growing up “it’s not what you know but who you know”. As I am thankful for expanding my knowledge, I am forever grateful for the relationship’s I’ve built to assist in the growth of my cliental.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://reresweettreats.wixsite.com/reresweettreats
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/rere_sweet_treats?igshid=1lc0l41vniw9e
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reresweettreats/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ChefReRe?si=VHRc41NVPf1dRHAX

Image Credits
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