We recently connected with Tyaila Gilmore and have shared our conversation below.
Tyaila , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
I initially wanted to name my sweet shop after my daughter , whom we called “sugar mama” as a child . After googling similar companies in regards to my particular niche, we decided to instead name the sweet shop after her favorite type of icing , “Whipped Bettercream” . Thus, our company’s name is “Whipped Sweets & Treats “ .
Tyaila , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
First and foremost, I’m from Orangeburg, SC, known as “The Garden City”, however, it’s a small town.
I grew up in a part of town that was considered below average and/or poor. Although we lived average I never realized it until I grew older. I remember career day, as a child, looking at the appearance of the volunteers while they spoke about their jobs wondering how much money they made and/or were they actually happy.
As a child, my mom worked 2 jobs, thus we never lacked but I knew she couldn’t have been happy. I remember thinking whatever career I choose is going to change my family’s life. Shortly after completing my first semester of college, I became pregnant with my daughter. Wanting to provide more for her I obtained a job at a local grocery store as a closer and dropped out of college at SCSU.
After having my daughter, I received a promotion as a baker, shortly after as a cake decorator although I had no experience. I remember thinking there is no way I can do this but I have to. Although I was eventually given an assistant management position it was not enough to support my dreams of providing a better life for my child and family. However, the experience and/or lessons I learned throughout the years enabled me to create a clientele base of my own.
At the age of 33, with the help and encouragement of my husband, I decided to step out on faith and create my own business doing custom cakes. One year later of consistency, I quit my job of years to pursue my dream of owning my own company/building. At the age of 34, I opened up my own sweet shop. We currently offer ice cream , brownies, pastries, parfaits, cheesecake, custom cakes & more !
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
In all honesty we live in a social media era. Thus, when we initially opened our sweet shop we chose to capture clients via internet . We built our own websites & created social media platform pages to engage with our clients & grow our clientele. Perhaps, the most effective way I’ve found to build clientele is advertisement. You can never advertise your business enough. Advertise on the internet, locally , shopping, at your family reunion etc . There is no better way, in my opinion, to grow/gain clientele then to continuously put your business out there .
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Customer service is most definitely key to building and maintaining a company’s reputation. You always want to give your customers the best customer service possible at all times . When customers feel they’re concerns, needs , and wants are met they tend to feel more comfortable shopping with you .
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.GetitWhipped.com
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/Getit.whipped
- Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/whippedsnt
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/getitwhipped
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/fzNCczAjE00
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/pfH1cyr3HG