May 15, 2024 • 47 mins
Crafting a cake empire is no easy task, but today's guest has done it flawlessly and left no crumb behind. Yolanda Gampp co-founded How To Cake It, an online educational brand dedicated to empowering and teaching baking enthusiasts through decorating videos and services.
In this episode, we will learn:
- How she got started with her baking career
- What inspired her to create her YouTube channel
- How she is using collaboration to spread positivity and grow her brand
- What obstacles she has overcome while growing her unique brand
Want to keep up with Yo? From books to classes check out all things How To Cake It by visiting her online store. https://howtocakeit.com/
Loved this episode? Tag us at @bakingforbusiness on Instagram.
Two ways I help my students earn $2-10k monthly👇?
1.) Grow your home bakery business inside The Entrepreneur Community by clicking here
2.) Learn to sell digital products inside Digital Product Community by clicking here
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, sweet friends, my name is Chef Schaumburg.
I started my baking businesswith a bottle of DeSorono and
one Bundt cake pan.
Fast forward to today, fromnews to magazines, speaking on
national stages and more.
I can truly say that baking haschanged my life.
So now, as a bakery businesscoach, I get to help others have
the same success.
I've helped hundreds of mystudents across the world in my
(00:24):
global membership programsix-figure businesses, mainly
from home.
The Baking for Business podcastis an extension of that, from
actionable tips to valuabletools and resources that can
impact you as a business owner.
I truly believe y'all.
We would never have been givena gift if we couldn't profit and
prosper from it.
So come on, darling.
What are you waiting for?
(00:45):
Hello everyone, and welcomeback to the Baking for Business
podcast.
I'm so excited to have you guysin listening today because
today we have such an amazingguest.
You guys probably know her fromeverywhere, but it's Ms Yolanda
Gamp with how to Cake it, andwhen she's not on QVC sharing
(01:07):
products or on YouTube doingamazing cakes, you can always
find her on social media turninganything into a cake, or on TV
helping and encouraging otherswith their dreams as well.
So we're so excited to have herhere.
Yolanda, welcome to the Bakingfor Business podcast.
Thank you so much for having meAmanda.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Absolutely, and so I want to go ahead and get started
with simply how did you start?
Can you share with us yourjourney into the world of cake
artistry, and how did youactually run across that as a
passion?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Well, my journey began a long time ago, when I
was about 19,.
I guess I loved baking as a kid, but I never thought about it
as a career path and I went to avery academic high school which
furthered that belief in methat it wasn't truly a career
path.
When I was done high school, Iwanted to go to OCAD, which is
(02:04):
the Ontario College of Art andDesign, and I chickened out
because you had to do apresentation and you had to
present a whole portfolio and Iwas extremely shy and the
thought of standing in front ofprofessors and discussing my
work was just not for me at thetime.
So I instead decided to go toGeorge Brown College here in
Toronto.
Now, at the time there was nocake decorating, there was
(02:27):
simply a certificate for baking.
So I went into the culinarymanagement program, which was
straight up cooking, and thensome other courses to support
the idea that you would one dayown a restaurant.
Like you know, bookkeeping andaccounting, we did do a tiny bit
of baking.
It was mostly like bread, a pie, nothing like what I do today,
(02:50):
but on those days I just lovedit so much.
I would think to myself this iswhat I want to do all the time.
So we had to do a co-opplacement and I boldly went to
the dean and I asked forpermission to apply to a bakery
rather than a restaurant, and hesaid yes.
And it's only now, at thispoint in my life, that I
realized, you know, he reallychanged the course of my life,
(03:13):
and even me asking him forpermission to do that changed
the course of my life, eventhough I didn't realize it at
the time.
So I went to work at a wonderfulbakery here in Toronto and I
would work on weekends, go toschool five days a week, and I
just fell in love because theylet me try every single station
in the bakery.
So there was one gentleman whojust made fillings, one who just
made pie dough, one who bakedall the cakes and manned all the
(03:36):
ovens, and then, of course,there was the cake decorating
station, and that's where Itruly fell in love.
Now, none of the cakes weresculpted there, and that's where
I truly fell in love.
Now, none of the cakes weresculpted, there was no fondant
whatsoever.
But I did learn about, you know,filling and stacking cakes and
piling flavor into cakes andthen, of course, icing them, and
at my best I could ice about125 cakes in a day.
And when I was done collegethey hired me immediately and I
(03:59):
ended up working there for threeand a half years and then I
moved on to another bakery whichhad a very different style of
baking and learned so much and Iloved it equally.
And then eventually I juststarted to make cakes on the
side at home for anyone I couldgive them to, because I really
wanted to test out fondant andsculpting, which brought me back
to my artistic ways.
(04:21):
You know, as a child I justloved building things and making
things with my hands.
So I think that cake decoratingwas a blend of those two loves
baking and creating.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
That's awesome.
It's always amazing to seeeverything come full circle, and
so we have something in common.
That's what I went to culinaryschool for, too is for
management.
Okay, yeah, I love that.
That's wonderful.
You said you started off fromhome on the side.
Did you ever end up selling asa cottage food operator or doing
(04:52):
it on the side to hone yourskills?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
No, I ended up selling.
So at first I would just, youknow, give them away or I would
make a cake for my friends andfamily.
Anytime it was a celebration.
And then I love that termcottage baking, because we don't
actually have that term inCanada.
I know that that's an Americanterm and I learned about that
term through how to cake it, butI did eventually.
I used to bake out of my mom'skitchen and I would sell cakes.
(05:17):
So I mainly made cakes forweddings or mitzvahs and then
maybe larger occasions like a50th birthday or perhaps the odd
corporate cake.
And then I went full throttle.
I quit my job at the bakerybecause I had started to ride
this train of you know.
I made one bar mitzvah cake fora woman and all the kids at the
(05:37):
party loved it.
And then all the other momscalled me for all the other bar
mitzvahs and I started toactually receive orders.
And so my dad had had a businessin the basement of our house
and after he passed away thatspace sat dormant for years and
I actually decided to invest andturn that into my professional
(05:58):
kitchen, because one of theproblems I had was, you know, I
couldn't call myself nut free.
One of the problems I had was,you know, I couldn't call myself
nut free, since I was baking inmy home kitchen, which
contained peanut butter and alot of other things, and so by
building this kitchen and buyingnew equipment, then I could
declare I was not free, whichwas a really big deal.
At the time, I found that mostof the birthday cakes and bar
(06:19):
mitzvah cakes I was making,there was always someone with a
nut allergy, so it became a bitof a hindrance for me.
So I built this space and hadall my tools in there and I
would just, you know, cake mydays away, taking orders
whenever I could get them, youknow, blasting my iPod and
moving to my music while I baked.
And I feel like you know.
(06:40):
I think I might feel verydifferent than other cake
decorators in the sense that theyears I spent honing my skills
and really diving in and I wasso hungry for everything cake
Essentially I was completelyisolated doing that.
I didn't know another cakedecorator.
I didn't go to a cakedecorating school, it was just
(07:01):
my.
I didn't have friends who madecakes, so it was just my thing
and I was constantly immersingmyself in it.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
That sounds like a story that a lot of people can
relate to.
So, however, once you startedbuilding the business, I love
the fact of you transitioningthe area that you have into a
workspace, which I always thinkis amazing.
What made you decide to takethe leap to then YouTube, to
(07:28):
actually sharing your journey?
Was that the first space thatyou started sharing?
It wasn't more so social media.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
It was neither, and actually it wasn't my decision
at all.
So I came into contact withsomeone and I would make cakes.
She was an event planner, herand her partner, and I would
make cakes for them, for theirevents.
I had actually made her weddingcake years before and that's
how she knew of me.
And they came to me and theysaid I really want to work with
(07:55):
you on a bigger level.
And lo and behold, this is myfriend Casper that I'm talking
about.
He had a friend who was in TVproduction and he said to
Jocelyn you have to see whatwe're doing with this girl,
yolanda, we're doing these sweettables at all our events.
She bakes a cake and she makesbaked goods to match, and then
we do linens and florals andthere's always a theme.
(08:17):
And Jocelyn came out andshadowed us.
She basically had a littlecamcorder and she filmed us
setting up a sweet table at acharity event that had a very
full harvest theme, on abeautiful golf course.
And, lo and behold, she turnedthat into a sizzle, sent it to
the Food Network Canada, foodNetwork Canada and it became a
(08:38):
show within 11 months and wehadn't even, you know, inked our
business, made it official.
We were just enjoying workingtogether with the two of them as
event designers and me, as youknow, this cake decorator, baker
and so that became a showcalled Sugar Stars, which aired
on Food Network Canada in 2012.
(09:00):
And it's hard to believe that's12 years ago, and so I was
really nervous because, like Isaid, when I asked the Dean and
you know, going to art college,I was extremely shy and I didn't
like any sort of attention,nevermind a camera on me.
But I remember thinking veryclearly this is the chance for
me to put my work out there, toshow my talent and then, of
(09:23):
course, to grow my business andget clients, you know, from the
greater Toronto area and beyond,who perhaps hadn't heard of me
at all.
So I just thought I'm going togive it my all, doesn't matter
if I'm shy, and there was threeother people on the show, so it
didn't feel as much of aspotlight on me.
And there you have it.
We did the show and it wasn'trenewed.
It was a great learningexperience.
(09:45):
It was difficult for mybusiness, however, because we
shot that show over the courseof nine months and I had to turn
away all of my clients in thosenine months.
So you know, production andbeing on TV was a completely new
world to me.
It forced me to come out of myshell in so many ways, but it
also forced me to put mybusiness on hold, which was a
detriment to me.
It forced me to come out of myshell in so many ways, but it
also forced me to put mybusiness on hold, which was a
(10:07):
detriment to me, because youwork very hard to build a
clientele that trusts you, ofcourse, and I was so scared to
give that up.
But it was a great experienceand I don't regret that at all.
And unbeknownst to me after itwasn't renewed.
Behind the scenes, jocelyn andher business partner, Connie,
(10:30):
were pitching this idea of meand my cakes to the Food Network
, to the Cooking Channel, tlc,all these things, and they were
being turned away.
Now they were in that business,they were in television
development, so they would comeup with show ideas, develop them
and then pitch it to networks,and I was one of them and, like
(10:53):
I said, they didn't run this byme.
They just thought this is sucha great idea.
Cake was becoming huge, as youknow.
All of a sudden there was cakeon TV where it never was before,
and in the end they wereconstantly told no.
And by then I had my son.
I was sitting on the couchbreastfeeding him.
He was like eight months old.
They called me and they saidwhat about YouTube?
(11:15):
We hear YouTube is the thing.
Let's do this together onYouTube.
And I remember Amanda thinkingso clearly in my head this will
be perfect because I can getback to my art form, we can make
a video here and there, andI'll just do it at my own pace.
And, most importantly, thiswould be the first time I would
have the chance to make cakesthat I wanted, because, even
(11:39):
though I was fortunate enough tohave a business and make cakes
for clients, I always had tomake what they wanted Right, and
I had to make what they wantedright.
And I had this sort of bucketlist of ideas in my head that I
had never made.
And, as it turns out, it wasthe complete opposite of that
original thought, because theminute we entered the YouTube
space, it has been such a rocketship and a roller coaster for
(12:01):
so many different reasons, andit hasn't been a video here and
there.
It has been my whole life,consistently for the past nine
years.
But yeah, it wasn't my idea atall and it's so wonderful.
You know, when I was pregnant,at the end of my pregnancy and
during my mat leave, that wasthe first time in my life, since
(12:21):
I was 19, that I wasn't bakingor creating anything, and I
truly missed it because it justfelt like sort of a big
emptiness in my life that wasn'tthere before.
And so I think it's so greatthat these two women saw
something in me, believed in me,and you know, I like to say
(12:41):
like thanks for saving my ticketLike they they never.
And you know, I like to saylike thanks for saving my ticket
Like they never.
When I forgot about me, theynever forgot about me.
And we all went on this journeytogether and I think it's a
combination of our own uniquetalents that makes how to Cake
it so special.
You know, because they bringall the good stuff the
production, the back end, youknow, the SEO, the website, all
(13:03):
that good stuff and I bring whatI do best.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
What a blessing that someone did.
They never stopped.
They saw something in you, evenwhen you didn't see it, and
just kept going and pitching,and that's remarkable.
I always value collaborationover competition, which is
amazing.
How was it like for you?
Because so many people may notremember or may not have even
(13:29):
known that you did operate yourown business and sell to clients
.
So how was it like for you toactually turn that off, Because
I'm pretty sure at some pointyou had to close it for your
channel.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Yes, I think at that point I had accepted that it was
kind of closed.
I was on this sort of new mompath in life and, as any cake
decorator knows, when you're acake decorator you are married
to your weekends, right.
Like I would spend the wholeweek cleaning my kitchen, buying
ingredients, you know, startingthe whole process again up to
delivering the cakes, which wereusually Saturdays and Sundays,
(14:05):
and then start the whole thingagain.
So I never had a weekend.
My weekends were spent with mymother or my boyfriend at the
time, now my husband drivingaround the city to various
banquet halls and hotels todeliver and put together these
cakes.
And when I had a baby, I startedto think that lifestyle really
wouldn't suit being a mom.
And so when they brought upYouTube, I thought, oh, this is
(14:28):
perfect, because now we can sortof work around my schedule and
I can switch up how I work.
So I think I had alreadyaccepted that my business was
over.
In fact, I was already thinkingin my head what will I do now?
Maybe it's time I got a realjob and I did something else, um
(14:49):
, and so when that opportunitycame, you know, like I said, it
just felt there was no way Iwould have said no at that point
, because I truly felt like theywere just opening this new door
for me.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Absolutely.
That's so amazing.
So now you're on YouTube,you're, you're building the
channel.
Obviously, you're no longertaking orders.
So many people actually like tostep out and branch out from
their baking business to eithermaybe blog or maybe sell digital
products.
I know now with how to Cake it.
(15:19):
You have classes, as well asseveral guest teachers.
Do you remember having yourfirst class?
Or were you just okay with themonetization on YouTube?
Or at what point in time didyou decide to start teaching?
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Well, it started with , you know, the tutorials on
YouTube, and then we wanted.
We noticed such a connectionwith our community.
I have to say, what makes usstay on YouTube is the community
that's the best thing that wehave built here at how to Cake
it and remember, like I said, Iwas so isolated in my caking
journey for years.
It's how to cake it thatbrought me a community, and I
(15:54):
kind of really didn't foreshadowthat even when we started the
channel, and so we started withsomething called Can't Cake.
We noticed that.
One thing I love about thechannel and what it's taught me
is children never, ever, lettheir fear dominate their
curiosity, and that is the mostbeautiful thing about being a
child.
So when children see me make acake, no matter what it is they
(16:16):
think I'm going to make that.
Mom, get me this, mom, help me.
Can we do this?
I really want to do this.
Nothing stops them, whereasadults, even if they've wanted
to do this their whole life andhave been curious, they talk
themselves out of it before theyeven start.
And so we noticed a lot ofchildren.
We would get letters from a lotof mothers, you know, thanking
(16:38):
us for inspiring their children.
So we started with somethingcalled Camp Cake and it was
often a one or two day class andit was shot just like we shot
the channel.
So they felt very much likethey were entering my space and
we would do simpler projects,whether it be cupcakes that look
like sundaes or chocolate fudgethat look like a wreath for
(16:59):
Christmas things that kids couldhandle and we'd usually do two
or three little projects and thewhole time I'd walk them
through it.
It would be an open dialogue.
They'd ask questions, we'danswer, jocelyn would be there
just like she was on the channel, and we would just have a blast
.
It almost felt like a slumberparty.
You know it really did.
(17:21):
That gave me as well, becauseit was the opposite of being
isolated.
Right Now I get to share thisknowledge that I have amassed
over the years and do it withthem and see the joy and, most
importantly, the pride that itbrings them.
And something else the three ofus felt really good about is
(17:45):
you know, on YouTube, younggirls especially are just
pummeled with content that tellsthem how to dress, how to look,
how to lose weight, how to doyour hair, how to, and all of
that is fine and dandy, but whenyou're a certain age and you're
impressionable, that can be alot, and so I love that we were
offering something different.
Be creative, do your thing,make it your own.
(18:08):
You can feel so proud.
You're making something thatyou can then share with your
friends and your family, orbring to school, if you're
allowed to do that.
So we just loved that energyand that feeling.
And when COVID hit, you know, asyou know, the world was baking.
All of a sudden, everyone wasmaking banana bread and no one
(18:29):
could buy flour, right.
So we thought how do we makemore camp cakes?
Because camp cake was somethingwe had only done like twice a
year, once in the summer andonce over the holidays.
And that's how Bake you Happycame to be.
It was this idea of how manyclasses can we put out and not
just showcase me, but othercreatives in the baking space
(18:51):
who are at the top of their game, like you know what I mean Like
the top macaron maker, the topcookie artist there's so many
verticals in baking, it's it'sendless, and so to share our
platform with those otherartists has been incredible, and
it's also grown you know ourcommunity as well as theirs and
(19:13):
just sort of bringing all thebakers together and giving
people, like I said you know,something to feel proud about
and something to learn,especially in a time when the
world was shut down and weweren't allowed to do much.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Absolutely, and the how to Cake it website and
community does that so amazing?
Because you do have so manydifferent classes and you're
very versatile in the offeringsthat you put out there for
people to learn from and, like Istated earlier, I do love the
fact that you do collaboratewith other people, so that in
itself is amazing.
(19:46):
At what point in time?
Because now you eventuallyreturned back to TV.
You've been a judge on severalshows, so at what point in time,
what was your next showafterwards, once you finally
started building that, thatYouTube page and building your
brand out?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
What's funny is we never thought we'd return to TV.
Like I said, connie and Jocelynhad come from that world.
They were kind of done with itand we had moved on.
I had never expected to be onTV in the first place, so it
wasn't in the back of my mind atall.
But when you hit a millionsubscribers on YouTube, a lot of
magic happens, and so when thathappened, here came all the
(20:26):
same networks that werepreviously rejecting Connie and
Jocelyn, as well as publishers.
And I should say my biggestdream in my caking journey the
whole way was to have my ownbook.
That was my biggest dreambecause books were my source of
learning.
In fact, there used to be astore in Toronto that was called
the Cookbook Store, and allthey sold were cookbooks and
(20:49):
baked books imported fromdifferent countries.
I used to go in there and flipthrough pages of books.
I couldn't dare afford at thetime, and every time it was my
birthday or Christmas I'd ask mymom for one of those books, and
I of course, have a collectionof cake decorating books that I
just loved to flip through.
Not that I wanted to copy otherpeople's designs I'm not like
(21:10):
that at all but it would just beso inspiring.
Or maybe I just saw onetechnique and I thought, oh, I'm
going to use that here on mycake.
And so a book was something Ihad always visualized for myself
.
And, lo and behold, youtubebrought me to that spot and I
really didn't see that coming.
And then, of course, it broughtme back to TV.
So at first the offers were,you know, for me to that spot
and I really didn't see thatcoming.
(21:30):
And then, of course, it broughtme back to TV.
So at first the offers were,you know, for me to be a guest
judge on several shows.
I've been on nailed it, I'vebeen on best baker in America,
winner cake, all there's a wholebunch.
I feel like cake wars, andunfortunately, every time I got
offered the position to be apermanent judge, we would turn
(21:52):
it down because YouTube is anintense algorithm and we needed
to feed it, and so there was noway for me to continue making a
weekly video of these cakes thattake so long.
And then, you know, go be in LAor wherever it was, for a month
.
We wouldn't be able to keep up.
As well as, you know, my be inLA or wherever it was for a
month.
We wouldn't be able to keep up,as well as you know my own life
and being a mom, and so thatopportunity came to me when I
(22:17):
actually decided to quit YouTube.
So I quit YouTube for about ayear and a half, just out of a
lot, a whole lot of factorssheer exhaustion, creative
burnout.
My mom was diagnosed withAlzheimer's in 2020 as well, and
I also had a very severe injuryhere from cake decorating, from
(22:37):
rolling fondant, from doingthis with a spatula.
I couldn't even turn my neck, Icouldn't turn my head to the
right at all, and so I had tostart acupuncture and physio and
all kinds of things and allthose factors combined.
I just decided to take a breakfrom YouTube, and at the time,
bake you Happy was so massivefor us.
(22:58):
So, even though I had guilt, Ifelt a lot of guilt leaving the
wonderful community we've built,but I also felt guilty about it
was the first time in my life Istarted to feel like I was
faking it and I don't do wellwith that, you know.
Like you know, I'd go to thestudio and I'd start to make a
cake and I think I don't want tobe here and I don't do well
(23:20):
with that and I also trulybelieve you know, the energy you
put out is exactly what you getback.
And there's something about methat thought I wasn't hiding it
well, and so I took a very longbreak.
And what's funny is, I thinkthree weeks after my last video
aired, I got the offer for CrimeScene Kitchen.
Wow, and again, I think that isso serendipitous because I was
(23:46):
on a break.
Now I could consider this, Icould go somewhere for a month.
It wouldn't be stressing myinjury because it would just be,
you know, talking about what Ido.
And so I took the job and I'mso happy because I think being a
permanent judge on a show hasreally made me come out of my
(24:08):
shell in so many ways uh,battling my own, you know, inner
shyness, being able to talkabout my craft and articulate
and help others on their bakingjourney uh, while giving them,
you know, constructive criticism.
I certainly don't like to bakeanyone, burst anyone's baking
bubble, that's not my thing, um,but I really enjoy it.
(24:29):
And I also get to dress up.
They dress me up.
I get a little glam squad.
That's not like.
That's nothing like cakedecorating In the cake
decorating world.
I've got on a t-shirt and someCrocs and some jeans, and that's
my footwear.
Yes, so it's been so wonderful,and I actually just shot
another show where I'm thepermanent judge with Buddy the
(24:53):
cake boss, so it hasn't airedyet, but another wonderful
experience that I'm so gratefulfor, and in the meantime, I have
returned to YouTube.
I basically found my way back,but I don't want it to be the
only avenue.
(25:13):
I think it's important for meto be diversified in as many
ways as I can.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
I love that, because I'm always telling that to my
students to diversify yourincome.
So many of us go through whatyou went through If not an
injury, then either weexperience burnout, we feel like
we're doing too much, or we'realways, like we stated, baking
on the weekends that we neverhave that time with our family,
and so I'm always encouragingpeople to find other avenues
(25:41):
either host your own classeslocally or do digital products.
And it's crazy that you saidyou took a break, because it
never really seems like you left.
But that's the power of YouTube, because it's evergreen.
So even all that content thatyou put out there is still
getting views, is still raisingyour brand awareness, which is
amazing.
And then it sounds like youfinally completed one of your
(26:02):
dreams, as we know, because youhave several books.
So take us back to your firstbook.
How did that come along?
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Well, like I said, we hit a million in just under a
year on YouTube.
And then, I want to say, threeor four publishers came knocking
and so we made the decisionthat I would do this.
It actually came down to thewire.
I wasn't going to do thisbecause at that point I was
truly burnt out, we were gettingreally tired.
(26:30):
Because at that point I wastruly burnt out, we were getting
really tired.
And Connie and Jocelyn said tome you know, wouldn't it be
great if your first book wasreleased the year you turn 40?
And I thought that's got a nicering to it.
Yes, it does.
So we decided to do it Hardestproject to date, but I am very
proud of it.
And it was hard for many reasons.
Number one it's actually notthe book I wanted to start with.
(26:52):
My second book is the book Iwanted to start with, but the
publisher, of course, wanted mybook, you know, under their
umbrella to represent what ourchannel was known for, and that
was mainly novelty cakes, and soI always felt like it was a
little too niche and I also feltlike, why would you start your
caking journey there?
You would obviously start, youknow, steps ahead of that and
(27:13):
work your way up.
But what was most interestingabout that whole process was
because we were on this YouTubetrain and all three of us had
such creative freedom to go intosomething like publishing,
where, yes, it's collaborativebut there's also sort of rules
to follow, and they were allrules we knew nothing about.
(27:36):
Um, that was really difficult,and I would say the most
difficult thing about booknumber one was having to write
in words the description of howyou make these cakes.
That is, that cannot bedescribed, because at least in a
YouTube video, it reallydoesn't matter how I articulate
(27:59):
it to you, because you're seeingthe visual.
In fact, I think I'm verycasual on my channel.
I think that's kind of thebeauty of the channel.
Even though I'm making cakesthat can be quite elaborate, I
talk about it like it's the mostcasual thing.
But in a book, no, no, no, no.
It needs to be proper goodgrammar, it needs to make sense
and there needs to be enoughstill pictures that you're
(28:21):
getting the point every step ofthe way right.
The recipe is not for a saladwhere I can just show you the
final product and in your mindyou can visualize how to get
there.
No, I need to give you theproper steps and I felt really
strongly about that.
So things like having to pushback, you know, one cake can't
just be two pages, or one of thethings I really two things I
(28:42):
really fought for in the firstbook were a to lay out
instructions of how to achievethe project.
So day one I would tell thembake your cakes, make your
buttercream, make your simplesyrup, cut your cake boards.
And then it would say, day two,to start the process of
decorating, because I felt likeit was a lie, you know, to write
(29:03):
a recipe as if you could justcomplete it in one afternoon.
You can't, you know, as we know, any cake decorator knows this.
And there's so many factors youcan't.
You know, as we know, any cakedecorator knows this.
And there's so many factors youcan't even control, like
climate.
The last cake in my book has 53steps.
Wow, it's a lucky cat.
And so I think in the beginningyou know, at first the publisher
, I think they wanted me to havelike 70 cake recipes and you
(29:27):
know I had to sort of say thatwould be a set of encyclopedias.
There's no way the book will bethis big, but I have to say I
grew a lot.
I learned a lot.
It was one of the firstprojects I got to work very
closely with Connie on becauseshe took the reins on that.
And when I tell you, we workedsix days a week, flip-flopping
(29:50):
between book and YouTube, and weworked till like 2 am and I
could not be prouder of thatbook.
You know, every time someonebrings it to me to sign, or even
when I look through it myself,I just think it's a work of art
and it's better than the book Ihad always imagined for all
those years.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
That's your baby.
And then eventually came Yo'sMagical Kitchen the perfect cake
.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yes, yes, that's like I said, amanda, like with the
children in our community.
You know, baking is somulti-generational.
We say this all the time.
If it's not a grandparentbaking with a child, it's a
parent baking with a child or achild baking for their family.
You know, all cultures havesome form of baking or sweets at
(30:38):
a celebration.
It means the same thingworldwide, and so we definitely
wanted to do something in thekids space.
We want to do a lot more in thekids space.
Actually that's on our bucketlist.
But the perfect cake is a littlestory that's, you know, about
sort of young me and my familyand I love the title because I'm
(30:59):
such a perfectionist and it issomething that has plagued me my
whole life.
I like to say it's a gift and acurse.
It's a gift because it's whatkeeps me coming back.
You know, every single cake onmy channel I would change
something about.
There's probably only threecakes that I would leave alone,
and so I think it's what keepsme hungry and keeps me striving
(31:20):
to make more.
But it's a curse because you'revery hard on yourself and in
this sort of world of likeconstant content, it's
impossible to be perfect atevery single moment, and so
that's what the story in thePerfect Cake is about and it's
part storybook and at the backthere are two very simple
recipes where children can startto bake.
(31:41):
So I'm really proud of that bookand it's self-published as well
as my second book, Layer Up,which is all easier cakes than
novelty cakes in my first book,but they're all dessert stuffed,
so they're all inspired by somekind of dessert or sweet treat
I love, and each cake hasseveral recipes and components
(32:03):
and textures, divided into sevenchapters by flavor profile.
And that was a real passionproject which we we opened an
arm of publishing, had a cake ofpublishing and we published it
ourselves.
And what I loved about thatbook is not only did I have
creative freedom with the cakes,like I did with the first book,
(32:23):
but I had it with the way thebook is laid out, the
photographer we chose.
You know everything about itand I created that book during
my time off of YouTube.
So that process felt extremelydifferent than the first process
because I didn't have to flipflop and go back to making
videos in between, it was juststraight up.
(32:46):
Let's make the most beautifulbook we can for like a six to
eight week period.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
That's amazing.
I love to see how your face litup.
I mentioned the children's book.
You're like, yeah, finally, yes, yeah, that's awesome.
And then we also know you havesome amazing products, but one
in particular that you'reprobably definitely known for
that big old squeeze bottle.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
Yes, sir Squeeze, he's become, he's my main
squeeze.
So, sir Squeeze, you know,right off the bat we wanted to
build a business.
I want to say that because itwasn't as if we thought, oh,
let's just put everything intoYouTube.
Right off the bat we wantedthis to be a business, so we
launched the website, theYouTube channel and the products
(33:31):
right away.
Our first products were, youknow, the cake teas with the
cake puns that I've worn.
Every episode we would sellthose.
But in some of my early episodes, in fact in the very first
episode, I use my own, sirSqueeze, which I had from my
ex-boss at the second bakery Iworked at and it was just a part
of my life.
I used it all the time.
But what we realized quickly ishome bakers had no idea about
(33:57):
simple syrup, and so we werejust flooded with comments of
what is that bottle?
What's in that bottle?
Why are you spraying water onthe cakes?
So many questions.
And Connie got the bright ideato think or to investigate and
research where these bottleswere made so we could sell that
(34:17):
bottle as a product.
And so she hunted them down.
She found the factory.
We ordered 10,000 and sold out.
Then we ordered another batchsold out and then we decided the
third batch would be brandedhow to cake it, and we had a
little competition to help namehim.
Uh, so he's sir squeeze a lot.
That's his full name and it'ssuch a big uh part of the
(34:41):
channel.
And eventually we had littlesqueeze and we had some other
cake decorating products.
You know, unlike other youtubechannels, we really weren't
about trying to sell justgeneral products.
We wanted to sell things thatpertain to what we did, and
especially if it was a tool, ithad to be a tool that I would
actually use and do use in thevideos.
We recently unfortunately hadto shutter products because we
(35:07):
are Canadian, we're in Torontoand shipping from Toronto is
really difficult and reallyexpensive, and so we had a
fulfillment center, which waswonderful for years and years.
That was out of Florida, butunfortunately they got acquired,
and then we started to get alot of complaints about people's
products arriving damaged,which was something we had
(35:28):
really never had before, and sowe had to make a very difficult
decision to stop or put productson hold, at least for the time
being.
That was really difficult andit's funny, sir Squeeze is the
one product that I always thinkof.
He's the one I can't let go of.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
It makes sense and I think people just love watching
you.
It's just a thing, Like youcould just watch it all day
putting simple serve on cakes.
I love the fact that you'reopen with, like you stated,
you're building a businessBecause so many bakers they only
think about OK, I'm baking athome, I'm fulfilling these
(36:09):
orders.
They never really think aboutdiversifying their income or
other income streams Because,besides those products, you're
also a brand ambassador.
Do you still work with FatDaddy-Os?
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Yes, yes, I was just on HSN selling Fat Daddy-Os and
I will be returning in thesummer.
I'm very excited.
That was another experiencethat made me broaden my horizons
.
I was so nervous before I wenton and it's pretty intense you
have to do some training to beon HSN but again, I'm so glad
that it's a product that Igenuinely like and use.
(36:45):
That makes it easier for me totalk about and to sell on a
platform like HSN.
You're absolutely right, becausewhen I made cakes for you know,
17 years in this city I neverthought about diversifying ever.
All I thought about is I needto make cakes, more cakes.
How can I make more cakes?
Who can I make them for?
(37:05):
I never thought about it, andso I found myself in a real
pickle.
When I was pregnant and I hadmy son and I started to rethink
my life choices and what Ishould do next, I really felt
like I had missed the boat,especially because when I
started, there was no socialmedia, there was no cake on TV.
Like I said, I used to collectbooks, and now there was a
(37:28):
definite time period where cakedecorating was just everywhere
and I felt like I was sittingback and watching it, you know,
just when my passion had sort ofcome to the forefront, I was
taking several steps back fromit and I didn't really know how
to feel and how to process thosefeelings.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
Thank you so much for sharing that.
I can definitely relate and getit so to anyone listening who
maybe wants to start a YouTubechannel, or maybe they want
their own line of products, ormaybe they want to put
themselves on TV and apply forthe shows.
What advice would you have tothat person, who is kind of like
(38:11):
you in the beginning?
They're just so wrapped up inthe baking business that they
may be afraid to step out oftheir shell too.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
I think my best piece of advice is be as authentic as
to yourself as possible,because anything else will tire
you out.
Anything else will tire you out.
You can only sort of act for solong.
And also, you have to bewilling to let go of some of
your fears.
(38:39):
For example, when we firststarted the channel, one of my
biggest fears that kept me up atnight was sharing my recipes,
because these were recipes forcakes I had made for years.
I had worked on the recipes,tweaked them over the years,
because, as you know, when youbake an eight inch cake and you
bake a 14 inch cake, they cancome out completely different.
And this was sort of my vault.
(39:01):
You know what I mean.
This is my vault of recipes.
And I had a sheet that peoplecould order from with 10
different flavors, and I justthought, oh my gosh, am I going
to go in a video and, just like,spread my recipe out to
everyone and everyone?
Like, spread my recipe out toeveryone and everyone.
It was a true fear for me,because I didn't know that
YouTube would work out and Iassumed I'd have to go back to
(39:22):
making cakes and eventually, aswe just kept riding the train, I
had to learn to let go, and Ithink that's what this journey
has taught me.
I've learned to let go of somany things that I held onto so
tightly because I believed thatthat's all I was.
You know what I mean?
I believe that I was my recipeand I like, and I had to learn
to let go of that, and I findthe more you can open up, the
(39:46):
more people open up to you.
I was always very, very rigid,but years of YouTube and
embarrassing yourself on camerawe'll close that out for you.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
And you're not alone.
When I talk to students, that'salways their first thing.
They're like well, it's myrecipe.
I'm so afraid, but I alwaystell people our gifts were not
meant to be just kept to us.
They're meant to be shared.
And that's normally the numberone fear that people have is
they don't want to let go oftheir tried and true recipes.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
Yes, yep, and I can't tell you how many people I've
met who say to me your vanillacake is the only vanilla cake
that I make.
I was on a show judging andsomeone they had to bake vanilla
cake and they were like I tookone bite and they were like it's
your recipe.
And now I think, oh my gosh,how could I have at one point
been afraid to share this?
Speaker 1 (40:40):
Yeah, yeah.
It's a blessing and you'reblessing so many other people in
their business with them savingtime, you know, having
something that's that's theirs.
They're able to sell that andmake sales, and you're touching
people all over the world.
So it's, it's, it's amazing,and there's more than enough
(41:01):
room for us all.
I love that.
Before I let you go, yolanda,you've shared so many wonderful
things with us and it was soawesome to hear your story, but
we have to play a game oflightning round.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
Speaker 2 (41:11):
All right, let's do it.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
What is your favorite ?
Speaker 2 (41:14):
color.
I'm ready.
All right, let's do it.
What is your favorite color?
Oh, I always say that it'syellow, the color of butter.
It's a very happy color.
Okay, Love it, Love it.
What is your favorite dessert?
Oh, I love is too small of aword.
(41:38):
I adore ice cream of all types.
I like gelato ice cream, softserve.
I love to make ice cream.
It's the thing I make the moston my own.
It's just.
It makes me feel like a kidagain.
That's why every cake on mychannel for my birthday is me
caking some form of ice cream.
It's because of my love of icecream.
Speaker 1 (41:50):
Absolutely.
Ice cream is definitelydelicious.
And who is your celebrity crush?
Speaker 2 (41:57):
Oh man, I've actually met one of my celebrity crushes
.
It's Martha Stewart, becausethe empire that she has built is
ridiculous and when I met herjudging a cake competition, she
was the host.
I couldn't talk to her for likea half an hour, couldn't talk
to her for about a half an hourand Couldn't talk to her for
about a half an hour and talkabout building an empire.
(42:17):
You know, before there was evensocial media and that type of
content.
I used to collect magazines andjust it was.
It was definitely a source ofinspiration for me.
Speaker 1 (42:28):
Yeah, she has a knockout brand, for sure.
Speaker 2 (42:30):
She has a knockout brand and she didn't think she
built that Right.
Even if you hear her story, shedidn't know that that would
happen to her.
So yeah, definitely.
What is your favorite book?
Oh my gosh, I am not preparedfor this.
I read a book a long time agothat was called the Celestine
(42:54):
Prophecy.
I actually read it on a beachin Thailand and it was such a
nice time for me, and I recentlyjust found it in a box, because
I had all these boxes with,like, old books.
I've recently just found it andI pulled it out and I thought
to myself I need to read thisbook again, because I remember
how it made me feel, but I can'tpinpoint why.
Speaker 1 (43:16):
So I want to reread it Awesome, and we'll link that
book in the show notes foranyone else, along with all of
Yolanda's other products.
And then, lastly, what is akitchen utensil that you cannot
live without?
Speaker 2 (43:30):
Oh, you know the importance of a sharp knife.
A sharp knife is reallyimportant and I know most people
will think of, you know,chopping, which is super
important because you'll cutyourself with a dull knife.
But I think about a nice breadknife that can cut serrated,
serrated knife.
I also have a need for a nicesharp paring knife with where
(43:52):
the tip is still sharp, becausewhen you're cutting little
fondant details or trimmingfondant along a cake, it makes
all the difference.
So it's a really simple toolbut very versatile.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
Absolutely.
Do you sharpen your knivesyourself or do you send them off
?
Speaker 2 (44:08):
I sharpen them myself the paring knives that are less
expensive, when I feel like thetip is worn down.
I just get a new one, and Ilove that they come with a
colorful handle of pink andyellow.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
Awesome.
Well, we all learned somethingnew today.
From the bottom of my littleheart, yolanda, thank you so
much for stopping by the Bakingfor Business podcast.
Wow, you guys.
So how was that?
I hope that you really enjoyedlistening to Yolanda's story.
A couple of takeaways that Ireceived just from listening
(44:43):
while I was speaking with her isreally just the power of
community, collaboration andpivoting, and, if you notice,
those are kind of three pillarsthat Yolanda really hit on.
Number one, just her eagernessand her willingness to just
always show up and to build hercommunity with her passions and
(45:04):
things that matter to her,because we're not designed to do
life alone, let alone business.
And so just the fact that sheis open there are always
wonderful people that we havethat we're able to collaborate
with in order for us to notcarry the burden on our own, but
(45:28):
also so that we can growtogether and that we can share
our gifts with others.
And then, when you think aboutpivoting at times, when Yolanda
said after she gave birth to herchild, or maybe even after she
felt burned out, you know,always walking through the next
door, even when you don't knowwhat it holds.
(45:49):
There are so many ways for usto show up in this baking
industry and bake the thingsthat we love to bake in
different manners, whether it beblogging or YouTube, or whether
it be podcasting or, you know,selling to consumers.
There's just multiple ways forus to use our gifts, and we're
(46:10):
always able to do so wheneverwe're open to opportunities that
present themselves.
So special thanks to Yolanda forsharing her story and sharing
all the many ways that she hasgrown her brand as long as she
has been on her journey.
I truly hope that her storyinspired you.
You can be sure to check outthe book recommendation that she
(46:32):
selected, along with everythingand all things how to cake it,
whether it be her books orcommunity her site, by clicking
the link in our show notes.
And, as you're listening,please be sure to tag me at
baking for business and tagYolanda and tell her if you
enjoyed the episode.
The best form of pay that youcan give anyone is a compliment,
(46:52):
and so pay it forward.
Also, share this episode with abusiness buddy or a friend or
someone who you know can getinspired and motivated by
hearing the podcast.
That's it for now.
I appreciate you guys.
To the moon and back.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
Bye for now, thank you.
Hey, sweet friends, my name is Chef Schaumburg.
I started my baking businesswith a bottle of DeSorono and
one Bundt cake pan.
Fast forward to today, fromnews to magazines, speaking on
national stages and more.
I can truly say that baking haschanged my life.
So now, as a bakery businesscoach, I get to help others have
the same success.
I've helped hundreds of mystudents across the world in my
(00:24):
global membership programsix-figure businesses, mainly
from home.
The Baking for Business podcastis an extension of that, from
actionable tips to valuabletools and resources that can
impact you as a business owner.
I truly believe y'all.
We would never have been givena gift if we couldn't profit and
prosper from it.
So come on, darling.
What are you waiting for?
(00:45):
Hello everyone, and welcomeback to the Baking for Business
podcast.
I'm so excited to have you guysin listening today because
today we have such an amazingguest.
You guys probably know her fromeverywhere, but it's Ms Yolanda
Gamp with how to Cake it, andwhen she's not on QVC sharing
(01:07):
products or on YouTube doingamazing cakes, you can always
find her on social media turninganything into a cake, or on TV
helping and encouraging otherswith their dreams as well.
So we're so excited to have herhere.
Yolanda, welcome to the Bakingfor Business podcast.
Thank you so much for having meAmanda.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Absolutely, and so I want to go ahead and get started
with simply how did you start?
Can you share with us yourjourney into the world of cake
artistry, and how did youactually run across that as a
passion?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Well, my journey began a long time ago, when I
was about 19,.
I guess I loved baking as a kid, but I never thought about it
as a career path and I went to avery academic high school which
furthered that belief in methat it wasn't truly a career
path.
When I was done high school, Iwanted to go to OCAD, which is
(02:04):
the Ontario College of Art andDesign, and I chickened out
because you had to do apresentation and you had to
present a whole portfolio and Iwas extremely shy and the
thought of standing in front ofprofessors and discussing my
work was just not for me at thetime.
So I instead decided to go toGeorge Brown College here in
Toronto.
Now, at the time there was nocake decorating, there was
(02:27):
simply a certificate for baking.
So I went into the culinarymanagement program, which was
straight up cooking, and thensome other courses to support
the idea that you would one dayown a restaurant.
Like you know, bookkeeping andaccounting, we did do a tiny bit
of baking.
It was mostly like bread, a pie, nothing like what I do today,
(02:50):
but on those days I just lovedit so much.
I would think to myself this iswhat I want to do all the time.
So we had to do a co-opplacement and I boldly went to
the dean and I asked forpermission to apply to a bakery
rather than a restaurant, and hesaid yes.
And it's only now, at thispoint in my life, that I
realized, you know, he reallychanged the course of my life,
(03:13):
and even me asking him forpermission to do that changed
the course of my life, eventhough I didn't realize it at
the time.
So I went to work at a wonderfulbakery here in Toronto and I
would work on weekends, go toschool five days a week, and I
just fell in love because theylet me try every single station
in the bakery.
So there was one gentleman whojust made fillings, one who just
made pie dough, one who bakedall the cakes and manned all the
(03:36):
ovens, and then, of course,there was the cake decorating
station, and that's where Itruly fell in love.
Now, none of the cakes weresculpted there, and that's where
I truly fell in love.
Now, none of the cakes weresculpted, there was no fondant
whatsoever.
But I did learn about, you know,filling and stacking cakes and
piling flavor into cakes andthen, of course, icing them, and
at my best I could ice about125 cakes in a day.
And when I was done collegethey hired me immediately and I
(03:59):
ended up working there for threeand a half years and then I
moved on to another bakery whichhad a very different style of
baking and learned so much and Iloved it equally.
And then eventually I juststarted to make cakes on the
side at home for anyone I couldgive them to, because I really
wanted to test out fondant andsculpting, which brought me back
to my artistic ways.
(04:21):
You know, as a child I justloved building things and making
things with my hands.
So I think that cake decoratingwas a blend of those two loves
baking and creating.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
That's awesome.
It's always amazing to seeeverything come full circle, and
so we have something in common.
That's what I went to culinaryschool for, too is for
management.
Okay, yeah, I love that.
That's wonderful.
You said you started off fromhome on the side.
Did you ever end up selling asa cottage food operator or doing
(04:52):
it on the side to hone yourskills?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
No, I ended up selling.
So at first I would just, youknow, give them away or I would
make a cake for my friends andfamily.
Anytime it was a celebration.
And then I love that termcottage baking, because we don't
actually have that term inCanada.
I know that that's an Americanterm and I learned about that
term through how to cake it, butI did eventually.
I used to bake out of my mom'skitchen and I would sell cakes.
(05:17):
So I mainly made cakes forweddings or mitzvahs and then
maybe larger occasions like a50th birthday or perhaps the odd
corporate cake.
And then I went full throttle.
I quit my job at the bakerybecause I had started to ride
this train of you know.
I made one bar mitzvah cake fora woman and all the kids at the
(05:37):
party loved it.
And then all the other momscalled me for all the other bar
mitzvahs and I started toactually receive orders.
And so my dad had had a businessin the basement of our house
and after he passed away thatspace sat dormant for years and
I actually decided to invest andturn that into my professional
(05:58):
kitchen, because one of theproblems I had was, you know, I
couldn't call myself nut free.
One of the problems I had was,you know, I couldn't call myself
nut free, since I was baking inmy home kitchen, which
contained peanut butter and alot of other things, and so by
building this kitchen and buyingnew equipment, then I could
declare I was not free, whichwas a really big deal.
At the time, I found that mostof the birthday cakes and bar
(06:19):
mitzvah cakes I was making,there was always someone with a
nut allergy, so it became a bitof a hindrance for me.
So I built this space and hadall my tools in there and I
would just, you know, cake mydays away, taking orders
whenever I could get them, youknow, blasting my iPod and
moving to my music while I baked.
And I feel like you know.
(06:40):
I think I might feel verydifferent than other cake
decorators in the sense that theyears I spent honing my skills
and really diving in and I wasso hungry for everything cake
Essentially I was completelyisolated doing that.
I didn't know another cakedecorator.
I didn't go to a cakedecorating school, it was just
(07:01):
my.
I didn't have friends who madecakes, so it was just my thing
and I was constantly immersingmyself in it.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
That sounds like a story that a lot of people can
relate to.
So, however, once you startedbuilding the business, I love
the fact of you transitioningthe area that you have into a
workspace, which I always thinkis amazing.
What made you decide to takethe leap to then YouTube, to
(07:28):
actually sharing your journey?
Was that the first space thatyou started sharing?
It wasn't more so social media.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
It was neither, and actually it wasn't my decision
at all.
So I came into contact withsomeone and I would make cakes.
She was an event planner, herand her partner, and I would
make cakes for them, for theirevents.
I had actually made her weddingcake years before and that's
how she knew of me.
And they came to me and theysaid I really want to work with
(07:55):
you on a bigger level.
And lo and behold, this is myfriend Casper that I'm talking
about.
He had a friend who was in TVproduction and he said to
Jocelyn you have to see whatwe're doing with this girl,
yolanda, we're doing these sweettables at all our events.
She bakes a cake and she makesbaked goods to match, and then
we do linens and florals andthere's always a theme.
(08:17):
And Jocelyn came out andshadowed us.
She basically had a littlecamcorder and she filmed us
setting up a sweet table at acharity event that had a very
full harvest theme, on abeautiful golf course.
And, lo and behold, she turnedthat into a sizzle, sent it to
the Food Network Canada, foodNetwork Canada and it became a
(08:38):
show within 11 months and wehadn't even, you know, inked our
business, made it official.
We were just enjoying workingtogether with the two of them as
event designers and me, as youknow, this cake decorator, baker
and so that became a showcalled Sugar Stars, which aired
on Food Network Canada in 2012.
(09:00):
And it's hard to believe that's12 years ago, and so I was
really nervous because, like Isaid, when I asked the Dean and
you know, going to art college,I was extremely shy and I didn't
like any sort of attention,nevermind a camera on me.
But I remember thinking veryclearly this is the chance for
me to put my work out there, toshow my talent and then, of
(09:23):
course, to grow my business andget clients, you know, from the
greater Toronto area and beyond,who perhaps hadn't heard of me
at all.
So I just thought I'm going togive it my all, doesn't matter
if I'm shy, and there was threeother people on the show, so it
didn't feel as much of aspotlight on me.
And there you have it.
We did the show and it wasn'trenewed.
It was a great learningexperience.
(09:45):
It was difficult for mybusiness, however, because we
shot that show over the courseof nine months and I had to turn
away all of my clients in thosenine months.
So you know, production andbeing on TV was a completely new
world to me.
It forced me to come out of myshell in so many ways, but it
also forced me to put mybusiness on hold, which was a
detriment to me.
It forced me to come out of myshell in so many ways, but it
also forced me to put mybusiness on hold, which was a
(10:07):
detriment to me, because youwork very hard to build a
clientele that trusts you, ofcourse, and I was so scared to
give that up.
But it was a great experienceand I don't regret that at all.
And unbeknownst to me after itwasn't renewed.
Behind the scenes, jocelyn andher business partner, Connie,
(10:30):
were pitching this idea of meand my cakes to the Food Network
, to the Cooking Channel, tlc,all these things, and they were
being turned away.
Now they were in that business,they were in television
development, so they would comeup with show ideas, develop them
and then pitch it to networks,and I was one of them and, like
(10:53):
I said, they didn't run this byme.
They just thought this is sucha great idea.
Cake was becoming huge, as youknow.
All of a sudden there was cakeon TV where it never was before,
and in the end they wereconstantly told no.
And by then I had my son.
I was sitting on the couchbreastfeeding him.
He was like eight months old.
They called me and they saidwhat about YouTube?
(11:15):
We hear YouTube is the thing.
Let's do this together onYouTube.
And I remember Amanda thinkingso clearly in my head this will
be perfect because I can getback to my art form, we can make
a video here and there, andI'll just do it at my own pace.
And, most importantly, thiswould be the first time I would
have the chance to make cakesthat I wanted, because, even
(11:39):
though I was fortunate enough tohave a business and make cakes
for clients, I always had tomake what they wanted Right, and
I had to make what they wantedright.
And I had this sort of bucketlist of ideas in my head that I
had never made.
And, as it turns out, it wasthe complete opposite of that
original thought, because theminute we entered the YouTube
space, it has been such a rocketship and a roller coaster for
(12:01):
so many different reasons, andit hasn't been a video here and
there.
It has been my whole life,consistently for the past nine
years.
But yeah, it wasn't my idea atall and it's so wonderful.
You know, when I was pregnant,at the end of my pregnancy and
during my mat leave, that wasthe first time in my life, since
(12:21):
I was 19, that I wasn't bakingor creating anything, and I
truly missed it because it justfelt like sort of a big
emptiness in my life that wasn'tthere before.
And so I think it's so greatthat these two women saw
something in me, believed in me,and you know, I like to say
(12:41):
like thanks for saving my ticketLike they they never.
And you know, I like to saylike thanks for saving my ticket
Like they never.
When I forgot about me, theynever forgot about me.
And we all went on this journeytogether and I think it's a
combination of our own uniquetalents that makes how to Cake
it so special.
You know, because they bringall the good stuff the
production, the back end, youknow, the SEO, the website, all
(13:03):
that good stuff and I bring whatI do best.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
What a blessing that someone did.
They never stopped.
They saw something in you, evenwhen you didn't see it, and
just kept going and pitching,and that's remarkable.
I always value collaborationover competition, which is
amazing.
How was it like for you?
Because so many people may notremember or may not have even
(13:29):
known that you did operate yourown business and sell to clients
.
So how was it like for you toactually turn that off, Because
I'm pretty sure at some pointyou had to close it for your
channel.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Yes, I think at that point I had accepted that it was
kind of closed.
I was on this sort of new mompath in life and, as any cake
decorator knows, when you're acake decorator you are married
to your weekends, right.
Like I would spend the wholeweek cleaning my kitchen, buying
ingredients, you know, startingthe whole process again up to
delivering the cakes, which wereusually Saturdays and Sundays,
(14:05):
and then start the whole thingagain.
So I never had a weekend.
My weekends were spent with mymother or my boyfriend at the
time, now my husband drivingaround the city to various
banquet halls and hotels todeliver and put together these
cakes.
And when I had a baby, I startedto think that lifestyle really
wouldn't suit being a mom.
And so when they brought upYouTube, I thought, oh, this is
(14:28):
perfect, because now we can sortof work around my schedule and
I can switch up how I work.
So I think I had alreadyaccepted that my business was
over.
In fact, I was already thinkingin my head what will I do now?
Maybe it's time I got a realjob and I did something else, um
(14:49):
, and so when that opportunitycame, you know, like I said, it
just felt there was no way Iwould have said no at that point
, because I truly felt like theywere just opening this new door
for me.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Absolutely.
That's so amazing.
So now you're on YouTube,you're, you're building the
channel.
Obviously, you're no longertaking orders.
So many people actually like tostep out and branch out from
their baking business to eithermaybe blog or maybe sell digital
products.
I know now with how to Cake it.
(15:19):
You have classes, as well asseveral guest teachers.
Do you remember having yourfirst class?
Or were you just okay with themonetization on YouTube?
Or at what point in time didyou decide to start teaching?
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Well, it started with , you know, the tutorials on
YouTube, and then we wanted.
We noticed such a connectionwith our community.
I have to say, what makes usstay on YouTube is the community
that's the best thing that wehave built here at how to Cake
it and remember, like I said, Iwas so isolated in my caking
journey for years.
It's how to cake it thatbrought me a community, and I
(15:54):
kind of really didn't foreshadowthat even when we started the
channel, and so we started withsomething called Can't Cake.
We noticed that.
One thing I love about thechannel and what it's taught me
is children never, ever, lettheir fear dominate their
curiosity, and that is the mostbeautiful thing about being a
child.
So when children see me make acake, no matter what it is they
(16:16):
think I'm going to make that.
Mom, get me this, mom, help me.
Can we do this?
I really want to do this.
Nothing stops them, whereasadults, even if they've wanted
to do this their whole life andhave been curious, they talk
themselves out of it before theyeven start.
And so we noticed a lot ofchildren.
We would get letters from a lotof mothers, you know, thanking
(16:38):
us for inspiring their children.
So we started with somethingcalled Camp Cake and it was
often a one or two day class andit was shot just like we shot
the channel.
So they felt very much likethey were entering my space and
we would do simpler projects,whether it be cupcakes that look
like sundaes or chocolate fudgethat look like a wreath for
(16:59):
Christmas things that kids couldhandle and we'd usually do two
or three little projects and thewhole time I'd walk them
through it.
It would be an open dialogue.
They'd ask questions, we'danswer, jocelyn would be there
just like she was on the channel, and we would just have a blast
.
It almost felt like a slumberparty.
You know it really did.
(17:21):
That gave me as well, becauseit was the opposite of being
isolated.
Right Now I get to share thisknowledge that I have amassed
over the years and do it withthem and see the joy and, most
importantly, the pride that itbrings them.
And something else the three ofus felt really good about is
(17:45):
you know, on YouTube, younggirls especially are just
pummeled with content that tellsthem how to dress, how to look,
how to lose weight, how to doyour hair, how to, and all of
that is fine and dandy, but whenyou're a certain age and you're
impressionable, that can be alot, and so I love that we were
offering something different.
Be creative, do your thing,make it your own.
(18:08):
You can feel so proud.
You're making something thatyou can then share with your
friends and your family, orbring to school, if you're
allowed to do that.
So we just loved that energyand that feeling.
And when COVID hit, you know, asyou know, the world was baking.
All of a sudden, everyone wasmaking banana bread and no one
(18:29):
could buy flour, right.
So we thought how do we makemore camp cakes?
Because camp cake was somethingwe had only done like twice a
year, once in the summer andonce over the holidays.
And that's how Bake you Happycame to be.
It was this idea of how manyclasses can we put out and not
just showcase me, but othercreatives in the baking space
(18:51):
who are at the top of their game, like you know what I mean Like
the top macaron maker, the topcookie artist there's so many
verticals in baking, it's it'sendless, and so to share our
platform with those otherartists has been incredible, and
it's also grown you know ourcommunity as well as theirs and
(19:13):
just sort of bringing all thebakers together and giving
people, like I said you know,something to feel proud about
and something to learn,especially in a time when the
world was shut down and weweren't allowed to do much.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Absolutely, and the how to Cake it website and
community does that so amazing?
Because you do have so manydifferent classes and you're
very versatile in the offeringsthat you put out there for
people to learn from and, like Istated earlier, I do love the
fact that you do collaboratewith other people, so that in
itself is amazing.
(19:46):
At what point in time?
Because now you eventuallyreturned back to TV.
You've been a judge on severalshows, so at what point in time,
what was your next showafterwards, once you finally
started building that, thatYouTube page and building your
brand out?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
What's funny is we never thought we'd return to TV.
Like I said, connie and Jocelynhad come from that world.
They were kind of done with itand we had moved on.
I had never expected to be onTV in the first place, so it
wasn't in the back of my mind atall.
But when you hit a millionsubscribers on YouTube, a lot of
magic happens, and so when thathappened, here came all the
(20:26):
same networks that werepreviously rejecting Connie and
Jocelyn, as well as publishers.
And I should say my biggestdream in my caking journey the
whole way was to have my ownbook.
That was my biggest dreambecause books were my source of
learning.
In fact, there used to be astore in Toronto that was called
the Cookbook Store, and allthey sold were cookbooks and
(20:49):
baked books imported fromdifferent countries.
I used to go in there and flipthrough pages of books.
I couldn't dare afford at thetime, and every time it was my
birthday or Christmas I'd ask mymom for one of those books, and
I of course, have a collectionof cake decorating books that I
just loved to flip through.
Not that I wanted to copy otherpeople's designs I'm not like
(21:10):
that at all but it would just beso inspiring.
Or maybe I just saw onetechnique and I thought, oh, I'm
going to use that here on mycake.
And so a book was something Ihad always visualized for myself
.
And, lo and behold, youtubebrought me to that spot and I
really didn't see that coming.
And then, of course, it broughtme back to TV.
So at first the offers were,you know, for me to that spot
and I really didn't see thatcoming.
(21:30):
And then, of course, it broughtme back to TV.
So at first the offers were,you know, for me to be a guest
judge on several shows.
I've been on nailed it, I'vebeen on best baker in America,
winner cake, all there's a wholebunch.
I feel like cake wars, andunfortunately, every time I got
offered the position to be apermanent judge, we would turn
(21:52):
it down because YouTube is anintense algorithm and we needed
to feed it, and so there was noway for me to continue making a
weekly video of these cakes thattake so long.
And then, you know, go be in LAor wherever it was, for a month
.
We wouldn't be able to keep up.
As well as, you know, my be inLA or wherever it was for a
month.
We wouldn't be able to keep up,as well as you know my own life
and being a mom, and so thatopportunity came to me when I
(22:17):
actually decided to quit YouTube.
So I quit YouTube for about ayear and a half, just out of a
lot, a whole lot of factorssheer exhaustion, creative
burnout.
My mom was diagnosed withAlzheimer's in 2020 as well, and
I also had a very severe injuryhere from cake decorating, from
(22:37):
rolling fondant, from doingthis with a spatula.
I couldn't even turn my neck, Icouldn't turn my head to the
right at all, and so I had tostart acupuncture and physio and
all kinds of things and allthose factors combined.
I just decided to take a breakfrom YouTube, and at the time,
bake you Happy was so massivefor us.
(22:58):
So, even though I had guilt, Ifelt a lot of guilt leaving the
wonderful community we've built,but I also felt guilty about it
was the first time in my life Istarted to feel like I was
faking it and I don't do wellwith that, you know.
Like you know, I'd go to thestudio and I'd start to make a
cake and I think I don't want tobe here and I don't do well
(23:20):
with that and I also trulybelieve you know, the energy you
put out is exactly what you getback.
And there's something about methat thought I wasn't hiding it
well, and so I took a very longbreak.
And what's funny is, I thinkthree weeks after my last video
aired, I got the offer for CrimeScene Kitchen.
Wow, and again, I think that isso serendipitous because I was
(23:46):
on a break.
Now I could consider this, Icould go somewhere for a month.
It wouldn't be stressing myinjury because it would just be,
you know, talking about what Ido.
And so I took the job and I'mso happy because I think being a
permanent judge on a show hasreally made me come out of my
(24:08):
shell in so many ways uh,battling my own, you know, inner
shyness, being able to talkabout my craft and articulate
and help others on their bakingjourney uh, while giving them,
you know, constructive criticism.
I certainly don't like to bakeanyone, burst anyone's baking
bubble, that's not my thing, um,but I really enjoy it.
(24:29):
And I also get to dress up.
They dress me up.
I get a little glam squad.
That's not like.
That's nothing like cakedecorating In the cake
decorating world.
I've got on a t-shirt and someCrocs and some jeans, and that's
my footwear.
Yes, so it's been so wonderful,and I actually just shot
another show where I'm thepermanent judge with Buddy the
(24:53):
cake boss, so it hasn't airedyet, but another wonderful
experience that I'm so gratefulfor, and in the meantime, I have
returned to YouTube.
I basically found my way back,but I don't want it to be the
only avenue.
(25:13):
I think it's important for meto be diversified in as many
ways as I can.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
I love that, because I'm always telling that to my
students to diversify yourincome.
So many of us go through whatyou went through If not an
injury, then either weexperience burnout, we feel like
we're doing too much, or we'realways, like we stated, baking
on the weekends that we neverhave that time with our family,
and so I'm always encouragingpeople to find other avenues
(25:41):
either host your own classeslocally or do digital products.
And it's crazy that you saidyou took a break, because it
never really seems like you left.
But that's the power of YouTube, because it's evergreen.
So even all that content thatyou put out there is still
getting views, is still raisingyour brand awareness, which is
amazing.
And then it sounds like youfinally completed one of your
(26:02):
dreams, as we know, because youhave several books.
So take us back to your firstbook.
How did that come along?
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Well, like I said, we hit a million in just under a
year on YouTube.
And then, I want to say, threeor four publishers came knocking
and so we made the decisionthat I would do this.
It actually came down to thewire.
I wasn't going to do thisbecause at that point I was
truly burnt out, we were gettingreally tired.
(26:30):
Because at that point I wastruly burnt out, we were getting
really tired.
And Connie and Jocelyn said tome you know, wouldn't it be
great if your first book wasreleased the year you turn 40?
And I thought that's got a nicering to it.
Yes, it does.
So we decided to do it Hardestproject to date, but I am very
proud of it.
And it was hard for many reasons.
Number one it's actually notthe book I wanted to start with.
(26:52):
My second book is the book Iwanted to start with, but the
publisher, of course, wanted mybook, you know, under their
umbrella to represent what ourchannel was known for, and that
was mainly novelty cakes, and soI always felt like it was a
little too niche and I also feltlike, why would you start your
caking journey there?
You would obviously start, youknow, steps ahead of that and
(27:13):
work your way up.
But what was most interestingabout that whole process was
because we were on this YouTubetrain and all three of us had
such creative freedom to go intosomething like publishing,
where, yes, it's collaborativebut there's also sort of rules
to follow, and they were allrules we knew nothing about.
(27:36):
Um, that was really difficult,and I would say the most
difficult thing about booknumber one was having to write
in words the description of howyou make these cakes.
That is, that cannot bedescribed, because at least in a
YouTube video, it reallydoesn't matter how I articulate
(27:59):
it to you, because you're seeingthe visual.
In fact, I think I'm verycasual on my channel.
I think that's kind of thebeauty of the channel.
Even though I'm making cakesthat can be quite elaborate, I
talk about it like it's the mostcasual thing.
But in a book, no, no, no, no.
It needs to be proper goodgrammar, it needs to make sense
and there needs to be enoughstill pictures that you're
(28:21):
getting the point every step ofthe way right.
The recipe is not for a saladwhere I can just show you the
final product and in your mindyou can visualize how to get
there.
No, I need to give you theproper steps and I felt really
strongly about that.
So things like having to pushback, you know, one cake can't
just be two pages, or one of thethings I really two things I
(28:42):
really fought for in the firstbook were a to lay out
instructions of how to achievethe project.
So day one I would tell thembake your cakes, make your
buttercream, make your simplesyrup, cut your cake boards.
And then it would say, day two,to start the process of
decorating, because I felt likeit was a lie, you know, to write
(29:03):
a recipe as if you could justcomplete it in one afternoon.
You can't, you know, as we know, any cake decorator knows this.
And there's so many factors youcan't.
You know, as we know, any cakedecorator knows this.
And there's so many factors youcan't even control, like
climate.
The last cake in my book has 53steps.
Wow, it's a lucky cat.
And so I think in the beginningyou know, at first the publisher
, I think they wanted me to havelike 70 cake recipes and you
(29:27):
know I had to sort of say thatwould be a set of encyclopedias.
There's no way the book will bethis big, but I have to say I
grew a lot.
I learned a lot.
It was one of the firstprojects I got to work very
closely with Connie on becauseshe took the reins on that.
And when I tell you, we workedsix days a week, flip-flopping
(29:50):
between book and YouTube, and weworked till like 2 am and I
could not be prouder of thatbook.
You know, every time someonebrings it to me to sign, or even
when I look through it myself,I just think it's a work of art
and it's better than the book Ihad always imagined for all
those years.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
That's your baby.
And then eventually came Yo'sMagical Kitchen the perfect cake
.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yes, yes, that's like I said, amanda, like with the
children in our community.
You know, baking is somulti-generational.
We say this all the time.
If it's not a grandparentbaking with a child, it's a
parent baking with a child or achild baking for their family.
You know, all cultures havesome form of baking or sweets at
(30:38):
a celebration.
It means the same thingworldwide, and so we definitely
wanted to do something in thekids space.
We want to do a lot more in thekids space.
Actually that's on our bucketlist.
But the perfect cake is a littlestory that's, you know, about
sort of young me and my familyand I love the title because I'm
(30:59):
such a perfectionist and it issomething that has plagued me my
whole life.
I like to say it's a gift and acurse.
It's a gift because it's whatkeeps me coming back.
You know, every single cake onmy channel I would change
something about.
There's probably only threecakes that I would leave alone,
and so I think it's what keepsme hungry and keeps me striving
(31:20):
to make more.
But it's a curse because you'revery hard on yourself and in
this sort of world of likeconstant content, it's
impossible to be perfect atevery single moment, and so
that's what the story in thePerfect Cake is about and it's
part storybook and at the backthere are two very simple
recipes where children can startto bake.
(31:41):
So I'm really proud of that bookand it's self-published as well
as my second book, Layer Up,which is all easier cakes than
novelty cakes in my first book,but they're all dessert stuffed,
so they're all inspired by somekind of dessert or sweet treat
I love, and each cake hasseveral recipes and components
(32:03):
and textures, divided into sevenchapters by flavor profile.
And that was a real passionproject which we we opened an
arm of publishing, had a cake ofpublishing and we published it
ourselves.
And what I loved about thatbook is not only did I have
creative freedom with the cakes,like I did with the first book,
(32:23):
but I had it with the way thebook is laid out, the
photographer we chose.
You know everything about itand I created that book during
my time off of YouTube.
So that process felt extremelydifferent than the first process
because I didn't have to flipflop and go back to making
videos in between, it was juststraight up.
(32:46):
Let's make the most beautifulbook we can for like a six to
eight week period.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
That's amazing.
I love to see how your face litup.
I mentioned the children's book.
You're like, yeah, finally, yes, yeah, that's awesome.
And then we also know you havesome amazing products, but one
in particular that you'reprobably definitely known for
that big old squeeze bottle.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
Yes, sir Squeeze, he's become, he's my main
squeeze.
So, sir Squeeze, you know,right off the bat we wanted to
build a business.
I want to say that because itwasn't as if we thought, oh,
let's just put everything intoYouTube.
Right off the bat we wantedthis to be a business, so we
launched the website, theYouTube channel and the products
(33:31):
right away.
Our first products were, youknow, the cake teas with the
cake puns that I've worn.
Every episode we would sellthose.
But in some of my early episodes, in fact in the very first
episode, I use my own, sirSqueeze, which I had from my
ex-boss at the second bakery Iworked at and it was just a part
of my life.
I used it all the time.
But what we realized quickly ishome bakers had no idea about
(33:57):
simple syrup, and so we werejust flooded with comments of
what is that bottle?
What's in that bottle?
Why are you spraying water onthe cakes?
So many questions.
And Connie got the bright ideato think or to investigate and
research where these bottleswere made so we could sell that
(34:17):
bottle as a product.
And so she hunted them down.
She found the factory.
We ordered 10,000 and sold out.
Then we ordered another batchsold out and then we decided the
third batch would be brandedhow to cake it, and we had a
little competition to help namehim.
Uh, so he's sir squeeze a lot.
That's his full name and it'ssuch a big uh part of the
(34:41):
channel.
And eventually we had littlesqueeze and we had some other
cake decorating products.
You know, unlike other youtubechannels, we really weren't
about trying to sell justgeneral products.
We wanted to sell things thatpertain to what we did, and
especially if it was a tool, ithad to be a tool that I would
actually use and do use in thevideos.
We recently unfortunately hadto shutter products because we
(35:07):
are Canadian, we're in Torontoand shipping from Toronto is
really difficult and reallyexpensive, and so we had a
fulfillment center, which waswonderful for years and years.
That was out of Florida, butunfortunately they got acquired,
and then we started to get alot of complaints about people's
products arriving damaged,which was something we had
(35:28):
really never had before, and sowe had to make a very difficult
decision to stop or put productson hold, at least for the time
being.
That was really difficult andit's funny, sir Squeeze is the
one product that I always thinkof.
He's the one I can't let go of.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
It makes sense and I think people just love watching
you.
It's just a thing, Like youcould just watch it all day
putting simple serve on cakes.
I love the fact that you'reopen with, like you stated,
you're building a businessBecause so many bakers they only
think about OK, I'm baking athome, I'm fulfilling these
(36:09):
orders.
They never really think aboutdiversifying their income or
other income streams Because,besides those products, you're
also a brand ambassador.
Do you still work with FatDaddy-Os?
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Yes, yes, I was just on HSN selling Fat Daddy-Os and
I will be returning in thesummer.
I'm very excited.
That was another experiencethat made me broaden my horizons
.
I was so nervous before I wenton and it's pretty intense you
have to do some training to beon HSN but again, I'm so glad
that it's a product that Igenuinely like and use.
(36:45):
That makes it easier for me totalk about and to sell on a
platform like HSN.
You're absolutely right, becausewhen I made cakes for you know,
17 years in this city I neverthought about diversifying ever.
All I thought about is I needto make cakes, more cakes.
How can I make more cakes?
Who can I make them for?
(37:05):
I never thought about it, andso I found myself in a real
pickle.
When I was pregnant and I hadmy son and I started to rethink
my life choices and what Ishould do next, I really felt
like I had missed the boat,especially because when I
started, there was no socialmedia, there was no cake on TV.
Like I said, I used to collectbooks, and now there was a
(37:28):
definite time period where cakedecorating was just everywhere
and I felt like I was sittingback and watching it, you know,
just when my passion had sort ofcome to the forefront, I was
taking several steps back fromit and I didn't really know how
to feel and how to process thosefeelings.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
Thank you so much for sharing that.
I can definitely relate and getit so to anyone listening who
maybe wants to start a YouTubechannel, or maybe they want
their own line of products, ormaybe they want to put
themselves on TV and apply forthe shows.
What advice would you have tothat person, who is kind of like
(38:11):
you in the beginning?
They're just so wrapped up inthe baking business that they
may be afraid to step out oftheir shell too.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
I think my best piece of advice is be as authentic as
to yourself as possible,because anything else will tire
you out.
Anything else will tire you out.
You can only sort of act for solong.
And also, you have to bewilling to let go of some of
your fears.
(38:39):
For example, when we firststarted the channel, one of my
biggest fears that kept me up atnight was sharing my recipes,
because these were recipes forcakes I had made for years.
I had worked on the recipes,tweaked them over the years,
because, as you know, when youbake an eight inch cake and you
bake a 14 inch cake, they cancome out completely different.
And this was sort of my vault.
(39:01):
You know what I mean.
This is my vault of recipes.
And I had a sheet that peoplecould order from with 10
different flavors, and I justthought, oh my gosh, am I going
to go in a video and, just like,spread my recipe out to
everyone and everyone?
Like, spread my recipe out toeveryone and everyone.
It was a true fear for me,because I didn't know that
YouTube would work out and Iassumed I'd have to go back to
(39:22):
making cakes and eventually, aswe just kept riding the train, I
had to learn to let go, and Ithink that's what this journey
has taught me.
I've learned to let go of somany things that I held onto so
tightly because I believed thatthat's all I was.
You know what I mean?
I believe that I was my recipeand I like, and I had to learn
to let go of that, and I findthe more you can open up, the
(39:46):
more people open up to you.
I was always very, very rigid,but years of YouTube and
embarrassing yourself on camerawe'll close that out for you.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
And you're not alone.
When I talk to students, that'salways their first thing.
They're like well, it's myrecipe.
I'm so afraid, but I alwaystell people our gifts were not
meant to be just kept to us.
They're meant to be shared.
And that's normally the numberone fear that people have is
they don't want to let go oftheir tried and true recipes.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
Yes, yep, and I can't tell you how many people I've
met who say to me your vanillacake is the only vanilla cake
that I make.
I was on a show judging andsomeone they had to bake vanilla
cake and they were like I tookone bite and they were like it's
your recipe.
And now I think, oh my gosh,how could I have at one point
been afraid to share this?
Speaker 1 (40:40):
Yeah, yeah.
It's a blessing and you'reblessing so many other people in
their business with them savingtime, you know, having
something that's that's theirs.
They're able to sell that andmake sales, and you're touching
people all over the world.
So it's, it's, it's amazing,and there's more than enough
(41:01):
room for us all.
I love that.
Before I let you go, yolanda,you've shared so many wonderful
things with us and it was soawesome to hear your story, but
we have to play a game oflightning round.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
Speaker 2 (41:11):
All right, let's do it.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
What is your favorite ?
Speaker 2 (41:14):
color.
I'm ready.
All right, let's do it.
What is your favorite color?
Oh, I always say that it'syellow, the color of butter.
It's a very happy color.
Okay, Love it, Love it.
What is your favorite dessert?
Oh, I love is too small of aword.
(41:38):
I adore ice cream of all types.
I like gelato ice cream, softserve.
I love to make ice cream.
It's the thing I make the moston my own.
It's just.
It makes me feel like a kidagain.
That's why every cake on mychannel for my birthday is me
caking some form of ice cream.
It's because of my love of icecream.
Speaker 1 (41:50):
Absolutely.
Ice cream is definitelydelicious.
And who is your celebrity crush?
Speaker 2 (41:57):
Oh man, I've actually met one of my celebrity crushes
.
It's Martha Stewart, becausethe empire that she has built is
ridiculous and when I met herjudging a cake competition, she
was the host.
I couldn't talk to her for likea half an hour, couldn't talk
to her for about a half an hourand Couldn't talk to her for
about a half an hour and talkabout building an empire.
(42:17):
You know, before there was evensocial media and that type of
content.
I used to collect magazines andjust it was.
It was definitely a source ofinspiration for me.
Speaker 1 (42:28):
Yeah, she has a knockout brand, for sure.
Speaker 2 (42:30):
She has a knockout brand and she didn't think she
built that Right.
Even if you hear her story, shedidn't know that that would
happen to her.
So yeah, definitely.
What is your favorite book?
Oh my gosh, I am not preparedfor this.
I read a book a long time agothat was called the Celestine
(42:54):
Prophecy.
I actually read it on a beachin Thailand and it was such a
nice time for me, and I recentlyjust found it in a box, because
I had all these boxes with,like, old books.
I've recently just found it andI pulled it out and I thought
to myself I need to read thisbook again, because I remember
how it made me feel, but I can'tpinpoint why.
Speaker 1 (43:16):
So I want to reread it Awesome, and we'll link that
book in the show notes foranyone else, along with all of
Yolanda's other products.
And then, lastly, what is akitchen utensil that you cannot
live without?
Speaker 2 (43:30):
Oh, you know the importance of a sharp knife.
A sharp knife is reallyimportant and I know most people
will think of, you know,chopping, which is super
important because you'll cutyourself with a dull knife.
But I think about a nice breadknife that can cut serrated,
serrated knife.
I also have a need for a nicesharp paring knife with where
(43:52):
the tip is still sharp, becausewhen you're cutting little
fondant details or trimmingfondant along a cake, it makes
all the difference.
So it's a really simple toolbut very versatile.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
Absolutely.
Do you sharpen your knivesyourself or do you send them off
?
Speaker 2 (44:08):
I sharpen them myself the paring knives that are less
expensive, when I feel like thetip is worn down.
I just get a new one, and Ilove that they come with a
colorful handle of pink andyellow.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
Awesome.
Well, we all learned somethingnew today.
From the bottom of my littleheart, yolanda, thank you so
much for stopping by the Bakingfor Business podcast.
Wow, you guys.
So how was that?
I hope that you really enjoyedlistening to Yolanda's story.
A couple of takeaways that Ireceived just from listening
(44:43):
while I was speaking with her isreally just the power of
community, collaboration andpivoting, and, if you notice,
those are kind of three pillarsthat Yolanda really hit on.
Number one, just her eagernessand her willingness to just
always show up and to build hercommunity with her passions and
(45:04):
things that matter to her,because we're not designed to do
life alone, let alone business.
And so just the fact that sheis open there are always
wonderful people that we havethat we're able to collaborate
with in order for us to notcarry the burden on our own, but
(45:28):
also so that we can growtogether and that we can share
our gifts with others.
And then, when you think aboutpivoting at times, when Yolanda
said after she gave birth to herchild, or maybe even after she
felt burned out, you know,always walking through the next
door, even when you don't knowwhat it holds.
(45:49):
There are so many ways for usto show up in this baking
industry and bake the thingsthat we love to bake in
different manners, whether it beblogging or YouTube, or whether
it be podcasting or, you know,selling to consumers.
There's just multiple ways forus to use our gifts, and we're
(46:10):
always able to do so wheneverwe're open to opportunities that
present themselves.
So special thanks to Yolanda forsharing her story and sharing
all the many ways that she hasgrown her brand as long as she
has been on her journey.
I truly hope that her storyinspired you.
You can be sure to check outthe book recommendation that she
(46:32):
selected, along with everythingand all things how to cake it,
whether it be her books orcommunity her site, by clicking
the link in our show notes.
And, as you're listening,please be sure to tag me at
baking for business and tagYolanda and tell her if you
enjoyed the episode.
The best form of pay that youcan give anyone is a compliment,
(46:52):
and so pay it forward.
Also, share this episode with abusiness buddy or a friend or
someone who you know can getinspired and motivated by
hearing the podcast.
That's it for now.
I appreciate you guys.
To the moon and back.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
Bye for now, thank you.
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