Salome Kyei Unpacks How Culture, Constraint, and Courage Shaped Afua's Sweets

A salty first batch of cookies, a cross-continental childhood, and a decision to walk away from nursing—Salome’s path to Afua's Sweets is equal parts grit and grace. We sit down with the Ghanaian cake artist to unpack how culture, constraint, and courage shaped a business that blends bold flavor with delicate technique.

Salome traces the roots of her palate from Ghana’s tropical brightness to Ethiopia’s Italian-leaning pastry traditions, revealing how coffee, mango, and passion fruit found their way into her modern designs. When lactose intolerance made traditional tasting impossible, she pivoted into vegan methods, testing butter and cream alternatives until she could whip, bake, and serve desserts that fooled even devoted dairy fans. Along the way, she rediscovered why baking calms the mind: small, intentional steps that transform stress into focus and joy.

The leap from hobby to business brought its own lessons. We break down the turning points: cost analysis that ended the “dirt cheap” label, coaching from Porsha Kimble that encouraged her to show up on camera and set prices with confidence, and boundaries that eliminated late-night DMs and last-minute chaos. Salome shares practical tactics for home bakers—how to price, how to practice, how to build systems—and casts a vision for the future with petite French-style desserts that let complex pairings shine in elegant bites. It’s a conversation about valuing your craft, honoring your limits, and letting your story be part of the brand.

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Transcript

Welcome & Show Purpose

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Cake Therapy Podcast, a slice of joy and healing with your host, Dr. Altricia Foster. This is a heartwarming and uplifting space that celebrates the transformative power of baking therapy. The conversations will be a delightful blend of inspirational stories, expert insights, and practical baking tips. Each episode will take listeners on a journey of self-discovery, emotional healing, and connection through the therapeutic art of baking. There's something here for everyone. So lock in and let's get into it.

SPEAKER_03 0:46

Hi everyone, welcome back to the Cake Therapy Podcast, your slice of joy and healing. And today's guest is a fun friend of mine, like a like one of my real, real cake friends. We started baking around the same time out of Maryland, and I'm excited to have Miss Salome Chair in the house. Hi Salome, welcome. Listen, so I've been begging Salome to show up for my podcast for the last eight or nine months because I love Salome's story, and I love how our journeys parallel each other because we started around the same time, right? So this very talented cake artist owns Afua Sweets. Am I pronouncing that correct, Salome?

SPEAKER_02 1:32

It's I mean it's Afwa Suites, but depending on where you're from, people say it's Afwa Afua. The same thing.

SPEAKER_03 1:39

Yeah. Afour sweets. And guess what? She's Ghanaian, guys, and I'm really excited to have her. What she does is she blends her traditional Ghanaian flavors with modern cake design, and she is creating a sweet sensation in the baking world. I love her stunning creations. And if you go and see her page, watch her on Instagram, watch her lags, her stories, you'll see her work in actions. I'm excited today to explore Salome's baking journey, her inspiration, and how she turned her passion into this dream business of hers. So I would say get ready to be inspired by her creativity, her love for culture, and her joy for sharing sweetness with the world. Welcome again, Salome. Hi. How are you doing, girl? Let me know how you're doing. I know you've been a little bit anxious and nervous.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

Yeah, I haven't just been, I don't know, I was just a little bit anxious just to tell my story and everything. So I'm in a good I'm in a good place now. So I feel I feel ready to share. Good.

Early Baking Fails And First Bake Sales

SPEAKER_03 2:42

You know, I've I've always watched to me I'm I love watching how you play around with your food and your pairings of your desserts. And I can see your passion like really emanating through the screen. And I have the honor of having a close, you know, a closer relationship than what I see behind the camera, you know, in front of the camera when you're on. So I want to know what is your earliest memory of baking? And you know, how did you come into you know about my earliest?

SPEAKER_02 3:13

Uh it was a mess, actually. It was um, I was making peanut butter cookies. I read the um instructions incorrectly. So I mixed up the salt and the sugar. So um after I baked it, it looked nice and everything, and I gave it to my my family to eat. And this thing was the saltiest thing you have ever tasted. I was like, oh my goodness. But um after that I kept on trying and trying new recipes and everything. And I think what really started was in we moved from the States to Ethiopia, and I was the class president, and we had to do like fundraising and everything. So I started bake sales, and that's when really baking started for me. I was making muffins, what do you call these things? Those like granola bars and all that. So it definitely started there in like uh high school.

Moving Countries And Shaping A Palette

SPEAKER_03 4:05

Yeah, you mentioned Ethiopia. Tell me how Ghanaian moved to the States, then moved to Ethiopia.

SPEAKER_02 4:11

It was my my dad. So we was in middle school, and my dad's like, okay, we're moving, well, actually moving to Ghana. So I was like, okay, go to Ghana, and then we're there for a year, and then he's like, Okay, we're going to Ethiopia. And I was like, okay. So we went to Ethiopia. And I think that's like one of the reasons why I like pairing so many different flavors, just because like my background, like living in Ghana, living in Ethiopia, because like Ethiopia, it's like they were influenced by the Italians, so it's like a lot of like gelatos, a lot of just like their pastries and everything is just more like Italian, French based, so not as rich as like American. So it definitely influenced kind of like how I like to bake and pair different flavors.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

Yeah. So do you think that when moving to Ethiopia kind of I would say changed your palette or helped you to identify what it is that you love about desserts and you know how you prepare food?

SPEAKER_02 5:07

I think it definitely I would say it definitely was both. Because I think if I didn't go to Ethiopia, I would have never like had there's like this little cafe that we went to where it just like the before I became extremely lactose and tolerant. Yeah. I enjoyed all their desserts and it's just like it was it was just like the perfect, perfect level, like sweetness and just it was like delicate, and just like I don't know how to explain it. It's just like you put in your mouth, it melts in your mouth, and that's why I always wanted to create something that's when you put into your mouth your your taste buds explode, and you just you taste everything, but it doesn't overpower you too much. Right.

Lactose Intolerance And Vegan Workarounds

SPEAKER_03 5:49

I love your transparency. I love how open you are about a few things in your life because we know that you you haven't told all of your story and yet you don't share all of you. And it really is good to keep some things private and personal. But tell me, like, how did you feel when you you discovered that you were lactose intolerant and like you could no longer enjoy your sweets? Like, what did that do for your baking?

SPEAKER_02 6:15

That is just it makes it made things so so much harder. Like before I found like the lactate pills that you can take, I didn't I there was nothing like that. So I was just I was just suffering through through everything. Um, and then when I found it and then I started baking, the problem was um like each year my issue got worse. So instead of just like taking the pill and then it'll help me with like my digestion and everything, I I get migraines, even taking the pill. And it's like sometimes like busy work days, I would end up after everything be like just really sick because even though I've taken the pills and everything, I still have to do like sample tasting. And for sample tasting, I just I just take like a teaspoon. I don't not even teaspoon, like a half a teaspoon, because I was like, I don't want to, you know, I don't want anything to go go wrong. But it it did definitely make things harder for me because like I do like to like when I'm um baking, take at least four or five, you know, tastes just to make sure that everything is yeah, everything is cohesive. But yeah, it's just it's a nightmare. It's not it's not fun, even with the pills and everything. But it did, it did get me into making vegan desserts. That's the one, the one plus side, making vegan desserts. So the goal with the vegan desserts is trying to make it taste as good as you know the regular ones.

SPEAKER_03 7:39

Yeah, right, right, right, right, right. And how is that? How successful has that been?

SPEAKER_02 7:43

You know, that so it was um on and off. I tried different types of butter, vegan butter, that but it was just some of them were just like not like it's not good, like aftertaste, everything. And then I finally found one uh called VO Life. Can I help? Can I mention that on course, girl? Make sure whatever you need, yeah. Yeah, they're called VO Life, and they're like their butter looks like butter, almost tastes like butter. I've had issues where a lot of vegan items they use coconut, and I'm not a fan of coconut, so I don't want my food. I'm not a fan. Actually, no, yeah, I'm not a fan of coconut. My family loves it, but me, I I'm not. So I was like, I don't want to be eating chocolate and then be tasting coconut or vanilla bean and then there's coconut. So their butter, their um whipped cream, all their items, even though it has traces of coconut, you can't taste it. So I've been using that one and it whips perfectly. It bakes great and it tastes, you cannot tell that you are eating vegan.

Who Tastes The Experiments

SPEAKER_03 8:46

So I love it. Well, good. Good stuff, good stuff. So then, listen, I'm a fan of yours. I I watch you make your your jars, your samples. You're always like peering and playing around with desserts. So who's tasting all of this stuff?

SPEAKER_02 9:03

Well, before it was it were my my co-workers, but I no longer work work there anymore. Then it was my siblings, and then after a while, I just did like, you know, like do like uh giveaways kind of thing so people could have like a taste of it and be like tell me what they like about it. And I did reach out to like taste testers, so I do have two taste testers that I usually give items to, and then they tell me, you know, it's too sweet, not sweet enough, it's hair as well, that kind of thing. Okay, perfect.

Leaving Nursing For Baking

SPEAKER_03 9:32

Yeah, so let's dig a little bit deeper into who you are, girl. Like I know I was reading somewhere, no, I was reading somewhere where it said that you originally pursued medicine as a career, right? But you went into baking. I'm super excited to hear about your story, um, the backstory of how you know you you went into the field. Tell me a little bit more about that.

SPEAKER_02 10:00

So I did go into nursing and I did about a year and a half worth of nursing, and it was it's it's tough. It's tough. And I I applaud those who are in the medical field because I I thought I could handle it, but like the stress for me was a bit much. And um, one of the ways like I deal with stress is like baking, like uh in college when I would be stressed with exams and everything, you'd find me, you'd come to our house and it was just like jars of cookies, cupcakes, and everything. So but yeah, so I did go into I think with um I did feel when I got out of nursing, I think for me and like with my family dynamic, I I won't say I felt like a failure, but it did kind of resonate kind of like that because that's the um field like my family, my my parents had wanted me to, you know, to go into. And then I started baking. And with baking, I know probably you like with like African cultures and everything is like, you know, what are you doing? Like, what are you doing with your life kind of thing? So it did take me a while to get my footing and then realize like this is my passion, like I should not be um feel insecure about it and just go for it. Yeah.

Battling Failure Feelings And Finding Purpose

SPEAKER_03 11:21

I that resonates with me because I I come from a similar culture, right? Where they feel like if you don't have a traditional degree or you're not in a traditional field, then you're really not doing well. Yeah, and I and and I think those, and I I do understand the pressure coming from um your family saying that okay, you have to be in you have to be law, architecture, you know, computer technology, computer science, medicine, or whatever. So I could kind of get that feel. So but you did mention feeling like a failure. Yes. How did you pull yourself out of that feeling like a failure and deciding that you now wanted to pursue what you love, thing that you're most passionate about?

SPEAKER_02 12:08

Um, it did take, it took a long time for me to get out of that mindset. Like there are some days where it hits me, like um when I get like a call or something from my dad or something like that. But I think what happened was I just looked at what baking does for me. Because like when I'm baking, like all my worries, not all the worries disappear, but it's just like it's calming, it's relaxing, and like when you finish a product, I feel completed kind of. And I was like, this is what I want to do. I love like I love, love, love baking. I love um coming up with different flavors. I love looking at people enjoy my food, yeah, what I make. And I just I really I was like, this is what I want to do. I was like, and um, it took a lot of soul searching on my end, and like not listening to like those little voices, they're like, what are you doing? Why are you doing this? I was like, if this is what you want to do, pursue it. And definitely, I will say being your own business owner, it's not easy, it's not easy because you a lot of people are like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna open a bakery. I was like, it's not, it's not easy, but it is rewarding.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:21

You know, I I was reading where you you you said that you started to stress bake um in your senior year. You did mention that it was a wonderful, yeah, you you said that it was a wonderful form of stress relief, and you love watching others eat your food. Tell me what it is when you see someone eating your food or your macros. I love your macros, eating your food. Tell me what it is that you feel when you're seeing that.

The Joy Of People Loving Your Bakes

SPEAKER_02 13:50

I um it's I don't know if I can put it into words. It's just like it's like a like it's a feeling of um just utter happiness. I I if that's it's just like you, you like watching someone bite into a macaron or take a bite of a cake and are just like they're ecstatic, they're happy, they're smiling, they're laughing, you know, they're just like, oh my gosh, this is so good. It's just it's like it feels it's such a rewarding, like you've put so much, like I put so much work into that that dessert. And then seeing the outcome, like the the the physical outcome of it, it's just like it's like I mean it's just amazing. It's like it's you guys like a like a high kind of kind of thing. It's just like so you see that and it's just like it's you're like, yes, this is what I I do, this is what I want to do, this is why I do it. Because I want people to be able to, you have celebrations. I want what you're eating not only to be beautiful, but to be delicious and something that you are just happy about.

Family Support Slowly Grows

SPEAKER_03 14:53

Yeah. I love hearing you talk about your feeling, how you feel when you're baking, how you feel when you watch people eat your food. And it's just one of the key things that we advocate here, um, we advocate for here at the Cake Therapy Foundation, right? We're telling people to use baking as a tool paired with other wellness interventions to really relax and relieve their own stress. And I talk about this like in my book, um, Cake Therapy, how I've actually found this to be true as well. And what I love is that you and I started on our cake journey, just playing around with food. You know, it was just a hobby around the same time. And I love to see where we are, and I love to see that we started because we were using it for the same thing and for the same reason. Have you made any headway with like your family in to be able to express that this is who I am, this is who I am, this is what I love. Um, and tell me about the support.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

So definitely it's been a change. So it's a good change. Like my mom came around, so she's usually like, okay, um, when I have orders, she's like, okay, what do you have to do for this week? How can I help you? That kind of thing. My sisters are also very helpful. My brother usually goes on like deliveries with me. My dad is slowly coming around. He's slowly coming around. So, like this, he's actually with me right now. So he's like seeing how much work goes into all that I do. And he's like, usually he's like, oh wow, okay. I didn't know, you know, so it's definitely coming. They're definitely coming around, and the support from before it's much more, and it makes it, I want to say it makes it, I don't know, don't want to say easier, because that's not the word I want to use, but it makes it, it's like less, less background noise. I don't know if that that makes uh makes uh sense. It's like less less of them like being worried about how they feel is I don't have to have a lot of people.

SPEAKER_03 17:00

What it's making about what you're doing.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

Yeah, so I don't have to, I don't have to, it's not on my mind. I can concentrate on what I'm doing and what I love. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:10

That's true. That's good. That's good. Did you tell him that you were coming on a podcast today to talk about your baking?

SPEAKER_02 17:15

Yeah, and I told my sister too. So she was actually supposed to be here to do my makeup, but then she had work. So but it's okay. I was like, she wasn't excited. She's like, I was like, I'm gonna come early, and then but then um poor color. I was like, you know, it's okay. It's okay.

Flavor Inspiration From Culture And Aisles

SPEAKER_03 17:32

It's okay. We got this, we've got this. We're family. Um you look great, so trust me, don't worry about it too much. We're getting into it. So, you know, I I I mentioned like at the top of the conversation how you love to play with your dessert. I've never seen anyone, oh, maybe Marina Machado.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

Oh my god, I love her. I love her. Like, her flavor combinations are just wow. I'm just like, how can I be you exactly?

SPEAKER_03 18:03

And she she's really, she's really nice. She's really, really fun to talk to. She's been on the podcast. But I've seen, like, I see a lot of similarities with her with how you play around with your food, you know, to bring your flavor combinations together. And I've always like wondered, like, what is inspiring, you know, what is inspiring you to make these types of pairings? Is it just, is it the fact that you're fan or you've lived in Ethiopia and these flavor brands are the tip of your tongue? Like, tell me about your palette and how do you come up with these?

SPEAKER_02 18:39

So um, like with her background being from Ghana, like sometimes a lot of like tropical, tropical fruits, I love to play around with that. Um, even though like I don't like coconut, but I do love to play around with like coconut passion fruit, mango. I love mango. Um, and then like when I was in Ethiopia, it's like coffee is very prominent there. So it's like making a like a dish, like a chiramisu, you know, and then doing like Americanizing it a little bit, um, with less flavor and everything. So definitely those were um big influences. And then of course, like when I came back to the States, it was like I'll go to a grocery store, especially if I'll go to like the Hispanic or Spanish grocery store, and I'll see like different flavors, like different fruits together, and I'm like, oh, how this you know tastes with that. Yeah. And like the ice cream aisle. So there's one one dessert that I I I figured out using from the ice cream aisle. It was uh Dulce de Leche. Um, and but it was something with Dulce de Leche, which I had never, you know, I've never really tried. So I was like, okay, let me try this and see how this pairs with you know with with that. It might be good, it might not be good, but you know, let me try and see. So yeah. So everything like when I'm walking around, different like something will I'll see something and I'm like, okay, let me try it with this. with that. So like my inspiration usually just comes with whatever, whatever is like or whatever's around, really.

Turning Hobby Into A Business

SPEAKER_03 20:08

You know, like every time I see I watch you, you know, like I keep saying playing around. Because it really is what you do. It seems like you really enjoy it. I'm like wishing oh my god I was back in Maryland. Like why didn't she start doing this when I was still in Maryland so I could just drive over to is it Silver Spring you are now? Yeah yeah to collect some of that food. Because boy it does really um look delicious. And I I know that it's part it's probably a part of your own personal business plan to introduce and infuse a myriad of different flavors into your menu. Talk to us about the entrepreneurial aspect of A4 Sweets. Tell me about your entrepreneurship journey.

SPEAKER_02 20:55

That oh that was difficult it was difficult from like the beginning transitioning from doing it as a hobby to doing for as a business like something to like my my career being able to yeah just be able to live off of being um a baker that was that that transition was was hard because when I first started as a hobby I didn't cost items properly. Actually I didn't cost items at all. You know this because you you reached out to me because I was I was the best I was just doing I wasn't doing anything because it was just it was just for fun like it was stress relief like I was just baking because I wanted to you know get that and just just feel better and then I'll just kind of sort of just give it away. So when I started uh when I actually founded If what suites I realized oh yeah that's not gonna work that's not how it's supposed to be done. So like the first year I struggled and then I I knew you you actually saw that I was struggling and you introduced me to Portia Kimball and then from there I realized okay this is my self-worth I know what I'm doing I am not gonna let other people dictate my business I am dictating my business this is what I want for my business I want people to view my business and then I got into like the cost analysis of everything and then I was like okay and then started we started getting on the right track.

Pricing, Self-Worth, And Coaching

SPEAKER_03 22:16

So yeah it was it was a journey because I was just like I was a messy but um yeah it's a hundred percent I don't know I feel more into my business I feel more into myself um and just branding myself as um if West it's just it's been a journey yeah and then you know what the beauty of it all is watching you figuring out that you're enough and that you're actually worth this much my cakes are good enough my cakes are worth this much so I'm like I'm so excited I'm a fan you know I tell you this all the time and um don't let the people know that I was the one who told you to go to Porsche and they're gonna start blaming me when you increase prices. But wasn't that class with Porsche amazing I I did that class with Porsche.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

Yeah that was like a big turnaround for me because like well she handled me with I I won't say kicklops but she knew like how I won't say sensitive I was but she knew how to get me how does it work she knew what to say to help me get on the right track. And I mean I'm forever grateful that you you called me up and told me about her class because I'm not sure where I actually would be I'm yeah I'm not sure but like that was like a kick in the butt that I needed to to get myself on the right track. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:35

I know I remember when when we talked you had mentioned to me that you were doing this business but it was becoming even like a source of stress for you right and you were actually losing your love for it um at the time and I was like girl no you are good tell me about that space that you were actually in where you were falling out of love with this thing that you're so that was I I didn't think that would actually happen but it like I would get an order and I would just dread going into the kitchen mixing battery and it just like like it was not it was not fun.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

It was not like that stress relief that I would get when I was baking it was not there anymore. I was like I think I was always burnt out it's just like I was tired. I was just not I was not happy and I was like baking is what makes me happy how how have I gone from you know loving what I do to borderline almost hitting it and wanting to quit so it just it was hard and one of the reasons was also because I was not valuing myself or pricing my items as to where I should be so it's like I felt like I was letting people walk all over me which I technically was but and that was that was just ruining my love and passion.

Burnout, Boundaries, And Reigniting Love

SPEAKER_03 24:48

So yeah you saw that and you're like Salome don't give up so yeah we can't we can't do it you know what there is really like true sisterhood in the cake field you know people are really there to grind it out with you and to give you an encouraging word and I'm happy that I was that for you. But you talk about you know coaching and how that has helped you and you you know we we g we big up um portia kimball um she was on I think episode seven of season one um if you haven't listened to it yet guys um go and listen that was a very insightful and exciting episode so check it out what were some of the takeaways from your coaching with Porsche I will tell you mine after I've heard yours well my takeaway she uh she like what did she say she's one of her things was like she says like show yourself like let people see you and it's like if you're if it's like you don't want to like once you like when you see a baker or you see a little bit of her background you want you understand and it's not an easier process to like contact them or order from them but it's just like you're just you're seen and one of the things she's like take time for yourself.

SPEAKER_02 26:02

Like don't it's like baking like you I love what I do but she's like you need to also schedule a break and just take time for yourself and just you know relax and um get yourself back for the next you know next big thing. So she like literally like her talks with me were just like every day it was just like uplifting like letting me know like I am worth it you know like what I'm doing even though it's a small business is not small. It's like you are doing the not not a lot of people can do what I'm doing and I should realize that and not be so shy as she said. So yeah so it took from I like from that like instance where she also had me we had to post stuff on Instagram about ourselves it made it easier for me to just converse with my community. So it's like from you know not saying anything to just like maybe showing a picture or whatever while it was like you know on my walks with my dog if you don't know um you know talk about what's going on it's like with if with sweet what specials we're doing or like just what's going on in my life. I feel like I feel like just having that presence just helped me help me quite a bit. Yeah.

Home Bakers, “Dirt Cheap,” And Respect

SPEAKER_03 27:19

You know what what I got from Porsche too I got s something similar and I and that's how I knew that it could work for you because I I wasn't showing myself at all. I'm just as introverted as you are and I could not show myself but you're surprised yes I just couldn't and she made me do it she made me to take photos of myself which I ultimately used from the photo shoot on my as one of the my book cover because it's it represents so much for me that class actually changed who I am and how I saw myself and as and how I saw my business because like even before the class I had some success right but then I was still hiding girl I was still hiding and she forced me to really step into that light so I would say anybody would you encourage people to do portion coaching yes 100% 100% because that like you get so much out of that sometimes I I wish it was a little bit longer but it's like it you get you get so much like she will actually she went into my Instagram you know and she was like she looked through it she's like this is okay this is not okay you know you need you need to fix this fix that and it is she's it's 100% helpful I would I would recommend yeah absolutely I think Portia is really dope and she is really invested in the community and I I love what she did for me um because when I was getting ready to start my podcast I reached out to her because she had like a series where she was also talking to bakers and she really helped me you know figure out like how to get it started and how to get it launched. So follow Portia Kimball she's dope we've all been beneficiaries of of her home baking people tend to frown upon it sometimes oh my gosh yeah right and they think that you should charge less because you're a home baker.

SPEAKER_02 29:26

It's just sometimes people are like it's like they want like a$50 kink and I'm like how does that how how the math is not math. It's not math how does it because like larger corporations they can get discounts or whatnot from um they mask for you. Exactly and like we're not we're not doing that. It's like it's so it's a select item specifically for you custom made for you you know with custom slavers so it's it's not it doesn't make sense.

SPEAKER_03 29:55

It does not make sense but let me tell me what what what is like some tips or a tip or a tips that you can share with home bakers like us looking to improve their baking skills like what is it? What would you like to tell them?

Practical Tips: Practice And Costing

Systems And Boundaries That Protect You

Future Vision: Petite French-Style Desserts

SPEAKER_02 30:10

Um I would just say practice practice is pretty much all I think all you need all you need like if you see something that you want to try try it out. Like if you fail it doesn't matter keep going you know try it again sometimes that failure will give you a new um type of dessert that is even better than the original one that you're trying so it's just like so that's one of the things and if like for I mean this one probably like for beginners it's like cost your item yes cost your items do not do not start like how I started cost your item see how much everything costs pay yourself because you don't want to be in a stage where you're starting out and you are labeled the cheap baker yeah or you want to be able to be happy with what you're doing. It's like if you do not value yourself right you the love that you have for what you're doing will disappear. Yeah that's so that's why beginner bakers have you ever been known as the cheap baker my gosh girl don't even start on that oh my good I was there with the cheap baker the person you go to for last minute audience oh my gosh she cry up anytime in one day or night she'll pick up I was like because before I you know I was just doing it for fun I didn't I didn't care I was like you know I'll be it's a challenge you know so I'll I'll I'll be like okay sure no problem and then it's like I don't know there's one experience that hit me was um on uh when I was on Facebook somebody had left a review and she's like she makes delicious desserts she's dirt cheap yes dirt cheap I was like what dirt I was like mm-mm I was like no that's not what I want to be I was like I was the delicious yes but I was like the dirt cheap just it just it rubbed me like absolutely the wrong way I was just like I don't I was like that's not even though at that time again I was just doing it as a hobby it's just not not what I wanted um to be known as yeah so I don't think anyone wants to be known as dirt cheap cheap I was like scared I was like you are a best thing that's like the bottom of the cheap cheese I'm like oh gosh please no no no no she's dirt cheap oh my god that is just oh goodness but yeah but definitely yeah setting guidelines setting boundaries boundaries so so important yeah so important what are some of the boundaries that you've set in recent years like share with our listeners like what are some of the things that you just mentioned like taking phone call like tell me what are some of the things that you used to do that was causing your burnout and then once you started setting boundaries what are some of those and how has it changed your business? So when I first started I would take calls I would take DMs I would take WhatsApp messages I'll take from any any form and that would just it would make it it was just like it was uh just too many things coming at once it was not organized. I would just say like somebody order something from like a DM but then you know how DMs are somebody likes a story whatever that message or whatever will go down then you have to look for it it was just it was too much and people calling me at 12 a.m for a cake I'm like don't I sleep so I started sending bodies I like I said no DMs or texts for orders like I set up my website which has like my inquiry form I got a um business phone so that if you have questions or whatnot you you know call that and not my personal line. Because a business phone I can um like turn it off like for working hours. So I don't have people calling me they can call at like 2 a.m or whatever but I won it won't come through to me. So that's definitely that definitely helps. And um setting those boundaries it made also like even some people you know as they as you know if they see home bakery they don't feel like it's professional but like setting those boundaries made me look even more professional because they're like okay she's serious about you know what she's doing her business so I've got to come correct. So that's that those are the few boundaries that I I set and it's been 100% helpful. Just it's been great. I love that you want to come correct as you say how do you see your business evolving in the next few years like where do you see your cake business in the next couple of years like I was thinking about that if it goes like where do I want to go with seat and I love if you can't tell like I love French pastry and um there's one thing that I have been posting on my stories is like this I don't know it's like a dis display dessert display kind of thing where it's like all different I think you you've actually done you've done it you've done that. And I think I want to do more of that. I I love cakes but I love combining flavors more.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:11

If that makes sense and I'm able to do that with small petite desserts and that's I think that's gonna be where I want to go.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

Yeah you want to land there.

SPEAKER_02 35:19

Yeah just my ability to just make because like cakes you can't like you can't go crazy with you know all these flavors because like usually cakes are for events and events you have to please the crowd and usually that's just like vanilla. Yeah or chocolate. And I was like I don't want to just do vanilla or chocolate. I want to do passion fruit I know I want to do mango mousse or you know something like that. And like a nice espresso caramel you know but you can't really do that with uh these like other but yeah but for that's that's really what that's what I want to do.

SPEAKER_03 35:55

I hear you're talking about these desserts with such passion and then what I was laughing at is knowing that you can't eat them.

SPEAKER_02 36:02

That's the saddest thing is this like you're making it look so good. It looks so I'm just I just want to you know and then but the thing for me I think one is also really why I love seeing people's reactions like I can when they're biting it and then enjoying it I'm like I can I'm living through them.

SPEAKER_03 36:17

Yeah for them yeah so my my I have one question for you.

SPEAKER_02 36:24

When you're at home and you're feeling stressed like what is your favorite go-to dessert when you yourself need to get a little bit of cake therapy like I love to make it you know shoe pastry because that one is like it's different different different levels different components to making it and that just helps me relieve my stress it's just like it's like you you concentrate so much on each step that whatever else is going on your mind just disappears. It's gone. And then once you finish making it and then you see that beautiful dessert you're just like oh my gosh I'm so happy it's beautiful and then I have to find somebody else to um you know give it to but other than that it's just amazing I have this um book from Laderey and it has all good desserts and when I'm feeling stressed I just go through a page I'm like oh my gosh what can I make and then I just I make that and it's just it's just it's a uh it's great. I don't know how to how to explain like how to like show or explain how good it feels when you finish baking you're looking at your finished product like all the layers are perfect.

SPEAKER_03 37:36

Well something doesn't have to be perfect but all the layers are there you cut into it and you can see each layer is just like and one of the things I love from my customers and they know now is when they send me pictures of cake cuts it's just like I'm like awesome listen I love being your friend I love having the opportunity of being able to communicate to you like I can pick up the phone and call you anytime and you respond. I I appreciate that friendship and that love that you've given me and I want to say that I would always return it. You are awesome I loved having you here today and I I I want to say to my listeners like listen this has been like an awesome journey Salome's story is awesome she shared about her growing pains in you know growing her business A Feel Sweets and I want you to listen to it take what you may from it but I also want you to subscribe to our podcast and then you'll get more sweet stories from other guests such as Salome. Salome thank you so much for coming it was definitely an honor thank you again yeah I want you guys to continue to to to support our podcast like this has been an amazing run. Continue to support the foundation I want to thank you all buy us a coffee buy our book Cake Therapy How Baking Changed my life my story is similar to Salome's we started around the same time we have the insecurities but then look at us um you can find Salome it's a full Afwa suites she's on Instagram you can find her there and Salome please share with our listeners your website um my website it's um ifwassuites.com there is just my my business name dot com yes okay so that's a f uas w e t s um dot com I want to thank you all for listening thank you Salome for joining us and until the next episode this has been the Cake Therapy podcast your slice of joy and healing until next time today's mindful moment tells us that baking teaches us that transformation takes time. We encourage you to embrace The journey.

SPEAKER_00 40:03

Thank you for tuning in to the Cake Therapy Podcast. Your support means the world to us. Let us know what you thought about today's episode in the comment section. Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcast. And if you found the conversation helpful, please share it with a friend. Also follow Sugarspoon Desserts on all social media platforms. We invite you to support Cake Therapy and the work we do with our foundation by clicking on the Buy Me a Coffee link in the description or by visiting the Cake Therapy website and making a donation. All your support will go towards the Cake Therapy Foundation and the work we are doing to help women and girls. Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll catch you on the next episode.