Cake Therapy

Dr. Nneka Onuma On How Baking Became A Lifeline And A Business

• Altreisha Foster • Season 4 • Episode 10

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What if a cake could give you back your sense of control? We sit down with Dr. Nneka Anuma—Nigerian American cake artist, educator, and PhD in multidisciplinary human services—to explore how baking became her refuge, her business, and her bridge from heavy frontline work to moments of joy. From a childhood filled with art supplies and oven hunts in Nigeria to a bold ask at Dairy Queen that launched her cake design journey, Nneka shows how speaking up turns curiosity into opportunity.

We get candid about the realities of a demanding nine-to-five in human services, raising three kids, and building Sweet Heaven in the margins of late nights and early mornings. Nneka shares practical ways baking functions as therapy: a repeatable, tactile process that restores agency, reduces stress, and proves you can bring beauty to life with your own hands. She opens up about learning her craft through classes and practice, finding inspiration in fashion and client stories, and embracing the idea that your style can evolve without apology.

Teaching lights her up. Hear how community workshops help kids and families discover creativity together, why representation matters for girls navigating systems, and how small wins at the workbench ripple into self-belief elsewhere. If you’ve ever wondered whether you can juggle a career, a passion, and a family without losing yourself, this conversation offers grounded encouragement and real-world strategies: make time for what matters, honor your season, and keep moving toward progress over perfection.

If this story resonated, follow and subscribe, share with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more listeners and fuel the Cake Therapy Foundation’s work for women and girls.

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SPEAKER_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.

Childhood Roots And Nigerian Influence

SPEAKER_02

And today we have a Minnesotan who will be joining us on the podcast. Her name is Nekka Anua. She is a baker cake artist out of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. She is the visionary behind Sweet Heaven, but next. Her journey is quite remarkable. She is of Nigerian heritage and she blends her academic work. She's also a PhD. So she blends academia with her artistic flair. She will talk to you later about her PhD, what her major was, and um how she navigates the business of running a cake business in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And um, she's also a mother of three. So get ready to dive in into today's episode with Dr. NECA, a new mom. I love watching NECA do her thing online. She's super active. I mentioned that she's mom, she's wife, and um, she also works a 925, I believe. So join us. Welcome NECA to the show. We're excited to have you join us today. And before we dive into that conversation with NECA, I want to thank you, our subscribers, for subscribing to the podcast, Cake Therapy Podcast. And for our listeners, just if you haven't subscribed yet, please go right ahead and subscribe to our podcast. Let's dive in and welcome NECA into the space. Yes. Um, so welcome NECA to the show. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, of course. Um, first of all, thank you for saying yes to us. I am really, really intrigued. I've always been intrigued by you, and I'm hoping to take a deep dive into NECA's life, NECA's cake life, and you know, just talk about how she feels about therapeutic baking or if she feels like her baking is her therapy. So welcome again to the Cake Therapy Podcast. So, NECA girl, before we, you know, we dive down into it. I just want to know like how you feeling today. Like, you know, really.

SPEAKER_01

I'm feeling pretty good. You know, we have some tech issues here. So now I'm excited because we gotta figure it out.

SPEAKER_02

So yeah, you know, it's a good day, it's a good day. Yeah, and the good thing about it is for those who are listening and not watching us live um on our YouTube channel, is NECA sets up a great backdrop here. She's actually in the office today.

SPEAKER_03

She really is in the office today. And um, it speaks to the double lives that we lead, right? Because prior to coming down here, I was in my office. Um, so I hope that we can dive into that and talk some stuff about it.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. So tell me about, tell me a little bit about your childhood. In the intro, we talk about Moneka is from um Nigerian heritage or of Nigerian heritage. But share with me a little bit about your background, um your childhood, and how does this, you know, factor into your creativity?

Art At Home And Mom’s Oven Quest

SPEAKER_01

Yes, yes. So I am the second daughter of um Nigerian immigrants. Um my parents were international students in Arkansas, and that's where they married and had my older sister and myself in the city of Fayetteville. And pretty much when they were done with school, they returned back home to Nigeria. And so um that's where I was raised until I was about uh in my early teens when I returned back to the US to live with my aunt and um late uncle. So that's a little bit of background. I do have a younger sibling who was born in Nigeria after my parents um returned home. So a lot of my uh upbringing is of I, you know, I was raised within a Nigerian culture, and so that really has had a pretty heavy impact on who I am today. And so I do appreciate the fact that I was opportuned to have that part of my life where I got to experience um Nigerian life and what that what that is. So yeah, a little bit of my childhood.

SPEAKER_02

Good. Okay, probably a bit of your childhood in Nigeria and having Nigerian parents and being raised by your aunt and uncle, tell me, has how has that influenced your baking, you know, your case?

SPEAKER_01

Yes. So growing up, my so my creativity, I think both my parents are creative in their own way, but I think um uh most visible is that of my mother, who is a retired fine arts teacher. I've always been around art. Um, growing up in Nigeria, all of her kids, uh her students' art projects, a lot of the those came home to our houses. So I got I got to learn about different forms of art. She had lots of like paper mache um projects, um, paintings, all kinds of artwork. Uh, my mom is also creative in a fashion sense. So she would create her own designs, make her own clothing, that kind of thing. So I've always been around creativity, right? Or people, adults who were open and free with themselves creatively. Also, my mother loved to cook and bake, and so that was my first experience with baking, is what my mom would often do. And so actually growing up, we didn't have a working oven in our home. So my mom would always take us to like a friend's house who had an oven, and she would bake her breads there, or bake her cakes there, or whatever it was she was baking. So that was always kind of special for us to kind of go along. And you know, baking was something that was super special. And I appreciate it. That was my first introduction to baking.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So you know what? I I I identify there's some alignment with you and I or backgrounds, my mom, so right? She's the seamstress, and I and I can also say that I I do identify a lot of your mom in you because I constantly see you doing small art projects. So you your interest is is just the art. Yes. And I think, yeah, and I think your passion probably or is just the art, art form, cake art form, which is really, really, really dope. So as as you watched your mom bake, did you ever like become interested in, you know, baking with her? Like, when did you, when did it click for you that you wanted to bake as well?

SPEAKER_01

I was hyper, it was probably more my adulthood. Again, baking with my mom was always something special. Again, it's not something we did often, because like I said, it's not like we had an oven we can bake like every day or make like meals every day, you know. So it was always something that was extra special doing with her. Um I've learned a lot about motherhood and how to be my character as a woman from my mother. So that's just something additional that connects me to her. Um I would say when it comes to baking as it currently is for me now, it's something that I kind of connected with more in my adulthood. Again, like you mentioned earlier, um I think my biggest connection is to cakes is the art form of cake design and cake artistry. Obviously, you can't do that without baking, right? So it's an important part for me to connect to, I think what I truly enjoy, which is the baking itself is in itself is an art itself, right? But what I truly enjoy is the final artistic expression that we get to use cakes to create. So, you know, bacon is is my is my way into that.

SPEAKER_02

So you you mentioned that you fell a little bit more in love with baking until, you know, in your adult years. And I was reading somewhere where it talks about an experience at Derry Queen. Yeah. Can we share with our listeners? Because I want the girls who are actually listening to us the most, who are actually some Derek Queen employees, right? KFC employees, but shit to talk to them a little bit more about this dancing experience.

The Dairy Queen Turning Point

SPEAKER_01

It's really, really important to speak up, right? I think as we grow, even as adults, speaking up is something that's it's continues to be a challenge for us, right? But when we find something of interest, it's important for us to speak up. And when I say speak up, I mean telling our story in a way that other people around us kind of get to know what we enjoy doing, what we want to do in that way, whatever support they can provide us in achieving that, they are able to do because they know, right? And so in high school, one of my jobs was working at Dairy Queen. And the cake lady at Dairy Queen, I was always interested in her decorating cakes. I was always watching her and like was so like amazed by all the colors and all the stuff, all the tools that she used to do her work. So anyway, she was leaving. She made the decision to leave. And so I was like, I told my manager, I was like, hey, like, there's really no point in you hiring a new cake lady. Just have her bring me in uh while she's still here, and then when she leaves, I could just take over. And that's exactly what happened. Um, she trained me in, and once the cake lady left, I became the cake lady at my Dairy Queen. So I started making ice cream cakes. And so that's kind of my introduction to cake design was that experience at Dairy Queen. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Wow. Amazing. So what to me is at that age, what gave you the audacity to go to your boss as that? Bring me in, I'm gonna be your next cake lady. Like where did you get all of that from?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, yes. So you mentioned my childhood earlier, and I think if you talk to folks who remember me as a kid, they probably would tell you I was uh, they may use the word stubborn, perhaps. They would tell you that I've always been forward thinking. A lot of times that tended to be a negative thing back then when people, adults would use that to describe me. I don't think that it is. But you know, again, our culture, a lot of times that children are not always encouraged to to be forward or to be aggressive in their pursuits, right? And so I think I've always, that's kind of like always been part of my character, is I've always been someone who kind of looked, just kind of went for what they wanted or what they want. And so I think that's just kind of uh naturally something that I normally do is, you know, if I see something, I speak. And so um, yeah, it's just kind of part of who I am. And again, not to say that I've I've always been perfect in doing that in every scenario. Um but I think I oftentimes don't have an issue making it known what I like, what what I feel, you know, and that that kind of that kind of so yeah, it's just kind of a natural, natural element, natural part of my characteristic. Yeah.

Voice, Confidence, And Speaking Up

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. It's also important that you mention that you weren't always perfect in speaking up for yourself or stepping into spaces and advocating for yourself. And that's okay. But we want our listeners to know that, you know, it is okay to step into spaces and speak up and advocate for yourself. But if you don't one or two times, that's okay as also, you know what I mean? And I think that being raised by immigrant parents, it's a understanding when to speak, when to speak and when to shut up is it was really a thin line between being called 50, a brave, and all of that stuff. So we understand there is definitely a generational divide. Other thing between that's unique between NECA and I, we're of course we're black girls with funky glasses, but we're not only just black girls with funky glasses, we're PhDs, right? Yes. Black girl magic on the screen. Yes. Let's talk about this PhD degree of yours, multidisciplinary human services. For listeners and for your interviewer, um, share with us, you know, what this is. Yeah. What leaves your nine to five? What is it?

SPEAKER_01

Yes. So I didn't intend to pursue a graduate degree, right? So I got my bachelor's, which was our requirement, right? Uh, daughter of immigrants, like college was not an option either. That's something you gotta do. You know, you know, you know that story. Yes.

SPEAKER_04

You know where it ends.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Um, so I got my undergrad and I started working in a university. And so fortunately for me, one of the benefits of working in an uh institution of higher education was that one of the perks was you could take classes for free. And you know, I was really young. I had a lot of time on my hands. So I was like, well, of course, like, hey, duh, I'm gonna register for a master's degree. Like, this is part of my payments. And when you kind of consider that into your salary, like you're like, why wouldn't I? Right? Yeah. So I went ahead, I did my graduate degree in um human services. And for the very same reason, I decided to further my education and get my um doctoral degree in multidisciplinary human services. So I do have a PhD. It took me a long time, uh, long time to get it. But um, you know, it was just a goal that I set for myself through as I started my career, you know, as the opportunity was there, that I wanted to, you know, this is something that I wanted to achieve. Yeah, so that's how that came about. So my background is in human services, so that's pretty much social work. So my um work experience is kind of specific to families in crisis. I've done a lot of work with parents who are incarcerated, uh, children who are in the foster care system, done a lot of work with adults with mental illness and vulnerable adults, youth who are living with um developmental disabilities. And right now my work is in the policing space. And so think of it from anything that has to do with being a human in society, I've kind of touched in my work. So yeah.

Earning A PhD In Human Services

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Oh my goodness. I feel like so much alignment with my foundation in terms of the demographic that we serve. We just got funded too. We we probably should we talk about this offline, but in terms of the demographic that we serve and your daily work, you know, I need to con we our foundation needs to connect with those girls and the journalists.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, yes, yes, yes, for sure.

SPEAKER_03

You got your little fingers in there on them. You got your little fingers in there on them, girls. But we are definitely gonna need to talk after this.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. But for me is understanding that you do this, you know, on a night of five. Where do you I'm being hypocritical, okay? Where do you find time to do all this baking that you do? Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01

Uh you know, when something is important to you, you have to make it a priority for yourself. And I remember a lot, like your some times that I crappy say was probably my lower times in life where I was not baking. I was not decorating cakes. Like that was not a part of my life. And there's a reason why I can connect that to a time that was not as uh pleasant for me, right? So for me, baking and a cake design is an outlet that I found to achieve many things. Of course, this is a source of income for myself and my family, right? It's a business. It's also something probably even more important is this is a way that um, again, in the work that I do, it's kind of heavy, heavy type of work. It's work that's uh extremely mentally and emotionally draining at times. And when you have a job like that, it's important to have some kind of outlet. It doesn't matter what it is, woodworking, uh, gardening, cooking, whatever it is. It's some kind of habit. And this is just the the one that I've chosen for many reasons. And so this for me is so much more than a business, right? It's I do I it's it's a way that supports my survival in in many ways, right? So if it's that important, of course, I have to make time for it. Just like yourself, I'm a mom. So it's like super busy, right? But I'm fortunate to be able to have a space where I can go to my home, close the door, and like everything that's happening in here is cake. You know. Oftentimes I don't get a ton of sleep. You know, it's mostly the evenings at nighttime when the kids are sleeping. That's usually when I'm baking, like early in the mornings before the kids wake up and gotta figure out like our day and that kind of thing. So it's usually the time that I'm caking is usually late at night after the kids are in bed. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

You know, I love that you what where you said that if it's important to you, you'll find time to do it. Yes. And yes, this is that's the time we get to bake. Like we don't sleep. Like, we're up until like three, four. And me, I'm putting OCD neck of my cakes have to be like and even doesn't please me. I'm ripping it up like I'm like, I'm having my issues. I need to kind of figure out a way how to manage that because I'm like always putting that myself. That'd be about like, where did you do your additional, you know, baking? Where did you learn additional cake designs and that kind of stuff? Like, are you self-taught? Like, you know, help us lead into this.

SPEAKER_01

Yep, I am self-taught. It's kind of a combination of different things. Obviously, we have YouTube university. I've watched my fair share of YouTube videos, right? Um, but I've taken lots of classes from like other cake professionals too in the industry. You know, done, traveled to do different classes and things like that, different special projects that kind of either um piqued my interest or I thought would kind of elevate my skills somehow. And so, yeah, it's mostly just me either taking classes from, you know, other cake designers or, you know, teaching myself, learning, practicing, and kind of figuring things out on my own in my space. Um everything.

Heavy Work, Motherhood, And Cake As Outlet

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So working on 9 to 5, teaching yourself how to bake. I, my producer sent over a little quote where you say, sweet heavens by I have it right. It's sweet heavens by, right? Yes. Um, it's not just a bakery, it's a haven where each cake is a masterpiece crafted with both precision and passion. Like that was like reading something more to go.

SPEAKER_03

What motivated you girl to first write those words and then second to start this business? Like turn your passion into a business. Yes.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Oh my god, that sounds so fancy.

SPEAKER_03

You wrote that, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01

Um so again, like I said, I would do this for free, right? I would totally do this for free. That's how much I love what I do, right? And that's actually what I was doing for a while, right? I would like, you know, who's celebrating their birthday this month? Like, oh, can I cut the cake? I would go to my friend's birthdays with like a decorated cake and things like that, you know. And then I just had a light bulb moment eventually. I was like, you know what? Like, my I'm again pretty good at this thing. You know, I could I could definitely use this as a source of income. So, you know, I just had that moment where I was like, you know, ready to kind of make the move from hobby to business. And it was just kind of like a sudden realization that I had that this can be so much more. And so, you know, at that time I kind of made the decision to, you know, turn it into a business. And it, you know, it's been in transition since then, kind of still working on building it and kind of structuring it to be like a, you know, a successful business.

SPEAKER_02

So yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I know that I growing a business is hard. And growing several businesses at the same time is really even tougher. So I know. I know. So yeah. Kudos to people who find something that they love and they've decided to stick with it. I'm always curious though, like who inspires your cake design? Who actually inspires your that's a good question.

SPEAKER_01

I think I get inspiration from everywhere. Um, I draw inspiration from everything. It could be like fashion, you know, which is something that I definitely love. It could be fashion, it could be other designers' work, it could be a TV show, it could be um emotions, even. When it comes to creating cakes for special events and special occasions for my clients, oftentimes I have conversations with them about like, you know, what is this really all about? And so I get inspiration from conversations. So I don't know that it's necessarily one thing or one person necessarily. Um, I think it's just kind of like a combination of, you know, different things here and there.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Do you think you found your style?

SPEAKER_01

I think it's still in process. Yeah. It's still in process. I don't know. I mean, I've always been pretty self-aware. Um, but if I was gonna answer that question, and that's an actually really important question, I think I'm still finding myself.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Um, you know, you find yourself and then you learn something new about yourself, and then you, you know, like it's at least for me, I wouldn't say probably as a human being, it's something that we continue to do forever, really. But yeah, the answer is that I'm still finding myself.

SPEAKER_02

How about your how about your cake style?

Self-Taught Skills And Ongoing Learning

SPEAKER_01

Have you found that? Yes, that's a good question. You know, I will say I don't think that I have, honestly. I think like I I often think about my cake identity. Like I said, like I was I've always been self-aware. I think personally for myself as a human being, I connected with my identity earlier than many, right? Cake identity, I don't know. I don't think I have. I'm still kind of battling with like what's my specific style of cake. Um I think like I have a general sense. I tend to be more um adventurous, I love color, that kind of thing. But yeah, I would say that's actually a question that I often ask myself. It's like, like, what would be a cake where people see and they're like, oh, that's a mechan cake. Yeah. I'm still in the process.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, you and I both, like, you and I both. I don't know that I've I've found it. I can tell your cake still.

SPEAKER_01

When I see your cake, like I'm like, oh my gosh. Like, yeah, girl, yes, yes, yes. Yes, your stuff is like your cakes are like super, when you think about math, you know, math is super exact. Yeah. And so when I see your cakes, like that's what that reminds me of. Like it's super, it's it's like a formula. Like, that's how I that's super clean, super neat. Um, I don't know, maybe it's just because I I know you and I see your work often. Maybe that's why I can identify your work. But anyways.

SPEAKER_03

Thank you. I didn't know I didn't know I had a style. I was like, I'm still looking at that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Well, that's good. I'm glad. So, you know, like in our research, we we found out like you're in a lot of publications, you've been on TV, you've done a ton of stuff. What has been like the greatest experience of yours, you know? Talk about one of a milestone in this cake design journey that that you that's so memorable that you want to share with our listeners.

Hobby To Business: Sweet Heaven’s Why

SPEAKER_01

Oh my gosh. I have a lot of them. But I would say like one of the actually the first time I was on a news segment was last year when I wanted to uh organize like a cake. I'm like super interested in teaching, and I love like the opportunities I get to teach folks like cake and things, um, like bake with news and things like that. I love just teaching in general. And that's actually one thing I'm done with my doctorate degree is teach um masters and PhD level students, which is something I love. And I'm getting back to that. I haven't done that in a while, but I'm getting back to that, but not necessarily in the academic form of teaching, but more of like the creative form. So teaching cakes and um baking and cake design. And so last year, one of the goals that I had set for myself was to kind of organize some kind of a workshop. And I was fortunate enough to for Portia Kimball to accept my invite to be able to come and be like our headliner teacher. And so that was a pretty, I would say that's um a monumental time for me, because to me, again, as like as I said, you know, as you continue to learn of yourself and your journey, um, I was like, you know, like, you know, I know I'm pretty talented, so that's not a question in my head or anything. But as you're growing your business, to have someone you look up to, Portia, um, accept to travel to come to your workshop, like that was a special time for me, and I really appreciated her doing that. And so in the process of planning that event, I was interviewed, I can't remember the exact new news channel now, but there was a segment that was done on my business to talk about the event coming up and kind of like to build publicity around that and things. And so that was a pretty fun and exciting experience for me. So um, I would pick that one. But again, there's there's many. I think the biggest thing for me when it comes to like publications and being on the news and things like that, the main goal for me is telling our story. That's something that's so, so, so important. Not only as a business owner, but just as a human being, as a person in general. And so I've always really appreciated any um news outlet or publication that's kind of talked about me or Carrie talking about my business or highlighted my business because again, that fulfills that goal to continue to tell my story about who I am and what my business brings to the community. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02

What what would you say to the girl listener now who who hears from you the things that she aspires to be? What would you say to her now? Um speak to like the the girl behind the counter at Derek Green, Derek Green, or even the middle schooler, you know, who listens.

Inspiration Sources And Finding A Style

SPEAKER_01

Oh my gosh, you have to believe in yourself. That's first and foremost. And I know it's kind of scary sometimes, like uh, and I think it's probably the fear a lot of times that kind of stops us from doing a lot of things. Because, you know, God has given us a platform that we can be and do whatever we choose, right? And for some of us, the thoughts that we have can can be so big that it might be scary. It might bring fear to us. But it's really, really important to really know that if you can think about something, listen, you can be that. And, you know, as we kind of grow up to mature into ourselves, you know, there are times where we can do that better than other times. But I think if I can think of all the different things I've accomplished in my life to date, I know that it started from me thinking that I wanted those things. Even being a mom. I remember really early, I've always wanted to be a mom. You know, like it starts from believing that you can do something and then you can kind of step into it actually being your reality. So the one thing I would say to the girl child out there listening to this is you can do it. Whatever it is that you have in your mind to accomplish for yourself, you can do it. And I hope and pray that all the girls who have some belief of themselves are able to connect to some kind of support system that will help them and provide them with the boosts or the support that they need to be able to achieve whatever it is that they've had, they've been dreaming of. So, yeah, that would be my advice is is belief is absolutely important. Foundational is foundational.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for sharing that. So, you know, for for me, my my purpose and my passion is just completely girl-centered. Yes. Yes. Yes. It's all about the girl for me. Honestly. It's if the girl can feel valued and thrive and feel like they're thriving in community, it doesn't sit well with me. So that's the kind of work that my foundation does. I am going after girls who've been impacted by systems, like systems-impacted girls, foster care, juvenile detention, aging out of foster care. Everything, like wherever I can touch that girl, I will touch that girl. And I believe one of the greatest tools that a girl have or could have is the art of therapeutic baking. Just bake yourself, baking yourself through it. And that's the message of my foundation. Let me teach you the skill where you can bake yourself through this. It's not gonna be the only thing, but I'm giving you a thing that could potentially, you know, support you through anything. And I would like to know from you what are your views on this whole concept of therapeutic baking? And does um your cake artistry serve as that too for you?

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Before I answer that, I do want to um again say thanks to you, Autricia, and Cake Therapy Foundation, because the workshop that I mentioned earlier that I organized last year, you sponsored um two young girls to be able to attend. Um, I do want to thank you not only for talking about the purpose and the mission of your foundation, but for also actually doing the work. So I appreciate the support that you gave me last year. You're welcome. And for supporting those young girls. I'm gonna have you repeat the question just because it just left my head.

SPEAKER_02

I'm just curious to see what what are your thoughts of um therapeutic, baking as a therapeutic outlet. Yes.

SPEAKER_01

It truly is therapy. Um, I mentioned earlier that I can remember some of my lower times in life, and I wasn't baking or caking during that time, right? So it's kind of like something that I needed and I did not have at that moment. Um, it truly is therapy. I think a lot of times when I think about different populations of people who might be going through crisis, like I said, a lot of the families I work with are families who are experiencing some kind of crisis. Everything is like out of your control. There's not a single thing in your life that you're able to control. But I think through baking, and the the therapeutic component of baking is this is something that you're able to create with your hands. This is the one thing that you're able to control, right? And so that is healing for someone who's experiencing some type of trauma in their life, whatever it is, fill in the blank. There's so much different, right? But baking is that one thing that what you what you put in is exactly what you're gonna get out. Yeah. You control everything, and you have the ability to create something wonderful. And I think that is so important. And that's why I think it's an excellent tool for you to be able to achieve your mission of your foundation, is because how else can you give somebody hope? Yes, outside of showing them they still have so much power in a space where they may feel powerless.

Milestones, Media, And Teaching Workshops

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely, absolutely. Well said, Mecca, what have you learned about yourself throughout this entrepreneurial journey?

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02

What are some things that you've learned about yourself?

SPEAKER_01

I have learned that I need to believe in myself even more. I have learned that there's so much that I can do. There is so much I'm able to do. I can create so much. I have the power to influence other people's lives. As a human being, as a woman, I am so powerful. That is what I've learned. Because when I think of my work and I think of the feedback that I get from my clients, like, really, like, like, really, like you are directly controlling the emotions of other people. And to use that for good or bad, right? Yeah. But I think as bakers and cake designers, we are using that for good. So that's the one thing I've learned about myself is that I hold so much power within my hands. Yeah. Right? Like this is ten fingers, is what is doing all of that.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And that is so amazing to know that within ourselves we hold so much power. I think that's what I've really learned. And again, when I think about like kick design is when I think about like some of the craziest projects I've ever done, has always started with the how the heck am I gonna do this? Like, not sure why I said yes to this, but in those moments, I've always figured it out. Yes. So um I continue to learn that of myself is that I can I can do I can do anything. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02

I you hold so much power in your hands. That's exactly what you said. And you can do anything. I can do anything. Yes, yes. To the girl who is listening, like like you two can really do anything. Yes. And before we have, um, you know, um, Mecca, you and I have, we we live in the same state.

SPEAKER_03

We live in Minnesota.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. We're we're black girls, we're black women, we're mothers, we're wives. We are these PhDs and um we're entrepreneurs in our own right. What advice would you tell, not just a girl, but just anyone, anyone within our community? Because we know that women and boys of our complexion often get marginalized. It is the truth. What do you say to them about being able to have terminal degrees, lead a family, and being business owners and feeling, not feeling like you have to just only have a nine to five. How do you talk to them about balance?

Advice To Girls: Believe And Begin

SPEAKER_01

So I've heard different stories about like multi-passionate people. Like, is it a good thing or is it a bad thing? Like, can you be Jack of all trades or can you be Jill of all trades or not? And what I say about all the different components of who we are, progress is always the process, the goal. And progress is a process, right? So in whatever it is that you connect with, whatever that is, whether it's motherhood, whether it's your career, whether it's academic achievement, um, owning a business, whatever it is, progress is always the goal. And there is no exact formula that you have to follow, right? If all you want to do is have a nine to five, there's nothing wrong with that. That's totally okay. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you have a nine to five, you want to leave and be a full-time entrepreneur, amazing. That's wonderful. There's no rules. You are the one who determines what is right for you. And if you want to be, if you choose to use the time that you have and share amongst different things, different roles, different parts of you, why not? There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Again, like I mentioned earlier, when something is important to you, you will have, you will find time for it. And sometimes there are things I remember when my kids were younger. You know, my kids are older now, but I remember when they were younger. And, you know, being a mommy at that time probably took most of my time. I may not have had as much time to put towards kids, and that's one of the reasons why it took me so long to get my PhD, for example, is because I was having having babies and I had newborns and things like that. You know what I'm saying? So, you know, it is it is not always gonna be balanced every time, right? Because you kind of have to use your time and kind of pour it into different things. And sometimes one thing might take most of your time and other things will not take as much, right? But you kind of keep playing this balance. It's never gonna be perfect. You know, when you talk about work-life balance, do you ever have work-life balance uh completely, totally, all the time? It's it's not a thing, it's not even a thing. Yeah, you know, you do the best you can at that particular moment, right? With the understanding that something may not have get as much of your time at some other periods. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, you have to make time for what's important. If you're married, you gotta make time for your spouse. If you got kids, you gotta make time for your kids. If you have a business, you have to make time for your business. If you have a full-time career, you gotta make time for that. And whatever else you fit into uh your story. So, you know, it's a it's a continuous game. And again, there's no necessarily no winning strategy that can tell anyone. Uh, we're all here, we're all out here and we're all figuring it out. It's a continuous struggle. You know, the struggle is real.

SPEAKER_03

The struggle is real. It's always like that. Always. The struggle is real.

SPEAKER_02

We're really trying to figure it out, we're all really trying to figure it out. Absolutely. Yeah, exactly. So yeah. So what what's what's next for you? Like what's next for you? And when this is all said and done, what do you want your legacy to be?

Balance, Multipassion, And Seasons Of Life

SPEAKER_01

Oh my gosh, what is next? So again, I said I really wanted to connect more with teaching. Again, like I said, I would love to go back and teach, like, you know, at a university eventually, not right now. It's just, like I said, again, capacity-wise, that's not something I'm able to continue right at the moment. But right now, the teaching that I'm doing is focused on, you know, caking. I love, I love, I love when um I'm able to do a class. And you see, like, I do a lot of like uh family-related classes, like moms and the kids and things like that and youth. And they leave, they have the brightest smiles in the whole place. Like they created something like, wow, like I would never have maybe do this maybe if I was sitting at home alone, you know. So I really appreciate you hear people say, I really appreciate that you, you know, do these classes and things like that. So I would love to continue, continue teaching and probably do that even more than I'm doing now. Right now, I have a couple of partnerships where I'm able to use city spaces to be able to hold a class. So I'm fortunate to be able to have those where I don't necessarily need to worry about where to hold a class because I mean that's a whole other challenge. So I would say next is kind of um spending more time building out my teaching that way. I also um want to do a lot of connecting with organizations. And again, like you said, baking and caking is a tool that we can use to connect people. And I truly believe that that's one of the reasons why I love doing classes. It connects folks. You hear people learning different things about themselves, like, oh my God, I never thought I was a creative person, which I think every human being is. You may not be as connected to it as others, but but yeah, I would love to continue to do like more classes. Um, may I don't do anything virtually right now, perhaps doing some virtual uh type courses. But yeah, that's kind of where I see myself going. I would say my legacy. I want those who come in contact with me to know that they are capable. If The one thing that they leave after a conversation with me or after interacting with me is that they themselves are capable. That is what I want my legacy to be. That I encouraged someone, that I motivated someone to be a better version of themselves, whatever that is to them. That's what I hope my legacy is.

SPEAKER_02

And I believe that after our listeners have heard this conversation, will believe, you know, by the sound or from the sound of their voice that they too, you know, are capable and can do anything, you know. You can find um Dr. Neka Anuma. Um, she is the owner of Sweetheavens by Ne. She's on Instagram under the same um handle. And shout out your website.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, so my website is www.sweetheavenbynme.com.

SPEAKER_02

All right, guys. Um, I hope that you've enjoyed this slice of joy and healing with NECA today. I enjoyed having this conversation with NECA. I've looked forward to having it for a long time. And um I'm going to ask you to like, subscribe, and continue to follow the um Cake Therapy podcast and keep supporting the Cake Therapy Foundation for girls. Buy us a coffee. If you buy us a coffee, it goes directly to the girl. This is my passion, this is my purpose, the work is for the girls. So continue to support us. So thank you all for listening. This has been the Cake Therapy Podcast. Thank you. Thank you, NECA. Thank you, Atricia.

SPEAKER_01

That was wonderful.

SPEAKER_02

Today's mindful moment that the kitchen is a place of creation. Embrace each step, each stir as an act of self-expression.

SPEAKER_00

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.