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Ep. 171 - How to Build a Thriving Mobile Bakery Business with Lizzie Johnson
66 Plays1 month ago
💖 Episode Summary:
In this episode of Get a "Heck Yes!" with Carissa Woo, I'm chatting with the amazing Lizzie Johnson, owner of Lizzie’s Bakery! Lizzie is a talented baker and creative entrepreneur specializing in custom cakes and desserts for any occasion. As a mom to two crazy and fun boys, Lizzie has mastered the art of combining business and motherhood while staying true to her passion.
Lizzie dives into her exciting journey of expanding her bakery business with mobile retail units — including a bakery horse trailer and bakery shed! She shares her best tips for creating themed treat drops, developing seasonal cake flavors, and engaging with her local community to build strong customer relationships.
Lizzie’s story is all about taking charge of your own path — and she’s here to show you how to do the same!
🔥 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✅ How Lizzie built a thriving bakery business with mobile retail units
✅ The power of themed treat drops and seasonal cake flavors
✅ Why community engagement is key to customer loyalty
✅ How to use a la carte options to close more sales
💡 Lizzie's "Woo Factor":
Lizzie’s motto is "Community over competition." Her goal is to be a light in the world by working hard and being kind — and it’s helped her business grow in incredible ways!
🎁 Special Offer:
Lizzie is offering 10% off on her monthly cake tasting boxes (yes, they ship too!). Promo code coming soon!
👉 Connect with Lizzie:
🌐 Website: www.lizziesbakery.com
📸 Instagram: @lizzies_bakery
📘 Facebook: @lizzies_bakery
Connect with Carissa https://instagram.com/carissawoo
🎧 Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review! Let’s get that HECK YES! 🙌
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Transcript
Introduction to Lizzie Johnson and Her Bakery
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome back to Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. Today I'm excited to welcome Lizzie Johnson, the owner of Lizzie's Bakery, where she creates stunning custom cakes and desserts for every occasion.
00:00:11
Speaker
a mom of two fun boys, Lizzie combines her love for baking and creativity to bring joy to every celebration. lizzie will share how she expanded her business from mobile retail units from a bakery horse trailer to a bakery shed and how themed treat drops and seasonal flavors help her connect with her community she'll also reveal her secret to getting a heck yes from her clients with the la carte options and if you want to start making passive income and stop trading time for money watch my nine minute video i'll show you how to make money while you sleep but let's dive into the conversation
00:00:50
Speaker
Welcome to Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu.
Podcast Goals: Supporting Wedding Creatives
00:00:53
Speaker
I'm your host Carissa and I've been a Los Angeles wedding photographer for over a decade. I've traveled the world, built my team, and seen it all.
00:01:00
Speaker
I now coach wedding photographers hit 10K a month and build a thriving business. In this podcast, we are going to deep dive into how top wedding creatives get that heck yes from their dream clients. We are not holding back on the struggles of the business and how to push through the noise. Some healthy hustle, mindset shifts, up-leveling your money story,
00:01:19
Speaker
Time hacks because I'm a mom of two, a little bit of woo-woo, and most importantly, self-love and confidence are just a few of the many things we will talk about. I want to give you a genuine thank you for following along my journey.
00:01:31
Speaker
i hope to inspire you every Woo Wednesday so that you say heck yes to listening to this podcast. See you guys soon.
00:01:41
Speaker
Hey everyone, welcome back to Get a Heck Yes with your girl, Carissa Wu. i have a very special guest today. Her name is Lizzie Johnson and she's the owner of Lizzie Bakery, specializing in custom cakes and desserts for any occasion.
00:01:57
Speaker
ah mom of two crazy boys, Lizzie combines her love for baking and creativity to bring joy to every
Lizzie's Upbringing and Family Background
00:02:04
Speaker
celebration. Welcome, Lizzie. Carissa. Thanks for having me.
00:02:08
Speaker
Oh, you're so welcome. I think we met through like rising tides like a decade ago and the same baby face, same cute, adorable smile, infectious energy. So I'm excited to get to know you a little bit more today.
00:02:22
Speaker
Same. We'll tell the audience a little bit about who you are. Yeah, so my name is Lizzie Johnson, owner of Lizzie's Bakery, um where I specialize in custom cakes, wedding cakes, desserts for any occasion.
00:02:35
Speaker
um i started learning cakes through, i would call YouTube University. um Self-taught and just obsessed with, you know, learning new challenges with the bakery and I do all this in my home.
00:02:51
Speaker
So I do everything in my home. um We have won best of Boston wedding cakes for three years out of the five. And i had a stint on a Food Network baking competition show. So this bakery journey has definitely um has its ups and downs, but it's definitely been a wild ride for sure.
00:03:10
Speaker
Yeah, I've kind of seen you on Instagram for the past decade. And it's been fun watching your journey. We have so much to talk about, but we're going to go back into baby Lizzie. Not like exactly when you're born, but like, what were you like as a kid and anything you want to share with the audience?
00:03:27
Speaker
Yeah. so I grew up in Las Vegas. I live in Boston right now. um And, i but I was born in Hawaii. So that's where like little baby Lizzie happened. I was born in Hawaii, but grew up in Las Vegas. I moved there when I was four years old.
00:03:42
Speaker
um So Vegas is like my childhood home. And my parents were, you know, they immigrated from Shanghai to Hawaii and then there was not really good job opportunities in Hawaii. So then they moved to Las Vegas and,
00:03:56
Speaker
Because that's when, you know, the casinos are all up and coming. And with them being immigrants, they the biggest job opportunities was being in the casinos, like the gambling industry. So my mom got a job as a blackjack dealer, first at the Luxor, and then ended up working at the Mandalay Bay. She just recently retired.
00:04:17
Speaker
um But that was like our lives was... you know, growing up in Vegas where my mom would work the graveyard shifts. And i until like I was in third grade, my grandparents watched me, but once they wanted to go back to China, you know, I was, it was me and my brother, he's two years older than me. So when I was in fourth grade and he was in sixth grade, we were basically home alone at nights because my, my mom was working the graveyard shift. And I always, when I was little, I'd be like, why can't you just work in the daytime while
College Life and Career Aspirations
00:04:45
Speaker
I'm at school? So you can be home at night with us. But
00:04:48
Speaker
The difference someone can make working graveyard shift in Las Vegas is totally like a big difference, you know, from $40,000 to like a big age or big income difference. you work at night and her days off are only Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the slowest days in casino, and you know, nightlife. wow So most of my childhood, I was...
00:05:11
Speaker
I was home alone at night, which sounds scary, and it was scary. Like, I'm still scared of the dark sometimes. and And it was just me and my brother trying to, like... you know, kind of raise ourselves with my mom trying the best that she can. And, and it was her sleeping there throughout the day. And the only time we had together was family dinners, which was at four o'clock, you know? ah And that's what I cherish the most is like going home and having these dinners because she loved to cook.
00:05:42
Speaker
But that was all the till high school, you know, where then I left um Vegas and then went to college in Utah. Wow. Yeah, my one of my best friends works at Commerce. So so yeah similar lifestyle. and We got our kids go to the same school. So it's Like I just can't imagine, like one time she went to bed at like four zero in the morning and we were like hiking and the next day. I'm like, how are you still alive? You know?
00:06:09
Speaker
And it's it's interesting because like when I look back, I'm like, can that can I even leave my my oldest son alone when if he was a fourth grader? Like it's mind boggling how it that's what she did.
00:06:21
Speaker
That's what we did to survive basically, you know, in there. And she was divorced when I was in third grade. So um she was just trying to do her best to give us, the things we needed and food on the table and a house to live in. And um looking back, I was like, I can't believe I basically like raised myself in a way like growing up because my mom was working so much and definitely grateful for her and her sacrifices, obviously. And now seeing her retired and being able to travel more and doing the things that she loves, like,
00:06:53
Speaker
Um, it took a lot of her work ethic with me. ah I love that. Okay. So you went from Vegas and then did you go straight to Boston? No. So yeah, I graduated high school and and graduated high school in 2010. And right like six days after graduation, I moved to Utah, Provo, Utah.
00:07:13
Speaker
um I went to BYU, very conservative Mormon school. So in sixth grade, I had converted to Mormonism. and It was just me, not my family. And i went to school in Utah.
00:07:29
Speaker
I took the summer semester and somehow I got in, i didn't, I had the worst like test scores was somehow I got into that school, um which I was so grateful for, you know, being with people that kind of had the same values.
00:07:41
Speaker
um It was a really great school for me. Wow. I mean, that's a conversation in itself. Yeah. We'll go to like ah maybe after college, like early jobs and any stories you want to share that kind shapes shaped you to who you are today.
00:08:01
Speaker
Yeah. So during college, I studied advertising. um My main goal in life, like during college, like senior year and after college, was like, I want to work in a big advertising agency. That's like, I want to be a big city girl, either work in New York, Chicago, San Francisco. Like that was my dreams. And i worked so hard. I feel like my junior and senior year to like,
00:08:24
Speaker
you know, score internships in New York city. And I scored an, I scored a really cool internship called the multicultural advertising internship program where they choose a hundred diverse students all across the U S and I got chosen my senior year and they kind of place you wherever agency kind of choose what kind of interns they needed. And that's when Boston chose me.
00:08:44
Speaker
Um, so I did a summer internship in Boston at
Finding Passion in Baking
00:08:47
Speaker
this firm called Hill holiday um, That was like my dream. I wanted to work and I and i i wanted to stay on the East Coast. i ended up taking a job back in Utah with the influencer advertising agency that specialized in YouTube influencers. wow And that was 2014. So influencer lifestyle was a still coming up.
00:09:12
Speaker
People were blogging always, but influencer marketing was ah new thing. So I love that. job aspect of like this is such a new space that no one really has heard of and I get to be a part of it and I was the middleman between ah YouTuber or an influencer and the brand so I would basically decide okay I would help the brand choose how many influencers or which influencers would be good for their product to promote and I would to see how much money these influencers would be making oh $80,000 to promote a video game on YouTube. And I'm like, what am I doing in my life?
00:09:46
Speaker
a But that was such a cool job to be in and such a different space that I didn't even learn in college, like influencer marketing. Um, and then I took a job back in Utah and then that's when i started dating my husband.
00:09:59
Speaker
Um, so we were, was, we were newlyweds, um, just a year later and i was only 22 at the time when I got married. wow So we're about to hit our 10 year anniversary this summer. yeah.
00:10:13
Speaker
yeah, we're excited. We're going go to Spain, but yeah, it's crazy how this past 10 years, you know, we just been together kind of hustling through life. And, um, but yeah, that was after college.
00:10:25
Speaker
Um, so many in-betweens happen, you know, yeah I have a lot of like similar parallel lives with you. I think I am seven years older, but I got married the same time as you the same year. and then, um, I always wanted work.
00:10:37
Speaker
I always wanted to work at the advertising agency after watched what women want, but I worked, um, and we I worked at an agency for a couple of years. So, yeah. And so that internship in Boston, where I thought the multicultural one that I was a part of, there was a lot of things we had to do with that program. But that internship, my supervisor, you know, sat me down in like this Boston restaurant. And like we had my kind of like my exit interview. And she was like, shh.
00:11:03
Speaker
I don't think you're the right fit for advertising. And I'm like, oh, okay. I'm like, now what do i do you know, in my mind?
00:11:14
Speaker
and I didn't get the, I didn't get a job offer like for Boston. So then that's when I took that Utah job um to go back to, you know, where I went to school and then started dating my husband. So i ended up working out. But in my mind at that moment, I was like, okay, what am I good at?
00:11:29
Speaker
You know, if I, am If I'm like, if I'm getting told that like, I'm not the right fit when this is all I've been working for, you know? Yeah. What did you learn from that job of like, I mean, yeah like you said, it was so new, like the influencers in the YouTube space was, you know, up and rising and like no one really knew it was, it was going to be like so cool.
00:11:47
Speaker
so crazy but what did you learn from that i learned a ton of just negotiating you know basically like i was if i was in a since i was an account manager i would have to negotiate prices for the brand or for the youtuber so we're like but we're representing both in a way you know to make sure they get a good deal and then brand gets a good deal so that was new to me um and just different like I learned a lot with influencer marketing now for my business because back then when I would work there, we wouldn't look at follower count or anything. And that's when I thought like, oh, followers matter so much. Like you need to have this many followers.
00:12:25
Speaker
But honestly, when I was at that job, it was mostly like... how many views are you getting on your YouTube channel? Average, you know, weekly, is it consistent? are you getting like 5,000 views every time you post or is it like up and down?
00:12:38
Speaker
And that's what we'd be looking at. So when I'm trying to work with influencers now with my business, I can be like, okay, you're inconsistent with your views. You know, you have tons of followers, you know, like um i can now use it for my benefit of like for my business.
00:12:52
Speaker
Yeah, that's so cool. You're lucky that you got landed that job. Okay, let's talk about like, your transition into like Lizzie Cakes, kind of like how it all how it all began.
00:13:03
Speaker
Yeah. So how Lizzie's Bakery started? So kind of going back to that very conservative school that I went to. So there was no alcohol, and no drinking, no, no type of crazy partying, no fraternities or sororities.
00:13:16
Speaker
and So when you go to Utah, people are like kind of obsessed with sugar, you know, sodas. There's like always lots of soda places, yeah desserts, is desserts everywhere. And so in college, you know, in college,
00:13:31
Speaker
I was in college in 2010 through 2014 and Pinterest was starting to get popular. It was like 2011 when I moved out of the dorms and into a kitchen with my friends.
00:13:42
Speaker
And i would just start, um, copying things on Pinterest, like recipes that I find, we were trying to make like these cute little animal cupcakes, you know, so I always started, I always love baking in college, whether it's like cookies or cupcakes or like different little dessert bars.
00:13:59
Speaker
And it wasn't until after I graduated um was when I started getting into cakes. And so I worked at this influencer advertising agency and I ended up quitting and going to another company. um That was like a B2B type of company that I was doing social media for. And my job I was basically the face of... I was i was the social media coordinator for the executives where like I was the person behind their LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram accounts.
00:14:29
Speaker
And it was the worst job in the whole wide world because i would be basically them on social media. Yeah. I would post for them, but they would never... even give me a chance to like talk with them. Like I never met with them because they were obviously so busy with their executive jobs, you know, but at least give me like five minutes or like say hi, you know, they were just so intimidating that even me as like someone who like is super passive and like kind of shy, like with new people.
00:14:57
Speaker
Oh no, I'm actually an extrovert, but I was so like nervous because they were just like these big grown men that were like, you know, running this company. And I was basically them on social media.
00:15:09
Speaker
But I had no idea who they were.
Challenges and Growth in LA
00:15:11
Speaker
and so i hated that job. It was so boring. um So then I would go home and just start looking on YouTube and Pinterest and just try to find some type of creative outlet. Yeah. Because this job was so boring.
00:15:27
Speaker
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00:15:40
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00:16:46
Speaker
And finally I found like a cake recipe that I was like, this looks really cool and interesting. Like I want to maybe make this cake for my niece, you know? And I like studied that recipe for like a couple of weeks until I actually got the courage to like buy the stuff on Amazon, um go to the grocery store and buy the different um ingredients. I've never, I've never made a homemade cake before.
00:17:08
Speaker
um and so then i started I baked the cake for my niece. she she's She was five at the time. She actually didn't like it because it was some almond marzipan cake flavor. I don't know. It was like a sound of something that a five-year-old wouldn't really like. um and so then fast forward to two weeks later...
00:17:33
Speaker
As I'm starting to get into cakes for fun, that that really boring job laid me off um wow two weeks later. And I'm like, oh, crap. I've never been laid off. I've always worked since I was 16. I'm only 23.
00:17:47
Speaker
um Like my husband's still an undergrad. What do I do? Now, it was a very confusing time. cause i and And I remember crying, thinking it was the end of the world. But looking back, it's like, wow, that was actually a big blessing in disguise. whole new door opened because I got laid off. whoa And my husband, with having only one month of school left, I was like, do I get a job? Do go back into advertising?
00:18:14
Speaker
um But then we just both decided, how about you just chill? You've been working for like since you were 16. I had two jobs in college. um just chill, maybe like be a nanny for my cousin who needs a nanny. And then i was like, okay, me I was like, maybe I'll just try selling my cakes.
00:18:30
Speaker
You know? Yeah. And then that's kind of when Lizzie's Bakery was born. i sold my first cake for only like $20. And and it was so fun. It was so fun trying new recipes, doing different designs for friends. It was also graduation time. So I was making like graduation cakes for people. Wow.
00:18:49
Speaker
Besides that um your niece didn't like the cake. did Yeah. people like but No, she just turned like 13. And i was like, Oh my gosh, look at this picture of you when you were five. Like I made your cake. Oh yeah. I think I remembered it. was like, yeah, you didn't like it. oh my God.
00:19:05
Speaker
That's so funny. Yeah. My niece is 12. So we have a lot of similarities. Um, what was it like, like the early years of like, yeah, you like doing all your friends stuff. And then how did you turn it into like a big business? I know it's like evolving, but yeah like nutshell stuff.
00:19:21
Speaker
Well, i feel like Lizzie's Bakery, I always say it was a slow growth, you know, like I, this was in 2016 when I got laid off and I started Lizzie's Bakery and I, I only create an Instagram account.
00:19:33
Speaker
That's when I remember, i remember sitting in my like tiny apartment of my husband. I'm like, what should I name? Like my bakery. Cause actually a lot of bakers were getting on Instagram and starting Instagram accounts for their baked goods. yeah And a lot of them were like cakes, buy something or something cakes, you know? And I was like, I'm just going to do Lizzie's bakery because like, what if I don't want to do cakes?
00:19:54
Speaker
Yeah. Do something else. I kept it very scary. Yeah. Yeah. And then Lizzie's Bakery, in my mind, I'm like, okay, it's all consuming. Like, it's my whole life. This bakery is like, could mean anything, you know?
00:20:06
Speaker
um and so that's when i chose to name it Lizzie's Bakery. And then... Yeah, I just kept selling the cakes. And then we moved to LA.
00:20:17
Speaker
Well, we moved to San Diego where my in-laws live. And we were kind of homeless for like couple months. Not homeless. We were like bumming in their San Diego beach house.
Innovative Business Strategies
00:20:26
Speaker
But they like we they housed us for two months while we were trying to figure out a job.
00:20:32
Speaker
for my husband, he, and he knew he wanted to go back to Southern California. He grew up in, he grew up in Pasadena area. Um, and then he ended up finding a job in Culver city. And so then that's when we decided to move to LA permanently, you know, for his job. yeah And then we ended up moving to Playa Vista. It's like a perfect location. It was so fun. And in Playa Vista is where all the ad agencies are it's literally like, hu but like oh yeah what do they call it? Like,
00:21:02
Speaker
It's not Silicon Valley, but like the LA of Silicon Valley. Yeah, totally. um And we were right next to these ad agencies that I would dream to work And was like, do I apply? And i actually did. I interviewed and I applied and I got one job and I got a job offer, but it was, they were saying like $32,000 starting.
00:21:22
Speaker
It's 40 hours, but you can also make more overtime. Plus overtime. And I'm like, this is like a lot of work from now um So then that's when i decided like, I'm just going to freelance.
00:21:34
Speaker
I'm try to work like, um you know, freelancing or startups and then just bake on the side. And so in LA, felt like I was busy at the time, but I really wasn't. I was taking only like, I only had like four to six orders a month.
00:21:48
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. but it felt like a lot. And I i think getting into ah rising tide society, you know, being in the LA wedding industry, that kind of helped me with the styled photo shoots my game out there. And I was really loving that group. That was a good time in our lives.
00:22:05
Speaker
Yeah. It was so fun. And people would just be so creative, creating different photo shoots that people could join in on. And it was such a good network. And I, I don't regret any of my time in LA. I loved it. And I think that's where it helped me like, just keep on growing. You know, I like the momentum to keep on um building my business.
00:22:26
Speaker
you know I got so connected with your story that I forgot to paste us, but let's talk about hot topic. What is your hot topic, Lizzie? And why is it so near and dear to your heart? um So my hot topic is, you know, mobile retail units. We just started getting into that.
00:22:42
Speaker
So in Boston, my my bakery is all my home. And... it's kind of hard because there's no home front really that no one can come to just buy a cake when they want to, they have to order a custom from me.
00:22:57
Speaker
And so we're at this point in our lives where if we see something online that we want to buy, we can actually afford it. um So recently we just purchased a mobile, I call it the pink bakery shed.
00:23:09
Speaker
um The pink bakery shed basically is like a shed, you know, and you can place it any parking lot or anywhere and plug it in and, know, Um, you'll have electricity and it's space. It's really nice. And so we have a bakery display case where we sell cake slices out of it.
00:23:24
Speaker
right now it's sitting in our driveway. We're still trying to figure out a new place for it, but. How did this opportunity like land in your lab? Yeah. So this opportunity happened because last year i did a pop-up, uh, in the city for Valentine's and they wanted all these like retail units. This guy created all these retail units that could be in the city.
00:23:41
Speaker
And so I joined in I rented, I rented it and then on Instagram, he posted in the summer, hey, I'm selling this unit. And that was a unit that I was in. and I was like, ooh, how much is it? And then we were like, okay, let's do it.
00:23:53
Speaker
um And then we were able to put it in one of Boston's newest like plazas during the fall to kind of test it out. And it went really well. And so Really, we can pop it up, but it has to be more than a month to make it worth it because them to move it costs a lot of money. totally um And so with that pink bakery shed, we're like, okay, this this is kind of a lot to use. You can't really bring it to like a farmer's market, you know.
00:24:18
Speaker
um And then another opportunity came up on Instagram where another bakery was selling their horse trailer. that they had already renovated the one that you saw on Instagram. wow So they already renovated it. It's basically ready to sell your baked goods, your, your package baked goods. You can't bake from it, but you can just sell from it.
00:24:35
Speaker
um And so, and that one you can take with you cause it's on wheels. So if you want to do a farmer's market here on one weekend or um like a 4th of July event, the next weekend, like we can bring it anywhere we want to. Yeah. And the thought of doing these retail units is, that is because we've,
00:24:51
Speaker
We've looked at having storefronts. We looked at the rental costs and the overhead. like It's just way too much. and And they don't make it easy for small businesses to rent a storefront.
00:25:02
Speaker
Yeah, with a kitchen and everything. And yeah you can see why there's so many empty leases because none of us can afford it you know unless we take a really big loan. and and And right now in our lives with our kids being so young, we were paying lots of daycare costs.
00:25:17
Speaker
And so we're we're towards the end of it, but having daycare costs plus an overhead on you know, the rent and kitchen and employees, like that was just way too much. And so these retail units, it still makes Lizzie's Bakery exclusive, but still accessible to people when it's out.
00:25:36
Speaker
Wow. so this is huge. I mean, when you, when you got the, um, the mobile, What do you say call it again? Yeah, so the pink bakery shed. Yeah, the pink bakery shed. Like when you got that, like what was the feeling like? Was it just like a totally new world for you?
00:25:55
Speaker
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00:26:57
Speaker
After shoot, I can't thank you enough for giving me back my time to focus on this podcast. Oh yeah, back to the podcast. Yeah. And it was new to us. It was new to people who would walk by it. Like, it's just a, it's just such an interesting concept because it's so new. There's not a lot of retail units that are mobile that people can just like go into, you know, yeah and in another way we can make income from this.
00:27:24
Speaker
bakery shed is renting it to other bakers you know just so we just rented it to a baker for valentine's where it was last year but now it the pink shed in the same spot and they pay us now to rent it you know and then they pay for the move so it works out in a way to make some passive income yeah um yeah so it's just interesting we can do a lot with it Oh, that's so cool. So what is the concept now like behind it? Like where is it located like on a weekly basis? And then I'm um'm sure you use it when people like like book events. But what's like the somewhat like ah business model of it?
00:28:02
Speaker
Yeah. So the Pink Bakery Shed will either be, we want to keep it closer to home, like in our town. um There's no bakeries in our town. um So we want our next, right now it's in our driveway because we just went to someone, but Yeah, we wanna put it close to our town and basically we'd just have, we'd sell cake slices, cake pops, you know um make your own cake tasting boxes,
00:28:25
Speaker
And then that's like on one side of it with the bakery display case on the other side, there's just empty shelves. And in that Boston pop up that we did, we actually had other bakers and other businesses pop up with us.
00:28:36
Speaker
So that gives them a chance to um get business and bring business to a place that, you know, they wouldn't think of having. and it's just a big collaborative effort, right? I'm promoting your business and you get to be in this pop up and,
00:28:50
Speaker
Kind of like we all share it in a way. And it takes the burden off on us to not have to fill it up with so many things to make, you know? Yeah. And then the horse trailer, that will be for like those one-off events, farmer's markets.
00:29:04
Speaker
We want to start getting to corporate like parties. If someone wants to rent it on a random Tuesday in the summer so like have their employees enjoy like a cookie or a cake jar or treat like we want to pop up in your parking lot. Like that's the goal for the horse trailer.
PR Strategies and Networking
00:29:19
Speaker
wow Your business has evolved so much. that is I know. and i know LA, I was so new it. I was still learning lots and it was just so fun. and But that's like kind of in my mindset. It's just like jumping head first.
00:29:33
Speaker
into opportunities, not really saying no, but always being staying curious to different opportunities because you just never know where it'll lead you. And hopefully this will be the start of many retail units.
00:29:45
Speaker
You know, that'd be really cool. um And we do end up, we do want to have a storefront or some type of big commercial kitchen because our home is literally, blowing up with catch freezers and ovens. And so yeah, but you save the cost for rent. But um tell the audience about like your PR, all the PR, like being on TV and how you landed all that just anything you want to share.
00:30:10
Speaker
Yeah, um Food Network. I was on an episode called Girl Scout Cookie Championship. Oh, yeah. So it was a one off episode. a producer reached out to me to talk about to see if I was interested. And I've been I've been doing tons of Food Network interviews, like because I really want to do holiday baking championship. And and interviewed for all those.
00:30:32
Speaker
And when she reached out, I was like, no, no, no. Like, I just, I just had a baby. i can't, like, I just can't sign that it's on my cards right now. And then she's like, no, it's not answer.
00:30:42
Speaker
let me get a call. I'm like, okay, okay. And then, you know, she like pressured and forced me, but it ended up working out, you know, very family friendly, you know, it's only two days of filming in Jersey city from from Boston. It's so close. Like it's, it's, you'll love it. And, and I went through the interview and they don't tell you until like a week before you're supposed to leave, you know, that you got it hu And they want to make sure like your, your story is entertaining enough for So yeah,
00:31:11
Speaker
That was a really cool opportunity because I never thought a million years that I would be on Food Network. That's crazy. Is it on YouTube? Can I? can i Yeah, yeah if just Google Girl Scout Cookie Championship on or on YouTube. You can find it. I'm on episode three. How did you do?
00:31:27
Speaker
Um, I don't want to tell you. all right i didn't win, but I got close. Okay. Yeah. Wow. And it was so fun making friends there. And everyone's like competing against each other. But we're all like just friends and in the same, you know, situation, which is cool to be around.
00:31:46
Speaker
um you have like You have like the cute look. So i' like i feel like we have to have you. We can't take no for an answer. And I didn't have any baking background. Like when we're talking about my childhood, like um I never really had desserts. And, you know, Asian families, they don't like the big sweet desserts. And that's how my mom was. So we never really baked. We used my two ovens in my home as like storage.
00:32:08
Speaker
You know, there was that was never used for baking. And so it wasn't until college where I got into this town where everyone just addicted to sugar. that's so not And that's when i started baking.
00:32:19
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I went to Zion with my husband before kids and yeah, it's a bar, but then they had to be like sneaky about the alcohol, you know, like, and it was like, three percent beer yeah yeah liquor we're like crazy like this is actually real yeah so growing in college you know instead the big parties that people would be drinking at i would just throw dessert parties you know and i would just invite everyone everyone bring your own dessert and like this is how we party that's so interesting yeah i mean when i was pregnant like i did get addicted to sugar until i couldn't because i'm like yeah yeah
00:32:54
Speaker
like yeah yeah Oh, so, okay. So a lot of people now listening are wedding professionals and they're just starting out.
00:33:05
Speaker
I've heard like a lot of new people that are enjoying my podcast. What advice would you get, um give them to just kind of get their name out like you did on Instagram and like get PR engagements and create this brand that people know and love?
00:33:21
Speaker
Yeah, so I think one thing, especially but of a baker's listening to or caterer or whoever, um in my, what I've learned is, you know, obviously joining Rising Tide,
00:33:32
Speaker
you know, getting to know that network of people that are in the your same shoes is obviously great to join. um But what I did in 2022, started making these cake tasting boxes and I was like, what can I do to like get my name out there more? And so I just Googled like best Boston wedding planners or something.
00:33:54
Speaker
And I found all these random planners, like either through the knot or like those wedding websites. And I just started Googling them and I i just emailed them. I cold emailed and i said, Hey, have a bakery. I'm a home baker.
00:34:05
Speaker
i love to send you a cake tasting box for free. no strings No strings attached. And 15 people, 15 wedding planners reached out. okay yeah like I love to take one. and And I gained, i think I gained like probably value wise, like probably $20,000 worth of wedding cakes.
00:34:23
Speaker
because of this one PR box, basically, I gave them. No way. Because I kept... That's a big problem of you, too. Yeah, I didn't ask anything. I was just like, just try my cakes, you know? If you like it, great. If you don't, whatever. Like, if you like it, but you already have, like, a baker you already work with, I don't really care.
00:34:43
Speaker
use a box, you know? um and so many people You know, we're like, oh, I need to find a baker for this wedding I'm doing. Or it just basically made me stay top of mind with all these planners. And a lot of these planners weren't even big on Instagram.
00:35:00
Speaker
You know, the these three planners i reached out had... you know, barely a following on Instagram, but they were with the most luxury clients that you would never think of because they're so private, you know? Yeah.
00:35:13
Speaker
And that's sort like, but had no idea they worked with these clients. I just knew like, oh, she was on the knot. Like maybe I'll just reach out, you know? Yeah.
Future Plans and Social Media Approach
00:35:20
Speaker
um So doing something like that make like put yourself out there, sacrifice.
00:35:26
Speaker
Like, well, I don't, sacrifice is not the word. It's like, Your marketing budget. Use your marketing budget because everything's like you can write off with taxes. Use your marketing budget to give away free things to get your name out there. You know, whether you're a calligrapher and you do invitations, like send samples to people. People won't know who you are until you put yourself out there.
00:35:48
Speaker
That's a huge takeaway. Yeah. And show them what you do Photographers, right. Ask the planner, like, Hey, can I shoot your family? you know, and people always want like free photos. yeah mom Like they want to have to, they want to experience you before they even like hire you. Right. At least give them the example of you before, um you know, just to get your name out there.
00:36:12
Speaker
What did your mom think about all all of this? My mom's so funny. I just came back from Vegas, visiting her a couple days ago. She's still asking, hey, how how much are you making?
00:36:23
Speaker
Are you financially like good. You know, and my husband just quit his corporate job in September to help me full time. Wow. We're both full time Lizzie's Bakery. We both do this, you know, we're both just going with it, trying to figure out how to make this big enough where, you know, it could support both of us and our kids. Yeah. So the kids are involved a lot, right? They're just rolling with wherever you go.
00:36:48
Speaker
Yeah. You know where they, they come to the cake deliveries with me. My oldest is who's six is just trying to say like, no mom it's so far like wait six years of your life you've been driving with me to cake deliveries like why now why are you saying you want to stay home My four-year-old is addicted to sugar like me, and so he's my taste tester. And, you know, sometimes I feel guilty that he loves sugar so much. We have to give him a baby root canal.
00:37:17
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But he's he's my mini-me. He loves sweets, and he always tries to help out. But, you know, sometimes with four-year-old little hands, like, you don't want to be touching. Yeah, yeah, yeah. but we like to We like to bake together and hopefully when they're older, they can help like bag cookies or something. Yeah. Oh, that's so cute. Family business.
00:37:36
Speaker
What are your, um I mean, so much is going on in your life and your business, but like, what is your like three month plan or your one year plan? Anything you want to share?
00:37:48
Speaker
Wedding pros. I have a new and exciting opportunity for you to make passive income with digital products and courses and affiliate marketing. The space is booming right now and you have to take a look.
00:38:00
Speaker
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00:38:11
Speaker
Get your weekends back and comment at me at Carissa Wu, the word info, and I'll send you a free sneak peek guide on how to make passive income. And if you're ready to start making money from home while being there for the moments that matter, I can't wait to connect.
00:38:29
Speaker
I would say this year I'm really focusing on digital content, oh online content where, you know, i can, we have a couple of products that we, I feel like we mastered that we can say, like we can create an online course or a PDF where people can purchase other homemakers purchase um to learn how to make these, because these products that we've created that other people have created too, like cake jars and cakesicles, like people know how to make them, but you know we can we actually have the data and prove to show like hey we did it this way and we sold it this way and you know if you do it like this you could also make an income you know and not just always hustling yeah so that's our goal for this year and yeah all online content i do want to get i do want to start a podcast i don't know
00:39:17
Speaker
when hu have my idea. um but yeah, just mostly the digital content, custom orders. If you have any questions, just DM me. and no For sure.
00:39:29
Speaker
oh I love that. This has been an amazing conversation. I'm going to go into rapid fire questions. um How do you and your hubby like stay connected? I don know you you guys are going to work together, yeah.
00:39:41
Speaker
yeah Yeah, we're we're trying to do like more date nights. um We have a big access to lots of babysitters here, even though we have no family help. We have lots of babysitters we can reach out to But just trying to do a date night. And we honestly really connect a lot when we do like our family planning. we try to do it every Sunday and just like go over go over the week and plan and kind of figure out because this is a new role for Yeah.
00:40:07
Speaker
He's mostly the caretaker too right now with the kids if I have a busy week. um But yeah, just like little date nights here and there and utilizing babysitters to like go out. And I've been lately getting invited to a lot of like random Boston events. So he's always my plus one. always one You guys are so cute. I never like met you guys together, but I can just feel the energy and the love. It's so beautiful.
00:40:32
Speaker
Any social media hacks or Instagram hats that you have for the audience? um Social media hacks. My big one is Instagram stories. You know, if you don't have time to post on your main feed, at least show up on your stories. Everything.
00:40:47
Speaker
Because it just shows to people in your audience like, hey, I'm alive. Don't forget about me and and show And I know some people like to separate personal and business. But I think the way I've grown my business so much is that i can relate to other you know women or mothers. or you know When I'm showing my kids, I don't show them too much. i have a good balance.
00:41:06
Speaker
But um show yourself. People want to know who you are. And that will go a long way with, you know, making your brand feel personal and people trusting you.
00:41:19
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. I think it's less intimidating too to just do whatever, show yourself, make it a point to go on stories like three times a day and make it like a little habit.
00:41:31
Speaker
It doesn't have to take over your life. Yeah, exactly. And um last rapid fire questions, your best heck yes sales technique, if you have any. Best heck yes. Sales technique.
00:41:44
Speaker
I know you're like work speaks for yourself, but I'm sure there's competition. oh Yeah. and You know, like what I always said, like always stay top of mind, you know, and that's, that's not even just keep selling, selling, selling on Instagram or social media or, or anywhere.
00:42:00
Speaker
you know, show up to networking events, show up to anything that you can start new groups. You know, we, I started a local baker group, yeah not to promote my own business, but also to help other bakers.
00:42:12
Speaker
But, you know, you want to just be in places where people can think about you like, I remember that photographer I met or like, I remember that baker, that person who made jewelry or something like that. I don't know. yeah And then to show up, if you show up consistently, like your audience and your business will show up for itself, I think.
00:42:30
Speaker
Yeah. I'm glad I asked that question. That's really good. but you kind We kind of forget that, but it's so important. And then I love this conversation, Lizzie, where can everyone find you and work with you? Yeah. So you can find me and my website is lizziesbakery.com. L-I-Z-Z-I-E-S.
00:42:46
Speaker
And my Instagram is Lizzie's underscore bakery. I'm mostly on Instagram. So follow me. I always try to respond to all my messages. If anyone has any baking questions or like just tips on how to get your name out there, I really try to help anyone. So yeah, reach out.
00:43:03
Speaker
Yay, thank you.
00:43:09
Speaker
Thanks for joining me this week on Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. Make sure to follow, subscribe, leave a review, or tell a friend about the show. Take a screenshot and post to IG. Tag me. Also, don't forget to download my free guide on how to become a lead generating machine.
00:43:25
Speaker
See you next time, wedding pros.