We were lucky to catch up with Alex Sommer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alex, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I get my resilience from my mother, there are many things she has taught me but she has taught me to keep going in times of difficulty. When I was younger I broke my leg in Kindergarten, and had to miss out on being a kid because I was bed ridden. You learn how to be creative when have a lot of time to yourself. In Middle School I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, my illness was so bad I couldn’t do much physically because I couldn’t keep food down. It was in that time that I leaned on my family, and my love of baking. I watched the food network literally everyday ( when I should’ve been doing my schoolwork). Life knocks you down but you can’t sit in the hard times, you have to keep pushing through because people are watching, people are rooting for you. If my mother wasn’t resilient I would’ve learned that it is okay to sit in your problems rather then solve them or let others help you. One of my favorite movie quotes comes from Castaway “Tomorrow the sun will rise and who knows what the tide may bring.”
If we don’t get back up then you’ll never know what is waiting for you around the corner, it could be good or bad but you have to overcome the obstacles to get to the good. I think I handled my obstacles with a lot of grace, it wasn’t easy but I am so grateful for where I am today because of the curve balls.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I never know what to say when I speak of myself, it’s like my mind goes blank and I forget how great I am. Hi, My Name is Alex, I own Loli B Bakery. Loli B is an online bakery, you can find it through its website or on Etsy. I went to culinary school (it feels like forever ago) and learned to master what I learned from my Mother and Grandmother. Baking and Cooking brings me joy, when I am upset or happy or stressed out I am making something. My bakery is family/ locally owned, I put my heart and soul into it and dream big every day. My family is involved in my bakery… whether they like it or not! We create homemade cookies, the ones where you would pull a chair to the counter because you couldn’t see what your mom was doing. If you were lucky you could lick the spoon when you were done ( We don’t do that now- Food Safety DUH) We always wanted to create a cookie where you would bite into it and feel a hug from a special someone. It is our goal to make it to the Today’s show one day— so if you are reading this and know someone send them our way!! (Totally Serious) Right now we are working on the royally iced cookies and hope to perfect them for more diversity. We still love giving back to our community so you are luck you will find our cookies at local church events, mainly St. Andrew’s. Everyday we are trying to find new ways to evolve and stay relevant, and are always open to what our customers want to munch on!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back I was overly confident, which isn’t the worst quality to have. What people don’t tell you when you are starting up is how much work goes into getting everything off the ground. We started back in 2018 and are just starting to gain momentum. The qualities that I think are impactful and have helped me grow are:
Resilience- you are going to get knocked down many times, there is no straight shot to success its messy but if you love what you’re doing you’ll get back up every time you hit a roadblock.
Confidence- this one can go either way like I said I was overly confident (maybe Naive) but you want to have confidence in yourself, business/ product or whatever you’re doing. If you don’t believe in it why would anyone else.
Self Aware- You need to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses, you’re not the only bakery in the world. Not everyone will like what you are offering and that is okay. Don’t let the negative hold you back, work off of what you are good at and go from there.
Honestly knowing yourself inside and out will help with the journey, especially if you are the only one in the business, you need to cheer yourself on and surround yourself with people who believe in you and your dreams.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
The most impactful thing my mother did for me was support me. My mom believes in me and my dreams, she is always finding ways to elevate the business so I can achieve my dreams. I was taught if you want others to succeed you should do anything you can to support. Even if that’s just words of encouragement. My mother believes in my bakery as much as I do, no amount of money or material things will ever replace a mother’s support.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lolibbakery.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lolib_bakery/?hl=en
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoliBBakery?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1750278943&from_page=listing
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