We were lucky to catch up with Alexis Hampton recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alexis , appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Making cakes is equal parts science and creativity. So, while I can make a cake with my eyes closed (because I know science) creativity can wax and wane. I keep my creativity alive by waxing and waning with it. I don’t force myself to come up with new fresh ideas every time I step in the kitchen. Sometimes, tried and true flavors work just fine. I also make my orders heavily collaborative. I work one-on-one with customers to give them something personal. I ask them about their favorite foods or flavor combos and let my imagination fill in the gaps. Lastly, when I feel stuck, I use resources such as the Flavor Bible by Karen A. Page and Andrew Dornenburg. I find the main ingredient in the book and look through the list of ingredients pairing to make something I may not have thought of before.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I founded Sweet Cakes by Lex officially in August of 2023. Before that, I was baking for friends and family. I finally took the leap when I realized I wanted to use my grandmother’s cake recipes and how much they meant to me and those who tried them. Sweet Cakes is proudly southern and community focused. We use generational recipes that are nostalgic to give our customers a little comfort. The motto of Sweet Cakes is “made with a whole lotta love” because that’s the secret ingredient my grandmother passed down to me. Everything is made with the upmost care, joy, and love. We mostly specialize in custom cake orders but we have a few common flavors available such as chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet. We like to collaborate with our customers to give them the most personal experience for their special occasion.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three most important skills or qualities that had the greatest impact on me were listening skills, passion, and curiosity. Curiosity and listening go together because looking for answers and asking questions requires one to listen for the answer. Passion makes the job fun and keeps me moving forward but looking for resources and knowing that I have more to learn keep me in a position to receive information, techniques, and even opportunities.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I think that going all in on your strengths can be successful but also hindering. I believe that if I only did what I was already good at I wouldn’t have gotten better at the things that I struggled or still struggle with. When I first started selling I only sold cupcakes. I would turn down orders for full cakes because I didn’t have experience decorating. Now, while I still have areas of growth in cake decorating, I have developed skills and knowledge in that area because I invested in practicing and allowed myself to try. At first, I only sold them to people who I was close to and they were gracious enough to be my guinea pigs. Had I never tried, I’d still be limiting myself to cupcakes and I wouldn’t have found the joy in decorating.
Contact Info:
- Website: sweetcakesbylex.com
- Instagram: @sweetcakesbylex
- Facebook: @sweetcakesbylex
