We were lucky to catch up with Ashley Wong recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ashley, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
Taking risk was something I had to learn to do. I didn’t really learn how to do this until I became an entrepreneur. Going out for myself was a risk I went back and forth on a lot. After having my son, I quit my lead pastry job at a tech company. I didn’t know where I was going to work, but I knew I needed to be close to home to be with my kids. When I decided to go out for myself, my kids were 3 and 8 months old. I had every reason why I wouldn’t be successful at it. How could I start a business while having 2 little ones? Will I be able to juggle motherhood and being an entrepreneur? The list went on. With the encouragement of my husband who is also a chef and my family, I decided to go for it, but 1 thing in particular made that decision easier for me to make. My mom has been someone I could turn to a lot for encouragement. As a mother of 4, I especially value her opinion. I told her I wouldn’t be able to run a business and raise 2 kids and her response was “why not?” She told me there are many women who do it, and that I was surrounded by all the family support I’d need. She told me she believed in me and that I could do anything I set my mind to. Of course it wasn’t going to be easy, but not impossible.
When we think of taking risk, what’s the first thing we think of? Fear. Why don’t we quit that job we’re unhappy at? Why don’t we take that trip we want to take? Why don’t we talk to that person we’ve been secretly admiring? Why don’t we go after the things we want in life? I’ve learned that it’s better to go out and try to do the things that we want than to wonder and regret what could have been.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My name is Ashley Wong and I am the owner and pastry chef of Ashley Wong Sweets. We specialize in custom cakes as well as custom decorated cookies. We help people celebrate milestones from weddings, to baby showers, to birthdays, anniversaries and more. We also make fresh baked pastries that range from cinnamon rolls, to turnovers, to scones and much more. In our brand, we focus on nostalgic sweets and bringing joy through our baked goods. As a child, visiting my Nana, she would always have our favorite baked goods waiting for us. When we arrived at her house, her kitchen smelled of a bakery. She would have 7-up cake, turnovers, and cinnamon rolls in cake stands. I always looked forward to it and to this day she still does this and it brings me back to being a kid. Now, with my pastries, I want to give you the nostalgia that she gave to me. We also focus on making special milestones memorable with our custom orders. It means so much to us that our customers trust us in helping them celebrate all of their special moments. We’ve done weddings, and watched families grow into making their children’s smash cakes. We’ve been a part of graduations and even retirements. No matter what the occasion is, it is an honor to bring their cake and cookie dreams to life.
This is our 6th year in business and we are so excited in all of our growth. Last year we partnered with the city of Fremont to run a baking program. This is our first full year where we have classes planned each month. From cookie making, to cookie decorating, cake decorating and more, we are so excited to teach everyone all about baking. We offer kids classes, parent and me, and of course adult baking classes. I never could have imagined we’d be running a baking program, but we’re thrilled to teach the art of baking.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Through my journey, I have developed many different skills that have led me to where I am today. The first skill I have, that I have had since I was a kid, is determination. Anytime I’ve set my mind to something, I’ve always found a way to make it happen. I would come up with goals, made lists on how to obtain them which would bring me closer to them. My determination has been a key factor in where I am today. I have been determined to learn new cake techniques, been determined to constantly get out of my comfort zone, and been determined to grow my business in ways I never thought about.
My advice for anyone who is looking to develop or improve their determination is to start by coming up with your big goal. What is your dream goal? Once you have that, make a list of goals that will get you to your dream goal. When you do this, tell yourself this is not a race, it is a journey. You will be challenged, you will have moments of doubt, of fear, you will want to give up, but remember why you’re doing this. Remember that this journey is not an easy one, but a rewarding one. Every goal you meet should be celebrated no matter how big or how small because it is a step closer to your dream goal.
My second skill has been art. As a kid, I loved drawing and painting. Now as an adult, I draw and paint but on cookies and cakes. I enjoy that artsy and creative side to baking. Not only do I know the techniques in baking, but have a natural skill in painting and drawing. It has always come easy for me and has also been therapeutic. This past December we decorated 2K cookies and even though we had so many to do, I still found it very therapeutic. I get so much joy in doing so many different designs. Sometimes they’re easy, sometimes they’re challenging, but I always have fun making them.
When it comes to art, my advice to those looking to start or grow their business is to hone in on your skills. Learn new techniques, read books, watch videos and take classes. There’s always something new to learn when it comes to art and it never hurts to try new things out. Whatever you’re doing make sure it’s something you truly enjoy. Being an entrepreneur has it’s days of exhaustion and it helps when you’re doing something you truly love.
My last skill/quality that I have is the ability to take risk. It’s funny because I use to be scared to take risk. I take that back, I still get scared to take risk, but I don’t allow the fear to hold me back any longer. That is the main reason why we all don’t take risk. The fear. This has been a big impact in my journey. When I became an entrepreneur I don’t think I quite understood what that meant. Once I did, it made me realize how much I could do. It made me trust myself more which led me to taking more risk. My husband use to be a chef at Microsoft and he suggested trying to get corporate accounts. I had a presentation scheduled where I brought samples and told my story. To me, this was a risk. A risk in hearing no, but why was that so bad? Sometimes hearing no sounds like a good reason not to go for something, but in reality, it really isn’t that scary. So I took a risk and they gave me a yes. 6 years later, I’ve now done over 7 tech accounts from holiday parties to weekly pastries. I never would have known if I didn’t take that risk. In 2021 Food Network casting reached out to me to be on Halloween baking championship season 7. I went through a handful of interviews and even did a baking challenge from home where I presented a plated dessert and a cake. I was terrified at the idea of being on national television, but I told myself, if I get picked, what’s the worst that could happen? I knew this was an opportunity of a lifetime and that if I didn’t take it, I would regret it. So when they told me I was picked out of thousands of people, I was in shock! I couldn’t believe it! I went onto the show and gave it my all. Each episode I told myself I didn’t want to go home and that I’m going to do my best to the end. I won a sudden death challenge, a killer challenge and left being top 5 out of 12. I left trusting myself more than I ever had and believing I could do anything. I never would have known that if I hadn’t taken that chance. Since then, I have continued to take risk. I told myself when an opportunity comes my way and it scares me, I’m going to say yes to it. From there, I have done speaking events, my last being in front of 500 people. I’ve done my first festivals in the past year and learned so much. I’m currently running a baking program with classes planned out for the year. All of these opportunities wouldn’t be what they are today if I didn’t take a risk.
Here is my advice on taking risk, just do it. What are you waiting for? Go after the things you want in life and take a chance. In my opinion, it is better knowing I went after what I wanted than to sit and wonder in regret. I don’t want to regret what I could have done with my life and neither should you. We only get one shot at this, so why not do the things that make us happy? Why not just try and see what possibilities are waiting for us? If you’re scared, it’s the best time to do it. There’s no such thing as “the perfect time”. It’s just go out and make it happen. No matter what happens, you will learn, you will grow and you will achieve things you never thought you could. In order to achieve this you’ll need to step out of your comfort zone a lot. How do you do this? Start saying yes to the things that scare you and you’ll be surprised how far that will take you. I never would have thought I would have done speaking events and teaching classes because public speaking use to scare me so much! As an entrepreneur, you are the face of your business which means you will be doing many public speaking events. Embrace it, each one gets easier and easier and you get better and better at it. Don’t let fear hold you back from all your potential.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The number one obstacle or challenge I am currently facing is preparing to open up a store front. Let me explain, it’s not that preparing for it is a challenge, it’s actually taking the scary step of bringing it to life. Right now, I am getting ready to go on a journey in reaching my big goal, to open up my bakery. This has been the plan since I’ve started. I’m finally in front of that door and in all honesty, I’m a bit scared to walk through it. It’s funny, because I’ve mentioned multiple times about having the ability to take risk and this is the biggest risk I’m about to take. While I have gotten better and continue to step out of my comfort zone, this move seems to be the most challenging to take.
Let’s take a minute to talk about fear. Fear holds us back from the things we want to do. We find reasons to not move forward and excuses that we believe in. We play in our minds the worst case scenario and it scares us. I too have been guilty of this. I get ahead of myself and I think am I ready? Is that moment really here? Is now really a good time? As a mom, I sometimes get mom guilt and think to myself, can I still have the time I have with my kids? Will I be able to juggle this? These thoughts alone are enough to freak me out, but there is a way I have been able to push through and overcome it. Instead of thinking all the ways things can go wrong, I think to myself what if it all goes right? What if this ends up being the best thing that could have happened? What if i do so well I expand in the future? What if I become a popular bakery? What if it’s more than I could ever imagine?
The truth is, no one is every really “ready” for any type of growth in their life. Whether it’s having children, changing jobs, starting a business and going after something you want. This big change is a scary move, but that’s when we should do it. That’s when we should make that move, while we’re scared. Isn’t it better to go out and do the things that inspire us and make us happy than to settle and wonder? We only get one chance at this life and we should do the things that bring us joy. I choose to overcome this because even though I don’t feel ready, I know it’s time. Yes, it’s going to be a lot of work. Yes, it’s going to be scary, but it’s a journey. I’m going to learn so much as I go and I’m going to make mistakes, but I will learn from them. Instead of focusing on the fear, I’m choosing to think about the excitement. How exciting it will be to have my own space and have a team that I can count on. To have a place for everyone to come and continue to build this amazing business. If you told past me I’d be where I am today, I probably wouldn’t believe it, but I’d be so proud to know I pushed through all my fears. While I have my worries of juggling motherhood and entrepreneur life, I get to show my kids all the hard work it’s taken me to get to my dream goal. They’ve seen all of my accomplishments and no matter how hard or scary things get, you can succeed when you go after your dreams.
To anyone who is struggling right now with going after something you want to do, what’s holding you back? What would it look like to go after it? Now take a moment and flip the scary possibilities and think to yourself, what if it all works out. What if it’s the best move I make? I know it’s scary, but it’s not impossible. I believe in you, now you need to believe in yourself and make it happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ashleywongsweets.com
- Instagram: @ashleywongsweets
- Facebook: Ashley Wong Sweets, LLC
- Linkedin: Ashley Wong Sweets
