We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ebony Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ebony, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My mother and father. My mom and dad g=have always been active, hard working parents. They instilled in me how to maneuver in this world. They taught me what perseverance and hard work is. There was a time when my mom and dad both had 2 jobs each and still found the time to attend PTO meetings, sporting events and dance practices. It wasn’t smooth all the time but they showed me how to push through like a young lady and keep going. For that I will always be grateful.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Ebony Jones and I am the owner of Edible Art by Ebony. I am a cake artist, a wife and mother of 3 boys (Tyler 17, Ethan 11, Greyson 8). As a lot of wives and mothers I started to feel like I was needing an outlet so I decided to take on cake decorating. Well that catapulted into a business once I saw how many people enjoyed my work. I create traditional cakes for events, specialized decorated cakes, cupcakes, cakesicles, character cakes, Rice Krispy treats and many more sweet treats. I enjoy being a part of my client’s special moments by having the honor of doing their cake/treats for their events. Edible Art by Ebony is not just about me anymore it’s about a family that I’ve built with people I would’ve never met if I had not made the leap to start my business.
Outside of cakes and sweet treats I enjoy sports. I’ve got 2 football players and 1 wrestler. I enjoy attending my kids sporting events and spending time with them bonding over the things that they love and I’ve come to love. I’ve been married for 16 years and enjoy going on dates with my husband. Right now I’m enjoying all aspects of life and continuing to grow my business.
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?
Great communication. I’ve always been an introvert and that was a hinderance over the years while trying to run a business and dealing with the public. I’ve taken leadership trainings and forced myself to do things outside of my box to improve my communication skills. It has helped tremendously. My willingness to continue to learn and grow in the cake business has been impactful. Taking online courses and attending cake retreats has brought business full circle for me. It’s grown my skill level so much these last few years and you could never put a price tag on that.
My advice to anyone starting this journey is to be patient and use all of your available resources. Never think something is too big or too small for you to take on. Step outside of your comfort zone and invest in yourself.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
My fellow cake sister who has been one of my closest friends for the past 22 years. Tiffany, owner of Tiffany’s Sweet Confections has been the greatest help for me to keep pushing forward. She has literally talked me into doing things that I wouldn’t normally be comfortable doing. You don’t meet a lot of people that’ll say they’ll stand beside you while you promote your business and they’re in the same business. It’s never been a competition and she’s always shared her skills and knowledge with me. I most definitely wouldn’t have grown this far without her. These last few years I have her to thank for that. I hope that I am or can be the same for her and her business.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edibleartbyebony/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdibleArtByEbony
Image Credits
Vivid Exposures by SLJ (Business Headshot Photo) & Ms EyeCapture (Cutie Cake Photo)
