Meet Grayce Holloway

We were lucky to catch up with Grayce Holloway recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Grayce, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is probably one of the most difficult things to overcome as a young small business owner. As a mom of 6 in her mid-twenties, I did not expect to “be the boss.” All I did was put one foot in front of the other. First, I was baking in my home kitchen. Then, I decided to post my creations online. Then, I started getting orders. Before I knew it, I had a restaurant of my own with a full breakfast and lunch menu, a thriving custom order and catering team, and a staff of over 10 people. It can be overwhelming knowing that everything comes down to me, but also empowering! I love my team, and I don’t feel like “the boss.” We all work together and play to our strengths. Overall, I think my biggest tip to overcome imposter syndrome is that if you truly see the best in all of your team, love them, pour into them, and believe in them – INCLUDING YOURSELF – then you can never truly say you didn’t make it or that you don’t deserve it.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Grayce Holloway and I am the founder and owner of a bakery called Icing for Izaac in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I started my business in 2019. I have always loved to bake and decorate, but I really began to focus on it as a way to grieve and process the loss of one of my twin sons, Izaac, during my pregnancy. As my business grew and it was time to “make it official,” I decided to name my bakery after him so that my surviving twin, Zaden, would never feel alone and so that Izaac could be a part of my family’s everyday life.
I love having the opportunity to share my story and advocate for moms who may be struggling with loss, postpartum depression, or any other struggles in motherhood. I have had the opportunity to speak about my mission and my experience at panels of doctors and nurses who serve moms every day. We host mom groups, loss groups, and lots of family-centered events at the bakery so that moms know there is a loving community right here in Fort Wayne that welcomes them with open arms. We host meet-and-greet princess days, reptiles from the zoo, cookie decorating with Santa, bounce houses, and so much more!
Although we started as a custom-order bakery- and still make over 50 custom orders a week- we are also a walk-in sweet shop, a full breakfast and lunch restaurant, and a growing catering and event venue! We sell cheesecake slices (our staple!), no-bake cheesecake bowls, cake slices, cookies, decorated cookies, cake pops, and brookies in the case. Our menu has handcrafted house drinks and coffees, breakfast items, salads, soups, and sandwiches. We are always coming up with new ideas!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three most important traits you can have are coachability, perseverance, and patience. You have to be open to learning from those who are further than you that you look up to. Every day will be a learning experience and you have to be flexible to changing and taking accountability. Find people that believe in you more than you believe in yourself. That way, on the days that you feel like quitting, they don’t let you.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Before I opened my own space, I was operating as a ghost kitchen in a local pizza restaurant. The owner of that restaurant quickly became my biggest mentor. I learned so much about being a leader and a business owner from him. The best advice he ever gave me was “there are no bad teams, only bad leaders.” Every time we come across an issue or hiccup on my team, the first thing I do is reflect on myself. I consider why whatever it was could have happened: did I not prepare them enough? was I unclear? were the expectations not fair? what might my team be going through personally or at work that may have caused this? After I reflect, we all meet and debrief. My team and I are very tight-knit, I respect them with everything and they do the same! I hold myself accountable and I will be the first one in and the last one out, I will scrub the baseboards and do the dishes, I will “be the boss” by leading by example every single day.

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